I woke up this morning thinking about dandelions.  I thought about how one tiny little puff of air can send those tiny seeds scattering around.  What happens when they land?  They sprout.   They persevere.  It just reminds me of teaching.

I think for many years, it has been my goal to plant a garden, with neat little rows, defined by me.  The carrots are in row one, the celery is sprouting in row two, and the potatoes are in row three.  It worked beautifully…for me.  I knew exactly where each plant grew and that felt good.  I poured on the objectives, some soaked them in, and we kept moving.

But, a classroom shouldn’t be all about how it works for the teacher.  At the end of the day, it’s about learning.  It’s about letting go of the neat little rows and letting those seeds scatter.  It’s about monitoring their progress and facilitating their growth.   Sure, I will still have my Learning Targets, Essential Questions, and words we learn along the way posted in my yard… but there will be no neat little rows.

I am ready to fly and I have a feeling my students will be, too.

Pardon the extremely cheesy pun. It IS the first Monday of the school year and my brain DOES feel like it is shriveling from the sudden changeover of thoughts going from “What daytime talk show do I want to watch?” and “What park do we want to go to today?” to “Lessons, Objectives, Essential Questions, Technology Integration, Students, Kids, Kids, Students, Alarm Clocks, Ooopps…. forgot my lunch…” It’s been an adjustment!

I have gotten a few emails about the small paint can labels I have on my classroom tables. So, I thought I would offer them here, to print, and use in your own classroom if you’ve been looking for them. Here they are….

Now, I added a layer of cardstock underneath to give color, but here are the printable labels. You are welcome to print and use them in your classroom! They are doodled robots and rockets!

Whew, the first bell rang.  That only means one thing… a crazy week filled with laminating, cutting, gluing, meeting, Open House hellos, phone calls, letters, and then squeezing in some sleep here and there.   I finally finished decorating!

I’m looking forward to the school year ahead.  I just keep dwelling on the fact that it’s my tenth year of teaching.  A lot has changed.  I thought I would reflect upon it today.  I went to the Way Back Machine and loved taking a look at my website from my very first year of teaching.  Holy cow, so much has changed!

1.) I never even dreamed of all the capabilities the iphone would put in my hand!  Amazing!  Sometimes when I am glancing at TweetDeck in the line at WalMart, I realize it’s like pocket-pd, 24/7!

2.) I didn’t imagine that I’d be teaching gifted education just yet, but couldn’t be happier!

3.) I still make that yearly promise to get organized. Ahem… no comment.

4.) Technology has gone from being about having kids “type in Word or create a PowerPoint” to being an integral tool in the learning process.

5.) My classroom website has become a place to interact with students and parents, rather than just a page of information to read.

6.) I now give the camera and the FlipCam to kids more than I use it.  I want to see their points of view!

What hasn’t changed?  I love my students just as much today as I did that very first day. 

As I was stapling today (and I think I used an entire box), I was thinking about how quiet it was in my classroom and how it wouldn’t be for much longer.  There is something about a new school year.  Unsharpened pencils.  Freshly waxed floors.  Stacks of clean white notebook paper.   Rosters with names of kids you have yet to meet.  Exciting!

This year one of my plans is to encourage my students to set goals for themselves.  So, I figure if I am going to expect them to set goals, why not set my own?

Here are my top ten goals for this year.

1.  I will remember to allow students to struggle.  I won’t come to the rescue when they are in the meaty part of learning!

2. I will make sure the feeback I give students is specific.  I will refrain from saying “Wow!” or “Awesome!” repetedly and instead say things like “I especially like the way you did (insert task), and think that you might improve your writing by (insert suggestion).

3.  I will make my lessons about the essential question and not the technology.  Teaching is not PowerPoint.  It’s not a Word Document.  It’s not navigating a text book.

4. I will blog more.  To blog is to reflect, to reflect is to make connections, and to make connections is to learn.  I always have more to learn!

5. I will skip my morning Coke Zero for breakfast.  It’s time.  There, I type it.  Now I will feel to guilty to drink one on Monday morning.

6. I will slow down.  No, not in my car, in my lessons.  I recognize that there are a million topics I want to cover… but what is that saying, “Go deeper with curriculum, not wider.”?

7. I will recognize the independence of each of my students.  Just like snowflakes, no two kids are alike.

8. I will keep my desk drawers organized and clean.*

9. I will learn more about my students hobbies and try to bring their interests into the classroom even more.  If life is about finding your passion, then kids need the chance to find theirs.

10.  I will remember that real learning can be loud, messy, chaotic, fun, invigorating, exciting, exhausting, and embrace it!

*Note:  Um… about the desk drawers, at least until the end of September.

What about you?  Do you have goals for the new school year?

My apologies! I loaded up all new themes today and found out that my Paypal account will not accept money until I send in scans of my driver’s license, social security card, and utility bill.  Seemed extreme to me, so I waited to verify this was necessary.  I’m waiting for them to request a DNA sample!

You can still visit the Theme Machine page, download the freebies, and within 3 days the links to purchase will again be working!

My apologies!

Tomorrow morning…. bright and early…. I get to set up my classroom!  I can’t wait!  I feel like a kid on the night before Christmas.

Do you ever feel like an episode of Trading Spaces in the fall when you are getting your classroom ready?  Well, everything except the part about the $1000 budget!  Here’s a quick and easy way to create nametags for your students desks without having to make a trip to the teacher store!   The rocket-themed name tags below were created in Microsoft Word!

Microsoft Word is a great tool for typing newsletters, creating classroom tools, and making tables!  But, did you ever think about using Word to make your classroom decorations?  You can use shapes in Word to design!  While all of the stuff I have in the Theme Machine is made with PhotoShop, Microsoft Word comes in pretty handy, too!   You can make nametags, labels, and more.  The best part is, with Microsoft’s online clipart, you can find something to match your theme!

Just remember, you can make the “Shape” of the nametags with the Autoshapes.  You can add the “lines” with a text box and typing dashes!  Use the layers by right-clicking the items and “send to back” or “bring to front”.  The “layers” part depends on your version of Word.  Or, here is a template to get you started.  You are free to edit this and use it to match your classroom theme!

Happy Decorating!

You know that saying “You never get a second chance to make a first impression?”  Well, this saying just seems to say everything about Open House.  Whether it’s your very first Open House coming up this year or your 20th, I don’t think things ever change.  You scramble at the last minute to be sure everything is in place, you meet your amazing students and parents in a short amount of time, and the whirlwind ends leaving you feeling like “Um… did I remember to give this student a packet or did I say hello to that student’s parents?”  I have been thinking today about things I have tried, heard about, and ways to make open house outstanding!

A Few Open House Tips:

1.) Organize any handouts BEFORE the night begins.  Purchase those 10 cent pocket folders from WalMart to be used as homework folders and put all materials in them.  Place the folders on students desks and you don’t have to worry one bit if everyone got their paperwork!

2.) Post something interactive!  A large sheet of chart paper with markers can become a giant wordsearch for every student to find their name.  Use www.puzzlemaker.com and then copy it down!

3.) Make a scavenger hunt! Pose questions like, “Find the mailboxes, what number mailbox is on the top row, last box?”  or “Find your science book in your desk, what is pictured on page 35?”  This will allow you more time to chat with parents while students are searching for clues!

4.) Have a “Wish Tree”.   Use a fake tree or make a paper one and hang items on it that you need for your classroom, but aren’t on the supply list!  Many parents want to know what they might be able to donate and you can just refer them to your wish tree!

5.) Display Your Classroom Website:  Have your website on computers or SmartBoards and let parents know the address. This is your best chance to show them how they can keep updated on your classroom happenings.  We all know how those “notes in the backpack” might not make it home later on!

6.) Create favors:  A pencil, an eraser, a classroom dollar/buck, a bookmark, or a coupon for “Free time” or “No Homework” goest a long way to welcome students!  Here are three creative ideas from some awesome teachers that were shared on the Facebook page!  Thank you all for the ideas!

• Microwave Popcorn Bags with a note that says “Thanks for popping in!” – (Idea from Susan Warren)

• A bag of lucky charms with the poem:  (Idea from Erin Galewski)

*A pot of gold—to remind you that you’re worth a million!
*A colorful rainbow—to remind you to promise to always do your best!
*A blue moon—to remind you that once in awhile, we all make mistakes, and that’s okay!
*A green clover—to give you good luck as you begin (?) grade!
*A purple horseshoe—to remind you that U matter!
*A red balloon—to remind you to soar above the clouds and try new things.
*And most of all—a pink heart to remind you that as your teacher, I care about you.

• Back to School Confetti – It is a fun way to calm the night before nerves for everyone.  (Idea from Felicia Barnick)

Back To School Magic Confetti
The night before school is exciting and fun.
There are always so many things to be done.
Your clothes are ready, your backpack is too.
Your classroom is full of fun things you will do.
There are so many questions that go through your mind,
All types of thoughts of every kind.
But sometimes we all get the jitters down deep
And that makes it hard to fall fast asleep.
So I’ve made you some magic confetti, it really is cool.
It will help you be rested and ready for school.
Just place the confetti next to your bed.
On the night before school starts where you lay down your head.
The confetti will help you sleep through the night
And you will wake up in the morning fresh and bright.
I’ll place the confetti near my bed, too
And remember, I just can’t wait for school so I can see you!

Do you have any Open House ideas?  Please share!  It’s almost that time of year…. wait, it IS that time of year…yikes, one week from today!

I am still working on my own classroom but had to take a break from the world of robots! I have gotten tons of comments and emails for an ocean theme!  So, today I used some fish that I had previously made for my own classroom and created an oceam themed set called “Fishy Fun!”  There is a freebie available to print right now! Visit the Theme Machine and check it out!

Do you have an ocean theme?  If you do, please leave a comment and share your ideas for decorating!  You might just help another teacher out!

Just off from attending a 2-day assessment workshop in my district, I am open minded about what the future in my classroom looks like.  As an eMINTS teacher and totally in love with the concept of Inquiry Based Learning, I am always interested in ways to get my students more involved in their learning.  But, all this time, I think I have been overlooking one key ingredient:  assessment.

I love to plan projects.  I love to plan the kind of projects where kids do not want to go to recess because they have to stop working or the the kind where they say “Wow, this day went by fast, can I take this home with me to work on it?”  THAT is what drives me.  Music to my ears.   Whether teaching in a regular education classroom or my current gifted education classroom, I have seen the benefits of getting kids so fired up in their own questioning and letting them make discoveries.  It becomes real, authentic learning.

But, I honestly feel in my quest for creating engaging projects, I have been failing to involve the learners in assessing themselves, in giving them effective feedback.  Sure, I gave feedback, but was I specific?  Was I asking the right questions or pointing out the right things?  Here are a few things I am thinking will help get me started and improve the assessment that is happening in my classroom, both by my students AND me.

1.)  Avoid “Nice job!”  As a teacher, it FEELS good to tell a student that.  It is great to say “Wow, that is awesome.”  But, what I am really telling them?  Am I helping them out?  If this is all that I say, then I am sending a message that whatever is done is “good enough.”  A more effective statement might be “It is really impressive the way you made eye contact with the audience in your presentation.    Even more importantly, throw in a goal for them to set or help them find one.

2.)  Start at the end.  Yes, I am a whole-hearted believer in Backward Design.  However, I am taking it one step further this year.  In identifying my target objectives for a unit, I will put them in a list, provide it to parents at the beginning of a quarter and then use THAT to assess my kids at the end of the quarter.  Everyone will know what our learning pertains, too.  People cannot question if something is just “for fun” or “fluff” if you have standards posted!

3.)  Observation Journal:  I am going to keep a notebook this year where every student has a page and as I walk around during project work, I am going to jot down notes about the conversations we have together, giving me more information to utilize when we conference later on in the project.  It is about being more specific and effective in guiding their learning. {Is there an iphone app for that? }

4.)  I will see myself even more as their FACILITATOR rather than a public speaker or lecturer. Too many times, I have talked and talked while kids are excitedly waiting to get started.  This year, I will know WHEN to stop talking and to let the kids start learning!

Please share your thoughts on assessment for learning.  I look forward to hearing ways that you assess your kids and how you make it more about “getting grades”.

Today I came across this website: Classroom Architect and it is a great planning tool for your classroom floor plan! If you’re like me, every year, you drag items around, moving tables, chairs, your desk, trying to get a bit of a “new look” and maximize your space.

Having moved 7 times in 8 years of teaching (long story, but true!) I have had lots of different rooms.  Big rooms, small rooms, high ceilings, low ceilings, desks, tables, teacher’s desk, no teacher’s desk, SMARTBoard, computers… the list is endless.

I just don’t think there is one “perfect” way to set up a classroom.  Every teacher, just like every student, is an individual so you just have to find what works for you.  With the Classroom Architect, planning that just got a little bit easier!