I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching (for the second week in a row! Holla!) for her Five for Friday Linky Party! This was my first day back with the kiddos and we had a fabulous week!
Me Time! Being a mommy of four, a wife, and a teacher makes finding time to myself difficult. I finally decided to start waking up earlier to have some time BEFORE everyone wakes up. I usually get up before 5am, get in a 20-30 minute workout (and reading session...multitasking score!) on the elliptical and then spend whatever remaining time I have before I HAVE to start getting ready writing or preparing for school. It takes some getting used to, but now I don't think I could function without that time. It doesn't matter how little sleep I've had the night before or how tired I am, if I don't get up...I regret it all day long. Getting in some exercise and knocking something off my to-do list before I walk into school also helps me take on the rest of my day with energy and purpose. With this being my first week back at school, I was pretty proud of myself that I got up every day this week. Go me!
I saw this activity at the beginning of the year, but we never got around to it. With a new start to the year, I decided to toss it in now. Mr. Peabody's Apples has always been one of my favorites and being able to tie it into something so concrete as "toothpaste words," made it even better. "The toothpaste is out of the tube" is now our favorite expression.
After a quick read aloud to support our word study, we started Circus Mirandus! We're only a few chapters in and the kids are hooked! I read this book over break and LOVED every single moment. I was laying awake one night trying to figure out how I would be able to get every kid to read it, when...duh!! READ ALOUD! Just thinking about our reading time next week makes me happy!
It was a bit of a wonky week as we had two entire afternoons and part of a morning taking reading and math benchmark tests. Then, you'll see below, we had a field trip on Friday. Busy, busy! Since our time was so disjointed and we were getting back into the swing of things anyways, I decided to do lots of team building activities. One of the activities the kiddos liked the most was Save Fred! They worked in groups of three or four to save Fred and then fill out a reflection log to tell how they did it and what they would change if they were to do it again. One of the best things about this was the opportunity we took afterwards to reflect on grades.
The day after doing the activity, I projected a blank copy of their reflection log and asked them to list what they would expect for the assignment to receive an A, B, or C. (Anything missing from the C list would earn a D, and an F could only be earned if a group refused to do the assignment.) Then, each group had to give their work a grade. After really digging into it, they almost all gave themselves a C, and were really bummed. I asked if they would like the opportunity to improve their grade and EVERY group said yes. Once they finished, they had to give themselves a new grade and justify it. I'll look their work over and decide if I agree with them.
My goal is to focus on the work rather than the grades. I want the students to focus on their work rather than the ending score. I want them to understand what quality work looks like and then have the opportunity to improve their work if they missed the mark the first time. I don't know how often I'll be able to this, but I'm going to try it as often as possible.
The day after doing the activity, I projected a blank copy of their reflection log and asked them to list what they would expect for the assignment to receive an A, B, or C. (Anything missing from the C list would earn a D, and an F could only be earned if a group refused to do the assignment.) Then, each group had to give their work a grade. After really digging into it, they almost all gave themselves a C, and were really bummed. I asked if they would like the opportunity to improve their grade and EVERY group said yes. Once they finished, they had to give themselves a new grade and justify it. I'll look their work over and decide if I agree with them.
My goal is to focus on the work rather than the grades. I want the students to focus on their work rather than the ending score. I want them to understand what quality work looks like and then have the opportunity to improve their work if they missed the mark the first time. I don't know how often I'll be able to this, but I'm going to try it as often as possible.
We ended this week with a SCHOOL-WIDE field trip to see the UNCW Women's Basketball team play! It was so much fun! Our class made it on the big cube six times...not that anyone was counting.
It was a great first week back! We had lots of laughs and learning. It was lovely to be back together again. I can't wait to see what's in store for us next week!
It was a great first week back! We had lots of laughs and learning. It was lovely to be back together again. I can't wait to see what's in store for us next week!