Aim to Be Awesome, Not Perfect

I realized this morning I hadn't blogged in a couple days... turns out it has been about 8 days.  Wow! In the process of being a reflective teacher, I realized that I was focusing so much on my profession that I wasn't focusing on me and my family, especially starting right after Halloween.  And that focus was affecting me - specifically my outlook, my attitude, and my disposition.  All I could see was what I was doing wrong and what they weren't understanding because of a variety of reasons.  Because of that, my dispostiion was affecting my students. We weren't having good days, in learning and behavior.   Then there was finally that one class that kinda broke me.   After that, I realized that I needed a break.  Having a sub to go to PD or even taking a day to get a pedicure and have lunch with a friend was not enough of a break - and me not being in the classroom might have hurt my students - and that was part of my growing problem.  ...

So in the blogging challenge , days 9 and 10 are about me.  Day 9: Share one of your biggest accomplishments in teaching.     I still don't know what I did, or how it happened, but something wonderful happened. Last year, I had one inteverntion class with 15 students. Some days this class was the highlight of the day, other days it was the class I just needed to get through.  We played games, we did homework, we talked and shared, and 3 days a week we did a computer program called Think Through Math.  We get to April and the wonderful/dreaded state assessments. Kids take them and then we wait for their scores.  Like or not, these scores are one way teachers are judged.  And like I said, I don't know how it happened, but 9 of my 15 darlings passed the test! I cried.  I don't know if I will ever hit a highlight like this.    Day 10: Share: Share five random facts about yourself. My favorite number is 8. I was born in Ken...

Okay, so it is a day late... First up, Who inspires me? This one is easy.  I am inpsired by pretty much every teacher I work with or meet.  Some exude a passion I want to emulate.  Some have amazing skills that I want to acquire.  Some create relationships with students with such ease that I just stand there, in awe.  Some keep giving and giving when it is obvious their tank is empty.  Every day I see or hear something inspiring, something pushing me to be a better planner, a better listener, more giving - basically just a better teacher.  And I can't wait to find something inspiring tomorrow... Second, My desk drawer tries to be organized, but it isn't. I have cute little bins and started the year with all my pens and pencils and post-its in the right spot.  But over 10 weeks time, that organization has dwindled.  The bins are still there but some are more full than others. Their contents are mixed.  I guess what it says about it...

Mentor:  someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person (according to Merriam-Webster ) I had to look it up, because to be honest, I wasn't sure I could describe one.  I had a 'mentor' my first year of teaching, but I don't feel like I got anything from her.  She didn't really reach out to me, and honestly, I didn't seek her out either.   So what does a good mentor do?  If I could go back to that time - to her or to me - what advice would I give?  Looking back, what did I need that first year? First, I think a good mentor checks in.  As a teacher, time is precious. I understand that we all have a thousand items are our to-do list, and we work many more hours than advertised.  But having someone stick their head in my room, on a regular basis, to make sure I was okay, would have been nice.  The conversation doesn't have to be long or be about lesson plans. Just knowing someone is there, a...

Day 5 : Classroom Thoughts - What I See and What I Want to See Here are a couple photos of my room (with kids): What I see:   Students grouped together and sharing information Students using technology (they are playing Kahoot) Walls have decor on them Word Walls What I would like to see: Furniture that makes it easier for students to sit in different groupings Students creating together  Sorry this is short, but it is a little hard for me.  What do you see?  What would you like to see?  

What do I love about teaching? I love the kids. I love the people I work with. I love how everyday changes, for good or bad. I really like how no two days are the same. I love the aha moment. It is so awesome to be there for that.  I love how the kids make me have my own aha  moments too. Sharing those moments with them has been really cool. I love hearing "You are my favorite teacher." I love hugs and big smiles. I love working at a school that has a such a strong sense of community. I am blessed to have so many wonderful I love about my job!

In the blogging challenge , I am supposed to pick one thing that was noticed at a recent observation. Last week, my instruction coach mentioned that my teaching partner and I need to do a better job of talking about our objectives for the day.  We both have them listed on the board, but I guess she and I forget to talk about them most days. After my coach mentioned it, I have been paying attention to whether or not I say anything.  I know I talked about objectives on Monday but not so much on Wednesday.  I know this is probably a simple thing for most teachers, but I guess it is something I forget. When I look back on each class, there is such a rush to get moving so we have as much practice time as possible in class that I forget to take a minute to talk about our goals and objectives. So this is definitely something I need to work on.  Maybe blogging about it will keep it in the forefront of my mind.

It's day 2 and I am supposed to talk technology... should be easy, right? I have a LARGE goal for technology. My vision is warm-ups as Google Forms or Socrative quizzes to see where kids are, then they head to centers - videos or small group (with me) for more learning, a center for practice or a space for enrichment.  Lofty but totally doable, right? And if I was in the same grade as last year, with the same TEKS, I think I would be able to do it. But moving up a grade, the great state of Texas changing the TEKS on us (48% change in 7th grade math), and wifi issues (recently fixed) have slowed this vision.  But that is still my ultimate goal - it might just take a year or two.   So I think my big goal for tech this year is to get kids to create with tech. I already did one small project with my Accelerated students (link here to school blog), and it went well enough that I want to try it again, and expand it.  I am searching for other ideas as well, so ...

So Krista Tyler posted this and I have been wanting to do it - so I am jumping in! Here is the original post . I also am joining the #MTBOS Challenge for the remainder of 2014 that I heard about from Middle School Math Rules ! Luckily, both of these deal with goals! My PROFESSIONAL GOALS: to integrate more technology where students create and share to better explain our daily class goals to share more tech with my fellow teachers MY PERSONAL GOALS: spend more time with my family to watch "Breaking Bad" (it has been clogging my DVR for almost a year) to finally paint my bedroom Now that I have these written down, let's see how I do! 

This blog post is painful to write. I had a day where the technology failed (and I don't mean 'internet not working', 'page didn't load', or "wifi speed was really slow"). As I think about that class, I have lots of circumstances to explain it. It was a Friday AND Halloween. It's the second-to-last class period, close to the end of the day. It is a large, social group. This class is my struggle everyday.  I could go on and on... We were starting a new unit on ratios, rates, and proportions.  My teaching partner and I agreed we were going to work on a cute activity called Witches Potion , where we have a recipe that make 2 batches of potion and we were going to alter it - for 4 batches, 1 batch, and enough for everyone in the class to have a batch.  It is a great Halloween-themed, real-life example of how we use ratios.  Her class was going to work in groups with the worksheet. I wanted to be different. Since I have daily access to tablet...

So it has been a crazy month... these new math TEKS are making everyone struggle... teachers, students, and I am sure some of the parents are worried too.  But this is just to explain why it has been a month since I updated the blog. Up until 10 days ago, I still was debating my choice to flip.  But I think part of the issue was that I hadn't really found my groove, my flavor, so to speak. I wasn't always making my own videos (and I still might not). I had been making some guided notes for students who don't have regular access to the internet and had told students to do one or the other, but I think a few of them were saying they would do one or the other and then not do either. 10 days ago I went to a technology training and worked with someone who has flipped her HS classroom for a couple years now and I asked her what her secret was.  And she said, "Notes are very personal."  She then went on to show me her fill-in-the-blank notes for her students and that...

So I flipped my classroom.  I thought the kids would love homework that was watching videos and using their technology for school. Granted it is only the 2nd week of school, but I am already feeling that my kids are not buying in.  Ugh. My onlevel students just think it means they don't have any homework.  So when they come to class, they have no idea what we are discussing that day.  Right now it is a lot of review from 6th grade, but I can already see the roadblocks when we get to new material.  It isn't going to be pretty. And my accelerated students are mixed.  They like using the technology, but a few of them are complaining the videos take longer than a worksheet. Some of them don't really like it because it is new.  But at least they all are trying it. So now what? How long do I keep trying? Do I do a mix?  Maybe have videos with the worksheets?  Help is now greatly appreciated!

Hi, my name is Kimberly and I am a Facebook addict. Since I am working full-time, I don't see my friends as often.  Facebook helps me stay in touch. So two days ago, I read this article about the guy who liked everything on Facebook.  I really stuck with me because I have noticed that I don't like Facebook as much. The last Facebook update really turned me off.  I am tired of seeing things my friends like that have nothing to do with them or me.  Ugh.  And I feel like I am missing important things because they aren't showing up in my newsfeed. Then I came across another article by someone who didn't like anything for 2 weeks.  2 WEEKS?  That sounds impossible.  But his Facebook experience definitely improved.  So it go me wondering, can I do this - for 2 weeks?  One week? One day? I realized I have to try.  Otherwise, I am about ready to give up on Facebook. So here goes!

Since I am making the move from 6th grade math to 7th grade math, the inevitable happened - I had to change classrooms.  This move was one of the hardest things for me - I love my classroom.  It has a blue wall and two of the walls are magnetic.  It was in the center of the hallway - in the middle of all the excitement. I am emotionally attached to my room.  And I had to say goodbye - I even said goodbye with this photo on Instagram.    This week the girls had tumble camp, but I didn't have anywhere to be, so I thought I would spend some time in my new space, my new classroom.  I am a visual person, so just hanging out in the space, getting a feel for its size, is a good start for me.  When I left for the summer, it had desks (which I hate, but I had in the old room, so I was used to them).  But luckily, another teacher decided she didn't want her trapezoid tables, and I snatched those babies! This is what my classroom looked like when I ...

I am sure you read the headline, and said 'Don't you know about the little shortcut with bookmarking the pinmarklet?' Yes, I do, but it doesn't seem to work all the time. Ugh.  And Pinterest is my GO TO for organizing all the fab stuff I find in the internet.  So today, while I was taking a break from water park wackiness, I was searching around my Pinterest app and noticed that there was an 'Add a pin' spot. This could be the answer to my prayer!  And it was! Any link I opened in Twitter or Facebook or Google Plus, I can now pin very easily. I know this seems really simple, but for me, it rivals the 'Pin in' extension in Chrome that is my savior.    I know this might be silly, but for me, this is Awesome! 

  So in my head, all summer, I have been thinking about a LMS for the upcoming year.  In case you don't know, a LMS is a learning management system.  Teachers use them to keep track of students' content mastery, behavior, even posting assignments and test dates.  In short, an LMS can do a lot - and it is all about what you need and what will give it to you.  So which one do I need?   The first thing I need to do is think about what I want my LMS to be.  Besides my website, I want the LMS to be a go-to place for students to get information, like homework links and test dates.  I am flipping my classroom, so I would really like there to be multiple ways (besides my website) for students to get to the videos.  I also need a location for in-class quizzes or check-ups to be housed.  So that's what I need... I think.    One issue is that there are so many out there! Some do a few things, some do many, and some are new and shiny -...

Sorry I haven't written - summer has been a little crazy, between 2 trips and a week of Girl Scout camp (that I helped run/organize).  My brain has been on overdrive though, so the next few blog posts will probably be about all my thoughts and what not that pertain to the upcoming school year.  Well, there might be one or two posts about vacation.... Anyway, in one of my overdrive moments, I was thinking about all the information I have amassed (that I might need at a later point) to help with either of my three upcoming challenges - 7th grade math, flipping my classroom, and the Next Generation Digital Classroom.   Pinterest is my main go to - I am a visual person, so I really like bookmarking with pictures.  I have been organizing my pins by unit, so that for example, when I teach integers, all of the games/foldables/manipulatives are in one spot.  When looking them over yesterday (yes, I occasionally due to cleaning and rearranging) I realized my boards ar...

As most teachers know, as the school year winds down, the discussions about 'changes for next year' start.  And now that the school year is complete (for the students, at least) and this is when the changes begin.  For me, there is a lot changing for next year. First up, I am moving up to 7th grade.  I have mixed feelings. I am very excited about working with the 7th grade teachers (I hear good things about them) and I am happy to be moving up with my students.  I think the other changes that are coming fit in nicely with 7th grade and their abilities.   However, I do love 6th grade and am sorry to be leaving.  I love all the other 6th grade teachers and my team was a strong one.  One of my strengths is getting the 6th graders settled into a new school and new routines and other newness (like lockers).  I am not looking forward to moving all my stuff into a new room.  Luckily one of my classes has a bunch of wonderful volunteers who helped ...

My students are learning about integer operations this week.  I have read that integers are where a lot of algebra students struggle, so I wanted to make sure that my students got some good integer practice.  I did some searching for something technological (and I do have a Blendspace lesson for review, which we did use) but most days, I did not have access to the computers we would have needed. So I needed a new plan - and came across Integer War! We played it for addition and multiplication and my students loved it! Some played in groups of 2, and others, to extend their learning, played in groups of 4! Here are some photos of my students: They loved it! They were so loud and crazy and engaged that I videotaped my classes for about 30 seconds and showed them the videos at the end of class. It was amazing. It reminded me that some days technology is not needed for learning.  Just imagination.

In my Alternative Certification Program, they always talked about 'hooking' your students.  You know, getting your students interested in whatever lesson you are about to teach.  I fully admit it is one part of teaching that I am not very good at. In my quest to find and use technology in my classroom, I came across something that might help me with my 'hooking' problem.  It is called Powtoon ! So far I am just using the free version, but it is giving me what I want.  It took a little playing with to get comfortable with it, but I started with one of their templates to see what did what.  The biggest bonus for me is that uploading to YouTube is so easy! Here are a couple that I have used (including the one I am using tomorrow). Anyone else used Powtoon?  I am hoping to have students create their own next year :)

STAAR is upon us... (well, actually it is over... Hooray!)  As part of my STAAR Preparation for my 6th graders, we had some days where I did a reverse flip.   I came up with an idea to use my dear friend, Blendspace, to help with some differentiation with my students. I took pictures of problems that fall under a certain topic (for us, that is a TEK or two) and plugged them in. After the picture, the next slide is a video of me explaining how to solve the problem.  This way my students could work at their own pace. Some choose to watch each video, others chose to fast forward to see the answer, then if they got it wrong, they would watch the entire video.   Some days, I had a Google Form at the end as an exit ticket, to see if what they had been working on sunk in.  They seemed to like it, no one ever complained we were doing test prep.   A picture of my class during our "reverse flip".  Links to my lessons  -  Equivalent Numbe...

Sorry it has been a while since I have written, but I haven't really had anything inspire me lately. Until earlier this week.... Here in Texas, we are in testing season. Our 7th and 8th graders have already taken a couple STAAR tests, and we are all gearing up for another round in a couple weeks. In my math class, today we started our test review unit.  And while Monday's lesson kept everyone on the same page and same pace, that isn't going to work everyday. I came up with an idea to use my dear friend, Blendspace, to help with some differentiation with my students. I took pictures of problems that fall under a certain topic (for us, that is a TEK or two) and plugged them in. After the picture, the next slide is a video of me explaining how to solve the problem.  YouTube Capture is super helpful with exporting the videos to my YouTube account.  And until tonight, I didn't realize I could record videos with YouTube Capture as well (that would have solved my dilemma...

*** spoiler alert - this post is not about school ***    In our household, we hate "housework".  We move piles of paper but don't really go through them.  Clothes are washed on a regular basis, but getting them from a basket to their closet/drawer/shelf rarely happens.  Floors only get swept when the dog hair piles get high.  We invite friends over to motivate us to clean. Like I said, we HATE housework.    But we live in a new-to-us house (9 months and counting) and we want to keep it cleaner. So my husband instituted "Seven at 7".  At 7 PM every night, when our grandfather clock dings, we have to stop whatever we are doing and do some sort of housework for 7 minutes (my hubby even sets a timer).   Our options are: loading/unloading the dishwasher putting away laundry unclutter the kitchen counter where we dump EVERYTHING pick up toys make school lunches for the next day anything that makes the house more picked ...

   So this week math department has a planning day, and I have to get a substitute. On one hand, I am really looking forward to it. Not only do my partner and I get some planning in and our department gets to collaborate on some topics, we get to go out to lunch! As a teacher, that is a rarity.    But the flip side of having this planning day is that I won't be in my classroom. And we are learning some new material... So I should be worried. But with the the abundant resources online, I think my students will be okay. My plan is to post specific videos on my website - so the substitute can go onto my website and show the videos I have selected and the kids can revisit them at night when they are doing their homework. It will be ALMOST like I was there :)    So today's post is about some of my favorite educational video websites (and all are free unless noted).  Math Playground - It has a bunch of games (great for practice!) but it als...

I n my classroom, before BYOD and Kahoot, there was Blendspace.  It was my first foray into technology beyond BrainPop and YouTube Videos.   Here's the lowdown: My lessons are a mix of videos and problems to work.  I also include problem solving strategies and solutions to the problems. What I like: Students can go at their own pace. They can pause the videos to ask questions or rewind the parts they need to re-hear or rewatch. Students who need more assistance get more individualized instruction. Students who understand are not waiting on a teacher who is reteaching to a few. Students can take notes at their own pace - if they choose take notes while watching the videos. It engages students that wouldn’t normally be engaged. Students choose how involved they want to be - it gives them ownership of their learning.   In my class, students will work together on the problems presented, if they arrive there at the same time. ...

I have a great tech tool to share today! I have been wanting to write this post for almost a week but I wanted to try this out on my class first. Last week, at a district cohort meeting, someone shared this website with us - Kahoot . The cohort was excited to see this - we all use Google forms and Socrative (which are great too) but something new to use in our classrooms are always welcome. There are some great pros to this website. First, you can search the public quizzes and copy them into your profile, so you don't have to invent anything I'd you don't want to. You can also make your quizzes private so they can't be searched.  Second, you can set time limits. If all students finish before time is up, then it will move on.  Third, the program adds music to the questions! I love this feature and the music changes based in the time limit you set!  Fourth, you can download the scores to have a copy of your assessment and give a grade.  Fifth, studen...