With so many students, it's easy to get bogged down with all the demands. Grading thirty five of anything gets rather tedious. When it's thirty five essays, I have to give myself small rewards for persevering through the task (and no, I'm not kidding).
So instead I'll share how truly wonderful my students are. On average, they're pretty great. They're also people, so we have good days and we have rough days. They're pre-pubescent and sassy. It's November and they're antsy for a break. It's a tricky time.
However, I get hugs on a daily basis. I have, at any given time, thirty students who are truly happy to see me.
They are so ridiculously excited about every little thing we do. Commas? Thrilling. Multiplication warm ups? Amazing, especially if they are allowed the extra special treat of writing on their desks. Our read aloud? Nothing quiets them faster than me pulling out a well loved copy of The Lightning Thief.
Plus, cute gifts like this sweeten the deal:
How adorable are my families?
I'm using class dojo and it's really helped improve my parent communication this year. I'm also using it in conjunction with my class blog (weebly), which is passcode protected because I post students' pictures.
Here's a snapshot:
Plus they reply! How fun. We've talked about online norms and appropriate ways to communicate with one another, so it's nice to have an authentic way to embed lessons on digital citizenship and online responsibility.
The one comment? One of my students said she's going to beat me to graduating Storm. My response? I hope she does. She's been on fire and it's great.
There are many things in education that are wearing me down. Luckily, for the most part, my students aren't part of those problems. They are the part of my job that I consistently love.
In an effort to focus on these happy moments with students more consistently, I found this adorable notebook at TJ Maxx:
I'm going to keep it at my desk and record those happy moments in the classroom.
What are you thankful for today?
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