Five For Friday

It's the last full Friday of school (with kids!)!! :D Next Friday is a half day with, half day without, and then, the NEXT Friday is SUMMER!




On Saturday, I went to the New England Blogger Meet-Up at Patriot Place.

HOLY COW! There were sooooo many of us there! It was great to see familiar faces and catch up, as well as meet some new ones!

There were so many of us that I didn't get to meet everyone!
We also scored some great swag-and I won an extra GoNoodle totebag!

Check out the swag I got at the #teachersnightoutboston meet-up! Plus, I won an extra tote bag! 😆😎 #newenglandteacherbloggers #newenglandteacher #newenglandbloggers #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #igteacher #iteachtoo #tptmeetup

A photo posted by Smiles & Sunshine (@smilesandsunshineteacher) on Jun 6, 2015 at 8:02pm PDT

Thanks to The Tutu Teacher, Adventures in Kindergarten, A Burst of First and The Starr Spangled Planner for putting it together and the people who donated for our goodie bags!
I also got a delivery of some cute storage (using a gift card), and proceeded to start making some math toolkits for next year (post here!)

I've been blogging like a pirate ;) with The Primary Gal-who has an awesome book study going on!

Linked up with @theprimarygal for her Learn Like A Pirate book study-definitely som food for thought (and a fairly easy read)! 📖 #learnlap #arrrrrryoureadyforabookstudy #ilovebooks #iheartreading #teachersneverstoplearning #teachersummerwork #iteach456 #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teacherblogger #igteacher

A photo posted by Smiles & Sunshine (@smilesandsunshineteacher) on Jun 4, 2015 at 2:41pm PDT

Last, I spent some time with Google updating my blog! What do you think? ;)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Learn Like a Pirate~Chapter 2

Time for Chapter 2 with The Primary Gal!

This chapter is all about the concerns teachers will have about implementing a student-led classroom.

As I was reading it, I was thinking that my mind was being read! I definitely had some concerns, and while I didn't have all the concerns that were listed in the book, I did have some.

Here were some of the concerns I had:

One of my major concerns was giving up so much control/choice to my students-and it looks like a lot of others had the same concern! This was the first one addressed :)

But the best part is that teachers still have (what I call) veto power over student choice. That made me feel better, that I'll have the final say.

The next one was letting the students make mistakes. I do point out my mistakes to the students, to help them realize that everyone makes mistakes (and sometimes they catch them before me!),  but I sometimes find it hard not to get involved when I see the students make a mistake-I need to take a step back so they can struggle through on their own. They'll be better for it!

With everything else that we have to do, this will require some planning. There may be more time spent initially, but I believe the time put in at the beginning will pay off towards the end-just like anything we do!

You don't have to jump in whole hog-take a step at a time. I often forget towards the end of the year, how long it took for us to get to the point where the kids are super independent. Just like with learning a new skill, we do a little at a time before we're super good at it!

I would have thought that giving the students more choice and freedom would have led to more disruptions-but I was wrong there too! Students actually more engaged and less disruptive. School has become fun again, and they have some power-so power struggles should (hopefully) diminish.

I also had some concerns about the shyer students, who would probably not be as willing to try and be a leader. As someone who is introverted (but not necessarily shy-and there is a difference), I expend most of my energy at school. I can only encourage students to try and take risks-they'll more than likely be happy about it in the end! (Like going to a blogger meet-up-they're a lot of fun!)

Above all, we have to remember that the kids are there to learn and have fun! So if it gets a little noisy, that's ok! :)

Paul also lists the benefits of a student-led classroom-which I love!

Looking at the benefits, it makes so much sense to try and switch-and if it doesn't work, it shows our students that it is important to take risks, and that not all of them pan out.

 This chapter definitely helped ally my concerns-and I loved the benefits the students got from it!

(Especially where it fits with Danielson-since that's our eval model and worth 80% of my 'effectiveness' rating...)

I'm definitely excited to keep reading, and see where this takes us!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Reflect & Refresh ~ Part 1

As I was scrolling through my Insta-feed, I found this awesome linky from Mrs. D's Corner and Terrific Teaching and Learning!

It's all about reflecting on our school year-and the second part will be about refreshing our teaching for the new year!

Communication

I've been sending home monthly newsletters to the parents (the kids also write in their agendas about the important things) to help keep the parents informed!

I also started out really strong writing positive notes in their agendas for 2-3 kids a week-but it petered out in November/December. I really want to get back to that-maybe maybe make some sort of schedule for me to follow! (This year I had 16 kids-next year will be 22ish! I think I'll definitely need a schedule to keep me on track!)

Organization/Classroom Management

Once I got my iPad, I've bee using Evernote to help me track observations-it's come in very handy! (Especially when I have meetings about kiddos or when they switch classes).

I also started using GoNoodle for brain breaks-my 4ths even like to see the champions grow and think the dances are cool. :)

I've had a clip chart for a few years, but this year I really started focusing on the positive side of it. I hope to keep it working next year!

Content

We got a new math program this year, and while I survived and the kids ROCKED their Math MAPs,  I didn't feel that I was meeting the needs of all my kiddos. I have some thoughts on how to change that!

I also want to use entrance and exit slips better-they're a great way to get quick info about the kids knowledge. You could use Plickers for this, paper slips or post-its!

Summer Project

This summer I'll be spending a lot of quality time with our math program! From mapping out lessons, I'll be creating entrance and exit slips for each lesson, as well as task cards and videos (I hope!)

I'll also be creating some quick checks for each chapter that can be used as a pre and post assessment.

Wrote up a description for my summer project to be approved by the PD committee-fingers crossed! #needtogetmovingansgroovin #summerofmath #mathblockrevamp #teachersneverstoplearning #fourthgrade #math #iteach345 #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #igteacher

A photo posted by Smiles & Sunshine (@smilesandsunshineteacher) on May 13, 2015 at 4:31pm PDT

This will hopefully help me run a much smoother math block!

I also want to tackle my manipulative storage again and reorganize the storage in my room. It's starting to look messy again!

It started like this 3 years ago...

and ended like this...

It's definitely not as messy as the first picture, but it's not longer as nice and neat as the second and third! Time to start purging and reorganizing!

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

 

Monday Made It

Happy Monday! I only have one Monday left with kids (after today), and one Monday without kids! (They took away some of our in-service days to make up time for the kids during the year, but we still have to make them up as teachers.)

Over the summer, I'm planning on making exit slips, quick checks and task cards to go along with our math program. I've started by making task cards for the lessons I'm currently doing!

I had friends come for a visit last week, and we went to a paint night together!

I also did one back with another friend in March-but it's not one of my favorites (I let her pick:) .

I also worked on something for my blog (if I can get it to come out right!).

I crocheted a sun! (You know-for sunshine?! ;)

Now, if only I can crop the white parts out of it...

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Summer Reading

Even though I have 9.5  (+4 PD) days left until 'summer', I'm already thinking (and reading!) books for next year!

(End of June seems to be really productive for me school-wise-maybe because I have it fresh in my mind what I want to fix and the possibilities are endless?)

On that note, I'm linking up with Adventures of Room 129 for her summer reading linky!
Now, you can bet that I'll be downing the romance novels like candy. :)

So I thought I would focus on my professional reading instead!

First up is Learn Like a Pirate. The Primary Gal has a book study on this that I'm doing-I love reading different perspectives!

It was a nice, easy read, with some very interesting ideas about doing a student-led classroom. I enjoyed it (and took lots of notes!). I'll definitely be trying to incorporate some of the strategies next year!

I'll also be trying out Academic Conversations on for size!

I'm very interested in having more classroom discussions-and more thoughtful ones at that! I'm hoping this will be a good starting point!

I'll also be doing a reread of Guided Math, which I read for the first time 3 summers ago-and have a series of blog posts because it was a book study with Primary Inspired!

I'm not happy with the way my math block is running (and part of that was learning a new program this year), and don't feel like I'm reaching all the needs of my students.

I'm hoping to do an overhaul for next year, and I think rereading this will help me refocus on what I want to accomplish!

I'm sure that they'll be more books in there-after all, I'm a voracious reader (and wonder why some authors can't write faster so I can have new books! ;)-but those are the three I'm hoping to spend the most time with this summer!

What are you reading?

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Learn Like a Pirate~Chapter 1

It seems fitting that my 500th blog post is about a book study!


I'm joining with The Primary Gal for her Learn Like a Pirate study!

  Chapter 1 is all about the definition of a Student-Led Classroom.

As I was thinking about it, I realized that I try and include my students in the decisions we make-but I could probably be doing so much more!

I want my students to be truly independent problem-solvers, and thinkers, without having to rely on me for every decision.

This is something I think everyone needs to work on-to often, my students give up too easily, without wanting to put in the hard work and persevere! This is something we will definitely be working on next year!

I still have some concerns-as most teachers, I do like being in control-and I do think that there are some things that the teacher needs to have the final say in-but that's the next chapter!

This was my big takeaway from this chapter-and I agree wholeheartedly! If we don't have this, our classrooms can't run effectively-no matter what we do!

Even if you aren't on board with having a student-led classroom, this is something that I feel is non-negotiable as a teacher.

We're there to create a safe environment for our kids-and they need to feel this! This is something that every teacher should be on board with. It definitely helps your classroom run more smoothly when they do!

What are your thoughts on a student-led classroom?

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn

Home Office

I'm linking up with Lucky Little Learners and  Schroeder Shenanigans in 2nd for their Home Office linky.

This is 'technically' my 'Home Office'

Although it is more of a library than a home office...

I even have books stashed in the closet!

These are just SOME of my teacher books-I have them all over the place!

Where I really work is here, on this beauty (which is oh so comfy and nap approved-many times!:)

I have a TV Tray stand with everything I need on it-within easy reach!

When I know I'm going to be working on my computer a lot, I pull it over for easy reach and settle it in my lap.

This way, I can work more easily, and watch TV at the same time :)

So, my 'home office' is portable-although that room does make a lovely library and printer display! :)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn