Another Use for a Planner...

Even though I manage my time and events electronically now (go Google calendar!), I still really love pen and paper planners. I found this one at Barnes and Noble, and once they went 50% off after Christmas I couldn't help but snatch it up!

Since I don't really NEED one I spent time thinking of legitimate ways to use it, rather than just creating a hard copy of my Google schedule. Over Christmas Break I read "Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching" by Angela Watson - highly, highly, highly recommend. It's a tremendous resource for developing an outlook that helps you to deal with all of those frustrating occurrences that steal the joy out of your teaching (like lack of copy machine etiquette, which I will be writing about at some point in the near future). The book gave me quite a bit to think about, and two questions in particular that I was focusing on were 1) How can I focus more on the positive things that happen throughout the day? and 2) What can I do to end the school day on a positive note, regardless of what happens the final class period of the day? Combine that with my desire to effectively use my frivolous Snoopy-obsession-induced purchase, and here's what I came up with: at the end of every day, I use the space in the planner to record the good things that happened that day. That way I am always forced to sit down and think about the rewards of the day, and I've even begun the habit of keeping a running list of the good things on a section of the running to-do list I always keep on my clipboard so I don't forget later on. Here's what it looks like:

And a close-up:

I love the multi-colored pens to make it extra happy-looking! It has been a tremendous tool for ending my day remembering all the worthwhile events that took place. The last hour of the day thus far has usually been the roughest at this school, with both groups of kids. This helps me keep in mind what came before that. Great way to record personal victories!

I've also added a couple of other items to the days as well. I write down the hours that I actually spend in the building. I had thought I would also track the time I spend working at home, but after a couple of days realized that looking at that number would most likely just depress me. I'm also trying to get in the habit of jotting down parent phone calls in here as well. Since this is always handy, it's a great place to jot down name/time/number called, and then I can record the other pertinent information in my student records later on. Still working on establishing that habit, but I've written my happy notes after school every day for four weeks now. Given that it's only a small space, it's much easier to keep up with on a daily basis than a typical journal or all-out reflection - I can always squeeze in a few sentences before grabbing my belongings. It will be fun at the end of the school year to look back on all of the great memories from each day.

I know some teachers jot down notes when something good happens and then keep them in a jar or other container, then open it up at the end of the year, which is also a great idea - I just like the idea of having mine all written and bound in one place. I'd love to hear ideas from other teachers: What do you do to keep track of the good times?

The Last Few Precious Hours...

Well friends, this is it - school resumes tomorrow. 1st hour starts at 7:40am. Are you ready?

I spent a couple of hours this afternoon completing odds and ends grading - make-up work, a quiz I gave the last day before break, work turned in from in-school suspension, etc. My mind was screaming "No! No! Not yet!"... you know how it is.

The primary reason I'm not 100% enthusiastic about tomorrow (other than having to get up at some dreadful hour again) is that it's going to be a weird week. We have two "regular" days, two final exam days, and then an Institute Day. You can imagine how seriously junior high kids take final exams, not to mention elective class final exams, so it's going to be rough. Especially since my kids all leave me and switch electives after this week.

I am pretty excited about brand new rosters coming up, though. The bummer about switching schools is that two weeks into the school year you realize about 40 things that you wish you had done differently/wish you hadn't done at all/wish you had done, but you've got to wait a whole year until you get that second chance. I get my second chance during the first year this time! So not only do I get to revamp procedures/rules/seating/etc, I get to revamp curriculum/projects/instruction. And since I've put all of my classes on a rotation, three of the four big units I've taught this year (sewing, foods, child care) I've already been through three times, so this will be the fourth time through. I love fitting six years into one!

In other news, it's been a while since I've mentioned a product/piece of equipment that I find extremely useful. So today, let me rave about my Rachael Ray Bench Scraper!

This thing is a fantastic piece of kitchen equipment, I absolutely love it. I used to be attached to the traditional method of using my chef's knife to transfer ingredients, but this gadget holds so much it is so much more convenient! The ridged rubber handle makes it easy to grip, and it lays flat when you set it down unlike many other scrapers. It is ideal for scooping up piles of food, chopping apart dough, or scraping pastry. Right now it is offered in four colors: orange, purple, blue, and red. If they would just add green and yellow I would buy them for my school kitchens! Guess I'll just have to look for a generic option for those kitchen colors.

Reading!

So I finally got around to opening all of the packages which contain the textbooks I'll need for my next grad school class, which begins Jan 23 (order early, get the best deals before my classmates!). This many packages cannot be good. Look at the fun they contain!

Did the song "One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong?" pop into your head while looking at these? I couldn't help myself but order "K is for Knifeball" when I saw it. It is HILARIOUS. During my child care unit my students analyze various children's books, and I've been looking for a couple of books to slip in that are definitely not appropriate but look like books for kids (and I'm thinking slipping in "Go the F**k to Sleep" would probably get me fired) - this is perfect! And, an enjoyable read all on its own, of course.

And now that I'm scrolling through my blog, I don't think I've mentioned grad school at all. In September I went back to school for a Reading Specialist master's. I don't know what if any career changes that may lead to in the future, but what I'm learning has already made me a better teacher! It has always driven me crazy when high school/middle school content teachers pronounce "Well I'm not a reading teacher." Bull, we're all reading teachers! The number of strategies to help kids with their reading (and let's face it, no matter what you teach or what age you teach, you have got a LOT of kids who struggle with basic reading!) I've already learned is staggering, and I've implemented quite a few of them with great returns so far. I keep thinking "If only I had known this x years ago!"

The only problem with taking on a Reading degree is that it leaves you much less time for your own reading! I managed to get in some of the reading I wanted to do over break, but not what I aspired to (isn't that always the case with breaks?). One of the great ironies of being a teacher is that most of us love to read and most of us don't have anywhere close to the amount of time we need for such pursuits!

Currently and a New Year

It's been a while since I've posted, but with the new year I'm getting back into the swing of things. Here's a "Currently" linky from Farley (check out the link if you don't know what it's all about - it's fun!):

Listening - I am a "West Wing" nut! I've watched the series through more than once but it's been a few years, so I'm starting it up again.

Loving - The way break fell this year is so great - I love not going back until the 7th!

Thinking - I get all new kids with the beginning of second semester (January 14th), so I'm thinking about what to do differently: rules, procedures, units... the whole she-bang! I'm pretty sure I'm going to leave binders behind and switch to folders. For some reason, despite the many many many many many teachings, modelings, etc, the whole concept of putting three-hole punched papers in the rings of the binders seems to elude junior high students. Also thinking about a new way to arrange the desks...

Wanting - Hot cocoa is soooooo gooooooooood!

Needing - Gotta get going on creating the "prezi" for a presentation due in a couple of weeks. There's still plenty of time, but that time will get sucked up fast when school is back in session.

OLW - POSSIBILITY! With the new year comes a fresh start, a blank slate, and all sorts of possibilities - especially since I'll be starting fresh with new kids after the first week back. Learning all the procedures and hidden rules of a new school along with transitioning to junior high has been incredibly challenging, but I'm beginning to really "get" it. And, I'm excited to get a second chance to start fresh within the same year.

Time to Give Thanks

When you work in a school, there are definitely a lot of people who deserve your appreciation. So at Thanksgiving I like to prepare a treat for the secretaries and custodians/maintenance people that help keep me sane! Usually my treat of choice for this holiday is banana nut bread; it tends to get rave reviews.

 And of course I can't resist adding SNOOPY tags, with a little note on the back.

A sampling of this year's masterpieces.

I mix it up a bit during the other holidays with various treats, and add in more of the people that help me day to day. At Thanksgiving though I want to make sure I remember the biggies!

What do you do for your support staff at Thanksgiving?

Interior Design/Housing Project Idea

Having taught Interior Design/Housing for a few years before moving to junior high, I've always been on the lookout for good projects for the subject. A few years back another FACS teacher recommended using dollhouse kits for a project, which was an awesome idea and one I used. A lot of the kids were really into it and did great work. The drawbacks were that they were detail-oriented and time-consuming, so some students lost interest fairly early on. It was also a bit expensive. Tonight while surfing on Pinterest (and let's all admit, we're all addicted to Pinterest, right? The slippery slope, eh Jenna?) I found a great alternative option I just had to share. I think it could make a terrific group or individual project, depending on the skill/motivation level of the student. Check it out!

http://southerndisposition.blogspot.com/2011/12/diy-three-ring-binder-barbie-dollhouse.html?m=1

Smart Boards & Sewing

I have to say, Smart Boards rock! Last year I had a projector for the first time ever, which was a game changer, and about a month ago I received my first SB. Not only is it glorious, it has saved lives. Student lives, which may have ended had I been forced to repeat myself any more.

Here's an example: the dilemma of teaching sewing to a couple dozen kids is that only two or three can see you demonstrate at a time. Meanwhile your back is turned to about 20 kids who have access to pins, needles, and scissors. We've all been there, it ain't pretty. Then of course throughout whatever project you're working on kids wind up spread out across seven different steps and it takes forever to get anywhere because you can't help them all at once.

Smart Board to the rescue! For each of my projects (and each of the practice steps leading up to the projects) I created short videos for each step. The entire class can watch the instruction, and I can replay it as many times as they need without losing my mind repeating myself endlessly. Then when some begin to move ahead while others move slower (or miss a few days of school), I can just play the video for the step everyone needs. It's been amazing!

An added benefit: I upload all the videos to a designated channel on YouTube, that way kids can access them at home if they are doing make-up work or just want to work on projects on their own time. Not saying I get a lot of views, but at Parent/Teacher Conferences a few weeks ago a few parents did tell me that their kids had been watching the videos at home. Hooray for useful technology!

Year Two

Successful new lesson today, so I'm sharing. We're learning about toddlers, and their assignment was to create a "visual" timeline of the second year of life. They were given a sheet with 12 boxes, to represent the 12 months in a year. In each, they had to write the number of the month, a description of something you can expect to see in a child that age along with a picture, and a label of "P," "I," "S," or "E" (physical development, intellectual development, social development, or emotional development). They did a really great job! Here's a cute one:

Being Green

Whew, things have been so busy! As is always the case with us teachers, I know. I've been logging many a Saturday hour trying to get my kitchens kid-ready. My first group has begun their "Food Unit" rotation, and as soon as we get through food & kitchen safety they'll get their first peek. Luckily it's a somewhat smaller class, so I can focus on four kitchens and let the other two go a bit longer until a larger class rotates in.

One thing that I found desperately necessary in this classroom was relining the kitchen drawers. Most of them are lined with contact paper which must be at least one, probably two, decades old. It's worn out and faded and grimy.

Of all places, Staples had just what I needed: neon, solid-colored contact paper. At my local store they carry yellow, blue, red, and green - four of the six colors I'll need.

Nothing fancy, just clear and obvious which kitchen you're in. Now I just need to find some orange and purple contact paper, and I'll be set!

Dude, ummm...smbdy brok in2 ur crib

I tried a new lesson this week that went very well, so I thought I'd share. The topic this week was communication, and on the day in question we were focusing on verbal/nonverbal aspects (open your hymnals to FACS National Standard 13.3!). For this activity, each student first had to write down two pieces of news that would be really hard to have to deliver to someone. The examples I gave were "Your dog died, your uncle has cancer, you have to repeat 8th grade." They wrote each idea down on a card. Some examples they came up with: pregnancy, house robbery, stolen car, boyfriend/girlfriend cheating, parents getting divorced, failing math. I shuffled them up, then they each had to draw two cards. They read the cards, then had to write out a text message for each one as if they were telling a real person. I encouraged them to use real text-ese, with the stipulation that they could not use school-inappropriate language. I allowed them to work in groups to help each other, but they each had to complete their own. They really got into it! And of course the conversations they had in their groups captured the essence of the lesson: "Man, this is hard!" "This is AWKWARD!" etc, etc.

We posted several of them on the board so that everyone could read them. Then we had a large group discussion about the disadvantages of texting, which led into the point that body language, etc, is the crux of communication.

Note: this went along easier with my 8th grade students than the 7th grade students. It took the 7th graders much longer to make the connection between the texting activity and the importance of non-verbals, but they got there eventually.