New Job...New Adventures!!

A month ago, I was asked by my principal to loop to third grade with my class for next year, so I packed up ALL of my stuff and moved to our 3-5 building.  Amazed at how much junk I acquired over ten years, I cleaned out as I packed.  I threw away a ton of stuff and sent home a ton of stuff!  My kids were thrilled to take home posters about money and telling time.  I'm sure their parents weren't quite as thrilled because my clutter was now clutter in their homes, but I was happy to clean out!

Less than a week later, my world was turned upside down in the best way possible! In less than a week, I interviewed and was offered an Instructional Technology Facilitator position at another school in our county.  This year's class has been the best of my ten years and I am so sad that I can't loop with them, but this is my dream job!  Although I'm super nervous about the unknown, I am thrilled and cannot wait to start on this new adventure! 

So now, I'm back at school, unpacking, cleaning and repacking.  I'm not bringing a lot with me because I won't have my own classroom.  My sister's coming to get what she wants and the rest... well the rest is being left behind for the young teachers!  Being the pack rat that I am, it is very hard to leave stuff behind, especially, the awesome things I've gotten for my classroom through DonorsChoose donations!!

I feel like this new job will give me the time and the ideas for more blogging!!  So get ready, but first a little time at the beach!

To get a sneak peak of some things I'm hoping to try this year in my new job, check out my Technology Tidbits Pinterest Page

PS. I'm also a guest blogger over on Fractus Learning now.  Check out a couple of my posts.

The One Battle You Should Stop Fighting as a Teacher

“Sit down in your chair.”

We’ve all said it, but why??  Is it really necessary that students sit in a traditional desk and chair all day long??  On second thought, forget necessary… is it best practice?

I’d argue unequivocally NO!  

Students need a comfortable learning environment and providing students with the opportunity to choose where they sit allows students to have some control over the way that they learn best.  This year, we’ve experimented with alternative seating options and it’s been very positive for all involved!  This is easy to do and can be done in classrooms with tables or traditional desks, so stop fighting your students’ wiggles and give your students the choice about where and how they learn best!

Let’s take a tour of our different seating options.  

 

Students LOVE the FLOOR TABLE, which is lowered close to the ground so that students can kneel, sit on cushions and stools while learning.  The cushions were donated by a few of our class parents.  When students don’t need to write on the table, we often see them laying next to it reading or completing computer assignments.  I may need to add another low table soon since so many students enjoyed learning here.

We all have those students who LOVE to shimmy and shake all day long!  These next two table options are for them!

The STANDING TABLE was raised so that students can comfortably stand and lean against the table while working.  This is a favorite with about 5 students.  While my original intention was for this table to only be for standing, the students requested chairs, so I was able to get a few larger chairs allowing students to sit comfortably when they wanted.

HOKKI STOOLS are simply AMAZING!! I wanted some seating that allowed students to move and wiggle without being a complete distraction to others around them.  I considered exercise balls, but they seemed bulky and I didn’t want to lose a lot of floor space or have kids rolling off the balls.  Hokki Stools are the perfect solution!  Students are able to rock and wiggle in their seats while completing work.   

I was able to get six Hokki Stools for my classroom through the website DonorsChoose.org.  It took a lot of hustling to raise the money, but thanks to some community support, a few family and friends, and several  anonymous donations, we were able to get our project funded.

Some students prefer a more traditional spot to complete their work, so we have two Traditional Tables in our classroom.  Even at these tables, our students don’t have to sit, they always have the option to stand at the table or grab a clipboard and work on the floor.

These LAP DESKS are great!  I got them from a teacher who was cleaning and getting rid of them.  She couldn’t believe how excited I was when she gave them to me, but I had a vision of how they could fit in with our alternative seating choices.  

Here’s a few tips to help you transform your learning space:

• Start with what you have.  The end of the year is just around the corner.  This means that teachers will start cleaning and getting rid of things they don’t want anymore.  Take a walk around the school or send an email out to see if anyone’s giving away something you could use.
• Make friends with your school custodians!!  If you’re extra friendly, they’ll help you adjust the height of your tables.
• Make your expectations clear to students.  They need to know exactly how they will choose their seats.  Will you allow them to choose daily, weekly, or let them change depending on the activities?

There are a ton of other alternative seating options.  I’m looking to add a few more next year!  

• Other Alternative Seating Options
• Wiggle Seats
• Bicycle Pedals
• Bean Bag Chairs - I’m dying to get a few of these for my classroom!!
• Exercise Balls
• Floor Mats
• Crate Seats
• Couches and Small Chairs - IKEA is a great place to find small and functional furniture for the classroom.

No Fear!

No fear has been my motto for the year.  I didn't know it until recently, but this year, I'm taking leaps.  I'm tired of the status quo, so this year, I'm taking risks.  My risks are calculated, but I'm all about giving up control and allowing my students to be the drivers of their own learning.

Two of the biggest changes I've made are implementing Genius Hour and Online Homework.  Both of these new programs give students more choice in regards to their learning and both required a lot of planning to implement successfully.

Genius Hour

We started Genius Hour during the second month of school.  It was scary to take time away from traditional classroom instruction and allow students so much freedom, but it has been an amazing experience for both my students and myself.  We spend one hour every Friday allowing students to follow their passions.  Students research a topic of their choosing and can work in groups or individually.  Students must create a product/presentation to share their new learning with the class.

So far this year, students have studied:

• jewelry making
• hairstyling
• computer programming
• pyramids
• volcanoes
• electronics
• movie making
• stop animation

It's been amazing to watch students learn with excitement!  I absolutely LOVE Genius Hour.  Next year, I'll be changing the title to Wonder Workshop.  I think it fits better with my classroom environment.  I'll add more posts soon about Genius Hour with specifics about how we started it in our classroom.

Online Homework 

In November, I started playing around with the idea of having students complete their homework digitally.  We are a 1:1 school, so our students do a lot of their learning online and it was starting to feel a little ridiculous that students were doing paper-pencil homework that didn't really align with 

how we were learning in class.

My first step before starting online homework was to survey the parents. My survey including questions such as:

• Do you have a computer or tablet at home?
• Do you have internet access?
• Are you interested in having your child complete homework online?
• What questions or concerns do you have about online homework?

After having buy-in from about half of my class, I had to find the best platform for our online learning space.  I really liked some of the features of Google Classroom, but it seemed to be lacking in the area of keeping parents involved, which is essential to the success of online work for second graders, so I quickly crossed that one off my list.  I also explored Edmodo, but just couldn't get a good feel for it.  I finally settled on Schoology, which was a great choice because my county had already created usernames and passwords for all of our students, so that was one less step for me to complete. 

Next, I began using it in class and teaching students how to use it.  Then, I invited parents in for an orientation, so that they would become familiar and be able to help their child if any questions/problems arise.  At the parent orientation, I gave a short spiel about why we were doing online homework and then turned it over to the kids who in turn taught their parents all about Schoology.  It was awesome!  Kids were teaching their parents about our online classroom and the parents were so impressed that their children were so knowledgeable.

Last week was our first full week of online homework.  We hit a couple of bumps in the road, but we worked through them and this week should go a little more smoothly.  

So you may be wondering what type of homework I assign through Schoology.  I'll share specifics in future posts, but for now, I'll say that I give choice, so students have 2-4 choices each week.  They only have to complete one assignment, but all choices are available to them if they'd like to try more. 

Wow! Talk about a long post!!  I'm going to try to be better at posting weekly.  I'd love to hear what you are doing that has forced you to let go and give the power of learning to your students. 

Technology Contracts

I'm working on creating a Technology Use Contract for my classroom.  Last year, we had some problems with not having the same rules throughout the school or consistently enforcing rules and procedures that our school had in place regarding technology - this led to damage and loss of equipment.  This year, our school is rolling out a 1:1 technology program, in order for this to be a success I feel it is it important that we hold our students to high standards, but this starts with holding our teachers to high standards.  I'm a 2nd grade teacher and last I heard, our students will be using Macbook Airs, so I created our contracts based on our experiences last year and with a little help from Google.  Many of the contracts that came up when I searched were for middle and high schools, so I had to do a lot of modification.  I'm hoping to share this with my administration and tech team.  Ideally, the whole school would use it, so that we are all functioning under the same set of rules and expectations.

So, now I need your help.  Check out what we've created and give us some feedback.  What would you add, take out, or change.  Feedback is needed and welcomed.  Thanks!!  If you'd like to use it, I'll be adding it to my TpT store when it's completed in the next week or so.  Anyone who leaves a comment can have it for free.  I'll be making it "pretty" with fun fonts and clipart.

PS.  If you read my first  draft of this, some of which made no sense - my apologies! This is why I should not be posting at 12 am.

And the Blogging Continues

I have a secret to admit, I love the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year.

Okay, that might not exactly be a complete truth.  No teacher LOVES the end of summer, but I do like a fresh start.

I like to go into a clean classroom with freshly washed carpets and waxed floors (SHOUT OUT to all the awesome school custodians who work hard in the summers to get the schools spotless for us) and arranged my furniture for the new year.  I like to think about how I am going to be a better teacher for my students in the upcoming year.

Usually, I don't go to school until August, but this year, I've been working as a counselor at our school sponsored NASA camp, so I've been at school already and my wheels are turning.

I've already started working on things for Open House.  This year, I'm going to have Stations set up to direct students and their parents around the room.  I'm hoping this will help keep families busy and engaged while I'm talking to families.  I'm sure you've all experienced that family that corners you and you can't escape!  Eeek!!  I'm including my station signs below.  If you'd like to use them, I'll be adding  an editable version of them to my TpT store in the upcoming weeks, so keep an eye out.

I'm a Blogger!

For me, being a blogger is like making a new year's resolution.  Every time I start a new blog, I have great intentions, but am lousy with the follow through.  I'll write for 2-3 days, not even weeks and then I'll forget about it, or get busy, or just give up,  but this time it is going to be different.

Okay, I know what you are thinking. You're thinking that's what I say every year on January 1st and you're right.  So, how is this blog going to be different from the ten other blogs I've tried to start over the years.

First step, I've made my blog look fun!  I called my sister Liz and asked her how to make it look awesome because let's be honest, we all know, if it doesn't grab our eye, we're on to the next thing.  I also bought some clipart from Krista Wallden over at TeachersPayTeachers to jazz up my webpage.

I'm not going to lie it took me a few hours to get my blog exactly how I wanted it to look, but now I'm pretty happy with it.  So now I just have to figure out how to stay motivated and keep writing.  Got any suggestions??

PS.  You should check out my sister Liz's Blog too!