We got through roughly half of what I'd planned for the day. We did a lot of goal setting today. But I don't necessarily think that was a bad thing.
We talked about the difference between goals and dreams.
From there, we talked about a goal vs. a SMART goal.
(This image is from my daily morning journals, available {here} and currently on sale).
We set reading, math, school, and life goals.
I modeled the differences between a goal and a SMART goal:
Yes, taking attendance on time is one of my goals. The office is quite pleased.
We then recorded our goals in our {flip book}.
We also reviewed the difference between daily, weekly, and monthly goals:
It was a busy, busy first day back. We also went to library, looked at our 50+ new books (I've been doing some cleaning), took the math pre-test, talked about our upcoming field trip, and got on the computer for Lexia practice.
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?
While my adventure is still over a week away, I'm getting super excited for DENSI 2015!
Not only is it in one of my favorite cities in the US (Washington DC), but I'll be rooming with my previous DENSI roommate again! When we first meet, I was just a few months into dating B and she was moving in with her boyfriend. Flash forward two years and I'm happily living with B while she married her man and is expecting twin boys! What fun! Plus I think our whole suite is fifth grade teachers, so I see lots of pajama-clad collaboration. We're staying at American University, so there's lots of bonding time.
What I really like about DENSI (besides all the learning) is that I get to take charge of my own learning. One of the things that is often lacking in professional development, at least in my school district, is differentiation. Not all teachers need 100% of the same professional development...just like not every student needs exactly the same thing. Yet...we often all have to sit through the same meetings, despite our different needs as educators.
However, that isn't the case with DENSI! There are break out sessions and lots of options so teachers can pick what they want to learn.
I looked at my options and am excited to learn about coding, STEM, and digital literacy resources. There are lots of team meetings and I'm really excited about my week of learning:
Yes, I realize the irony of being "totally" old school but I process things best by writing them down. I also am really bad at making sure my phone is charged, so this is my back up plan. I also bought a cute new notebook to take notes (because that's how I learn best).
As an added bonus, my best friend is flying down the weekend after and we have quite the adventure planned! We've got dinner and brunch reservations, are going to a Nationals game, and seeing old friends. It also so happens to be the ten year anniversary of our senior trip (which was also to DC).
I'm so excited for my week of learning!
