Saturday, March 18, 2017

Celebrate: Yes During State Testing Week

Two out of six days of state testing are completed. That isn’t my celebration. Because we aren’t half way there yet.  My celebration is how we prepared for the states test the days prior.  Guess what?  Nothing changed in our classroom.  Reading, writing and word study continued as if there wasn’t a ELA test Thursday and Friday of this week.  We wrote together, read intriguing picture books together because we finished our class read aloud, City of Ember.  We celebrated with watching the move which is PG in class after our principal gave permission and the parents had to agree also  The students brought in pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, snacks and drinks;  We had a party the day before testing. Life didn't change this week in Room 234.  I am always thankful to join in the celebrations from the week.  Nothing is better than sharing and reading about friend's celebrations.  Thanks Ruth for encouraging us to celebrate here

Happy Learners in Rm. 234








Saturday, March 11, 2017

Celebrating: 28 Years of Teaching

I'm celebrating 28 years of teaching and the confidence to stand on my own two feet. I'm celebrating choosing to keep my #OLW quest for another year and not giving up on it because I knew that I was going to have more opportunities to follow my quest this school year.  It feels good when you write a blog post on Friday night, and you can look back over your school week and know that there were several amazing opportunities for the learners in Room 234.  State testing is looming around the corner and starts this week, but I didn't change my thinking and definitely didn't change my lesson plans.  I stayed the course and everyone in our class will be ready for ELA test next week because they are all readers and writers.  All of us have the confidence that we need to stay focused on strong literacy instruction along with continuing to to read thoughtful and amazing books.  I celebrate 28 years of teaching and the confidence to stand on my own two feet. Thanks to Ruth for encouraging us to celebrate throughout the week.  I'm excited to read other celebrations from the week. 





The mathematicians were hired for the week to work at Carter Candy Company. They spent two days building containers to hold 24 boxes of chocolate. There were six different combinations.  On Friday, they are trying to figure out which container will work best for shipping the chocolates.  I am celebrating 21learners who are all working together to try and problem solve.  I am celebrating how several students used different strategies and were able to share their thinking.  After all life is a box of chocolates.