The Paint Party as Rejuvenation

  

My niece organizes painting parties for children and adults. In December, I accompanied her to a school where a group of ten teachers spent an evening painting. It was a relaxing and joyful event. (I was the paint squirter.) Teachers sat across from one another and talked about school, about their kids, about their lives. It was a warm and caring evening.

As we think about how to bring people together, painting is a possibility. What if we took the time to play, or paint, to stop and enjoy the company of those with whom we work? I am struck by the power of "play" with adults. I think we need to play more. Our January CIRO (Checking In, Reaching Out) meeting was a paint party! We invited the education department to join us. Oh yes... that was fun! A local Asheville Pizza and Brew restaurant/game room/movie house allowed us to use a section of their "game room" to paint. We ordered pizza and beverages, visited, laughed, painted. As a thank you I gave them the sample we were painting from. Now there are orange skies and purple mountains in and around our department.

May the holidays be a time of reflection and rejuvenation!!!
Our "Painting Party!!" We have decided to make it an annual event! CIRO!!

Rejuvenation: Passing on the Passion

Americans are definitely not known for their geography skills; we're probably more known for the lack thereof. On one of the first days of the year, we did a background knowledge jeopardy as a fun pre-assessment. One of the questions was, "Name 3 countries in North America." The answers I got? "North Carolina," "Seattle," and "South America." My kids don't even know the difference between cities, states, countries, and continents!

So I decided to make a weekly geography competition that doubles as a quiz. For Bellwork, Monday-Thursday, students add 3-5 countries (depending on how many countries there are) on a blank map of that week's continent (we started with North America, then South America, and now Europe).

They have to memorize a certain number to get an A, like for Europe they had to know 7 for an A, 6 = B, 5 = C... and so on. The competition part of it is for the students who label the most countries in the class. First place gets a soda or a candy bar of their choosing. Second and third place get a small piece of candy from my stash.
I had students today who labeled 35-40 countries!
When it's all finished, I have the winners do a smartboard geography game to see if they can beat the timer. It's a lot of fun!
The last week we will do the entire world, and I'm thinking I might have a big gift-card-type prize for the top student of the entire team.
You'd be surprised how much they get into it, and how much it affects students you wouldn't suspect.

Woo-Hoo moment of the day: One student, who has proven to not be proficient in many areas, asked where Easter Island was. I told him that Chile owns it, so you know it's near there. He then instantly pointed just west of Chile on the map next to him and said "So somewhere around here?" My heart swelled with joy!!

The need to meet, to share, to care about one another.

Okay, it is time to reach out to your colleagues!
Wednesday, I sat down with Minal to brainstorm using more projects on the algebra/geometry classroom. It was so fun to share ideas! She had great ideas and we mapped out a skeleton structure for next semester.
This afternoon, Friday,  Jeanie and I met to 'check in and reach out (CIRO). We talked about how important talking, sharing, and collaborating are. We talked about how professional development meetings are great, but we need time to talk! There is so much power in talking! And so we want to encourage all CIROs to share what is working, share ideas, share your inspiration!
This afternoon we celebrated! We wish you had been here!
We talked about classroom management, kids, teaching, technology, work place relationships, assessments, and sisters. We talked about how fun trivia is...and the importance of playing and working out. (Jeanie is working out and doing yoga. I have been swimming.) But we think whatever we do, or whatever you do, is important.
There is a secret santa activity going on at Jeanie's school. (This inspirational game can boost morale and bring joy to teachers.) Teachers, staff, and administrators draw names and between Thanksgiving and winter break give little gifts every day or every other day to a secret 'pal.' Her secret santa is awesome! And it has been fun for social interaction. It is optional for teachers. The 'happy committee' at her school runs it. They also do diper parties and retirement parties at her school.
We talked about the importance of staying connected to a place. Many alumni had good experiences at our alma mater. We think it is important to keep in touch with those whose lives were touched as they developed as teachers. So we are going to invite other alumni and former faculty to join us next month!
We talked about yearbooks. Teachers at her school picked students to take pictures for a day. Students get the yearbook camera, yes, the real camera, for a day. Students with the 'best pictures' get a gift card. She had a student who normally was not very high performing who took Great pictures! It was fun to share the successes of students.
So this week we checked in, caught up, shared ideas, shared great stories about students' successes, and inspired hope in one another. Our question for you is: Who inspires you? Who is your mentor, your advocate? We think it is time to get in touch with them and tell them Thank You! If someone made a difference in your life, tell them! We need more good CIR-O! 😊

It´s that time of year! Part II

Part II

I received an email from a colleague who started the correspondence with,  'as a break from grading, I decided to work on this article.' I love how unapologetic the statement was. Today, between grading, I decided to start decorating the house for Christmas. It allowed me a few minutes, well maybe an hour, to unwind and just breathe. Once I took a break, I was able to get back on the grading horse and ride.

We have to take care of ourselves. On that note, I have been very intentional about drinking lots of water and exercising. The dog is always willing to go for a walk.

Finally, enjoy this time with your students. They may need a lot more patience than usual.  They are worth it and need to know you care about them as people and as learners. (:

Survival: Effective Classroom Management

Hello all,

The countdown is on. Nine more school days until winter break. And it can't come soon enough for teachers! Once December hits, students are wrought with excitement and short attention spans. How do you combat this? The answer: effective classroom management.

I very rarely give lunch detentions. I haven't had to write a kid's name on the board in months. Instead, I entirely depend on my "Free Time Friday" system.

Every class starts out with 10 minutes of free time on Friday. If they keep all 10 minutes, they can also have free seating, 8 minutes gets them music while they work. (*NOTE* advice to new teachers: ALWAYS make free seating a harder-to-attain reward, and music easier. They will be LOUD with free seating and quiet with music. This is for your sanity).

I can take a minute for anything. If I tell a student more than once to stop flipping the bottle. if the students are too loud, if they aren't all seated and quiet after my countdown.. It doesn't matter if it's one student or a group of students. They are all accountable for each other, and it really works.
(Btw, countdowns are amazing no matter what age! Countdown for clean up, countdown for transition, countdown for quiet.. it really works as long as you have an immediate consequence, in my case, a minute of free time).

I can also add a minute if I feel like we had an overall good class or classroom discussion, so it's not all negative.

It's quick, it's easy, and it's effective. That must be your goal when deciding on a classroom management style. Don't try an elaborate system (with tickets or fake money) unless you're willing to keep up with it, because it will become ineffective if you don't.

Ultimately, though, it's all about finding your style. Hope I helped!

It's that time of year!

It is the season between Thanksgiving and Christmas, a time when I am anticipating some time off with friends and family. But my middle school children were not always excited. Sometimes their worlds were not as safe, as secure, or as hopeful as mine. When I was teaching I tried to bring in activities and experiences that reinforced content but engaged them more, especially on Fridays, for them and for me. Yesterday, I shared three activities with my middle school college students.

First, I asked my students to brainstorm their heroes using the following categories: family, artists (athletes, musicians, ...), a favorite middle school teacher, their favorite book character or author, historical figure and asked them to tell why they are their heroes. In groups they chose several to share and then we talked about writing them a letter. 
Second, I then had them 'choose 10 things' they would want to take with them if they had to leave your home forever. (Note: toiletries, all family members and pets would be going.) I then said, 'oh no, things have changed, you can only take five things - so if you said 'clothes' you can now only take one item.' I then asked them to choose which of those items was most important and which was least. Note: With the fires in our area, evacuation is something they are familiar with. 
Third, we mad a 'thank you quilt.' I cut 5x5 inch squares, asked students to write a thank you card to the 'In Real Life' (our after school enrichment service project through Asheville City Schools) people. Students then placed their square on the door, which decorated the door and will be used to make a certificate to thank them for giving us this opportunity. 
Perhaps you could use these activities with your students. I would love to gather more ideas from you specific to your content areas. (:
Have a great week CIROs.