Fulfillment and Encouragement

Hello everyone,

My goodness, it has been a long week! I'm sure it felt that way due to the lack of a 'normal schedule' post-Christmas, until now. I don't know about your schools, but Monday was r o u g h! It was incredibly surprising the number of students who had forgotten routines in the classroom. This only took a week to undo four months of practice! That, along with preparing for an observation and writing a full week of lesson plans, I would rate this week as a 2. 

Though originally my first full week of instruction was suppose to begin this week, due to inclement weather, I pushed it back. And, man, I'm glad I did. If I had begun the '10 weeks' this week, I think it would have crashed and burned. I'm thankful for the ease back into instruction and I'm ready to tackle this milestone, starting Monday.

Surprises came all throughout instruction this week. After teaching Reader's Workshop and Math Investigations for a couple weeks, I'm feeling more and more comfortable with these areas. In fact, I find myself more engaged with the students every day, than caught inside my head. It is immensely fulfilling to see a student grasp a concept and/or love and activity that was planned. Observing this is causing my to know the students even more. And, that is my overall goal: To know their needs and interests, and utilize this for further instruction. Mrs. Suttle pointed out something I had yet to think of so far. We, as teachers, are pushing the students to high school graduation. How can we do that? This question stumped me, for sure! But, I'm glad it did. I want my students to love learning and try their very best - now and for the rest of their lives. Over the next week (and throughout the rest of my career) I want to develop ideas for how I can integrate this goal and promote perseverance. 

My goal for next week is to document after every lesson the effectiveness of the skills taught. So far, I've tried to do this here and there, but it certainly hasn't been consistent. Also, by the end of the week, I plant to meet with the EC specialist to discuss my PDP goals for the special needs child in my classroom. 

Additionally, last week my goal was to write one subject's lessons every night, so that I wouldn't be stressed over lesson planning. I'm happy to say, I achieved this goal. Though many nights my eyes were glazed over and zombie tendencies encompassed me, today was a nice relief and well worth the planning ahead of time. 

NCPTS Connections: 

Since I feel like I've been studying the Math curriculum book religiously, another K teacher asked if she could come observe how I teach Math Investigations. She wanted to see the process of small groups and choosing stations. This opportunity immediately drew my thoughts towards Standard I.c - Teachers lead the teaching profession. I felt honored and humbled by her asking to do so and she stated afterwards that she was glad she observed the process. I would love to find more opportunities to lead outside of the classroom, because this area is particularly weak for me. Going outside of my comfort zone is a necessary part of the learning process, but definitely difficult at the same time. 

Next week, I will begin implementing the 'Management Behavior Plan' for a student. After analyzing his interest survey, observing his actions and motivations, I believe this plan will be beneficial for him. Creating this plan and beginning to implement it allows me to become more proficient with Standard II.c - Teachers treat students as individuals. Looking at this student's behaviors and talking with him about his interests really allowed me to see this student in a new light - not as a problem-child, but as an individual.

This week's math lessons transitioned from 2-D shapes to 3-D shapes. The latter half of the week involved students 'searching the world around them' for 3-D shapes. Many were surprised at the number of solids they found. This game was wonderful, because it allowed students to make the content relevant to their lives (III.d). Students even went home and made a list of 3-D shapes the explored there. Creating ideas for stations during Math Investigations has been my favorite part so far. I love searching and finding new activities, and then seeing how the students react afterwards. Using a variety of instructional methods (like stations, small groups, whole group, and individual conferencing) has allowed me to improve with Standard IV.c. I hope to learn more ideas and strategies to further accomplish this standards. 

Though reflection did not occur after every lesson this week, I was able to sit down and think a lot about which games students enjoyed or didn't enjoy. I also thought about hooks that were successful/not successful (V.a). As stated above, I hope next week will contain more reflection.

Final Thoughts: 

This week was difficult for many reasons, but the hardest part was becoming aware of a sad situation with a student in my class. Without going into detail, the child was neglected and now authorities are involved. This child is the sweetest person and it broke my heart to hear just a small bit of his/her home life.  Despite being stressed, tired, overworked, underpaid, etc. etc. etc., it appears the most difficult aspect of this profession is becoming painstakingly aware of the backgrounds in which some students come from. If that isn't a motivator to try and be the most loving and beneficial teacher, I don't know what is. Hugging them, motivating them, encouraging them, and listening to them affects their lives more than we know - that's something I hope to never lose sight of.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Gabrielle :)