Post-Winter Break Reset

January is the time that many teachers do a reset. After students have been away for a week or two, it is always important to review the expectations of the classroom. 

However, I also use this time to reset my classroom space as well. We are almost halfway done with the school year and I have gotten to know my students better as learners. Honestly, I like to change my space around throughout the entire year, but this is the time that I reflect and think about what my learners truly need on the walls, what learning spaces they need, and what materials they need.

I rearranged my tables and desks to give students options for learning spaces. I have two exercise balls and I have stools that students can use if they want a break from their chairs. I also allow them to sit on the carpet whenever they would like. I am wanting to move towards flexible seating in the entire room, but due to the amount of money this involves, I am slowly working on getting the needed furniture for that.

I also redid my wall space. Being in a new grade level means that it takes time to create the resources that I typically use in my classroom. Things like anchor charts, vocabulary cards, etc. When you teach the same grade level for 9 years, you accumulate items that you can reuse over and over. Luckily, moving from 5th to 4th has allowed me to reuse some items.

One thing I have been working on is redoing my math vocabulary cards that I hang on the wall as we learn about a new topic. I finally decided to sit down and update my math vocabulary for the year. All of my vocabulary cards have the vocabulary word, a definition, an image, and sometimes an example.

Vocabulary Cards:

4th Grade

5th Grade

Connect with me on Twitter and Instagram!

@mrspotterteach

One Word: Simplicity

I have never really been a big resolution person. Like most people, I make a list of things to accomplish and never reach them. (shout out to those who actually accomplish their goals!) However, over the past few years I have done the one word challenge to live by throughout the year.

This year I picked the word SIMPLICITY.

During winter break, I put the laptop away and truly focused on resting and relaxing. While doing this I was able to think about life: myself, my kids, my husband, our house, and work. As I was doing some cleaning before our guests arrived I started to focus on STUFF. Part of my anxiety deals with clutter. When there is STUFF everywhere I get overwhelmed and instead of being able to clean it up, I just shut down and leave it there. This triggers the anxiety of feeling like our house is cluttered. 

So I decided that this year I am going to focus more on living simple. I'm going to go through our house room by room and decide if the STUFF has a place and purpose, or is it just taking up space. I turned my closet hangers around like people suggest and anything that I haven't worn during this year is getting donated. Those pants that I keep holding onto because I am sure one day I will be back down to my pre-kid size, gone. 

I also felt this way as I sat and watched my kids open presents at Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love watching them open presents and will never take that way from them. But there were SO MANY! (our families are large and people enjoy buying them things) For birthdays we have already made the shift to just one or two gifts and focusing more on experiences, and I think I am ready for that to happen during Christmas as well. I think even the kids get overwhelmed with so many new things at once that they end up not playing with some of the things.

Honestly, one thing that sparked this idea of simplicity is the craze of people buying Stanley cups. I'm sure they are amazing cups, but I have a hard time paying that price for a cup when I already have a cabinet full of them. So I plan to carry this "simple life" over to purchasing items as well. Next time I want to click that Buy Now button on Amazon, fill up my Target cart and place a pick up order, or fill my cart with impulse buys at Walmart, I'm going to stop and think do I truly need this? Not only will this help with my desire to reduce clutter and simplify my life, it will also help save money in the long run! 

I decided that this idea of simplicity can also carry over to my school-life as well. I decided that I can be more intentional about the activities that I have my kids do. Less copies, more hands-on learning. Less busy work, more activities/practice games. Less focus on grades, more focus on feedback. Feedback is something that I struggle with sometimes and it goes back to that idea of anxiety/clutter. Sometimes I end up giving more assignments that require feedback than is truly needed. Then these assignments begin to pile up waiting for me to give them feedback. Instead of being able to tackle the pile, I put it off due to anxiety. Then I realize that it has piled up for so long that even if I did sit down and give them feedback it wouldn't be relevant to their current learning anymore. This is where the more intentional activities/assignments comes into play. Understanding that some activities are just practice and don't require feedback, while others can be used to assess learning and provide students with an idea of how they are doing.

We live in a world that is always on the go. We live in a world that loves material things. However, I am making the choice to slow down and live with less this year.

I always enjoy seeing what other people have picked for their one word for the year. So what is yours?

PS - this word also comes from a book that I read during 2020. Our local library was doing mystery bundles from the library where they would pick 3 random books for you to read since people could not go into the library to browse the shelves. The book is called 7 Days to Simplicity by Jen Hatmaker and it also really helps to put things into perspective.

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 3

My daughter informed me 2 days ago that I better start planning our New Year's Eve bags. So I decided to be adventurous and explore New Year's Eve traditions in other parts of the world to incorporate into our bags this year. I attempted to find traditions for a country in each time zone so that we can celebrate all day long.

**All times will be eastern standard time. Each country will also have a link to the website where I found my information and will often give you more detailed information about the traditions that take place there.

6:00 am - New Zealand - bang pots and pans and sing Auld Lang Syne

8:00 am - Sydney, Australia - it sounds like this country is known for their elaborate fireworks displays, so we will be making a firework craft found here at Growing a Jeweled Rose.

9:00 am - Papua New Guinea - traditional dances

9:00 am - Guam - collect coins to jingle in pockets at midnight, make Bonelos Dago (yam donuts) or Nilagang baka (boiled beef)

10:00 am - Tokyo, Japan - ring bells 107 times, then once at midnight to banish all the human sins and purify participants

11:00 am - Philippines - celebrate with 12 round fruits (ie. oranges, grapes, cherries), wear polka dots, and scatter coins (we are going to do chocolate coins)

11:00 am - Hong Kong, China - learn about the Chinese New Year with crafts from Chalk Academy

12:00 pm - Thailand and Indonesia - both cultures have traditions that have to do with lanterns, so we will be making lanterns with paper bags and battery operated candles

1:30 pm - India - learn about Diwali from the Educator's Spin on It

3:00 pm - Dubai - this country is known for their elaborate celebrations and dinner, so we are going to dress fancy and celebrate by drinking tea and eating a treat (luqaimat recipe)

4:00 pm - Turkey - sprinkle salt at the front door and smash pomegranates, we are also going to let the kids scratch off a few lottery tickets

4:00 pm - Russia - mandarin oranges or sweets for the kids

4:00 pm - Madagascar traditions

5:00 pm - Greece - hang an onion over the door and make vasilopita (cake version or bread version)

5:00 pm - Finland - eat ready-made frankfurters, potato salad, french fries, and crisps. Feeling adventurous, learn all about melting tin to determine your future health, wealth, or happiness

5:00 pm - South Africa - toss furniture (or a bucket of water to be more kid-friendly) out of the front door to signify leaving all of the bad things behind in the new year

6:00 pm - Spain - eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the new year

6:00 pm - France - make paper hats and paper confetti

6:00 pm - Germany - make German Berliner (a jelly filled donut)

7:00 pm - Ireland - bang a loaf of bread on the wall to banish bad luck and bad spirits from the house

7:00 pm - Scotland - build a fire to ward off evil spirits and "burn the old year out", sing Auld Lang Syne

7:00 pm - England - make new year's resolutions, make a Cannelig for good luck

9:00 pm - Greenland - make masks

10:00 pm - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - wear white to celebrate, put a bay leaf and money in your wallet and leave it there all year then next December 31 donate the money and throw the bay leaf in a running water stream

10:00 pm - Argentina - shred old documents and throw the paper like confetti, eat dried fruit and nuts, take the first step at midnight with your right foot to everything goes right throughout the year, eat beans

10:00 pm - Chile traditions

11:00 pm - Puerto Rico - they also throw a bucket of old water out of the front door and they sprinkle sugar outside their house for good luck

11:00 pm - Bermuda - make a paper-mache onion and drop it down at midnight

12:00 am - Colombia - run around outside with an empty suitcase if you hope to travel a lot in the new year, they also eat 12 grapes at midnight

12:00 am - Cuba traditions

12:00 am - Peru traditions

1:00 am - Mexico City, Mexico - learn about how the color of your underwear is a sign of what kind of year you will have!

2:00 am - Calgary or Edmonton, Canada

3:00 am - Vancouver, Canada

(still searching for the Canadian traditions)

If you are a Canva user, here is the link to the cards I made. You can make a copy and then edit them to fit your needs.

Click here to access the Google Slides with the cards for each country.

Do you have any special traditions from countries around the world that I can add to this list?? Let me know!

Previous Year NYE posts:

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 1

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 2

Thankful.

Thankful.

That's my word for this year. As I sit here during the post-Christmas hangover, I was thinking about this past year and realized that so many things happened (both good and bad) and I'm just thankful to make it through another year.

This year we celebrated our 10 year anniversary by sneaking away for a quick weekend to Orlando and visited Universal Studios. We also spent a weekend with my cousin and his wife in New England. I'm thankful for family that is willing to watch our kiddos whenever we want to have a little adult time.

This year both of my grandmothers (ages 90 and 94) suffered strokes. I'm thankful that they are both strong, badass women who overcame their medical issues. Oh and they both still live in their homes by themselves. I've learned a lot from both of them.

This year we were able to pull off a surprise 80th birthday party for my mother-in-law in Pennsylvania. Seeing all of the people there to celebrate her was so amazing.

This year we had so many fun, family trips. We went to Nashville for my cousin's wedding. We went to Gatlinburg to spend time with my husband's family. We had our annual beach trip with my family. 

This year I found a new school that feels like home. Amazing people, awesome leadership, and just a fun atmosphere. Finding a place where you feel welcomed, celebrated, and trusted is not always easy to find.

This year my kids were able to go to the same school for the first time. While this may sound silly, you don't realize how hard it is to constantly be the new kid in a new school. I've enjoyed watching them make friendships, get invited to birthday parties, and participate in a school community that feels like family.

This year we got to celebrate Christmas in our home. When we lived in Maryland, we always traveled to either North Carolina or Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with family. Since this was our year in NC, we got to stay at our home. Again, sounds silly, but being able to wake up in your own bed and set up/play with presents in your own home is so relaxing.

Thankful for family and friends. Thankful for good health. Thankful for another year.

Back to School Teacher Tired

I completely forgot how exhausting the beginning of the school year can be!

It is the currently the last day of September and I think I finally feel like things are going smoothly. 

The first week of school is survival mode. The goal: get kids into the classroom, teach them expectations, attempt to learn all of their names, and get them home safely. 

The second week of school is learning mode for the teacher. The goal: learn all the things about your students that will make your teaching effective. This may be assessments, observing them complete tasks, allowing them to explore and work together. Doing these things while attempting to begin teaching curriculum can be a lot mentally, but it is so important to make things go smoothly once you are really diving into curriculum.

The third week of school is trial and error mode. This was the week that I attempted to run writing, math, and reading blocks with all the things in motion. We did whole group and attempted to do small groups/centers. I learned what works and what didn't work for my students. I ditched things I thought were going to work and tried new things to find the methods, organization, and activities that were going to work for my students. It would be easy to just do the same things year after year, but as my principal says we work for children. What worked for last years students, might not work for this my class this year.

The fourth week of school is go time. This is the week that hopefully things are ready to go. You are four weeks into the curriculum. Whole group is going smoothly. After the trial and errors of the previous week, small groups should be good to go. Lots of planning involved to make sure all materials are set. Oh and by the way, after week four you are about halfway through the first quarter so make sure all of your grading is up to date because those progress reports will be due soon!

This serves as my reminder to give myself grace. The first month is BUSY. Keep doing all the things, but make sure to take time for yourself. Pick a night to leave your computer at school or in your bag. Attempt to pick a day to get your planning done for the week. Stay after school one day to get your copies made for the entire week.

Most importantly, breathe. If things don't go as planned just smile and pretend it was supposed to go that way!

Back to School 2023!

Something about this school year just feels different. I am starting at yet another new school (see this blog post) and this year the idea of change is exciting.

I am going to be teaching 4th grade and wanted to share some of the things that I am creating to get started with this crazy time of year.

Digital Planner

I've been using digital planners for a few years now and each year I always think of things to change/add. This year I started from scratch. I put some thought into the things that I truly would use and came up with this design. I usually use one slide per week, but opted to go for the 2 slide format. The slides are also already 8.5 by 11 inches, so if you need/want to print them off it is easy to do!

My favorite thing about using a digital planner is that I can easily link my lesson plans and materials directly to each day/subject in the planner. My second favorite thing is the ability to easily move things to a different day/week because we ALL know that things never go as planned, especially during the first few weeks of school.

Leave me a comment of things you would like to see in a digital planner so I can update this one!

Passport to 4th Grade

Need a fun open house activity? How about the passport to 4th grade to organize the different information and activities you need your parents/students to do during open house!

This has an airport theme that allows for different "destinations" to visit based on the information you need to share. As students/parents enter the room, they will sign in and receive their passport. Destination #1 is all about transportation. Parents let me know how students typically arrive at school and go home from school and if it will be different on the first day. Each stop also has a sticker (or you can use stamps) that students will add to their passport to show that they have visited all of the destinations.

  

Meet the Teacher

Part of the open house stops that I mentioned above include a meet the teacher newsletter that I give to parents with a little bit about me as well as my contact information. I created this design in Canva and then saved it as a jpeg. Then I used Google Slides. I changed the page size to 8.5 x 11 inches, and made the jpeg my background on the slide. Insert text boxes where you want then print!

Class Lists

When I was departmentalized a few years back I had 3 different classes to keep up with. I created this simple list with check boxes that I used for SO many things. First thing I did was take a quick attendance so I could keep up with the students who may be absent each day from each class.

The second main use for these class lists was for grading assignments. If a student turned in the assignment I would check off their name and sometimes even write their score next to it. This allowed me to easily see which students had not turned in the assignment.

I don't know how intermediate teachers keep track of multiple classes! I struggled with only 3 haha!

Random Grouping Cards

I created these FOREVER ago, but haven't used them since the pandemic. However I decided to bring them back and give them a face lift and share them with you all!

These random grouping cards allow you to create random groups in your classroom in a fun way that gets students up out of their seats. I enjoy using these because it eliminates the groups of friends that join together when you ask students to pick their own partners or groups. I don't like that there are always a few students who are left out because they are new or do not have friends in the classroom.

The first few times you use them it can take longer than expected for students to figure out the groups. I often start using them during the first week of school so students are comfortable using them after a month or so. Just as an FYI, I do not use these every time I group students together. As mentioned, it can be time consuming and let's be honest, sometimes I want to create specific groups.

The version that I use with my upper elementary students has multiple grouping options on one card. I like that I only have to keep up with one set of cards.

The grouping cards can be used to create groups of 2, groups of 3, groups of 4, and groups of 5. You can also use the numbers in the middle to create different groups as well. For example, odds and evens. The top right images are for partners/groups of 2. The top right images are for groups of 3. The bottom left images are for groups of 4 and the bottom right images are for groups of 5.

Some of the cards are customized for the area that I teach in. I used 3 local universities, 3 local professional sports teams, and the state I live in with the surrounding states. There are slides at the end that include a blank space so you can customize them.

I also created cards that have individual pictures on them for each group. These would be better for younger elementary students who may get confused with multiple images on a card. You can find the links to those on the second slide of the file.

Click below to get your FREE copy of these random grouping cards!

Random Grouping Cards

Connect with me on Twitter and Instagram!

@mrspotterteach