I'm grateful that in my three years I've gotten to stay in the same room and the same grade level, which isn't always common for new teachers. I'm grateful for a school district that has supportive families and trusts their teachers and has the funds to give them resources to do what they know best--teach. I know not every teacher is that lucky and I never want to take that for granted. This year I chose to actually stick with a classroom "theme", and I settled on a travel/around the world theme.
Here are some snaps of my classroom set up for this year. There is nothing like a clean and freshly smelling classroom, with spotless tables and freshly sharpened pencils. The crayons aren't dull yet and all the markers have a perfect pigment. The headphones don't have 47 knots in them yet and none of my yoga balls are popped. The erasers aren't wore off the pencils and all of my technology is updated and ready to work. My K-cups jar is filled to the top with coffee, and all of my baskets and binders have color-coordinated labels. I know these things won't last long, but that's good. That means kids are in this room learning and growing together. That means kids are playing, moving, talking, and reading.
I had to laugh because due to my classroom being used for summer school this year, I wasn't able to get into it until the very end of July. Brice and I decided to be a bit spontaneous and plan a trip to Canada meaning that when I returned I would have only 3-4 days to get my classroom ready for the school year. If you know a teacher or are a teacher, you know that this is nowhere near enough time to prepare your room, especially if you're a bit OCD like myself. If this would've happened during year one or year two, let's just say I would be hyperventilating with stress.. :) I guess that means I'm finally getting it right if it doesn't stress me out this year, right? Or possibly just more realistic expectations on myself? Either way, here goes year three!
Each year I try to make goals for myself and my classroom. I never want to be that teacher who gets in a rut and refuses to think outside the box and try new things. I'm passionate about kids learning in ways that work best for them, and I'm passionate about making learning more than lesson, but an experience. I want my students to go home eager to return the next day and dying to know what's on the lesson plan for tomorrow. My first year goal was to create an environment that catered to every learning style and promoted kids learning how they do best. That meant getting rid of individual desks and hard chairs, and replacing them with tables for collaboration, yoga balls and wiggle seats for moving/fidgeting, and providing opportunities for students to stand, sit, lay down, and work in whatever way was best for them. I got crazy looks for sure, but it made the world of difference in my classroom community. When you give responsibility to kids and show that you trust them, they will trust you in return. Now this year, a bunch of RES teachers are trying out flexible seating and catching that inspiration!
My goal for year two was to revitalize my math instruction. I knew standing in front of seven year olds talking for long periods of time wasn't best practice, and I dreading teaching math. Enter: Math Workshop. I implemented a hands-on approach to math where students had opportunity to work independently, work with others, work with technology, and work by creating + problem solving. All of this while I was able to instead meet with small groups of kids who need individualized instruction, not whole group. I now look forward to teaching math, as my students look forward to math time, and I'll never go back!
Year three is upon me and I'm still looking at my classroom goal for the year. I'm thinking it needs to be centered around technology. I want to use tech to enhance what we do in the classroom, giving students an opportunity to do and create things they never could've without technology, not just replace pen and paper. I want to connect my students to the world and create culturally-aware kiddos that more deeply understand the world around them, and technology can do that in amazing ways.
Even years into teaching, my classroom library is my absolute favorite place. I love seeing the sense of wonder and eagerness as kids look through and discover new series that excites them. Clearly, I love reading, so it's incredibly important I pass that on to my students.
I'm trying out a Global Spotlight area, where I'll showcase a different country/culture every few weeks. We'll learn about that country's culture, currency, language, landmarks, food, and landscapes. I'll be teaching my students how to say hello in that country's language, and that's how we'll greet one another in our morning meetings.
Each year I pray over my classroom right before Open House, where the students enter in and see their new classroom for the year with eager eyes and nervously meet their new teacher. I pray that this classroom is a place where each child that enters feels that they are important and that their voice is heard. I pray that by God's grace I can be a voice of truth in their life and that they can see that trusting an adult is a good thing. I pray that I can exemplify patience and understanding with each child, no matter how many buttons they push. I pray that each child will trust me enough to tell me not only about their exciting weekend plans, but also what they're struggling with and what's bothering them. Ultimately I pray that each child feels God's love through me, knowing that I care for them and want the best for them, no matter how they perform academically.
