4.20.2011
Publication
24 excited, bubbly students walked through our classroom door this morning. Why the excitement? Our igloo was published on the front page of the Education section of the local newspaper! Way to make a mark first graders!
4.06.2011
Homework excuses
Sometimes we need a moment of laughter to lighten the stress of daily life. I had to use a common homework excuse to get out of returning my students homework today. My dog ate my students homework! I had a stack of papers that I was getting ready to give feedback on while relaxing at home. I went to get a snack. When I came back moments later there was a corner missing out of the stack and hanging out of Lucy's mouth. What a pup! Happy Wednesday :)
4.03.2011
37 days
Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to countdown. Starting about mid-March, I keep a days left 'til summer break count and let everyone know where we stand. It is NOT that I am necessarily looking forward to the end or wish to be there now. I like to know how much time I have for different events. Knowing that there are 8 weeks of school left or 37 days (minus holidays and in-services) helps me stay on track so that I am not in panic-mode the last week of school trying to cram in last minute lessons. Knowing that there are only 7 Monday's left helps me persevere through my longest day of the week and make the most of every moment left with my students.
Today, my colleague and I spent a good chunk of time working on our combined class/project web-sites. As I stopped and scrolled through all of the pictures from this year on our sites I have to admit, a tear came to my eye. All the memories. All the fun. All the ah-ha's. All the projects. As teachers, we will start again next year with a fresh group of students and recreate these memories once more. As students, I hope they will always remember the awesome year we shared together in first grade. I hope my students remember how much I care for them, how excited I would get when they had success, how I made them feel. I hope they will always look back and have fond memories of the first grade year!
It is hard for me to accept that I only have 37 days left with this class of heroes!
Today, my colleague and I spent a good chunk of time working on our combined class/project web-sites. As I stopped and scrolled through all of the pictures from this year on our sites I have to admit, a tear came to my eye. All the memories. All the fun. All the ah-ha's. All the projects. As teachers, we will start again next year with a fresh group of students and recreate these memories once more. As students, I hope they will always remember the awesome year we shared together in first grade. I hope my students remember how much I care for them, how excited I would get when they had success, how I made them feel. I hope they will always look back and have fond memories of the first grade year!
It is hard for me to accept that I only have 37 days left with this class of heroes!
3.29.2011
Turning the Page
I love my job. Even on the hard days, I love my job. Today was one of those days. It had it's highs. It had it's lows. It even through a curve ball or two.
The students have left for the day. As I melt into my chair and peer over the mound of papers and piles teetering on my desk (which must be under it all somewhere - I saw it this morning), I pick up my lesson plans and quickly turn the page. Today is over. For all the good and all the bad of the day, it is over. We will never repeat this day. My lesson plan for tomorrow is crisp and clean. There are no pen marks notating changes to the day. No ranch dip smudges from afternoon snack. There are no sticky notes full of additional reminders.
This is how it is with our kiddos. Today is done. Tomorrow is a new day. Help your kiddos to turn the page and see the "clean slate." Whatever happened on Tuesday stays on Tuesday. Wednesday is a fresh start. Wednesday can be whatever we make of it. Make good choices, try your best, and succeed once again!
The students have left for the day. As I melt into my chair and peer over the mound of papers and piles teetering on my desk (which must be under it all somewhere - I saw it this morning), I pick up my lesson plans and quickly turn the page. Today is over. For all the good and all the bad of the day, it is over. We will never repeat this day. My lesson plan for tomorrow is crisp and clean. There are no pen marks notating changes to the day. No ranch dip smudges from afternoon snack. There are no sticky notes full of additional reminders.
This is how it is with our kiddos. Today is done. Tomorrow is a new day. Help your kiddos to turn the page and see the "clean slate." Whatever happened on Tuesday stays on Tuesday. Wednesday is a fresh start. Wednesday can be whatever we make of it. Make good choices, try your best, and succeed once again!
1.26.2011
Igloo (924 milk jugs!)
924 milk jugs
3 1/2 months
25 students
countless helpers
+ $30 worth of hot glue
-------------------------
1 Awesome Igloo
My first grade class has built an igloo out of recycled milk jugs. To our complete surprise, we collected nearly 1,000 milk jugs! At the end of September we learned about the harm of too much waste. Plastic takes 100's of years to break down. We decided to do something to make a change.
Over the past 3 1/2 months we have practiced our counting skills, recording how many milk jugs we've collected on a given day. We refined our sorting skills, organizing and counting milk jugs by color of lid, type of milk and so on. We learned how to read "short-hand" dates. We experienced what expired milk looks like. We used our reasoning skills to decide how and where to bulid the igloo. We expanded our estimating skills, making educated guesses about how many milk jugs were in a set group.
Thanks to all who helped us collect milk jugs and glue. Huge "THANKS" goes out to Carol Brennan for spending countless hours each weekend gluing milk jugs (So sorry about the loss of your fingerprint to the glue gun.)!
Next step: Students are working on a presentation about recycling and our igloo. Check out http://www.gogreenfirstgrade.weebly.com/ for updates in February.
3 1/2 months
25 students
countless helpers
+ $30 worth of hot glue
-------------------------
1 Awesome Igloo
My first grade class has built an igloo out of recycled milk jugs. To our complete surprise, we collected nearly 1,000 milk jugs! At the end of September we learned about the harm of too much waste. Plastic takes 100's of years to break down. We decided to do something to make a change.
Over the past 3 1/2 months we have practiced our counting skills, recording how many milk jugs we've collected on a given day. We refined our sorting skills, organizing and counting milk jugs by color of lid, type of milk and so on. We learned how to read "short-hand" dates. We experienced what expired milk looks like. We used our reasoning skills to decide how and where to bulid the igloo. We expanded our estimating skills, making educated guesses about how many milk jugs were in a set group.
Thanks to all who helped us collect milk jugs and glue. Huge "THANKS" goes out to Carol Brennan for spending countless hours each weekend gluing milk jugs (So sorry about the loss of your fingerprint to the glue gun.)!
Next step: Students are working on a presentation about recycling and our igloo. Check out http://www.gogreenfirstgrade.weebly.com/ for updates in February.
1.13.2011
New goal!
I have finished my Masters. Now I need a new professional goal to work on. Many ideas are floating around: second Masters in Leadership (not my cup of tea), National Board Certification (sounds like more schooling and I'm burned out), or... wait for it... yes, I am this nuts... might need to take an extended leave to start think straight... write a book.
Now don't get me all wrong here. I don't think I have any great wisdom to pass along to others as I know I have so much to learn yet and soak up all I can. I don't think I am an amazing writer as I am surrounded by so many talented authors that just amaze me. I simply want to write.
So now I must find something to write about that others would actually want to read. My amazing colleague, Cary Roller, and I have been working on a year-long, project-based, community-in-action project (for a lack of a better word): IT ONLY TAKES ONE. We have started bouncing around the idea of writing about our experiences together with this project...something that would be both informative and reflective:
Any thoughts (Other than, "The title is no good.")????
Now don't get me all wrong here. I don't think I have any great wisdom to pass along to others as I know I have so much to learn yet and soak up all I can. I don't think I am an amazing writer as I am surrounded by so many talented authors that just amaze me. I simply want to write.
So now I must find something to write about that others would actually want to read. My amazing colleague, Cary Roller, and I have been working on a year-long, project-based, community-in-action project (for a lack of a better word): IT ONLY TAKES ONE. We have started bouncing around the idea of writing about our experiences together with this project...something that would be both informative and reflective:
A Year of Project Based Learning in 1st Grade
(Let’s roll some snowballs)
1.09.2011
ActivExpression
When I was in first grade, I was awe-struck by the overhead projector. What a machine! It could display words typed on a clear page and you could use special colored markers to write on the screen and it would show up in black on the screen.
As I look around my room I see no overhead projector. In its place, sits an Elmo and on the wall, a Promethean board. To usher students from one lesson to the next I open my desk drawer and pull out an iPod. When students want to read along to stories on CD they turn on one of the netbooks. To blog with other students across the school, my students scoot up to my desk computer and log on-line.
What amazing advancements in technology in such a short span of time! I never would have imagined the possibilities when I was 6, sitting in first grade, in awe of the overhead projector.
In December our school received 2 sets of ActivExpressions. These hand-held voting devices work with the ActivInspire software and the Promethean board to allow students another method to communicate with the teacher and with each other. I can formatively and summatively assess students knowledge and understandings of concepts with a few quick key strokes on the computer. Results are visible to the teacher (in several graphs and charts) while students have anonymity amongst their peers.
This coming week we plan to use our ActivExpressions to record data for a class survey and graph as well as check students understanding of nouns and to solve math problems with anonymity. As the teacher, I will be able to see who answered each problem correctly and who may need more work with each concept. Students will have the comfort of answering questions without fear of other students judgement.
As I look around my room I see no overhead projector. In its place, sits an Elmo and on the wall, a Promethean board. To usher students from one lesson to the next I open my desk drawer and pull out an iPod. When students want to read along to stories on CD they turn on one of the netbooks. To blog with other students across the school, my students scoot up to my desk computer and log on-line.
What amazing advancements in technology in such a short span of time! I never would have imagined the possibilities when I was 6, sitting in first grade, in awe of the overhead projector.
In December our school received 2 sets of ActivExpressions. These hand-held voting devices work with the ActivInspire software and the Promethean board to allow students another method to communicate with the teacher and with each other. I can formatively and summatively assess students knowledge and understandings of concepts with a few quick key strokes on the computer. Results are visible to the teacher (in several graphs and charts) while students have anonymity amongst their peers.
This coming week we plan to use our ActivExpressions to record data for a class survey and graph as well as check students understanding of nouns and to solve math problems with anonymity. As the teacher, I will be able to see who answered each problem correctly and who may need more work with each concept. Students will have the comfort of answering questions without fear of other students judgement.
12.17.2010
Papermaking
Here is a little dialogue between a colleague and myself:
"We should recycle and make paper for Christmas projects." -me
"I don't know how to do that, do you?" -colleague
"Well...um...Yeah, I made paper when I was in 2nd grade." -me
"Okay. How do we make paper?" -colleague
"Well...um...I'm sure I can find directions on-line. But it must not be too hard." -me
Apparently, paper making is not that easy! I learned a valuable lesson in childhood memories: just because it was easy as a child, doesn't mean it is easy as an adult (doing the "behind-the-scenes" work and all)! That being said, we had a blast!
"We should recycle and make paper for Christmas projects." -me
"I don't know how to do that, do you?" -colleague
"Well...um...Yeah, I made paper when I was in 2nd grade." -me
"Okay. How do we make paper?" -colleague
"Well...um...I'm sure I can find directions on-line. But it must not be too hard." -me
Apparently, paper making is not that easy! I learned a valuable lesson in childhood memories: just because it was easy as a child, doesn't mean it is easy as an adult (doing the "behind-the-scenes" work and all)! That being said, we had a blast!
Mrs. Roller, myself and 4 student interns (Ms. Hoscheid, Ms. Kolbach, Ms. DiMaria, and Ms. Skjervem) combined forces and worked as an awesome team to provide our students with a fun, memorable, go-green experience that they will cherish. Hopefully when they are adults, they will remember the joy of the experience, the laughter, the positive atmosphere, and the pretty (interesting looking) paper and not the smell of the irons, the sopping wet tables, or the slightly panicked look on the teachers faces. :)
For a detialed lesson plan on how to make paper, check out Project Learning Tree resources. (I will update the citation later when I dig out my book again.)
12.15.2010
Snowball
This is a backpost from November...
On a cold and dark Friday night, Mrs. Roller and I sat in her classroom, diet coke in hand, munching on fries, and talking about the week (and month) ahead. The Promethean board, humming away from a busy day in first grade, displayed a page from the PowerPoint we created this summer, outlining our ambitious goals for the year. Our dialogue grew and grew, full of life and lofty goals of what we wanted to accomplish with our classes in the coming days.
It hit me: Project-based learning is like a snowball. As you watch the snow fall, you have great visions of the perfect, round snowball (Or in our case, students becoming active participants in their home, school, and community, making a difference, going green, learning about unsung heroes and modeling the virtues uncovered.). All bundled up and with a bounce in your step, you fling open the door and bound down the steps and into the snow (All the materials, resources, and supplies are piled around the school lounge.). As you start to gather snow, you smile, enjoying the creation and still dreaming of the end snowball (Dipping our feet into the project in September and October, staying on course with our end vision in mind. Listening to the feedback from students and families who appreciate, value, and enjoy the project's direction.). But then, as you roll the snowball across the yard to gather more snow, you start to notice that the snowball is getting quite large and moving faster than you anticipated (There is so much we want to do, experiences to share, artifacts to find, technology to develop...). However, you keep pushing the snowball, hopeful and happy...
Sometimes our First Grade Community in Action project seems too big, slightly out of our control, and definately overwhelming. As I take a moment to sit back and reflect, I smile and remember: this is what I wanted and this is what I'm getting...
*Students motivated for a greater purpose than to please the teacher.
*Students taking action, not only in the classroom, but at home and in the school.
*Students learning the basics (reading, writing, and math) through authentic and meaning ful projects.
*Students forming a true sense of community, appreciating, respecting, and valuing each other as individuals.
*(And of course, a little dash of fun!)
On a cold and dark Friday night, Mrs. Roller and I sat in her classroom, diet coke in hand, munching on fries, and talking about the week (and month) ahead. The Promethean board, humming away from a busy day in first grade, displayed a page from the PowerPoint we created this summer, outlining our ambitious goals for the year. Our dialogue grew and grew, full of life and lofty goals of what we wanted to accomplish with our classes in the coming days.
It hit me: Project-based learning is like a snowball. As you watch the snow fall, you have great visions of the perfect, round snowball (Or in our case, students becoming active participants in their home, school, and community, making a difference, going green, learning about unsung heroes and modeling the virtues uncovered.). All bundled up and with a bounce in your step, you fling open the door and bound down the steps and into the snow (All the materials, resources, and supplies are piled around the school lounge.). As you start to gather snow, you smile, enjoying the creation and still dreaming of the end snowball (Dipping our feet into the project in September and October, staying on course with our end vision in mind. Listening to the feedback from students and families who appreciate, value, and enjoy the project's direction.). But then, as you roll the snowball across the yard to gather more snow, you start to notice that the snowball is getting quite large and moving faster than you anticipated (There is so much we want to do, experiences to share, artifacts to find, technology to develop...). However, you keep pushing the snowball, hopeful and happy...
Sometimes our First Grade Community in Action project seems too big, slightly out of our control, and definately overwhelming. As I take a moment to sit back and reflect, I smile and remember: this is what I wanted and this is what I'm getting...
*Students motivated for a greater purpose than to please the teacher.
*Students taking action, not only in the classroom, but at home and in the school.
*Students learning the basics (reading, writing, and math) through authentic and meaning ful projects.
*Students forming a true sense of community, appreciating, respecting, and valuing each other as individuals.
*(And of course, a little dash of fun!)
10.29.2010
Ghosts and Goblins, oh my!
Happy Halloween! Today I am reminded of a fun book a colleague gave me a few years back, This is the Teacher about a teacher who is ready for school to begin. However, by the end of the day, with all of the mishaps and adventures, the teacher is... all ready for bed. I would like to recommend that the author write a sequel about the same teacher on Halloween. Oh the sugar, sweets, excitement, and adventures that ensue in any classroom on Halloween.
Please note, this is in no way a complaint, as I myself get just as giddy as the students. Gooey treats, spooky art projects, learning disguised as halloween games... I love watching their faces and hearing their excitement as they make pumpkins using 2-D shapes, mix a pumpkin snack by following 2 step directions, read and sing a pumpkin song that has wow words, and so on.
This is the first time I can recall students wearing costumes to school. It went quite smooth. We had a parade through the first grade wing to show off our spook-tacular disguises. Pictures will be posted soon.
Yummy snack idea: Mix together pumpkin pie filling and whipped cream. Place a dallop of mixture on a graham craker. Freeze for 1 hour. Mmmm...kid (and teacher) approved. (Source unknown.)
Please note, this is in no way a complaint, as I myself get just as giddy as the students. Gooey treats, spooky art projects, learning disguised as halloween games... I love watching their faces and hearing their excitement as they make pumpkins using 2-D shapes, mix a pumpkin snack by following 2 step directions, read and sing a pumpkin song that has wow words, and so on.
This is the first time I can recall students wearing costumes to school. It went quite smooth. We had a parade through the first grade wing to show off our spook-tacular disguises. Pictures will be posted soon.
Yummy snack idea: Mix together pumpkin pie filling and whipped cream. Place a dallop of mixture on a graham craker. Freeze for 1 hour. Mmmm...kid (and teacher) approved. (Source unknown.)
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