BeGLAD Training

     Our district mandated that all the 2nd and 3rd grade teachers attend BeGLAD training.  #BeGLAD is Guided Language Acquisition Design.  In my opinion, BeGLAD is amazing strategies to use with kids.  My 2nd and 3rd grade teachers had to make sub plans for 6 days and be prepared to be out of their classrooms.  I know it is very stressful for them to be away from their kids for so long.  We also have a shortage of substitutes, so that was something else on their mind.
     I have 5 pages of notes on the training so far and it's only the first day.  Our trainers have been very entertaining, engaging, and have made learning fun!  What a concept that is?!  Thank you Jabbar and Noshaba!  I think teachers will think this training is worth the stress of being away from their kids for 6 days.  I know they will have SO many different strategies to use with their kids when they get back.

CUE RockStar!

I had the privilege to attend a CUE RockStar Teacher Camp this summer.  Honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect when I signed up.  I knew I needed technology and we would be having small class sizes.  Both of those things appealed to me.  CUE RockStar was a 3 day workshop where I got to learn all kinds of amazing things.  I attended a Robotics class, ThingLink app/photo collage class, learned new ways to communicate with the teachers I will be working with, dove deeper into Google Forms and Info-graphics.  And those were just some of the classes that were offered.  I also got to network with many other teachers from different districts.  I also realized that I could actually teach some of these classes.  I am super excited about that prospect.  I am shy and I secretly love to get up and teach.  When I’m teaching kids the fear goes away and I become a different person.  I love that confident person and I crave more of her.  So the idea of teaching this kind of technology to other teachers is pretty cool.

From one of the classes I attended, we made a ThingLink that showcased what I did and learned.  I attended the Robotics class and made a rubber band car.  We experimented with different wheels and lengths of rubber bands to see if they made a difference in how fast they traveled.  I found out that I made a pretty quick little car!  All the changes I made to the car, made it slower.  So I changed it back!  Now that school has started back up, I going to set up a time with a teacher to come in her class and make these cars with the kids.  They are 2nd graders and they are the perfect age to experiment with this kind of Robotics.  

I also got to use the Pic Collage app to help me create my ThingLink.  We did a photo walk and picked out different objects to make the word CUE.  This would be a great way to get kids thinking creatively and up out of the classroom.  They could do a pic collage on the habitat of the wildlife around the school, different numbers they see around the campus, or anything they can think of.

I loved the refresher class on Info-graphics.  I enjoy looking at data and making an info-graphic is a fun and creative way to do that.  Last year a made an Info-graphic that reflected my students’ DIBELs scores.  The kids liked seeing how much they improved, and I could show that in a fun way.  While I was at CUE RockStar, I made one for Instructional Coaches. It needs some tweaking, but I think I would like to share it with my teachers one day.

Upon reflection, I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to attend CUE RockStar and I loved that it was here in Crescent City.  I got to learn so much and I’m very grateful for that.  I’m looking forward to attending another CUE conference in the future.

School Starts Monday!

     The start of this school year is different than every other school year since I've become a teacher.  Yesterday I wasn't busy getting my classroom ready for new 4th graders.  I was busy checking on teachers to see if there was anything I could do to make their day or start of the year any better.  I am the new Instructional Coach for 2nd & 3rd grade teachers in Del Norte County.  I met with 16 of my teachers yesterday, they were all in good spirits ready to start the year off.  I am so excited and honored to work with a group of talented, creative, caring, and dedicated teachers.  I can't wait to work with them and secretly I can't wait to learn from them.  They have such a wealth of knowledge that I want to tap into.

     So to all the teachers who are starting school on Monday, good luck!  You are appreciated more than you will ever know.  

To Do List....Genius Hour...Check!

     Our Open House was last Wednesday and the kids got to showcase their #GeniusHour learning.  I had a fantastic turn out of parents who showed up to support their child.  Not only did we have parents, we had grandparents, aunts, uncles and people who wanted to see what all the commotion was stop by and listen to my kids present on their Genius Hour projects.  I am so proud of the work my kids did.  

     I have the pleasure of presenting my experience of Genius Hour to my 2nd and 3rd grade teachers on Tuesday.  The plan is to have a whole grade level participate in Genius Hour next year.  It was opened up to grades K-6 and I am really hoping my 2nd or 3rd grade teachers decide to do it.  I really want to support them next year.  On Thursday I get to present it to the School Board.  I hope they are as inspired as I am.

     I just want to say a HUGE thank you to +Rae Fearing and +Charlene Knowlton.  Without them to calm me down and reassure me I don't think it would have been as big a success as it was.  So thank you ladies, and I look forward to working with you next year to calm someone else down!

We are very busy...

     #GeniusHour is amazing! My kids have been doing some incredible learning.  They have been meeting with lots of people from our community.  I have to say, Crescent City has some welcoming and helpful people in it.  I am very grateful to many people this week.  First off, Northwoods welcomed to of my boys, Luis and Westyn, into their kitchen to let them see what being a chef was like.  Chef Frank was so gracious with them, they got to make pasta, tour the kitchen and interview him.  Dr. Caldwell made time to meet with one of my girls. She wants to become a doctor.  Dr. Caldwell met with Judith and she got to interview him and tour his office.
     Our goal last week was to revisit our Essential Questions.  It was important to me to remind the kids what they were researching and to go back to the whole point of Genius Hour.   They also looked at each other's questions and made comments or asked more questions.  It was powerful to them, I could tell they really thought about what they asked each other.

Essential Questions #GeniusHour

Our First Blog Post

We are winding down our first official week of Genius Hour.  One of the requirements is to do a blog post every week about what they worked on for their project.  Here is the link to our Kid Blog.  Check out what they are doing.

We have made several connections in the community for interviews and mini field trips and everyone has been gracious and helped us out.  I am so excited for these kids.  I really wish I could go on a field trip too.  I hope they know how special this is.

Please check out their blogs posts!  They would LOVE it if someone besides their classmates and their teacher comment on their posts.

5 Things We Have To Stop Pretending

+Rae Fearing challenged me to come up with ways to #MakeSchoolDifferent.

Here are my 5 things we have to stop pretending in education.

1. Teachers can do everything on their own.
This probably has more to do with the teacher themselves, but I know that I want to do everything on my own.  But I can't and I need help, not just someone to make copies for me, but to help me learn and grow as a teacher.  I'm almost 5 years into this profession and I am STILL trying to figure everything out.  I don't believe teachers who have been teaching for 20 or more years have it figured out.  

2.  If teachers attend Professional Development they will take it back into the classroom and use it right away.
I'll be honest, I have attended a lot of professional development, but I haven't used half of what I have learned.  Like my kids, I need to be shown how to do things.  If I get to participate and really understand what is being taught there is a greater likelihood I will take what I learned back to my classroom.  But there also needs to be a follow-up to see if I need any assistance.  What I think will be great about my PLC Coaching job is that I get to be the one to follow-up and help out.  It's one thing to expect a teacher to implement something without support, it's another to provide that support.

3. Your text book will cover all your standards.
Now that we are moving towards the Common Core, our text books are not the end all be all.  There are many standards you will have to go elsewhere to find and cover.  I would love a magical book that has everything I need, but it's not out there and teachers need to realize that.

4. Just because I don't know anything about technology, doesn't mean my kids don't either.
I have jumped on the technology bandwagon and ran with it.  I have been trying so many things lately that I didn't even know existed.  Some of them I liked myself and others I didn't care for.  But all of them my kids loved!  I understand there are teachers who don't know how to use technology, but these kids do!  It's hard to not be in total control of a situation, but it's good for you and it makes you learn new things.

5. You have to do the same thing all day, everyday. 
I realize kids need consistency, I am a HUGE advocate for it.  But education is changing everyday and you as a teacher need to change with it.  There are so many different things kids can be doing to show their understanding, engaging and fun things!

This was really hard for me to come up with.  I know I'm learning all the time to be a better teacher for my kids.  I feel like they have gotten a variety of educational experiences this year.  There is always room to grow and get better!