Mindsets in the Classroom: Chapter 1

Good morning!

So I am back again with another post. I believe this is officially the most time I have spent on my blog since I received a little encouragement last year to get it started again. I guess old dogs can learn new tricks : ) Anyway this morning I am linking up with my lovely friends over at Hello Sunshine for the Mindsets in the Classroom book study.

My statement at the top about old dogs learning new tricks actually ties in quite nicely to chapter 1. Those who have a fixed mindset get stuck with the idea that there are just some things that they will never be good at or some things that they will never be able to do. I am definitely one of those people, but the fact that I am writing this blog post shows that I was wrong when I believed that I could never be a blogger and talk with other teachers across the nation because technology and I do not always get along. An amazing friend convinced me I could do it and has helped me learn along the way. We need to be that person for our students. We need to encourage them and show them that there is nothing that they can not learn. They don't need to learn it quickly. All that matters is the effort that they take to learn it. If they put in the effort they will make it.

Thanks for letting me share!

Ashley

Learn Like a Pirate: Student Led Classroom

Hello Again!

Several of my coworkers/friends and I are doing three book studies this summer: Teaching with Intention, Learn like Pirate, and Mindsets in the Classroom. There will be a lot of learning and growing as an educator for me this summer.

Earlier today I posted my thoughts on the first chapter of Teaching with Intention. Now I am partnering up with The Primary Gal for the first section of Learn Like a Pirate.

 

The first part of this book is very eye opening. I am intrigued by Paul Solarz's description of his classroom. I know that I may not be able to completely accomplish that as I am a first grade teacher but I would love to have my firsties become more independent. 

I am always willing to try new things but I also tend to feel like I have failed if it isn't successful right away. Just that perfectionist side of my personality coming out which is why I am happy that he stressed that this isn't something that happens overnight, that it takes time and work to develop this within the classroom. I will need to read that sentence a lot.

With the way that I structure my room now I think that I have a small start to making a student led classroom. When I talked about my thoughts for chapter 1 of Teaching with Intention I mentioned that I have spent time moving away from whole class lessons and working more with groups and mini lessons. I still need to work on this and give my students more group time and more freedom within the groups. I still try to control the groups too much. I need to work on stepping back and letting them work their way through the activity or problem and only use me as a guide if necessary. 

One more thought I liked is his statement about how this will only be "effective if the students feel safe, appreciated, and and connected to their teacher." This is such a true statement! Kids need to make a connection with you in order for learning to happen and the connection only happens when they feel safe and appreciated. I am blessed to work in a private school so my class size has never been higher than 20 which makes it really easy to get to know a lot about your students and their daily lives. Because we are a small campus I also have daily opportunities to interact with the kindergartners and students I have had in the past. This allows me lots of opportunities to build relationships with those coming up, those in my room, and those I have already had. It makes coming to first grade a lot easier since the kids already know myself and my teaching partner. I think it will help us a great deal as we make our classrooms more student led this next school year.

Looking forward to the next chapter next week!

Ashley

Teaching with Intention: Chapter 1

 

I am having one of those weeks where I am ten steps behind everything. Yesterday the book study with Greg from Kindergarten Smorgasboard, Teaching with Intention began. The first chapter was all about what our ideal classroom would like.  This was the perfect thing to start with. This year I will only be teaching math, science, social studies, handwriting, and Bible so the way my room looks and is structured will need to change.

My ideal classroom for my little firsties has a lot of open space. I am not a big fan of little ones spending a lot of time in desks so I would prefer to have several tables to use as workstations. Then kids could work at those or on the floor. I feel that kids need to have some say in how they work, especially when they are so young and are full of the wiggles. This comes with a higher noise level but I don't mind as long as their is learning going on.

The room would also be full of bright colors. Bright colors make me feel happy and I think that they would have the same effect on my little guys. I would also like to have lots of work displayed. They should be able to look all over the room and see stuff they have learned and created. I want them to develop a sense of pride in their work and I think seeing it displayed helps with that. 

          

In my ideal classroom the students would be working independently, in small groups with peers, or with the teacher in a small group. I wouldn't spend a whole lot of time whole class teaching. Kids this little don't have the focus for that and I think they learn better when they are actively creating or using something to help them understand a concept. Listening to me talk continuously isn't going to help anyone. 

I would be either working with a small group who is struggling with something or walking around the room assisting groups as they work through whatever activity we are working on. 

For the last two years I have worked on moving away from whole class instruction all the time and moving to mini lessons and then group or center work. I have also been working on creating more hands on and interactive activities for them to help them understand lessons. This last year was probably the most hands on my classroom has been and I loved it. I had groups all over the room a lot of the time. This resulted in a lot of noise but we were having fun learning. 

I really need to work more on organization.This last year  I was a new mom working full time so I feel like I just shoved things in cupboards and drawers because of a lack of time and sleep. Now its time to deal with all my hidden stashes. I am hoping it will be easier now that I only have a few subjects.

I would also like to add more seating alternatives to my room. I have one table and desks and then lots of floor space. I would like more options so kids don't feel like they need to either sit on the floor or at a desk. I am not sure what that will look like yet but I am open to ideas. 

I would also love to change the lighting in my room. I don't get very much outside light in my room so I have to rely on the overhead lights which just seem to bright and half the time are flickering. I usually only turn half of them on and that helps a little but I will be looking into a few lamps. My teaching partner has a few in her room and I love the vibe they give the room. 

I am so looking forward to the rest of the book and all the changes that are happening in the way that I view my classroom and teaching. Its going to be a great summer of learning and a great year a changes. I hope you can join us on this adventure. 

Ashley

Together We are Better: Office Space

 

Hi Everyone!

Today I am linking up with Shroeder Shenanigans in Second and Lucky Little Learners for the 2gether We are Better linky. This month it is all about home office spaces. Now I am a day late on this but oh well. Hopefully next month I will make it the day of : )

Our home actually has a designated office that we have decorated because my husband and I both do a lot of work at home. It is definitely the most interesting room in our house. It is the only room that doesn't match. We could not decide on decor for room so we split it in half. The half and half decor was our way of compromising, but it led to what you see below. Maybe someday we will find decor we both can agree on but for now this is what it will be. 

As much as I love my side of this space I very rarely work in it. For the last two years its been mostly my husbands office since he was taking online classes to finish his masters. Since I needed a space to work in at the same time I started working in our loft area at a coffee table. Not a very likely area but I have come to love it.

It is nothing fancy but it is now my favorite place to work. I have plenty of space on the table and on the floor behind me to spread out all my books, papers, etc. and not feel crowded. It is also in the same room as a TV which works to my advantage because I can't work in complete quiet. I always have to have music or a show playing in the background. It gets a lot of sunlight unfortunately I am usually working at night. My sweet girl is my main focus. I take all the time I can to play and cuddle with her. Time goes by so fast and I don't want to miss a moment working, so after she goes to sleep is when most of the creating and planning happens.

Someday I may decide that the floor is no longer a good work place and work in the office again but for now this is my favorite place.

Ashley

Mother's Day

Well this week has been a busy week. My sweet baby girl turned 1 on Thursday. Where did the time go?!! I can not believe it has been a year since that beautiful little girl came into the world. Time definitely flies. Its been fun celebrating with her and I am looking forward to all the future adventures I will share with her.

Along with that craziness came our Mother's Day projects in class. It was a beautiful project designed by my fabulous teaching partner. The kids had a lot of fun putting it together but it did take my kiddos a large amount of time because I have a group with some focus struggles. They tend to prefer chatting instead of working. It makes things entertaining but hard to complete projects in a timely manner.

The final product though is super cute. We made books out of large paper bags, scrapbook paper, and ribbons. Included in the book was a short story about their mom as a super hero, a pic of them, and 8 sentences about their moms.

For the super hero story they had to choose something that their mom was good at and turn it into a super power. For example one of my kids said their mom was good at giving hugs. She made her mom a super hugger that could make anyone feel better with a super hug. Once they did that they wrote a short story about a time when their mom used that super power to help someone. These ranged from really sweet, to adorable, to hilarious. Once they wrote them we typed it for them to glue into the book. It is definitely a writing activity worth repeating next year. To go along with their story they had to draw their mom as a super hero. An example of one is below.

With the sentences we gave them 7 prompts that they had to complete. The answers to these were really sweet. I love how honest and heartfelt first graders are. A list of the prompts are below as well as an example of a few that a student wrote.

I love my mom more than....
My mom would be good at....
If I could send my mom on vacation I would send her to....
My mom laughs when....
My mom is the best at....
My looks pretty when...
If I had $100 dollars I would buy my mom.... 

So far it has been a fun filled weekend of celebrating with my sweet girl. I look forward to spending Mother's Day with her tomorrow. I hope that all you moms out there have a beautiful Mother's Day!!

Ashley

Currently May

I can't believe it is May 2 already! My year with my little firsties is almost over. It seems like the year has gone by so quickly. I will definitely miss this group and their crazy energy. It's going to be a wild 15 final days with them as they are already in full blown summer vacation mode.

For this lovely second day of May I will be linking up with Oh Boy Fourth Grade for her monthly Currently linky. Hope you enjoy!

This morning my hubby and I are trying out the Netflix original series Daredevil. We are a super hero loving family so we will try any of these shows. Its pretty good although Superman will always be my favorite, especially the new ones with Henry Cavill.

I am loving my weekend with my little family. It has been a full year since we have had a full weekend to spend together. My hubby just finished his masters so we can look forward to many more weekends like this. I am so excited!

Along with spending the weekend together we are planning our sweet little girl's first birthday. Where has the time gone?! I can not believe she will be a year old this Thursday! She is definitely a beautiful blessing and adventure. We are excited to celebrate this milestone with her and look forward to all the adventures the new year will bring with our fearless, funny little girl.

I am in desperate need of motivation to focus and finish my lesson plans for the week. I believe my brain may have already started focusing on summer vacation. Hopefully at some point this weekend I will motivate myself to finish my work.

This summer will be a busy summer. First I get to spend all nine weeks with my sweet girl. I can't wait! I love teaching my little firsties but I really miss being a full time mommy as well. I am hoping to make my end of the summer SoCal trip a little longer so my sweet girl and I can spend more time with all our family and friends out there. I am also dreaming of being able to tag along to Texas with my hubby for a week. We haven't had a vacation together other than visiting family in SoCal since we got married. It would be a lot of fun to just travel together for a family vacation with just the 3 of us.

Well friends, have a happy Saturday and enjoy the beautiful day!

Ashley

Five For Friday

Good morning! I am so excited to bring you my first Five For Friday on this beautiful first day in May.

On Monday my little firsties got to watch our local fire department help our eighth graders with a science experiment. They did an egg drop from the top of the ladder. Although they enjoyed watching all the eggs drop in their different containers, it was the ladder that was the highlight of the experience. Over half my class wrote about the ladder in their journal assignment.

Our school has a flag raising on the last Wednesday of every month. Each class takes a turn leading. This past Wednesday was our turn. My kids did such an awesome job leading pledges, reading verses, and saying the prayer. They looked and sounded so grown up. I couldn't help but flash back to how little they were at the beginning of the school year.

We began working on our Mother's Day writing. My awesome teaching partner had cute mom/superhero writing idea. They had to think of something their mom was good at and turn it into a super power that will help people. It was sweet and pretty funny to read about all the different super powers. We had everything from super hugs to super bakers to the super cleaner.It will be fun to see how it all comes together in the final product next week.

I get to plan the weekend adventures with my little family. My husband is done with his masters so this will be the first weekend in a year that we will have the entire weekend to be together with our sweet baby girl and crazy dog. I am so excited!!

This week we used the song Big House by Audio Adrenaline with one of our Bible lessons and I thought I would share it.



Ashley