Slice of Life Day 29~ Final Day of Spring Break

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for hosting the Slice of Life March challenge.  I am joining other bloggers and writing every day in March.  Please visit their site to read other slices and please remember to let the blogger know you read their post, share the love in the comments! 





The final day of spring break….

The plan~

Stay up late
Sleep in
Check

Lost touch friends
Do Lunch
Check

Go to the movie
Missed Opportunity

Listen to Serial
Check

Visit Friend
New baby
Check

Reorganize
Classroom
Closet at home
Check and Oh, well

Lunch with mom and girls
Nails with mom and girls
Check, check

Reconnect
Distant family
Joyfully, Check!

Ready to return to school
Check!

Slice of Life Day 28 & Celebrate~ this week! Classroom Spring Cleaning and Rearrangements

Today's post will merge two of my digital communities.

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for hosting the Slice of Life March challenge.  I am joining other bloggers and writing every day in March.  Please visit their site to read other slices and please remember to let the blogger know you read their post, share the love in the comments! 

&

Ruth Ayers of Discover. Play. Build. invites  us to share weekly celebrations, big or small, on her blog. This week I am jumping in, celebrating my opportunity to work alongside a preservice teacher and practice my OLW~ Listen!   Thanks Ruth for hosting! 

I want to celebrate  Mary Kay's thoughtfulness in rearranging our rooms and the arrangement and the promise it holds.  We went into school on Friday to tidy up and make a few adjustments.  I let Mary Kay make all the decisions. I listened as she explained her thoughts for wanting to move something and then helped  make the move.  

• Rotated the carpet to improve student comfort in looking at the large screen while seated not he floor.
• Moved island (which houses paper, dry erase tools and other writing supplies) to allow more open feel when entering the room and student accessibility in gathering tools. 
• Cleaned out tanks from previously living organisms (Yes, our mealworms actually died, of natural causes, I was sure you couldn't kill mealworms…)
• Added larger table to improve use of document camera in displaying work and books.
• Moved treasure chest of books (houses class favorites) to a safer location to prevent lid from falling shut. 
• Added poetry books to tables and  physical science books to display shelf to activate prior learning and front load upcoming studies. 
• Switched out markers for colored pens to improve legibility of writing. (Markers are still available, but not on tables.)

Mary Kay experienced first hand how one little change turns into a few more little changes and a few more decisions.  Mary Kay was thoughtful about traffic patterns, seating, work space for small groups and individuals and student preferences and keeping the balance with her needs as the lead teacher.   I am eager to see how the kids respond Monday! 

Silce Of Life Day 27~Even Mickey Mouse Can't Hold Down These Writers!

Thank you to Two Writing Teachers for hosting the Slice of Life March challenge.  I am joining other bloggers and writing every day in March.  Please visit their site to read other slices and please remember to let the blogger know you read their post, share the love in the comments! 

Today's post is a testament to power of the Slice of Life Writing Challenge.  #SOL15 Takes On Mickey! 

This week is spring break in our district and I worried about  writers dropping out.  As we shared our SOL lunch last Tuesday I asked the writers what their writing plans were over spring.  A few scoffed, "It's spring break!"  Zyg piped up, "Yeah, that's going to make it even more of a writing challenge! I can blog on my mom's phone, because we are going to at Disney?"  Then, Avery spoke up and posed the Avery Challenge~ "I am going to write everyday on my vacation, because if I don't I will miss it!" The writers united and the Avery challenge was on! 

This week I have been moderating, approving and linking post much like another week with 5-7 kids consistently writing.  Yesterday, I realized these 5-7 kids were on spring break, most in Disney and  STILL they post everyday!  This deserves special recognition, so I tweeted out our link and look what happened! 

Zyg got a comment from Mr. Webb and Room Three in New Zealand! 

As soon as I approved this comment I texted Zyg's mom- her response made my day and inspired this post!

Slice of Life~ My Maker Space

Tonight's post will merge two of my digital communities. I hope neither community minds the merge…

Tonights post is day 14 as a member of the Slice of Life writing community created by Two Writing Teachers and in this post I want to share my "make" for my Digital Playground community created by Julie And Cathy.

The members of the Digital Playground are giving a biweekly "make." I don't really know how to explain what a make is, it's a task we are challenged to complete, the directions are open. The ambiguity of this task is exactly what makes it's so fun! Members set out of the task in a variety of ways and each one is unique to the creator. Along the way I am learning new tools, new friends and new things about old friends, it's all a win!

Julie's direction for this make are~

However you identify yourself, there’s probably a special spot that is your “space to make.”  Is it your kitchen, your garage, the cityscape, or someplace else where you can let your creativity shine?

For this week’s make, we’d like you to show us your maker space.  How you show us is up to you.  There are no limitations...write a poem or story, create a movie, build something and take a photo...use your imagination!  Try a new tool, or stay with something familiar because you want to get better at it.  It’s your choice!

I struggled to define my maker space. Then I heard my daughter's dance instructor Martine Clark express what the dance studio means to a dancer, loosely quoted from my memory-

"...the studio to a dancer is a sacred place, a place where we can be ourselves and a place where we can let it all go and express ourselves."

As I listened to these words I knew what my maker spaceS were... a place I hold sacred, (my classroom), a place I feel free to be myself, (in my classroom, my home and at a mall. Yep, I feel creative and inspired at the mall. I grew up working in the mall and have always felt the mall grounds me, it's a creative space where we dream and create spaces and images) and finally, the recliner with my laptop. This is where all my thoughts come together and are turned into expressions and wonders!

Click to view my Maker Space

I used Nutshell to create show my maker space. Nutshell is VERY simple to use, but I took sometime trying to polish a few pieces. The music and picture quality continue to be my challenges with this tool. 

What's your Make Space…?

Slice of Life Day 12~New perspectives

Our class is fortunate to have a student teacher join our class for the year! It's such an honor to learn and grow alongside a student teacher, but it's not easy. This week I am taking on a new perspective…

sitting back, listening, watching and thinking….

I Hear~
Kids commenting on the lesson
Kids talking quietly as others share with the group
Some kids repeating the same answer over and over and over
Some kids laughing
Someone making sounds with their mouth
An excited teacher talking with the class seated around her


I See~
Some kids raising their hands
Some kids sitting quietly
All kids looking at the teacher
A student teacher glowing in her opportunity


I Wonder~
Do they do this for me?
How would I deliver the lesson?
Would it be the same as I envision sitting here?
Does the noise maker know they are making sounds with their mouth?
Will the noise maker ever stop?
What are the intentions of those repeating the answer over and over and over again?
Does the teacher teaching hear the samethings I hear?
Do they know I still care?

this is undoubtedly the HARDEST thing I have ever had to do.

New Opportunities~ Slice of Life Day 6

Arps Hall, Ohio State University
Photo credit
http://www.panoramio.com/user/3966741?with_photo_id=31277942

Tuesday I had the privilege of sharing our classroom technology practice with pre-service teachers at Ohio State University.  I was honored when their instructor, Michele Sanderson approached me about speaking with her class.  The opportunity to mentor young teachers is a passion of mine. As professional educators I feel it's our duty to share and foster the art of teaching in young teachers. It's important to share our passions and the beliefs that go into building and designing our classroom practice.

The interns were eager to hear about the tools my students and I use and how they take our learning beyond our classroom. The questions they asked were great and showed their  interest in designing and establishing in their own classrooms someday.  As we talked about instructional decisions and their outcomes I realized how many decisions are behind each small choice we make. Many of these choices have become a habit, something we just do.  I also felt pride in our profession and an a sense of anticipation in these new teachers, they too will be professional educators soon.

I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed sharing and teaching at this level. I was humbled and honored to think about the opportunity to influence so many classrooms through these young and excited teachers!

I may have found a new interest to pursue.

Slice Of Life day 1

Today's slice is short…I seem to have a stomach bug for the second time in February!

It seems when we are immersed in our busy lives all we long for is a day in our jammies. A day in our jammies, guilt free time to relax. Then the day comes and forces you to stay in your jammies and I all I thinks about all I should be doing!

I hear my husband come back from the grocery store and think, I should be shopping.

I hear my daughter packing herself for an all day rehearsal and I think, I should be reassuring her  and encouraging her endurance for an 8 hour rehearsal.

I hear my husband doing laundry and i realize how fortunate I am, I didn't have to ask him to do anything, he just jumped in and took over, he even brought home popsicles for me.