Celebrate This Week - Being Brave

I’m joining up with Ruth Ayres for her weekly link-up, Celebrate This Week. Check out all of the posts linked up at her blog HERE. Thanks for starting this, Ruth!

I’m squeezing my weekly celebration in under the wire, typing here at 9 pm Saturday night. There are many weeks I forget to write this post, but today my celebrations were just popping up everywhere and I had to take a moment to reflect.

One, I’m celebrating friends that inspire. In June I attended a writing retreat with these folks, among others. Jen (on the right) had a great idea to begin a Google Spreadsheet to keep each other accountable for writing when we got back, and we began this week. It has only been seven days and I wrote 7,000 words this week. Not all were great, some were horrid, but it was 7,000 more than I had last week at this time, so I’m celebrating being brave enough to ignore the inner critic and write anyway.

Two, I was excited to find out that Ruth Ayres and Christy Rush-Levine are beginning a Twitter chat called Teach and Celebrate Writers. #TandCwriters will be on the first Sunday of the month at 8:00 pm EST. I am beyond pumped to join in this chat and am honored that they asked me to co-host the first one this August. Hope to see you there on August 3^rd.

Third, and finally, I’m celebrating this guy.

Luke is twelve and has had a unusual baseball season. He was on two teams—one team was a super positive experience, one was a learning experience, both had value. He is wrapping up the season with his second team, the super positive team, this weekend.

Luke was also in my reading class this year when we read this book:

We had great discussions over Snail’s actions and what it means to be brave. Hitting has been a struggle this year for a variety of reasons. I’m beyond proud of Luke for choosing to be in the Homerun Derby tonight. You didn’t have to be in any of the skills contests, but he chose to participate in this one.

He tried knowing many games have gone by this year with nary a hit.

He tried knowing others would be hitting it over the fence.

He still tried.

When he was bummed he got four or five hits out of seven pitches, but none went to the fence, I told him how proud I was that he jumped, just as Snail did.

That he was brave.

I think, no I know, that he thinks I’m sappy—and maybe I am—but I’m so happy he made that decision tonight. Being brave is important. I teach that to all of my students, and sometimes they listen, sometimes they don’t.

I’m grateful Luke did.

Our Classroom, Not Mine: Thinking Through Classroom Arrangements

The plan was not to write a blog post this morning. Even as I type this, I’m baking cupcakes for my son’s party this afternoon, taking a break from picking up our home, shouting to my boys to read, do their jobs, and clean up before video games, and, and, and. There is so much to do and a blog post was not in the cards.

Then I read Ben Gilpin’s post. I met Ben briefly at NerdCamp and have followed him on Twitter – and read his blog – for some time. Ben is an amazing administrator. I’m consistently impressed by how he’s leading his building. Today’s post can be found HERE. It focuses on what he took away from NerdCamp, specifically in regard to learning spaces. He ends his posts with these questions:

First, classrooms must be hinged around student learning.  Is the space student-friendly and flexible in meeting the diverse needs of our students?

Second, classrooms should be interactive, creative and adaptive.  Does the space allow for communication and collaboration?

Finally, is your learning space teacher-centric or student-centric?  Have you ever asked the students how they feel in the space?

I love these questions. My classroom has undergone a transformation in the last few years. Four years ago I got rid of student desks and moved to tables. Two years ago I got rid of my desk. What I noticed about my room – what made me feel icky – a few years ago was just that, it was my room. I had to make some decisions. Now I try and make sure it is our room. I knew I was succeeding when Brenda Power came to visit for a day in May about a year ago. She commented on my phone – how it was always with me to Google, confer, etc., but also how I readily handed it to a student when they needed a device. Absolutely, what is mine is theirs. Simple.

Here are some guiding beliefs I have when looking at our classroom:

·      As I mentioned, it is not my room, but ours.

·      There is no student space/ teacher space. It is all our space.

·      We need to all be in a comfortable environment that works for us.

·      Our space needs to be flexibly.

·      Our space needs to be relaxing.

·      If something isn’t working, any member of the class (including me) can bring that up for problem solving.

Students are just as likely to bring up noise level, crowding, or something they don’t think is working as I am. I’m good with moving the room around on a whim, finding a better flow. In my ideal world, I would not have a spot at a table for every kid. Right now I do. I’d prefer there were tables if you needed, but floor space, standing tables, etc. as well. In my dream world I would have the furniture that makes it much more conducive to moving the classroom around, but I don’t have a silent backer funding my classroom (beyond my husband funding my library – and he’s not so silent.)

 

My "desk" is a table to meet at.

My classroom is not going to be found on a style blog for amazing decorations. I’d rather spend money on books. Beyond painting the bulletin boards all a quiet mint color because I thought it was calming, I don’t spend money on decorations for my classroom. I accept donated furniture, found tables in our building no one is using, and keep the clutter at bay. I love the space we’re in, but have dreams of what it could be in the future as well. I’m constantly thinking of different arrangements and how I could make more space for the kids, not less.

How about you? What are your big thoughts on classroom arrangements? Are you trying anything new out this year? I’d love to hear from all of you. I know I was inspired just reading over Gretchen and Franki’s presentation from NerdCamp (HERE). Idea paint? Might need to try that!

Schneider Family Book Award 10th Anniversary Blog Tour & Giveaway

Recently Alyson Beecher asked if I’d like to participate in a blog tour. She was creating a tour to honor the tenth anniversary of the Schneider Family Book Award. I have to say, it wasn’t until four or five years ago that I was even aware of the Schneider award. If you are as in the dark as I was, Alyson did a great summary of what this award stands for:

This award honors an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

With that in mind, Alyson mentioned that I could pick a favorite book from the winners and talk about it on my blog. Hmm, I scanned over the list of books that have been honored at ALA. 

How to pick? This year my students went crazy over Splash of Red, I should go with that one. Wait, but last year had the amazing book A Dog Called Homeless. I can talk about that. Yet, Wonderstruck and the unusual format would be a good discussion. It always helps my students understand dual plot lines. But, Anything But Typical….no, Waiting for Normal…no, Rules… so many good books.

I finally had to settle, I do need to pick one. The first year a special book won the award – Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements. I was in my third year of teaching in Monticello when this book came out. I book talked it then as I do now…

Imagine, you wake up in the morning, stumble into the bathroom and jump into the shower. You’re tired, why does school start so darn early? You quickly rinse off and step out, towel drying yourself as you walk over to the mirror. Glancing up, you do a double take. You’re looking into the mirror, but you aren’t there. Where you’re reflection should be is nothing. Nothing. And you have no idea what has happened.

Usually the book talk enough creates a waiting list for the book. When I explain that Bobby – the boy that is suddenly invisible – runs to the library naked so no one will notice him, they giggle. When I share how he befriends a blind girl, questions begin immediately.

I love this story. Bobby immediately drew me in. He has such a string of bad luck in the beginning of the book that I just wanted to be able to take care of him. My students adore this book as do I. What an amazing and unforgettable tale.

For more information about the Schneider Family Book Award: webpage | list of winners  

Check out all of the links of the Schneider Family Book Award 10th Anniversary Blog Tour & Giveaway:

July 6, 2014    Nerdy Book Club

July 6, 2014    Kid Lit Frenzy 

July 7, 2014    Nonfiction Detectives

July 9, 2014    Teach Mentor Texts

July 10, 2014    There’s a Book For That

July 11, 2014    Kathie Comments

July 12, 2014   Disability in Kidlit 

July 14, 2014    Librarian in Cute Shoes

July 15, 2014    The Late Bloomer’s Book Blog

July 15, 2014    CLCD

July 16, 2014    Read, Write, and Reflect

July 17, 2014    Read Now Sleep Later

July 18, 2014    Unleashing Readers

July 19, 2014    Great Kid Books

July 20, 2014    Maria’s Mélange

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Schneider Family Book Award, we are providing readers with an opportunity to win a set of all three 2014 Schneider Family Book Award Winners. Participants must be 13 years or older and have a US or Canadian mailing address. 

Click HERE to be taken to the giveaway! 

How Much Activity Do Our Students Need?

Yesterday I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across this article in the Washington Post – “Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today.” (You can read it HERE.) Reading through it I found myself nodding my head. Flipping over to Twitter I saw this image that a friend had shared:

And I couldn’t help but wonder – are we having this discussion in our schools? I started teaching in 1998 and moved to my current district in 2000. In 2000 my fourth grade students had recess before school if they got there before the bell rang, recess each morning for 15 minutes, and at least twenty-five minutes of recess each lunch hour. On occasion, we also had a recess in the afternoon. My district I was in from 1998-2000 had the same schedule and also PE every day.

Flash forward to today. Kids are still offered recess if they arrive before the bell in the morning. No morning recess, lunch recess is a bit shorter, and no afternoon recess. On some Fridays we might do an afternoon recess. Kids absolutely move less.

I think we do need to consider the ramifications of this. All kids need to move. Heck, I need to move. I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately – some on education in countries like Finland which build in breaks consistently all day long – and some reading on the impact of taking away recess as a punishment. While there is often good reason for doing this, the result might be less than desirable.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to my more active kids in the classroom – how can I best help them? Most of what I do, I have learned through them. They can pace if needed. If they prefer to stand to work, or lean against their table and kneel on their chair – why not? I have exercise balls and Hokki stools specifically to help them out. I ensure my mini-lessons/ whole class instruction is short (15 minutes maximum) so they can move. I have created a classroom for them, not me. There is no teacher desk. There is our space, not mine. They can lie down to read, sit, find a quiet corner, and more. Due to no longer begin self-contained, I cannot just schedule a recess at whim, but I’m trying to ensure our classroom and our schedule are set up for all students – including my friends who need to move. I hope it is enough.

Sometimes I think we forget that we are dealing with children. I have bad days, just as I know my eleven-year-old kids do. I’m old enough that I don’t take it out on everyone around me and I’ve learned what works for me. For example, today I can tell I’m a bit grouchy. My old friend, anxiety, has come to visit. So, I can dwell on it, or I can move. Exercise is the only thing that helps me now and I have the liberty to go do just that. What about “Sam” who is in my class? What if he feels jittery and like his brain is jumping around? If exercise is best for him, are we allowing Sam to fill that need? How do you help your students who can’t sit still? I’d love to learn from you all as I continue to think this one through.