Confession & Ch-Ch-Changes

Here is my confession: the reason I have been procrastinating working on school business (other than it's summer and ain't nobody got time for that) is that I have been hoping for a change. Yesterday that change came true - I am changing schools! So long, junior high!

If you have been reading this blog for a while you know how much I detest changing schools, so this may be surprising. However - does it really count if you return to a school you've worked at before?

A brief recap of my teaching career:

School 1 - 1st year: very large, urban high school (~3,500 9-12)
School 2 - 2nd & 3rd year: very small, rural high school (~250 7-12... not a typo)
School 3 - 4th, 5th, & 6th year: smallish, rural high school (~400 9-12)
School 4 - 7th year: large, urban junior high school (~700 7-8)

I am returning to School 2! It's a bit of a commute and a bit more of a pay cut, but I am so enthusiastic about the change!

And now that I know where I'll be teaching and what I'll be teaching, I can begin preparing for real, which I'm really excited about. I am thrilled to be going back to the high school level! Middle school hijinx aside, I really missed the content depth of teaching high school. Every few weeks I'd think "If I were teaching high school, we'd be studying advertising in foods in preparation for the Super Bowl right now," "If I were teaching high school, we'd be starting the quilts about now," "If I were teaching high school, we'd be busting out the 1040s now..." you get the idea.

In addition to prepping curriculum, I'm anxious to get into my classroom. Since I've been there before, I already know how I want to set things up - AND I'm not taking over for a retiree this time! Woot woot! Seems crazy that I spent soooooo much time working on my rooms this past year only to leave, but apparently this is what I do - I flip rooms to make them easy for the next person to work with. At least I've become pretty darn good at it!

Here's to School #5... er... #2... um... whatever! Yay!

Random Updates

Now that we are firmly entrenched in July, we can no longer deny that another school year is looming not too far in the distance. After all, look what is out this week:

Dun Dun DUN!!!

Most of my independent professional development this summer has been through reading - books, blogs, etc. I am almost finished reading "Whole Brain Teaching for Challenging Kids" - there are some great ideas in here! Of course I have a whole stack to continue plowing through once that one's completed.

My big plan for the week is to compile "The Checklist" - the things that I have to start preparing for the first days of school. Syllabi, folders, binders, etc, etc. I'm already beginning to have those dreams that it's the first day of school, the desks are not arranged, and I haven't made any copies or done any preparation. Ugh!!!

In other news, I like to periodically check on pageviews for various posts so that I can see what is striking readers' fancies, and have been closely watching the race for most-viewed post. When the Best Lab Plans Fail has edged out Substitute Teachers by one view as of this morning! Okay, that's probably dorkily boring, but the sub article has had a commanding lead for well over a year so it was fun to see something overtake that one.

Hope you're having a great summer! Get that last bit of R & R in, it's almost game time!

Love to Starbucks

Dear Starbucks,

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for posting your recipe for chocolate cinnamon bread online. I tried it out, and it worked fabulously  in my home kitchen. I won't even begrudge you the added poundage this is sure to result in.

Appreciatively,
Denise

July Currently!

Time for this month's Currently with Farley!

Listening - ahhh, the pitter patter of little, um, wheels...

Loving - TIME TO READ!!! I just finished my first big fiction read of the summer, "Sophie's Choice." Hoo, brutal. Not the book, the choice. Despite it's affirmed place in popular culture I didn't know going in what the "choice" was, and it could not have been more heart-wrenching. Amazing book - now I want to see the movie, especially since I'm a BIG Meryl Streep fan! My current teaching read is "Whole Brain Teaching," to be followed by "Teach Like a Pirate." I've also just finished a shorter, lighter read that I saved for reading during workouts at the gym (kind of hard to concentrate on something like "Sophie's Choice" on the treadmill) - "236 Pounds of Vice President," hilarious memoir.

Thinking - I've been doing some work here and there, sketching a few things out, but now it's time to get going before the time gets going!

Wanting - I've just become hooked on "Boardwalk Empire," and am about to watch the fifth episode.

Needing - I've got the material, just gotta sew 'em up. Pretty easy project.

Tips, Tricks, Hints - Know what you want to say and who you want to say it to. For this blog, my goal was to primarily to share classroom organization ideas with other teachers, particularly for FACS. My secondary goal was to share the occasional story, anecdote, or opinion related to my career. The more I stick to this the more feedback I receive and interest I seem to generate. Also, the better quality conversations I have with other teachers. 

Happy July, everyone!

Another Short Note

Dear Paula Deen,

I think you are awesome. I will continue to use clips from your shows in class, and reference you in every discussion we have about butter.

Your fan, 

Denise

A Short Note

Dear Kleenex,

I just saw your back to school commercial. Let me point out that an awful lot of schools only just began break. Heck, CPS just wrapped things up three days ago.

On behalf of teachers everywhere, I may very well request that parents donate only non-Kleenex brand tissue this coming school year.

Sincerely,

A customer in disbelief

Time for the Little Things

I've not posted often yet this summer, mainly because it's summer, of course! I've been working on taking care of all those things on the to-do list that get pushed to the back burner during the school year - you know, things like house cleaning : ).

Also on the list are some minor upgrades to the blog. For one, I finally locked in my own domain, so I can now leave out the "blogspot" in the web address (have no fear, if you use the blogspot address, it will redirect you to www.facsclassroomideas.com). Next I created my own font from my every day handwriting (go to www.myscriptfont.com to do this for FREE!). I used that to help create my first shot at a custom header - nothing fancy schmancy yet, but it was beginning to bug me!

A good chunk of time has been spent finishing up the last of my grad school assignments before our July break, which I am happy to announce I have completed! I have to show up to class this Wednesday, but everything has been turned in and I am DONE!

And then of course is the reading. Ah, reading for fun and reading to improve my craft... at the same time! Over the course of this school year I've followed a few blogs centered on "Whole Brain Teaching," and I have become intrigued enough to seriously look into it, so I am currently reading the book. Seems to me this would work perfectly for FACS!

I hope all of you are enjoying your summer, striking that golden balance between productivity and relaxation!

Chalkboard to Dry Erase Board

Got one of these in your classroom?

While I understand that some people like going old school (literally) in this way, I am not a big fan - particularly when it comes to being covered in chalk dust all day long. But before I lucked out with a SMART Board, this was what I had (note the yellow arrow for the ever clever way I posted my bell ringers each day). After they installed the SMART Board and moved this puppy over to the side, I decided it was time to make a conversion.

Enter dry erase rolls!

Sticky dry erase paper which works ever so well atop chalkboards. You can get super large pieces to cover an entire board, but because I knew I was going to divide the board into sections anyway I went with smaller dimensions to save some cash.

After taking careful measurements, I cut the roll into the size sections I wanted. Then, I washed and dried the chalkboard really, really well. After this I began hanging the dry erase paper on the chalkboard. Warning: do NOT attempt this alone, even with small dimensions. You need at least four hands to keep the bubbles smoothed out.

I then created headings for the top of each section using cardstock, scrapbook paper, lamination, and magnets. The final step was backing the ribbon with magnetic tape (easy to take down to clean the board).

And there you have it! No more chalk dust, and it definitely adds needed color. Still have to take care of that stupid wallpaper border. And the stencils. And the gap of chalk board at the bottom. But all in all, great project. The only flaw I've found with the dry erase rolls is that bubbles do tend to seep in when the humidity is high, but they're easy to squeeze out.

I completed this over the semester break, so had the dry erase board available to me the entire second semester - it worked beautifully. So if you have a chalkboard to replace and little funding, I highly recommend this option!

Awkward Meeting, Pinterest Style

Awkward encounter with 7th grade student at the Y:

'Billy': {gasp!} Mrs. C! What are YOU doing here??!!

Me: {recalling recent Pinterest giggle} Oh, you know, hunting elephants. What are you doing here?

'Billy': {after brief moment of confusion} I, too, am hunting elephants.

Impressive recovery and response for a 13 year old.

Thwarting the Clock Watchers

There are at least a couple in every class, and they're contagious. You know who I'm talking about - the clock watchers! These are the students who have to constantly glance at the clock, contorting their bodies into whatever position necessary every 80-90 seconds, and begin packing up well before necessary. This disease always spreads to those seated next to them, and then to the students seated next to those students, causing the contortions and early packing to ripple throughout the classroom causing numerous disruptions.

About three years ago I had one particular class so infected with this malady I couldn't take it any more and I removed the clock from the wall. I knew if this was the only move I made that students would begin "inconspicuously" (why do they think we can't see the phones?) checking their cell phone clocks every couple of minutes, transferring their attention from the wall to their laps. So I instituted the timer policy.

I informed the students that I had set a timer to go off one minute before the bell. I told them that once the timer went off I would end class and they could begin cleaning up and getting ready to go, not before. A few students grumbled that one minute is not enough time. So, I set a timer for one minute and we did a "dry run" of how long it took them to put away all of their things and get ready to go. They were all surprised to find that it actually only takes them about 20 seconds to get their belongings in order. I then let them sit there and look at each other for the next 40 seconds so that they could feel just how much time that one minute is. Then I had them get their stuff out again and we held class.

It was amazing. With no clock, the constant glancing and contorting disappeared. Without their anxiety over the possibility of "not having enough time to pack up," they actually paid attention until the end of the hour. Game changer. I have instituted the same policy with every class since that day. When more clean-up time is needed (for sewing classes, project days, etc), I change the timer to compensate. 

I use my cell phone for this purpose, as I can set the timers for every class one time, click "weekdays," and never have to worry about forgetting to set them. Every once in a while I do forget to turn them off during Institute Days, and an alarm that sounds like the 108 minutes are up and I need to enter "4 8 15 16 23 42" to prevent the end of the world goes off during an informational session on gangs or library services. Oops, awkward...

When I introduce the procedure to the kids on the first day, I always show one of the students in each class that I have the phone set on "airplane mode" so that they know I'm not also receiving texts : ). This builds their trust, establishes the reason I can have my phone out and they cannot, and keeps me out of trouble. 

What kind of trouble can having your phone on during the school day cause? See this article: "Texting Between Classes Can Get You Fired... or Pregnant."

As long as you stick to your word and dependably end class with the timer, the kids are really good about not packing up before time, eliminating that end-of-class clean-up creep. Definite sanity saver! 

Anybody else have a system for thwarting the clock watchers?