It started off as another wild idea (as most of my ideas usually do). As a true Amazing Race Canada fan, I loved sitting back with a bowl of popcorn and watch groupS of adventurous Canadians battle through extreme challenges and road blocks as they traveled through our beautiful country.
When creating our "Lakewood is Happy" video last spring, it amazed me of how much of our unique city, our kids don't get the chance to see. Heck, I haven't even seen a lot of these places.
I was sitting back one day thinking... how amazing would it be to load up a bus of kids and run around exploring the city of Winnipeg... PRETTY AMAZING!
It started off with a wild idea that I brought to my dear friend and colleague, @syard2. In absolute no time, and I mean, literally that day, we had started drafting locations, times, routes and letters to send to different locations around Winnipeg.
Within the next 3 weeks, we emailed, phoned and corresponded with a variety of different locations. All that responded with: Yes! Of course you can stop off here... I wish I was in your class - this sounds amazing!
The best part.. the kids had NO IDEA where we were taking them. As we stayed up until 12:30am the Friday before, we created official clues that students had to figure out so that they could get to the next location. During bus travel times, we had created a "route information" folder that where shared different facts and information about the location we were going to. But.. sometimes..we also had ROAD BLOCKS! Students were given yes/no cards and they had to guess whether or not the fact/statement we shared was true or false.
Not only did we, as teachers HAVE SO MUCH FUN PLANNING & GOING ON this adventure, our STUDENTS had even MORE FUN.. and most importantly REALLY GOT TO KNOW THEIR CITY! What better way to learn the curriculum than by jumping on a bus and exploring their Winnipeg community.
We also didn't realize that we'd be taking parents on our field trip! As we tweeted out our clues and locations throughout the day, parents and everyone in their office were following along with us! They would comment and make guesses for different locations. One parent stated "that the whole office was asking where they were headed to next and to keep them updated as they went into a meeting!"
A TRUE FIELD TRIP FOR ALL!
We have to of course thank our administrator for letting us "run with this amazing (and wild) idea!"
We also need to thank:
- Tony's Team Transport and our bus driver Robert
- Ace Burpee, LTI and Chrissy Troy from Virgin 103 Radio
- The Manitoba Museum and its staff
- The Royal Canadian Mint and its staff
- The Legislative Building (and our amazing tour guide Daisy)
- The Winnipeg Airport (and its staff)
It took a lot of planning, A LOT! ... but it was absolutely SO WORTH IT in every single way!
As students reached their final pit stop, they were exhausted .... but also excited. Many of them thanked us for an exciting day and for creating this adventure for them.
CLICK HERE FOR OUR ANIMOTO VIDEO (video coming soon.....check back last week of Nov)
Until next time.... :)
-N
Sunday 9 November 2014
Sunday 26 October 2014
SAGE Reflections
After several months of planning with @ZBettess SAGE was finally underway! Reflecting on this day is important to me as an educator because it's the one day that educators all over Manitoba can connect, collaborate and share!
I was very fortunate that we were able to bring in leading educators such as: @bluebomber6, @msmclauchlan, @sorokowskij, @room_ten, @amckiel, @jennmarieco, @MLBertram and @Cheri_L_Banks ! A fully locked and loaded team who shared amazing concepts, lessons, projects and topics with our 40 participants!
It is important to remember that technology is just the tool that we connect with. It is not a separate entity! When we take part in global projects and make connections with other classrooms, students are learning so much more beyond the Manitoba Curriculum!
Listening to our team of presenters (along with myself and co-organizer, @ZBettess) made me think about how many great teachers are out there, sharing and inspiring other teachers.
These are the reasons why this day is important. SAGE is important so that "the inspired" can continue to inspire. That the "leaders" and "collaborators" are sharing with those wanting to learn and take the initiatives to lead back at their own school.
@680CJOB, the only thing that Manitoba Teachers were "raking" on Friday... Were new innovative ways to inspire, energize and connect our Manitoba Children to a world of possibilities.
N
Saturday 11 October 2014
The Power of Co-Teaching
When fellow friend and classroom neighbour, @syard2 said "let's plan one period a cycle together with our classrooms" - I thought GREAT! We'll do some stories, an art project or two......
Who knew how powerful co-teaching was. In the past, we always tried our best to plan similar activities to ensure we were using common samples for assessment and to inform our instruction. We would casually chat about similar topics and when we were teaching what themes - but once we actually started teaching together - side by side in front of both our classrooms - that's when I truly began to realize the power of what we were doing ... and wondering... WHAT TOOK US SO LONG TO DO THIS?!
After about a week or two trying out our "1 period per cycle" we started realizing that we wanted to plan more detailed projects and activities. We found that both our kids became....both our kids - so to speak. Her students would come up to me telling me things in the morning; just like my kids would go see her and tell them about their weekend. Our students started hanging out more at recess and we realized that we had not only built "community" within our classrooms separately, but we also built "a Room 14&15 community"- a joint community that shared and worked together. Our kids felt comfortable with each other and the opposite teacher.
So we decided- "we have to do more of this!"
When we sat down last week talking about what the students got out of our co-teaching, but then we started reflecting what we each got out of this new plan. We found ourselves listing nothing but positives!
Teaching next to another teacher is not only double the learning for our students, but its' double the learning for us as teachers. I'm seeing different ways to introduce things. I find the way @syard1 has a knack for higher-level questioning with students. She sneaks it in, in the perfect moment!
It was a lightbulb reminder "Oh yeah, I need to beef that up a little with my kids." I am a huge believer that teachers learn from each other - and that's exactly what co-teaching is giving me - more learning!
Our co-teaching/co-planning has come so far in 2 short months that we're already planning several activities a week together with our classrooms and...a massive field trip that kids could only dream of! We're both partaking in the #gra14 (Global Read Aloud) project and completing supporting activities together.
Co-planning --- essentially 2 heads ARE better than 1.. and you get things prepped quicker! I used to spend 2+ hours a week planning and prepping materials for the following week, ensuring I had everything done ahead of time. With co-planning, you plan together, split up the work and bring it all back, ready for teaching!
Co-teaching allows each of us to have individual accountabilities and bring them together to give our students the best possible learning opportunities both academic and social.
Co-teaching is definitely working between Rooms 14 and 15 this year. The only thing we have struggled with thus far is the thought of...... "what took us so long to do this?!"
Don't be afraid to give it a try! :)
N
Who knew how powerful co-teaching was. In the past, we always tried our best to plan similar activities to ensure we were using common samples for assessment and to inform our instruction. We would casually chat about similar topics and when we were teaching what themes - but once we actually started teaching together - side by side in front of both our classrooms - that's when I truly began to realize the power of what we were doing ... and wondering... WHAT TOOK US SO LONG TO DO THIS?!
After about a week or two trying out our "1 period per cycle" we started realizing that we wanted to plan more detailed projects and activities. We found that both our kids became....both our kids - so to speak. Her students would come up to me telling me things in the morning; just like my kids would go see her and tell them about their weekend. Our students started hanging out more at recess and we realized that we had not only built "community" within our classrooms separately, but we also built "a Room 14&15 community"- a joint community that shared and worked together. Our kids felt comfortable with each other and the opposite teacher.
So we decided- "we have to do more of this!"
When we sat down last week talking about what the students got out of our co-teaching, but then we started reflecting what we each got out of this new plan. We found ourselves listing nothing but positives!
Teaching next to another teacher is not only double the learning for our students, but its' double the learning for us as teachers. I'm seeing different ways to introduce things. I find the way @syard1 has a knack for higher-level questioning with students. She sneaks it in, in the perfect moment!
It was a lightbulb reminder "Oh yeah, I need to beef that up a little with my kids." I am a huge believer that teachers learn from each other - and that's exactly what co-teaching is giving me - more learning!
Our co-teaching/co-planning has come so far in 2 short months that we're already planning several activities a week together with our classrooms and...a massive field trip that kids could only dream of! We're both partaking in the #gra14 (Global Read Aloud) project and completing supporting activities together.
Co-planning --- essentially 2 heads ARE better than 1.. and you get things prepped quicker! I used to spend 2+ hours a week planning and prepping materials for the following week, ensuring I had everything done ahead of time. With co-planning, you plan together, split up the work and bring it all back, ready for teaching!
Co-teaching allows each of us to have individual accountabilities and bring them together to give our students the best possible learning opportunities both academic and social.
Co-teaching is definitely working between Rooms 14 and 15 this year. The only thing we have struggled with thus far is the thought of...... "what took us so long to do this?!"
Don't be afraid to give it a try! :)
N
Tuesday 3 June 2014
Let them NOT take a #selfie
I’ve really enjoyed the #eduphotoaday and #mathphotoaday
challenges happening in May and June this year. More importantly, my kids are
enjoying it! Besides the academic focus that these photo challenges bring such
as looking around their world to make real-life connections with mathematics
and the natural environment, I believe it’s teaching my kids something else
that they haven’t figured out.
Not to take the infamous #selfie.
In today’s Insta-World, the concept of “selfie” has emerged
as the trending hashtag and posts on many social media sites. The actual
definition of selfie, was officially added to the Oxford Dictionary back in
August 2013.
When the ipads first arrived in my classroom, we talked a lot about asking permission when
taking someone elses’ photo, keeping a person’s privacy and respecting the
privacy of yourself and others. Of course, all kids like taking photos and
having photos taken of themselves. After a few weeks, I went to go and wipe out
some of the photo storage on the ipads and it seems that during choice time
that week, my kids decided to take some selfies. As I scrolled through about 3 or 4 photos of
these 2 girls, it was evidently clear that they knew what they were doing. I,
of course, let it go and didn’t bring it up to the girls. Why? Because the best
was yet to come… a teachable moment!
Over the next few weeks, talks of Justin Bieber’s legal
troubles emerged, Miley Cyrus was “making her statements” or whatever you call
what she was doing with her tongue and those 6 foot bears on stage. As these
celebrities’’ “life and times” were showing up on the news, through social
media sites and among other adults’ conversations, the (quiet) conversations
started to happen in my class. We had talks about what they thought of these
celebrities and so-called, once upon a time role models. It was interesting. We
then got on the topic of “selfies” and the selfie song that often plays on the
radio.
It was very interesting to listen to some of the kids’
perspectives. Some of them would joke and laugh during recess and say “let me
take a selfie.” Then – Ellen happened! Her epic group selfie came out. This was
the perfect time to talk about what’s important – yourself – or being with a
group of people and making a memory. We began talking about the shift from
SELFie to commYOUnity. Students began
shifting the way they saw themselves and the world around them and who they
wanted to be in that world.
After some time, the #mathphotoaday and #eduphotoadaymay
challenges came out on Instagram and Twitter. These two challenges encouraged
my kids to continue on that path of shifting away from the SELFie, and move
towards the world around them. They began to work together as a group, find the
beauty in the world around them and stop looking directly into the camera and
be tempted to take that photo and put it out there.
Of course, this is not to say that kids are not going to
fool around on photo booth and photo apps to take pictures of themselves and
play around with them. They’re kids and they need to have fun and explore. I am pretty impressed that there’s no more
selfies showing up on my class ipads though! J
More importantly, what I hope these challenges have taught my students is that
it’s not all about THEM. I hope that they don’t get consumed by the “selfie
phenomenon” and get caught up with all the social emotional disasters attached
to this new “trend.” There are so many
hidden dangers with selfies down the road that I don’t think these kids realize
yet. The number of “likes” and “comments” that can be attached to a selfie can
lead to some pretty scary things down the road.
So here is where I say thank you to :
@erinbrie , @bluebomber6 and
@ZBettess
#mathphotoaday and #eduphotoaday events have helped my kids
make (and keep) that shift happening. These challenges have taught them :
-
To be thoughtful an concious as to what they
will put out into the world
-
Help shift from the SELFie to the
commYOUnity. Be part of something
bigger!
-
Learn It’s not all about ME.. It’s about the
world around me (and my connection to it)
-
Connect with other classrooms and schools
-
Some fun photography skills!
Tuesday 13 May 2014
Give Them Experiences, Not Checkmarks
My, my it's been too long! I know that my blog was going to be a reflective part of my teaching and learning as an educator but sometimes life just catches up with you. In having wedding social, bridal shower within the past 2 months ....and overall - planning a wedding - thats only less than 3 months away----time tends to escape you!
"Return of the @nnevieri"
I have never felt like I've been in such a "great spot" with my students, as I have been the past two months. April/May is the time of year in a classroom where things are just right. Everything is working like a well-oiled machine, as a teacher you loosen up with the kids more, kids are meeting the individual goals they've set for themselves (and even as a teacher, the ones that you hope they'd meet).
On the other hand, for some, this is that time of year where teachers begin to stress and panic. Assessment time is upon us and we tend to start getting out the checklists and start to make our little checkmarks. Well, not in my classroom (and I'm hoping not in most).
Of course, there's always assessment that is required and I'm not saying that it should be put to the wayside or not important. But...by this time in the year, if you truly know your students. If you truly, have that connection and investment with you students. There's no need to get out that red pen and begin the stressing and panicking. If you truly know your kids....you know where they are. You know where they came from and how hard they have worked to get where they are. Most importantly, you look at their learning experiences!
Some teachers get so caught up in outcomes and expectations and checking off those boxes in rigid rubrics, that they forget to look at the whole child and the whole learning experience. They forget that learning is an experience, not a checklist. You must be thinking, "what are you ranting about, of course you need to keep track of their progress and achievements! Don't you?!." Yes! I agree! I do! Student progress, achievement and assessment need to be monitored and recorded - you need that data to assess and plan for future teaching. But we also need to stop pigeon-holing kids due to test scores and random worksheets based on what outcomes you were planning on teaching that day.
As a teacher, I rarely look at my curriculum documents and plan which learning outcomes are going to be met a specific day or week (as some teachers still do). I look at the experiences I want my students to have related to that unit of study. Honest to goodness------99.9999% of the time, when I go back and open that document, I have hit every single outcome in that unit.
Essentially, I believe in not getting caught up on checking off the outcomes that you're "getting through." What student gets excited about "getting through" a unit?
Kids "get through" waiting to go to the bathroom when you've told them to hold it until you're done explaining a lesson.
Kids "get through" waiting for kids to stop talking, so that their class can start walking to gym class.
Kids "get through" holding back tears when they've skinned their knee on the playground, so their friends won't see them cry.
Do we really want them to "get through" learning?
Do we really want them to cover the curriculum rather than "DISCOVERING" it?
What good is a checkmark in a teacher's book, if they don't understand the concepts?
What good is a checkmark in a teacher's book, if they don't experience the excitement in the learning?
Unfortunately, there are still teachers who take these next 2 months to stress, panic and make checkmarks on outcomes they've "gotten through."
Hopefully, this has inspired a new way of using learning experiences rather than strictly outcome-driven checkmarks for assessment.
Remember to DISCOVER, not COVER all the wonderful things your students are yearning to experience.
-Nadia :)
"Return of the @nnevieri"
I have never felt like I've been in such a "great spot" with my students, as I have been the past two months. April/May is the time of year in a classroom where things are just right. Everything is working like a well-oiled machine, as a teacher you loosen up with the kids more, kids are meeting the individual goals they've set for themselves (and even as a teacher, the ones that you hope they'd meet).
On the other hand, for some, this is that time of year where teachers begin to stress and panic. Assessment time is upon us and we tend to start getting out the checklists and start to make our little checkmarks. Well, not in my classroom (and I'm hoping not in most).
Of course, there's always assessment that is required and I'm not saying that it should be put to the wayside or not important. But...by this time in the year, if you truly know your students. If you truly, have that connection and investment with you students. There's no need to get out that red pen and begin the stressing and panicking. If you truly know your kids....you know where they are. You know where they came from and how hard they have worked to get where they are. Most importantly, you look at their learning experiences!
Some teachers get so caught up in outcomes and expectations and checking off those boxes in rigid rubrics, that they forget to look at the whole child and the whole learning experience. They forget that learning is an experience, not a checklist. You must be thinking, "what are you ranting about, of course you need to keep track of their progress and achievements! Don't you?!." Yes! I agree! I do! Student progress, achievement and assessment need to be monitored and recorded - you need that data to assess and plan for future teaching. But we also need to stop pigeon-holing kids due to test scores and random worksheets based on what outcomes you were planning on teaching that day.
As a teacher, I rarely look at my curriculum documents and plan which learning outcomes are going to be met a specific day or week (as some teachers still do). I look at the experiences I want my students to have related to that unit of study. Honest to goodness------99.9999% of the time, when I go back and open that document, I have hit every single outcome in that unit.
Essentially, I believe in not getting caught up on checking off the outcomes that you're "getting through." What student gets excited about "getting through" a unit?
Kids "get through" waiting to go to the bathroom when you've told them to hold it until you're done explaining a lesson.
Kids "get through" waiting for kids to stop talking, so that their class can start walking to gym class.
Kids "get through" holding back tears when they've skinned their knee on the playground, so their friends won't see them cry.
Do we really want them to "get through" learning?
Do we really want them to cover the curriculum rather than "DISCOVERING" it?
What good is a checkmark in a teacher's book, if they don't understand the concepts?
What good is a checkmark in a teacher's book, if they don't experience the excitement in the learning?
Unfortunately, there are still teachers who take these next 2 months to stress, panic and make checkmarks on outcomes they've "gotten through."
Hopefully, this has inspired a new way of using learning experiences rather than strictly outcome-driven checkmarks for assessment.
Remember to DISCOVER, not COVER all the wonderful things your students are yearning to experience.
-Nadia :)
Wednesday 26 February 2014
Knock, Knock...
Who's There?
…………ManACE TIN NIGHT!
When @amckiel emailed and asked me to present at ManAce's (Manitoba Association of Computing Educators) TIN (Technology Information Night). I thought what a great opportunity to showcase what I'm doing at my school!l At Lakewood I've been transforming our "old school P.A announcements" to our vivacious LAKEWOOD LIVE daily newscasts!
I've always attended tech-education PDs and conferences in the past and made it a personal and professional goal to eventually be able to give a presentation on something that I was truly passionate about, within the realm of technology.
Tonight I was honoured to showcase all the wonderful things Lakewood Live has done for our school. These daily news reports involve our students delivering announcements in an exciting and engaging way. Parents and the school community can access these videos via YouTube (through a private blog address). LAKEWOOD LIVE LINKS
Lakewood Live allows for children to develop student voice, leadership and academic skills while connecting to the Lakewood community (students, staff and parents). When I first got started, I felt a little unsure if my "early years" project would be applicable to a roomful of high school teachers. As the presentation went on, I saw some head nods and laughs from the crowd from our energetic grade 4/5 presenters. My hopes were that maybe this idea/project would spark another idea that would make it applicable / suitable for them to use in the middle years / high school years format.
Tonight I was also inspired by our other two presenters, @msmclauchlan and @Henderson204.
@msmclauchlan (Tara) talked about her inspiring journey of having her high school students create "Bucket Lists" and acting on them. It had me thinking about how to take her idea and transfer it to an elementary level approach. How awesome to have my 7 and 8 year olds think about what they want to accomplish…and most importantly act on it. My favourite quote that I took from her tonight…
" If you put something out into the world…..you need to stand behind it"
(@msmclauchlan)
What do they want to accomplish by the end of the week? Act of kindness? reading a certain book?
What do they want to accomplish by the end of the month? New skill in the gym?
What do they want to accomplish by the end of the school year?
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea and LOVE what Tara is doing to ignite creativity and passion within her students!
Up next, @Henderson204!
Matt is a passionate history high school history teacher - brownie points --- I majored in history in University. Matt talked about having students create their own social networks. He talked about the cautions of social media and the message behind who are you "selling yourself to" when you join social media platforms. I looked at SM a little differently tonight. Matt brought some great hot topics to the table in regards to SM. He uses wordpress to blog and through wordpress, creates his own social network for his students to comment and connect through when working on digital projects. SM in the classroom can be quite the controversial topic for teachers, administrators and parents.
SM can do many great things. I blog and use Twitter with my grade 2/3s. We talk about the ethical and responsible use of technology and social media on a daily basis. My students have had the opportunities to interact with classrooms all over Canada, the US, Japan, China, England and Germany. It's been quite the exciting journey and we're only at the end of February!
Overall, I took away more than what I think I gave! I hoped to share one school's journey on modernizing daily announcements that incorporated student voice, leadership and community involvement. What I got from TIN tonight was another 2 or 3 ideas to bring back with me and start cooking with!
TIN was a great opportunity to not only grab some great ideas from other educators, but also check off a personal and professional item on my own "bucket list" (talking to a group of people about something that I am truly passionate about).
Passionate because each time I hit that record button, there are 228 smiles that light up and become connected to their school community in an exciting and engaging way!
N
Friday 14 February 2014
Creating a Culture of Kindness…. OR….. Was It Already There?
Today I was expecting the same old "Valentines Craziness" with my class of Monsters! (No, really we're the Room 14 Monsters) They truly are an absolutely FABULOUS CLASS that I am so lucky to have! This morning driving to work, I began dreading the expected sugar rush running through their veins and knew it was going to be one of those "3 cups of coffees before lunch" days!
As we kicked off our morning with the kids having their 100 Day Cereal Breakfast together, a little mellow playlist on Songza running through the speakers, I puttered about the room cleaning up a bit…..then I found myself really listening to the conversations these guys were having. Sometimes as teachers we spend so much talking at them or with them, that we forget to listen to our students. And I don't mean listen in the sense that we listen to their needs and wants - but TRULY listen in the way they relate to each other. There's the usual "hellos, good mornings and how are you's" that we all hear in our classrooms each day. But, this morning as I listened in on the conversations, I found they ran a little deeper… I heard a few kids ask each other how their night was. Did they sleep well? How their Taekwondo lesson was last night. These kids were truly relating to each other on a different level. It wasn't just the relating, ongoings and conversations of a bunch of kids who just "go to school together" and have their "school-related" small-talk. It was them taking a true interest in each others lives.
Now.. was this part of my "great plan" of creating this strong classroom culture? Or… was it that it was the internal "good" and kindness of these 7 and 8 year olds that just made them … GREAT. KIND. CARING. THOUGHTFUL.
I'm pretty notorious for spending the first 2 months of school focussed strictly on creating classroom community. That is one thing I have always said that as a teacher I wanted first before I even looked at the curriculum. I truly wanted my kids to feel connected, to know that when they walk through that classroom door, we are one big (monster) family. I wanted what every other teacher out there wants…. for them to feel safe, loved and feel like they matter!
As the day went on, it was time to hand out valentine cards, lollipops, candy hearts and packages of Fun Dip (eek!). When all my students returned to their desks to open up and go through their valentines, all of a sudden the volume went from 0 to 100 in 20 seconds! … but in an amazing way.
As students were going through their cards, they were shouting out "thank you" to each individual person. They opened up each valentine, read the inside, looked around the room to make eye contact with that person and belted out a HUGE, LOUD "Thank You"….personalizing each one! "Thank you, *Sarah! I love Monster High!" "Thank you, *Cody - these monster pencils are great!" "Thank you for the cookie, *Sam! They look delicious!"…. even for a child who did not have valentine cards to hand out (I printed some extra off for him earlier in the day) - even though the kids had seen he had gotten them from me - they still thanked him and made him feel like he wasn't any different----- "Hey Mathew*, I love that your valentines are pink!" shouted one student to him. . .. and so on and so on!
I looked around the room and thought to myself "….without direction, without prompting, not a single adult intervention - these kids were truly.. kind. They were caring, empathetic, understanding, all of the above!
So I still wonder…..Was I looking at the product of a teacher's continuous dedication and focus to create a tight-knitt classroom community … or ……was it truly coming from deep inside of them? In the end I decided……….. the question doesn't need an answer…. just enjoy the moments as they happen.
Happy Valentine's Day!
N
As we kicked off our morning with the kids having their 100 Day Cereal Breakfast together, a little mellow playlist on Songza running through the speakers, I puttered about the room cleaning up a bit…..then I found myself really listening to the conversations these guys were having. Sometimes as teachers we spend so much talking at them or with them, that we forget to listen to our students. And I don't mean listen in the sense that we listen to their needs and wants - but TRULY listen in the way they relate to each other. There's the usual "hellos, good mornings and how are you's" that we all hear in our classrooms each day. But, this morning as I listened in on the conversations, I found they ran a little deeper… I heard a few kids ask each other how their night was. Did they sleep well? How their Taekwondo lesson was last night. These kids were truly relating to each other on a different level. It wasn't just the relating, ongoings and conversations of a bunch of kids who just "go to school together" and have their "school-related" small-talk. It was them taking a true interest in each others lives.
Now.. was this part of my "great plan" of creating this strong classroom culture? Or… was it that it was the internal "good" and kindness of these 7 and 8 year olds that just made them … GREAT. KIND. CARING. THOUGHTFUL.
I'm pretty notorious for spending the first 2 months of school focussed strictly on creating classroom community. That is one thing I have always said that as a teacher I wanted first before I even looked at the curriculum. I truly wanted my kids to feel connected, to know that when they walk through that classroom door, we are one big (monster) family. I wanted what every other teacher out there wants…. for them to feel safe, loved and feel like they matter!
As the day went on, it was time to hand out valentine cards, lollipops, candy hearts and packages of Fun Dip (eek!). When all my students returned to their desks to open up and go through their valentines, all of a sudden the volume went from 0 to 100 in 20 seconds! … but in an amazing way.
As students were going through their cards, they were shouting out "thank you" to each individual person. They opened up each valentine, read the inside, looked around the room to make eye contact with that person and belted out a HUGE, LOUD "Thank You"….personalizing each one! "Thank you, *Sarah! I love Monster High!" "Thank you, *Cody - these monster pencils are great!" "Thank you for the cookie, *Sam! They look delicious!"…. even for a child who did not have valentine cards to hand out (I printed some extra off for him earlier in the day) - even though the kids had seen he had gotten them from me - they still thanked him and made him feel like he wasn't any different----- "Hey Mathew*, I love that your valentines are pink!" shouted one student to him. . .. and so on and so on!
I looked around the room and thought to myself "….without direction, without prompting, not a single adult intervention - these kids were truly.. kind. They were caring, empathetic, understanding, all of the above!
So I still wonder…..Was I looking at the product of a teacher's continuous dedication and focus to create a tight-knitt classroom community … or ……was it truly coming from deep inside of them? In the end I decided……….. the question doesn't need an answer…. just enjoy the moments as they happen.
Happy Valentine's Day!
N
Wednesday 12 February 2014
Inspired To Jump!
Well maybe that wasn't the "best" way to catch your attention! Don't worry, I'm not jumping off a bridge or a cliff! …..but I am jumping…. into blogging! Blogging (for professional growth) HAS been on my mind for a while now. It's not the logistics or "how-to's" of blogging that was stopping me from starting. I keep a class blog with my students and blog about twice a week. This wasn't the problem.
It came down to purpose. What was the purpose (who cares? whose actually going to read it?). It was also making the time - how much time do I dedicate spewing text onto something that I wasn't sure was purposeful! So time went on… and no blog.
Then I joined my first #mbedchat last Wednesday. I loved the experience of being able to connect with other educators that had the same passion of technology, social media, connectedness, and collaboration! Tonight I participated in my second #mbedchat (pecan praline coffee in hand) waiting to tweet, share and learn from many other like-minded educators! @ZBettess and @DanaAriss moderated a chat on collaboration. The topic of blogs came up for professional growth/use. The topic peaked my interested……. So, I started to explore blogs from other educators that were linked on the #mbedchat blog. I found myself getting sidetracked from #mbedchat and lost into all these educators' blogs. I was inspired. Simple! I read through them and realized on just how many paths you can go down once you connect, collaborate, read, share, tweet, retweet - whatever! The possibilities are endless.
So… in the middle of a 1 hour #mbedchat I began to ask myself… Do I start? Do I jump in and blog……Am I ready to take this on? Then @shareski jumped into the conversation! I read his blog on "How To Make Better Teachers" . Blogging allows us to connect, share and reflect on our practices. My first thought: "He's lucky that I don't like golf……" Reading half way through his blog, I felt like my feet were right on the edge, I was almost ready to take the plunge….
As @shareski explained- blogging "allows us to be accountable." It made me started thinking of the possibilities. It's making me to start thinking about all the paths. Paths of doing things, not doing things, paths of perspectives, paths of "never again!" and the one I'm looking most forward to… "the path of self-reflection." … and I JUMPED!
As soon as I finished my #mbedchat I said to myself "Let's do this!"
What are my hopes for this blog?
- I hope that once in a while I have something exciting to share and/or reflect on
- I hope that I can stay committed to 1 post per week (if there's more - great!)
- I hope that these posts help me reflect on my teaching practices
- I hope that I can spark some new paths for other educators to travel down
Keep your clubs, @shareski… I don't think I'll be needing them anytime soon! :)
It came down to purpose. What was the purpose (who cares? whose actually going to read it?). It was also making the time - how much time do I dedicate spewing text onto something that I wasn't sure was purposeful! So time went on… and no blog.
Then I joined my first #mbedchat last Wednesday. I loved the experience of being able to connect with other educators that had the same passion of technology, social media, connectedness, and collaboration! Tonight I participated in my second #mbedchat (pecan praline coffee in hand) waiting to tweet, share and learn from many other like-minded educators! @ZBettess and @DanaAriss moderated a chat on collaboration. The topic of blogs came up for professional growth/use. The topic peaked my interested……. So, I started to explore blogs from other educators that were linked on the #mbedchat blog. I found myself getting sidetracked from #mbedchat and lost into all these educators' blogs. I was inspired. Simple! I read through them and realized on just how many paths you can go down once you connect, collaborate, read, share, tweet, retweet - whatever! The possibilities are endless.
So… in the middle of a 1 hour #mbedchat I began to ask myself… Do I start? Do I jump in and blog……Am I ready to take this on? Then @shareski jumped into the conversation! I read his blog on "How To Make Better Teachers" . Blogging allows us to connect, share and reflect on our practices. My first thought: "He's lucky that I don't like golf……" Reading half way through his blog, I felt like my feet were right on the edge, I was almost ready to take the plunge….
As @shareski explained- blogging "allows us to be accountable." It made me started thinking of the possibilities. It's making me to start thinking about all the paths. Paths of doing things, not doing things, paths of perspectives, paths of "never again!" and the one I'm looking most forward to… "the path of self-reflection." … and I JUMPED!
As soon as I finished my #mbedchat I said to myself "Let's do this!"
What are my hopes for this blog?
- I hope that once in a while I have something exciting to share and/or reflect on
- I hope that I can stay committed to 1 post per week (if there's more - great!)
- I hope that these posts help me reflect on my teaching practices
- I hope that I can spark some new paths for other educators to travel down
Keep your clubs, @shareski… I don't think I'll be needing them anytime soon! :)
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