The Penguin Year

     It's August, and that means it's time to get creative!  It's time to think about the upcoming year and prepare for the new group of students who are so lucky to have you as their teacher.  Once September gets here, there's no time for thinking or creating, so this is your chance to get your creative juices flowing!

     When I think back to the summer of "The Penguin Year", it was yet another summer that I was moving.  This time I wasn't moving classrooms, but I was moving out of my home and things were pretty chaotic.  So despite my house being upside down with boxes everywhere, I had penguins to make, so in the middle of it all, I made penguins!

Making penguins!

          In addition to 30 penguins, I had my "Maggie" to make too,  so right there, on the middle of my living room floor, I would spend my summer evenings getting all of the pieces of my door ready to receive my new students. Unfortunately, my real Maggie wasn't always cooperative!

Maggie "helping" me!

Helping is so tiring!

The finished Maggie!

     And although my August days were long and tiring, creating something new and unique for my students truly relaxed me and when it all came together that year, as it always does, it was totally worth the time and effort I put in.

The Penguin Year

The kids LOVED their penguins!

     But the door is really just the beginning of the creating!  It's everything else that goes into making the first week of school truly unforgettable for your new students!

     In my next blog post, I'll share some of the theme-related traditions I share with my students every year.  Happy August!!

     

   


     I've always believed that it's the little things that make all the difference in this world, and this story is just one more perfect example of this philosophy...

Bloom Where You Are Planted

     It was the last day of school this year, 2017.  I was outside with my class having extra recess when I was surprised by five of my old students who came back to visit me.  This is my absolute favorite type of surprise, and it never, ever gets old.  It means the world to me when my students return to say hi and fill me in on their lives!
     This particular group of kids is now 15 years old, an age where I think it's safe to say that visiting their 4th grade teacher probably isn't on the top of their to-do list.  That made this visit even that much more special to me.  We hugged and laughed, and reminisced about our time together five years ago.  My current students gathered around to hear the stories and share in the laughter.  It was awesome!

     One of my current fourth graders asked the visiting kids what their classroom theme was the year that they were in my class.  Each and every one of these now high schoolers immediately knew our theme- it was the garden year!

The Garden Year

     They remembered every detail about our door and all of the fun crafts and activities we did during the first few days of school: the planters we painted to hold the adorable flower pencils that we made, the flower frames me made to hold our first day of school pictures, and how we worked in groups to plan and create gardens that had a particular area and perimeter.  They even remembered how we all made spiders and turned our garden door  into a haunted garden for Halloween!

Our Haunted Garden

     This is exactly why I continue to create a classroom theme every year- hearing my students recall everything we shared together warmed my heart and this feeling inspires me to continue to dream of new themes, activities and simple games that make all the difference in the world to a 9 year old on his/her first week of school!

Maggie catching butterflies!

      Thank you to Will, Kate, Gemma, Evan and Valerie for taking the time out of your lives to come and brighten my day!  Your visit was incredibly meaningful to me.  You probably never imagined that simply coming by your old elementary school to say hi to your old teacher would have such a profound effect on her, but it did.  
     It truly is the little things in life....

   

    I honestly believed that I could write a blog post every week or so throughout the school year.  I love writing posts, and I have lots to share,  so how hard could it be?

     Well...  I couldn't.

     I was on a role for a while, but then April came along.  It felt like the time between April and June flew by in a New York minute.   State testing, scoring, writing assignments, book reports, 2 more math modules to get through, end of the year paperwork, spring talent shows, art shows and concerts, field day, beach day, graduation preparation... it was crazy!!

   
     Keeping my head above water was just about all I could do this spring!  Every day I would start off in the morning with such high hopes of completing a million tasks.  I would enter school with lots of energy and a big smile on my face.   Then, as the day went along, I would slowly run out of steam.  By 3:30 pm,  my students knew that my patience was at a minimum and that it was "quiet time" as we waited for the buses to arrive.  I was totally exhausted!
     Once I got home from work, I was ready to crash!  There was just no energy left for writing.

     Thank goodness for summer!  While I will miss my students and colleagues, I am so looking forward to this summer.  I need the summer months to rejuvenate my spirit!  The summer is when I am the most creative.  I actually have the time to think, imagine and express myself.  In addition to writing my blog, I can envision what I want my classroom to look like the following year and I can create new and exciting lessons for my kids.    I can browse the internet and pin ideas from Pinterest to my heart's content!  I can't wait to spend hours in the bookstore, perusing new books to share with my students and finding fun ideas for the upcoming year.  Without the summer to reenergize, I wouldn't be half of the teacher that I am today.

Happy Summer to all the hard-working teachers out there!

     Are you looking for a new way to get out of that inevitable behavior rut in your classroom?  Well, I've got an idea for you!

The "Charm Collectors" hanging for all to see!

     When I am asked about how I manage my classroom, I never have a short answer.  That's because I use a variety of techniques throughout the year.  Just like the kids, I get bored with the same behavioral incentives, so I love to change it up.  This week, my students are so excited to start earning "Classroom Charms."
     I always wanted to have my students earn some sort of behavioral charms that they could collect on a ring on their backpacks or shoelaces.  Unfortunately, purchasing a large quantity of charms of any kind can be very expensive, so I decided to use labels instead.  The kids could still "collect" these labels, I could personalize them to my needs, and they would cost me next to nothing.

Blank "Charm Collectors"

    I start by making each child a blank, laminated "charm collector" with his/her name on it.  Next, I hang them up in a prominent place in the classroom for all to see.  I would then, randomly, pass out "charms" to the deserving students throughout the day for a wide variety of reasons.  The children would never know when I would be giving out the "Neat Desk" charm, or the "Beautiful Homework" charm, so there is always a noticeable improvement in their effort and behavior when we use the charm system! I'm always very careful to monitor the charms so that there is never a student who has only one or two when everyone else has ten, or vise versa.  Because there is such a variety of categories on my labels, even the most difficult child can earn a charm or two every day.  Sometimes, I even give everyone a charm at the same time.  For example, if they walk down the hall nicely, I'll give them all a "Hallway Hero" charm when we return to the classroom.
     Because I've been using this system for years, I have so many different types of charms that I print out.  Each year, my students suggest new charms, and I print them right up and start using them.  

Some of the "charms" I use with my students.

     The children love watching their boards fill up with brightly colored labels.  They feel a sense of pride each and every time they earn a new charm to add to their board.  There are always a few very competitive kids will do anything to earn as many charms as they can.  They become so determined to get the "Classroom Helper" charm or the "Good Friend" charm that they will very obviously clean up my desk or "help" a friend in front of me , trying to act nonchalant, hoping I'll slip them a charm for their efforts.  It's cute!
     Before long, their boards are filled with wonderful compliments and accomplishments, and each board is unique to each child's strengths and personality.  I have received much positive feedback from parents who have had great conversations sparked as they ask their child what each charm meant and how they earned it.
     Simple and fun!!

Just a few of the many categories of charms that I pass out.

     March is always a long, long month for teachers.  Here in New York, the state tests are looming over our heads as we try to prepare our students to be successful and keep the stress to a minimum.   The kids have been cooped up in the classroom for indoor recess for months, and tensions seem to be high all around.  Fortunately, I've found a few simple traditions that I've shared with my students for many years that help lighten the mood and make testing season more bearable for the students (and me!).  

     The day before the tests begin, I always gather my students around and read a picture book to them about state tests.  There are a few to choose from, but I've been reading Testing Miss Malarkey by Judy Finchler for years, and the kids still enjoy it.  (I substitute the name of our state test for the name they use for their test, and the name of our school for the school's name in the book.)  This particular book talks about how the teachers and parents become stressed out before the tests, only to realize that their children were ready and did great on the tests.  It opens up a discussion about how it's really only a test, and that while they should try their best, when it's over, nothing really changes. Everything goes back to normal and there was no need to stress out in the first place.  The story is silly and exaggerates the situation, which causes the children (and me) to laugh at just how ridiculous it is.  It definitely lightens the mood!

     My students would totally tell you that the biggest perk about testing week is that I don't give them any homework.  Well..... almost no homework.    The night before the first test, they actually have two things to do.  First, I ask them to read a letter that I wrote to them, and second, I ask them to read the "prescription" I gave to them.

Here's the bag the students go home with the day before the test.

      The prescription idea was shared with me by my friend Cindy when we both started teaching fourth grade, and we've both been using it ever since.  I give each child a bag as they leave the classroom the day before the test and tell them that this will help them do their best.  I also tell them not to open it until they get home.  They get so excited wondering what is in the bag!
   

The "Prescription."

Here's what's inside! Cute!!

     These prescription bags are so quick and easy to make, and the kids just LOVE them.   On the day of the tests, you'll see many of them with their little toothpick and penny and eraser sitting on their desks- it's really cute!
     Finally,  I send my students home with a letter typed on colorful paper.  In the letter, I tell them what to expect on the test the following day.  For example, "There will be 3 passages to read and 26 multiple choice questions to answer."  I also remind them of the strategies we've been practicing to help them answer that particular type of question. Finally, I praise them for all of their hard work and great effort.  The letter has stickers and clipart and is very light-hearted.  I send them home with a letter to read before each day of the test.   When the test is over, they are so sad that there isn't another letter to read!  :)

     I'd like to take this moment to share a few personal thoughts about testing. I wish the parents of my students could see their children as they are taking these tests.  They work so incredibly hard and always try their very best.  They take each question very seriously, and while they sometimes agonize over an answer, other times they find a question to be "so easy!"  Watching them work so intently is  truly touching to me.  I know that regardless of how their child performs on the test, my parents would be filled with such love and pride if they could see what I see on those days.
      On the flip side, I wish that the people who work for the Department of Education would come into my classroom and watch my 4th grade English Language Learners or special needs students, who are reading at a first or second grade level (and making great progress, BTW) take these tests.  Struggling for over three hours each day of the test to read material that is written on a 5th - 7th grade level and trying to understand what they are reading...... that is deeply disturbing and heart-wrenching for an educator (or anyone else) to watch. It breaks my heart, and I find it completely inappropriate.  I am learning nothing about the growth of these students because these students are simply not able to read this level of text yet.  My hope is that if our children continue to be tested, that one day they will be given tests that are appropriate to each student and that will actually truly measure growth.

xoxo

Siblings.....

The Pirate Year

     As I've said before,  there have been a few summers when I wasn't as motivated to create a door as I was in other years.  I thought that maybe I could tone it down a bit and just make some nice decorations for the door itself, and incorporate some activities that went with the theme into the first week of school and call it a day. That was until I realized that I had siblings in my new class...

Captain Maggie

  The Pirate Year was absolutely one of those years.  I had to move my classroom (again) and things were extra busy at home that summer, so I was going to just make a low-key, cute door.  But then I got my class list...  I noticed that I had 5 new students whose siblings I had taught in previous years.  I also had the sweetest girl that my daughter babysat for and a boy who had recently lost his mom to cancer.  It became clear very quickly that that wasn't going to be the year to cut back, and so I rallied.

 It turns out that once you've been teaching in the same community for a long time, there is always going to be a sibling or a special circumstance where you just don't want to let the kids down.  You sort of develop a reputation, and there's no way that you can go back to the old "apples on the door" decor.  Fortunately, it's those exact kids that you don't want to let down that keep you going.

     Every single year , without fail, I get a bunch of 3rd graders (I teach 4th grade) come up to me and ask me what my door is going to look like the following year.  I get former students who come back to ask me about my next theme and offer to help me decorate my classroom.  They come to me bursting with ideas and suggestions. They love that I have a new theme each year and always want to be a part of it.

 It's become a bit of a tradition for me to post my back to school doors on social media the first week of school.  I have friends, colleagues  and old students who look forward to that post every year.  It's amazing how something as simple as a classroom door can bring such joy to people- old and young- but it does! I love to watch the expression on my students' faces as they see "their" door for the first time.
    Once you witness their faces, I can tell you, there is absolutely no going back.

The Paper Clip Chain...

 

   

     Many teachers use a simple paper clip chain as an incentive for good behavior in their classrooms, and I'm one of those teachers.  I started by hanging one paper clip from the ceiling in our classroom.  Whenever a student or the entire class did something positive, I added a clip or two to the chain.  When the chain hit the floor, the class would get to choose a reward.  It's a very simple concept, but the kids really like it.

     This year, on the first day of the paper clip chain, I had each child guess how many clips he/she thought it would take to reach the floor.  This winner would get a free homework pass (something I rarely give out!) After chatting with their friends, measuring the paper clips, and doing all sorts of math calculations, they put their secret predictions in a box, and we set the box aside until the day that the chain hit the floor.  These predictions just added another element of surprise and excitement!  They would count those clips every single day!!  Whose guess was the closest?  Who would win the free homework pass?  It really was a lot of fun!
   

   
     The excitement grew as the chain got longer and longer!   It was right about the time that we were fairly close to getting the class reward,  when I noticed that my students were rushing through their reading homework and handing in less than stellar work.  Many of them weren't applying the strategies that we'd been learning in school, and they were making very careless mistakes.  I decided to use the paperclip chain to encourage them to "up their game".  I gave my students very specific expectations when I explained their next homework assignment.    I modeled my expectations in class and told them that I would be rewarding good work with a paper clip.  The next day, the homework assignments were absolutely gorgeous.  I couldn't have been more proud of them!  I rewarded them with paper clips that they happily added to the chain, anxiously awaiting the one clip that would hit the floor- they were getting so close!
     Finally, we were ONE clip away from the highly anticipated reward (that had yet to be decided.)

1 centimeter away from the floor!!!

     Everyone had handed in their homework, and paper clips were given out, so the class knew they'd have to wait until later that day or tomorrow to earn that final clip.

     Just then, I glanced across the room and noticed one of my students, Taylor, scrambling at her desk to complete her homework.  Taylor lived in a one room apartment with her entire family and had no quiet place or parental support to help her with her homework. Most days I would have Taylor do her homework at school with me, but she was absent the day before, so she obviously didn't have her homework completed.

     It's moments like these that make a teacher's heart skip a beat...

     Taylor, who in the beginning of the year would NEVER do her homework, and wouldn't care that she didn't complete it, was sitting at her desk doing last night's homework.
     I watched her hand it in without saying a word.  I walked over to my desk, checked her work, graded it (she got it all correct!) and made the announcement to the class, "Wait a minute, here's another homework assignment!!  It's Taylor's, and she got it all correct!!  Here's your paper clip, Taylor!"   The entire class cheered and hugged Taylor!  In that moment, Taylor was their hero!   Her paper clip was the one that made our chain hit the floor!  Taylor's face was priceless!  She was the hero, and it was because she did her homework...
     Guess who has been doing her homework every day since that moment?  Taylor!  If it takes a paper clip chain to encourage students to do their very best and to feel good about themselves, then I'll hang a paper clip chain every year.

     Next, it was time to choose the class reward, so we brainstormed some ideas and the kids wrote them down on chart paper.

         After taking some time to think about it,  each student voted for his/her top 2 choices.

    

    And the winner was...HAVING LUNCH WITH MRS. MONKS!  And since having some extra outdoor recess was a close second (and they have been cooped up inside for awhile now) I promised them some extra recess once the weather gets nicer.  I couldn't help it, they really are so well behaved!

     So, my class and I now have a few more memories to add to our 2016-2017 fourth grade adventure.  Our paper clip chain experience and the fabulous picnic lunch we shared together in our classroom!    Life is good in fourth grade!  :)

Valentine's Day~

     If you're a teacher, Valentine's Day is one of those magical days.  The students come bursting into the room in the morning, anxiously digging through their backpacks to get their little valentines out.  They run over to your desk, and proudly give you their specially picked out valentine.  Their little eyes are looking closely for your reaction, hoping to put a big smile on your face.  Within 3 minutes, your desk is cluttered with gifts of love- many handmade with such care.

     They head back to their desks, surprised and delighted by what awaits them.  Simple little valentines from me, a sweet little note, and a bag to decorate before collecting their treasures from their classmates later in the day.  It's an exciting day to be a kid...

The simple pleasures of Valentine's Day!

       
     I help to run the 4th grade Student Council at my school.  This year, my friend Nancy suggested that each child in our school make a valentine for another random Southdown student.  Then, on Valentine's Day, the Student Council members would go into every classroom, and each child would pick a valentine out of the special box.  We decided to call this project, "Spread Some Love at Southdown." We thought it would bring some joy, especially to the children who didn't get many valentines.

       

Our box was filled with beautiful valentine notes from children of all ages.

     I asked my own students to write out a valentine to put in the box.  I suggested that they write something positive or encouraging on their card- something that would make them happy if they chose that valentine out of the box.  That's all I said.
     When I saw what my students created, I was brought to tears.

Who wouldn't want to choose this valentine out of the box?

So thoughtful!

I wish you could have seen sweet Richard carefully writing out this card for a stranger... priceless!

I hope an impressionable child chose this beautiful note and takes it to heart.

     If ever you begin to doubt that there is any good left in the world, just look towards the children.  They remind me day after day that there is love, innocence and hope in every single one of them.  I believe that it's up to us, as adults and teachers, to bring that love out, to keep the innocence in tact, and to never, ever, squash their hope.  Children truly are incredibly beautiful.

     I wonder when it is that some of us adults lose those simple, precious traits....

     Some years it's more difficult to pull a door together than others.   When I look at this particular door, it brings me back to one of the darkest times in my life...

     It was the Hollywood Year...
     I had been going through something I never thought I'd ever be going through- divorce.  It was the saddest time in my life.  I needed to move out of the family home that my kids grew up in and move into a rental home.  That totally broke my heart.  I found myself going through and packing up 20 plus years of memories and "stuff" on my own that summer.  That in itself was brutal.  Then came the kicker...  I was told that all of the fourth grades would be moving out of the intermediate schools and into the primary schools that year.  I had been in my classroom for over ten years, and to say that my room was full of supplies, resources and "stuff" would be an understatement.   So, I spent that summer packing up my life- both at home and at school.  There were boxes wherever I turned.
     You would think that creating a door would be the very last thing on my mind that summer.  But actually, it was just the opposite...

     Movies and Hollywood have always been a passion of mine, so I decided to do a theme that would truly bring me joy as I worked on it.  So, in the rare spare time that I had that summer, I spray-painted giant Oscars and created Mann's Chinese Theater.  I scoured the craft stores for gray poster board and paint to recreate the cement handprints that the celebrities made.   And as I packed up boxes, I would think about ideas and activities that would bring my classroom to life that year.  I kept a notepad with me to jot down my ideas, and my motivation to get through all the packing and unpacking was to finally get to work on my classroom and my door.  That's what made me happy and kept me going.

Once again, my photos were not very good, but if you look closely, there is an actual picture of Mann's Theater hanging on the wall.  There was also a photo of the celebrity handprints and the actual Academy Award statues for the children to see.

   Cutting out mini Oscars as I watched TV late into those summer nights brought me peace and comfort.  It took me away from the packing and the anxiety that filled my mind during the days.  As a teacher, I have always needed to calm myself and give myself the time and space to decompress and create.  That's the part of teaching that sometimes gets lost as we try to jam the curriculum into our hectic days.   The summer has always been my time to rejuvenate my creative juices, and that summer was no different.  I just had to work a little harder to find the time to give to myself.

 

My co-teacher, Mary and me.  We were both exhausted!  She was pregnant with her first little girl, and I was just physically and mentally drained.  I was so grateful that we had each other to lean on!

      Being able to express myself creatively has been a true gift in my life.  I come from a very artistically talented family.  My sisters can sew, draw, cook, and decorate their homes like pros.  My brother can write, produce, direct and analyze movies, among other things.  And I, well I can make a cool bulletin board.  I always thought I got the short end of the artistic gene pool, but I finally see that my creativity is just as valuable, it's just very different. I am incredibly grateful that I am able to share this part of myself with my students every year.  I have been surrounded by the most talented and creative colleagues my entire career.  I love to see what special and unique lessons they are creating every day in their classrooms!
     I wish the world could witness and appreciate these extraordinarily unique talents that teachers everywhere share with their students every single day.  I am in total awe when I watch a passionate teacher do their thing!  I only wish there was an Academy Award for them.