A teacher never knows how their week may go. Often times a teachers best plans are scrapped on Monday or reworked at the very least. There are so many reasons why this happens and some of these are very worthwhile and student led. Others reasons that our planning goes awry are because of circumstances beyond the teachers lesson planning vision. A good teacher has to be flexible and rework and sometimes teach by the seat of her pants :) as the expression goes. It is what those teachable moments are for. And yet, I hope as most of my fellow teachers do, that my lesson plans can be my guide for the week to get us where we need to go by the end of the school year.
It is very rare that you have a fantastic week- one in which your lessons are right on, the students are attentive and showing interest and excitement and that the unscheduled interruptions are nonexistent. This happened to me this last week. I had a my kindergartners beginning a "Color"(see previous post) project in Pixie 2. It was just at their level- not too easy and not too hard. When you can have both ends of the learning spectrum succeed in your classroom, you know that it is a great lesson/project! My first and second grade classes completed their joke/riddle projects after working a month or more on them. This project was interrupted for these students by many holidays, vacation days and just general school stuff. It feels great to have it done!
I know not to expect too many more days like this let alone a week, but for now, I am feeling terrific- basking in the successes of the week. I hope that if you are an educator reading this that you can have a week like mine very soon.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Seven things about me : Meme
I have been tagged by my Plurk friends Alica and Nedra to share with others seven things about me that you might not know. The rules are to link back to the person that has tagged you and then tag seven other people. If you would put your name for others to see on this wiki then you can see all of the other social networking people that have done this so far :)
One: My husband was seriously dating my roommate in college. When I returned from Taiwan to do my stateside student teaching I needed a place to stay for just 8 weeks. I contacted John, who was in rental real estate at the time, to help me find a place that did not require a lease(I was going back to Taipei). He was no longer dating my old roommate and asked me to dinner. We met for a fish fry. I was wined and dined and over a few months convinced that staying in Wisconsin was the choice to make. It is one that I don't regret. John waited until he was 35 to get married - he likes to say that he just had not met the right woman. We have been married 22 years this Valentine's day.
Two: In 1984, I went on a semester abroad program my senior year of college. I chose China and Taiwan. I ended up staying an entire year, doing half of my student teaching at the Taipei American School there. This experience gave me such an appreciation for diversity. Fifty five different countries were represented with students all getting along, learning together, having fun together and respecting each others cultures.
Three: As a freshman in high school I was the first girl on the golf team. As a young lady of 11 or 12, I caddied for Fuzzy Zoeller at the Greater Milwaukee Open at the Ozaukee Country Club. I gave up playing golf when I started to feel the pressure that others were putting on me to be great. It took me more than 20 years to pick up a club again. It is kind of like riding a bike, you don't forget how. I played for a few years but have not gone these last 2 summers.
Four: I was a stay at home mom for 10 years. It was the best decision for our family and one that I would make again in a heartbeat, which isn't to say it was easy. I think that there is a lot of pressure on women to do all and be all. I was lucky in the sense that I had a supportive husband and though we did not have much money we could get by. It is isolating and certainly a sacrifice. You worry about getting back into the work force when it is time. I was lucky to get a kindergarten teaching position when Katy was in 1st grade.
Five: Although I teach computers now, it was my sons that got me thinking about going into this field. From the time that they were quite young, they knew more about computers than I did. I could not sit on my hands as the world was changing around me. In high school I had not even taken a typing class. I was not going to be a secretary, I was going to be the boss! I needed a masters degree to move up on the pay scale. A program was being offered in my school district from Lesley University, all on site, one weekend a month for 22 months...in Technology In Education. It was perfect. After just two classes my principal called and asked if I would change my position from kindergarten teacher to elementary computer teacher. I have not looked back.
Six: I get worked up after reading a book or watching a show and feel like I have to do something. It is not enough to just sit idly by for me. I read the book, "The Education of Little Tree" and felt like I could never have a live Christmas tree in my home ever. I watched Frontline on PBS probably 10 years ago that was investigating the diamond mines and I learned about the blood diamonds in Africa. It had such a profound effect upon me that I could not look at my engagement ring without thinking of the horrific things that were being done so that people such as myself could have pretty bling. I decided to trade in my wedding ring set and get a simple gold band. I lost the gold band very soon after I got it.
Seven: We do have a fake Christmas tree decorated with lights and ornaments. We also have a menorah and have played dreidl for Hanukah. These are not religious symbols of the season for us but instead a part of our cultural heritage. I was raised a conservative Jew. I had a Bat Mitzvah and attended Hebrew school for more than 6 years. I began questioning from a very early age the existence of god and the irony of religion. I slowly moved away from feeling comfortable with religion and now am an atheist. My husband was raised southern Baptist. Our children have attended things in both churches and synagogues. It is up to them to decide what spiritual path that they are going to choose.
I would like to learn more about each of these people. I know that they are busy so don't feel obligated...But if you could take the time and blog about seven things that your PLN does not know about you, then pass it on to seven others, our personal learning network and the blogosphere will be a more personal place. I tag:
David Kapuler
Gina Hutchins
Scott Flaming
Carol Skyring
Brent R. Jones
Caroline OBannon
Daisy Okay
One: My husband was seriously dating my roommate in college. When I returned from Taiwan to do my stateside student teaching I needed a place to stay for just 8 weeks. I contacted John, who was in rental real estate at the time, to help me find a place that did not require a lease(I was going back to Taipei). He was no longer dating my old roommate and asked me to dinner. We met for a fish fry. I was wined and dined and over a few months convinced that staying in Wisconsin was the choice to make. It is one that I don't regret. John waited until he was 35 to get married - he likes to say that he just had not met the right woman. We have been married 22 years this Valentine's day.
Two: In 1984, I went on a semester abroad program my senior year of college. I chose China and Taiwan. I ended up staying an entire year, doing half of my student teaching at the Taipei American School there. This experience gave me such an appreciation for diversity. Fifty five different countries were represented with students all getting along, learning together, having fun together and respecting each others cultures.
Three: As a freshman in high school I was the first girl on the golf team. As a young lady of 11 or 12, I caddied for Fuzzy Zoeller at the Greater Milwaukee Open at the Ozaukee Country Club. I gave up playing golf when I started to feel the pressure that others were putting on me to be great. It took me more than 20 years to pick up a club again. It is kind of like riding a bike, you don't forget how. I played for a few years but have not gone these last 2 summers.
Four: I was a stay at home mom for 10 years. It was the best decision for our family and one that I would make again in a heartbeat, which isn't to say it was easy. I think that there is a lot of pressure on women to do all and be all. I was lucky in the sense that I had a supportive husband and though we did not have much money we could get by. It is isolating and certainly a sacrifice. You worry about getting back into the work force when it is time. I was lucky to get a kindergarten teaching position when Katy was in 1st grade.
Five: Although I teach computers now, it was my sons that got me thinking about going into this field. From the time that they were quite young, they knew more about computers than I did. I could not sit on my hands as the world was changing around me. In high school I had not even taken a typing class. I was not going to be a secretary, I was going to be the boss! I needed a masters degree to move up on the pay scale. A program was being offered in my school district from Lesley University, all on site, one weekend a month for 22 months...in Technology In Education. It was perfect. After just two classes my principal called and asked if I would change my position from kindergarten teacher to elementary computer teacher. I have not looked back.
Six: I get worked up after reading a book or watching a show and feel like I have to do something. It is not enough to just sit idly by for me. I read the book, "The Education of Little Tree" and felt like I could never have a live Christmas tree in my home ever. I watched Frontline on PBS probably 10 years ago that was investigating the diamond mines and I learned about the blood diamonds in Africa. It had such a profound effect upon me that I could not look at my engagement ring without thinking of the horrific things that were being done so that people such as myself could have pretty bling. I decided to trade in my wedding ring set and get a simple gold band. I lost the gold band very soon after I got it.
Seven: We do have a fake Christmas tree decorated with lights and ornaments. We also have a menorah and have played dreidl for Hanukah. These are not religious symbols of the season for us but instead a part of our cultural heritage. I was raised a conservative Jew. I had a Bat Mitzvah and attended Hebrew school for more than 6 years. I began questioning from a very early age the existence of god and the irony of religion. I slowly moved away from feeling comfortable with religion and now am an atheist. My husband was raised southern Baptist. Our children have attended things in both churches and synagogues. It is up to them to decide what spiritual path that they are going to choose.
I would like to learn more about each of these people. I know that they are busy so don't feel obligated...But if you could take the time and blog about seven things that your PLN does not know about you, then pass it on to seven others, our personal learning network and the blogosphere will be a more personal place. I tag:
David Kapuler
Gina Hutchins
Scott Flaming
Carol Skyring
Brent R. Jones
Caroline OBannon
Daisy Okay
Friday, January 2, 2009
Projects to start 2009
As many "specials" teachers will agree, keeping your classes on the same lesson or project is virtually impossible. The first week of school for us is only a four day week. I don't see my Monday classes because of the Labor Day holiday. With days off of school for so many reasons lesson planning is a challenge. I was not very successful this year in coordinating my schedule to get classes of same grades to be on the same day. My brain has to switch between kindergarten first and second grade lessons each day throughout the entire week. You need to be very organized.
This first week back in 2009 I have all kindergarten classes ready to start a new project. Below is the project that they will begin making in the Pixie 2 program. I am expecting to work on it for the month of January and have each student make the title slide and 3-5 color slides. They will then make it into the movie. Since this is my first year using the program I am just guessing on the timeline and expectations.
My first and second grade classes are in different places as far as completion of their joke projects. They had to choose between one of the jokes below, type it out and illustrate the joke part on one slide and on the second slide type and illustrate the punchline. This is much harder for first and second graders to do than one might expect. The students are doing a really nice job on it. First and second graders do not have a very refined sense of humor yet. Their thinking is much more literal. I had to explain each and every one of the jokes below and then I showed them this example (which they could not do) project to give them an idea how this project would work.
How does a queen bee get around her hive?
She's throne!
What are the cleverest bees?
Spelling bees!
What goes zzub, zzub?
A bee flying backwards!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Abe!
Abe who?
Abe C D E F G H...!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Amos!
Amos who?
A mosquito just bit me!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Arbus!
Arbus who?
Arbus leaves soon, are you coming?
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Atch!
Atch who?
I'm sorry I didn't know you had a cold!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Bacon!
Bacon who?
Bacon a cake for your birthday!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ben!
Ben who?
Ben knocking on this door all morning!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Beezer!
Beezer who?
Beezer black and yellow and make honey!
How do we know that the Earth won't come to an end?
Because it's round!
How many balls of string would it take to reach the moon?
Just one if it's long enough!
What is the best hand to write with?
Neither - it's best to write with a pencil!
What has forty feet and sings?
The school choir!
Why does a flamingo lift up one leg?
Because if he lifted up both legs it would fall over!
Why do birds fly south in the winter?
Because it's too far to walk!
What did 0 say to 8?
Nice Belt!
Why did Santa have 3 gardens?
So he could hoe, hoe, hoe!!
What did one math book say to the other?
Boy do I have a lot of problems.
The first and second grade classes that are finished with their joke movies are starting a new math Pixie 2 project which I will post about in the very near future.
This first week back in 2009 I have all kindergarten classes ready to start a new project. Below is the project that they will begin making in the Pixie 2 program. I am expecting to work on it for the month of January and have each student make the title slide and 3-5 color slides. They will then make it into the movie. Since this is my first year using the program I am just guessing on the timeline and expectations.
My first and second grade classes are in different places as far as completion of their joke projects. They had to choose between one of the jokes below, type it out and illustrate the joke part on one slide and on the second slide type and illustrate the punchline. This is much harder for first and second graders to do than one might expect. The students are doing a really nice job on it. First and second graders do not have a very refined sense of humor yet. Their thinking is much more literal. I had to explain each and every one of the jokes below and then I showed them this example (which they could not do) project to give them an idea how this project would work.
How does a queen bee get around her hive?
She's throne!
What are the cleverest bees?
Spelling bees!
What goes zzub, zzub?
A bee flying backwards!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Abe!
Abe who?
Abe C D E F G H...!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Amos!
Amos who?
A mosquito just bit me!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Arbus!
Arbus who?
Arbus leaves soon, are you coming?
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Atch!
Atch who?
I'm sorry I didn't know you had a cold!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Bacon!
Bacon who?
Bacon a cake for your birthday!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ben!
Ben who?
Ben knocking on this door all morning!
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Beezer!
Beezer who?
Beezer black and yellow and make honey!
How do we know that the Earth won't come to an end?
Because it's round!
How many balls of string would it take to reach the moon?
Just one if it's long enough!
What is the best hand to write with?
Neither - it's best to write with a pencil!
What has forty feet and sings?
The school choir!
Why does a flamingo lift up one leg?
Because if he lifted up both legs it would fall over!
Why do birds fly south in the winter?
Because it's too far to walk!
What did 0 say to 8?
Nice Belt!
Why did Santa have 3 gardens?
So he could hoe, hoe, hoe!!
What did one math book say to the other?
Boy do I have a lot of problems.
The first and second grade classes that are finished with their joke movies are starting a new math Pixie 2 project which I will post about in the very near future.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Polar Plunge -the shock I needed?
Winter is not my season. I don't like how dark it is, how snowy and icy it gets, and I HATE the cold. Why you may ask would I live in Wisconsin? The short story is that my husbands business snowbeltfireplace.com keeps us here. So I endure and hope that spring comes quickly.
Sometimes we need to jolt our systems. I know that I was feeling the winter "blahs" and with many weeks left of winter a change in attitude was necessary. I am normally not a risk taker. I am afraid of falling from high up places. I don't like driving in less than ideal conditions. I think that taking unnecessary risk in life is foolish when life is so precious. I don't think anyone would say that I enjoy living life on the edge. More likely my kids would tell you that I am too worried about them. I have admiration for people that have physical coordination because I lack it. Like many people in my younger and more selfish years I had done things that were unsafe and crazy. Probably the most dangerous was hitchhiking to Florida and California with friends.
So yesterday, in a moment of delirium, I asked my daughter if she wanted to join me in doing something crazy and silly. I asked if she or any of her friends that were joining us for New Year's Eve wanted to take the polar plunge? She was excited to do it. So at noon on January 1st, 2009 at Rusty's Backwater Saloon near Stevens Point, Katy, 2 of her friends and I, all of us holding hands, jumped into the 38 degree Wisconsin river with an air temperature of close to 20 degrees.
It was an invigorating and shocking experience. The coldest part was my feet afterward walking through the slush. The cold air when you get out actually feels good on your skin. Sharing the experience with my daughter was great. The plunge itself is a wonderful shock to the system- a high almost that lasts for a bit while you retell the story. I will be back to do it again next year.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Insecurity(ies)
It is my opinion that being a teacher is difficult for many reasons. It is not easy to see the progress that your students are making day to day. In many other professions a person can tangibly see the progress or lack thereof. This is an odd blog post. I would think that others that are reading this are looking for a professional teachers ideas regarding technology and the educational system. I have taken the liberty to write about the insecurity that I feel sometimes regarding my professional expertise. I know that I am not alone. If I feel this way at times, imagine what someone else who is not as tech savvy, a risk taker or unafraid of making mistakes might feel.
Recently I have come to the conclusion that the more that you know, the more that you don't know. I am a dabbler, I know a little about a lot of things. I am a sponge that is always out there somewhere absorbing new information. I am not an expert on anything. I am finding myself envying (perhaps too strong a word)those that are experts on things. If I am honest the reason is that I want others to count on me for my expertise.
Initially my computer teaching position was equal time teaching and equal time fixing computers, networks, printers... Recently this changed. This year I have 31 classes to teach each week, 4 more than last year. Computers, networks, printers... are working fairly smoothly and my "expertise" to fix something is called on infrequently. I am looking to find some validation. In the not so distant past, I was instrumental in getting SMARTBoards into our schools. I was making presentations to parent teacher groups, doing teacher training and getting things all set up. I am proud of these accomplishments. Things are going very well now which I am very happy about.
A little less than a year ago, I co presented at the WEMTA conference on "Smart Ways To Use A SMARTBoard In Your Classroom". The room was packed. There was fantastic interaction between us and the audience. We received incredible feedback from those that attended. I felt a real connection between all of us. Right after this conference was over, Notebook 10 came out from SMART. My school district sent a different teacher to become a certified trainer for SMART and my days of being the "go to person" were over.
As I read more and more blog posts, online articles, books and hear speakers on many different topics (remember I am a dabbler) I realize that I don't really have anything that I am an expert in, not something that has the "wow effect" that I feel like I can pass on to others at this moment in time. Perhaps in the future.
So as I write this post and let you the reader know how I feel regarding my need for validation it sounds shallow, egotistical and self centered. This is a part of who the "real me" is. I am not going to lie to you. It is a good thing that there are other parts of me too- parts that I am proud to be- kind, generous, enthusiastic and unselfish.
Recently I have come to the conclusion that the more that you know, the more that you don't know. I am a dabbler, I know a little about a lot of things. I am a sponge that is always out there somewhere absorbing new information. I am not an expert on anything. I am finding myself envying (perhaps too strong a word)those that are experts on things. If I am honest the reason is that I want others to count on me for my expertise.
Initially my computer teaching position was equal time teaching and equal time fixing computers, networks, printers... Recently this changed. This year I have 31 classes to teach each week, 4 more than last year. Computers, networks, printers... are working fairly smoothly and my "expertise" to fix something is called on infrequently. I am looking to find some validation. In the not so distant past, I was instrumental in getting SMARTBoards into our schools. I was making presentations to parent teacher groups, doing teacher training and getting things all set up. I am proud of these accomplishments. Things are going very well now which I am very happy about.
A little less than a year ago, I co presented at the WEMTA conference on "Smart Ways To Use A SMARTBoard In Your Classroom". The room was packed. There was fantastic interaction between us and the audience. We received incredible feedback from those that attended. I felt a real connection between all of us. Right after this conference was over, Notebook 10 came out from SMART. My school district sent a different teacher to become a certified trainer for SMART and my days of being the "go to person" were over.
As I read more and more blog posts, online articles, books and hear speakers on many different topics (remember I am a dabbler) I realize that I don't really have anything that I am an expert in, not something that has the "wow effect" that I feel like I can pass on to others at this moment in time. Perhaps in the future.
So as I write this post and let you the reader know how I feel regarding my need for validation it sounds shallow, egotistical and self centered. This is a part of who the "real me" is. I am not going to lie to you. It is a good thing that there are other parts of me too- parts that I am proud to be- kind, generous, enthusiastic and unselfish.
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