Testing

Next week, state testing starts.  I've been watching anxious teachers for the past few weeks.  Some are starting to show it to their students.  More lecturing is going on in the classrooms.  For some reason, I haven't been too anxious.  Being anxious isn't going to change anything, at least for me. Do I worry?  I'd be lying if I said no.  Especially since testing is going to be tied to our evaluations.  Because of this, I think down the road you are going to see more anxoious teachers.  And as a result, more anxious students.  So I am determined not to become anxious.  I don't want the students to be anxious.  Would I rather them go into a testing situation in a state of anxiety or in a state of calm?  I choose calm.  Therefore I need to make sure I remain calm.  I haven't even talked about the state test to the students until this week.  All we are doing is reviewing some things and looking at a few old tests just so they can get a feel for the structure and how they may be questioned.  We also discuss some testing strategies.  Not all will pass, but I think all have them have made a years growth.  All I ask of my students is for them to do their best. I know they have it in them.  Keep calm, and carry on!

Friday's Top Five

Here are the top five things for this past week!

1. Brandon Mull visit!!  My school was so lucky to have Brandon Mull visit our 4th and 5th graders!  To say the students loved it would be an understatement.  (Same goes for this teacher!)

2.  New books!!  I made a trip to my local independent bookstore, Fundamentals, and left with this stack.  Is it possible to leave a book store with only one book???  (This doesn't include the books my son bought...)

3. Signs of spring!  While it has been quite a rainy few days, there are some wonderful signs of spring.  I love it when my forsythia bloom!

4. I received a new book in the mail this week from ASCD.  I am looking forward to reading it because I have been asked to help create maps for our district.  This appears to be a quick read and looks interesting.

5.  I am getting ready to head out the door to Amish Country.  Every year I get together with some friends and we head east to scrapbook.  Of course, you can't go to Amish Country without doing a little shopping and eating!  I better be sure to pack my running shoes to burn those extra calories I'll be consuming from that delicious Amish food!

Have a good weekend!

Change

This morning, I decided I needed to start running again.  I have allowed myself to get out of shape and I was starting to feel it in my clothes.  I need to eat better and start to do more exercise.  All of this means change.  Will it be enjoyable?  Probably not at first when I am moving slowly from sore muscles.  But as I get past these first steps I know it will worth it and I will be glad I started taking better care of myself.  I may get sore again from time-to-time, but I know it won't be like it was at first. 

To me, this is like change in the classroom.  I know things are getting out of shape when I am getting the same old results from students.  I need to educate myself more on practices that I believe are no longer working.  Like running, if I continue to do the same thing, after awhile I won't see results.  The routine needs to be switched.  Same thing in the classroom.  The routine and delivery needs to be changed.

I think teachers today are so lucky when they want to change things.  They have Professional Development right at their fingertips.  I can easily get book recommendations and advice from Twitter friends and different blogs.  I can read articles online.  I can talk with other teachers about what is working for them.  No excuses, especially when I have a nice stack of professional reads calling my name.  The only problem is what should I read first? 

Is change enjoyable?  For me, not always at first.  Like running, it can be painful.  I know that there will also be a few bumps in the road.  But, I do know that in the end it will all be worth it. 

Slice of Life Day 14

Tonight I am in a hurry so this will be a short post.  Tomorrow my class will be celebrating St. Patrick's Day.  They have been working on St. Patrick's Day and Irish reading and writing stations the last 2 weeks.  For a lot of it, they have to do some research.  They have been loving it!  The engagement is awesome and they are really learning so much.  Tomorrow I am making corned beef and cabbage along with some potatoes for the whole 5th grade to sample.  Another teacher is making Irish Soda Bread for them to taste.  For our Fun Friday activities in 5th grade, there will be an Irish theme to them.  In my room, students will be learning some simple Irish Jig steps.  (I'm not sure simple will be simple enough for some of them...and that includes me!)  We will also watch some of Riverdance so they can see some professionals.  I am hoping after learning how coordinated you need to be with the simple steps, they will really appreciate watching the dancing in Riverdance!  With all this stuff going on, I'm not sure I will be able to accomplish much else.  I am just hoping we have outside recess tomorrow so they can go and burn off some of their excitement!  Well, I am off to practice some "simple" jig steps and then I need to get the corned beef and cabbage ready to cook tomorrow morning!  May the luck of the Irish be with you!



Slice of Life Day 13

A review of Hattie Ever After by Kirby Larson



I loved this book! Kirby Larson is such a wonderful writer. It is obvious she did her research when writing this story. Through her descriptions I really felt like I was in San Francisco in 1919. I could imagine the sights of the people and the city. Throughout this book I kept rooting for Hattie, just as I did in Hattie Big Sky. When bad things happened, my heart went out to her. When good things happened, I wanted to cheer for her. And there were times when I wished I could talk some sense into that girl! I know this is a book I will reread. The day after I finished it, I was going back into the story to read some of my favorite parts! If you read it, I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Slice of Life Day 12

I've been doing some serious thinking about what I am going to read over Spring Break.  I love that I have a week to read!  When I think about it, I can't believe I have put that much thought into my list!  Of course, as it usually is, my list will probably be more than I can possibly do.  This year, my husband and son have their Spring Break the same week.  So I am sure there may be a day trip or two that will prevent me from reading.  I wish I could read in the car.  That would make things so much easier!  However, my stomach just doesn't enjoy it as much as my mind does...  So, here's my current list.  (This is subject to change, and probably will!)

1.  Math Sense: The Look, Sound, and Feel of Effective Instruction by Christine Moynihan  (My last few professional reads have been about Language Arts so I need to get in a math read.)

2.  Fablehaven by Brandon Mull  (He is visiting our school in April and I haven't read any of his books from this series.)

3.  The Runaway King by Jennifer Nielsen

4. Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson

5.  We Are Not Eaten By Yaks by C. Alexander London

I also need to visit the friendly librarians at my public library to see if they have any picture book recommendations!

Slice of Life Day 11

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day!  In fact it was warm enough to open up some windows in the house to air it out.  Today, not so much.  It's rainy and colder.  Tonight was a good night to read.  I had picked up some picture books at the library and also had some Irish folktale and St. Patrick's Day books.  One of the books I read was St. Patrick's Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting.  My mom used to read this book to my brothers and me when we were little.  I'm not sure why it has stuck with me over the years.  I read it to my son tonight, but he didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I used to.  I'm not sure what it is I liked about it so much.  Maybe it was just the fact that it was my mom who read it to me.  I'm sure my brothers and I were cuddled up to her.  Must just be the nostalgia.  This did get me to think about my storytime with my son.  I wonder what books it will be that will stick with him.  He loves bugs, so will it be the bug books I have read?  Or will it be the books that make him laugh? Who knows.  There probably isn't any rhyme or reason to it.  I also wonder what books I have read to my classes over the years that will stick with them and why.  I wonder if it will be books that were memorable for me to read to them or if it will be different for each student.  Either way, I just hope I am creating memories for them.