CANNOT WAIT!!!!

"What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali
I watched this spoken word poem again today and it gave me chills!  I CANNOT WAIT TO START TEACHING!!!!!!

"I make a difference... how about you???"

Lesson planners GALORE!

Was introduced to this awesome website with AMAZING lesson planners, notepads, desk calendars, basically any kind of paper product one might need!  I'm going to be broke by the time I'm done here!

I Can't Find My Glasses

It fascinates me to see what makes an eight year old tick, or fall apart.  One of my students yesterday did not have his glasses because "his doctor told him to not wear them for 5 months" (we later found out that this was not true, he wasn't supposed to wear them for a few hours)!  He cried all morning long because he couldn't see.  I think what broke my heart the most was that he just wanted to be able to keep up and without his glasses he couldn't see what he was on his paper or what was on the board.  This student was distraught, he didn't raise his hands, was not working with his group, and eventually completely gave up on the day.  I was able to sit with him at our back table and read the worksheet to him, which amazingly changed his whole mood.  It was like a switch was flipped!

It so amazing how something that seems simple, not wearing your glasses for a few hours because your eyes are dilated, could completely ruin a student's day.  I think seeing this made me realize that I don't know what happened to my students the night before, or that morning as they were getting ready for school, or what happened to them on the bus ride to school that morning, but it's the attention to the small details that are going to help me become the best teacher I can be.  By understanding that sometimes even eight year olds have an off day, I can hopefully learn to be more patient on a daily basis.

Be the Change!
Sarah

Whole brain teaching

I basically want to be this woman!!!!  I just found this video and basically.... I want to be exactly like this woman!  Her classroom management is incredible!  From what I've been able to read this is an example of whole brain teaching.  I plan on looking more into whole brain teaching to see what it is all about. I will be really interested to see what this method might have to offer to a third grade classroom!

That's all for now!

Be the Change!
Sarah