back to school vibes

Another school year is upon us! I'm not going to lie, last night I was feeling the Sunday Scaries pretty bigtime. Coming back after a two-month hiatus isn't easy, especially when you've been on beaches with friends and family, at day games at Wrigley, staying up all hours of the night (when I say this, I mean 11pm, ha!) and redecorating your apartment. Even for those of us who have been doing this a long time, that transition can be difficult.

But then I came into Heritage for a team leader meeting this Monday morning, and was flooded with hugs, and catching up, and the excitement amongst the new teachers and I was reminded again WHY i've been doing this for 17 years... and still feeling happy about it.

First: Relationships. You guys, it's all about the people. Some of my VERY BEST FRIENDS I've found because of teaching. 17 years worth of students that have crossed my path have made it so much fun to learn as I go. I've had excellent admistrators and our coaching staff is on point. I could never do a job that didn't involve other people, it's all of them that bring so much joy to my day-to-day work.

Second: Balance. This one was a little harder to come by; I don't feel like I really started to master this until like year 6, and then in the past few years I think I've gotten really good at it. Teaching can feel kinda hobby-ish for some, myself included. That coupled with the fact that I get OBSESSED with things (reading and writing workshop) can make a teacher live teaching only. It's so importnat to find hobbies and interests outside of education that are really fun, because just like any great relationship, you have to get away from it a bit in order for it to really flourish. Want to chat more about this? Come to the Self-Care Roundtable at iEngage with Gorz and I!

Third: Creativity. It's so cool to start fresh every year. You get to try new things out and set new goals. You can modify really great lessons from years prior and create totally new ones. You can work with new people and read new books. This year I have a few goals: to amp up the anecdotal notes on my coaching log, do a little hand-written journaling in my agenda each day, and to coteach with a bunch of teachers in my building. I'm also toying with the idea of a Young Authors club - I am not teaching a section of ELA this year, so I feel like I have to get some kid time that is JUST MINE in some way. If you've ever done this, please let me know!

There's obviously so much more to a year of teaching, but we'll just keep it short and simple, which is what I recommend to all the new teachers starting their very first year! As I saw on Twitter the other day, YOU are your classrooms greatest resource, so don't go hard all day every day in your classroom in the week(s) leading up to the kids return. They need you fully rested and refreshed when they get there, so go to the beach instead!

What makes back to school best for you? Leave a comment and let's keep the conversation going!

Happy Monday!

tweet, tweet

Ahhh, spring in 8th grade. (Today it's 2 degrees in Chicago, but who's counting?) But ahhhh, spring in 8th grade. The kids are finding their boyfriends and girlfriends, and what esle could be better?

Well, what could be worse is your teacher calling you out on it.

There are these two kiddos who I especially adore. Let's call them Annie and Adam. I have known Annie since she was in fifth grade, when that was our last year at the elementary school. After that year, we both looped up (me back) to the middle school.

The following year, I had Adam in homeroom. Sixth graders are kinda shy, but he was always a personable kid. Annie and I lost a bit of touch until this year, but we have since reconnected and I see her, and Adam, every day again.

As eighth graders, these two are the best. They are funny, witty, smart, people persons. They are both in ELA with Andrea during block 4, and although I do not teach that block with her, I sometimes find myself in there after my other commitments, packing up to go home. Without a doubt, these two will ALWAYS find a way to say hello. Annie sits right by where my space is, and Adam usually needs his pencil sharpened (which is right by my space) about the time I return.

For most of the year, it was just fun and pleasantries. Until Annie and Adam became an item.

Now, I can do that thing that parents and teachers do - just a look and they'll blush.

But sometimes, I'll see them in the hall together, and I'll be like, "Hey Lovebirds!" (This is so reminiscent of Julia Bray, a coteacher I had about a decade ago, that I miss dearly.)

They will see, or hear this, and immediately blush and walk away from one another.

But the best? One afternoon I did this, and a friend of Adam's, let's call him Sam, followed up my greeting with "Tweet, tweet." 

Someone who understands me!

This is the best, especially with the kindest, funniest, happiest kids who will let it go and quietly remind me later to please stop. (I will not.)

sol #19: remember when

Remember when we first started teaching together?

Remember when you weren't almost high school kids?

Remember when we first just met?

And you were bummed there were 7th and 8th graders in our class?

Remember how I'm always really proud of you?

Remember how I like taking selfies? (alot?)

So we have lots of memories to scroll through? :-)

Remember how reading is AWESOME?!

Remember how there are 28 teachers, not 2?

And one to never forget: Ohana.

sol #10: (almost) all heart

On Valentine's Day, we did the Warm Fuzzies, like I do EVERY YEAR. It's my favorite community building activity. That day, as he handed me a warm fuzzy, one kiddo said, "I'm going to remember my 8th grade year....by heart."

This got me thinking about how I do business. How I do classroom management. It's by heart. I pull on heart strings to get kids to work and take risks.

Here are a few ways...

Every Monday, kids begin their day with a Monday Meeting letter. (Adapted from Responsive Classroom's Morning Meeting.) It's just an ongoing google doc with the newest letter at the top, and I tell them what is going on this week, share some celebrations, provide feedback, etc. I like this because it's authentic reading (and in some cases, writing, too.) Here's a sample -->

We also do celebrations. On Monday, someone gets an award for something. After Parkland, I was reminded of this blog again, and since have been asking kids to nominate someone for the award. It's cool now because they are nominated by their peers. And kids are funny, too. A few have nominated themselves a few times; I laugh! If they can create a good argument for their award, I'd give it to them!

We have some flexible seating, too, and regularly gather in a circle on the rug for sharing. The circle is important - no one can be siting outside the circle, so we make room for all. We use a talking turtle, to engaged everyone in listening. As the year goes on, kids continue to build trust and share even more easily.

I also tell kids I love them all the time. I sign our letters that way, I tell them 1:1 when needed, I tell them that as they leave my class. I mean it too, I love those kids. But when they mess up, they hear it from me, too. I have boundaries and high expectations, and I don't let stuff slip. So they make a mistake, fine. We talk about it. Then I end by telling them, "I wouldn't get this upset if I didn't care about you."

And Ohana. We just did a building-wide parent engagement assignment about what Ohana means and why it's important in our school. I used to just call us a family, but I think I'm going to use Ohana exclusively now. They know what it means, we watch out for one another. We're family and we bicker and argue, and have fun and sometimes hurt one another's feelings, but at the end of the day, we're home in room 230.

And blogging. Do you have any idea how much community you can build with blogging, specifically with the Slice of Life challenge? My kids are writing stories of their lives, sharing them with their peers and wider community, and I'm able to learn so much about them. About their families, about their friends and boys, when they get "exposed" by peers, when they are sad, and on and on and on.

Obviously, instruction is important to me, and I want to learn the most effective ways to engage kids in literacy and grow them as readers and writers. But what I care about even more than that is that they feel safe in my class, that they know I care so they will take risks.

It's because of that I'm more heart than instruction.

Thing is, it works.

My kids learn BECAUSE I love them so.

I couldn't imagine another life's work for me. I'm so thankful I get to teach kids.

sol #3: not *our* seventh graders

There I was, sitting at the score table at a volleyball game. Varsity was playing so my assistant coaches and I were on the record keeping and score boards. We were just killing time, casually chatting while we waited when one of them looked over to the bleachers and commented, "I don't like the seventh graders."

I looked over to see typical shenanigans in the bleachers, nothing bad, just a bunch of kids he didn't know personally because they are in another grade.

Unlike the seventh graders in our combo ELA class. Our ELA class is composed of half seventh and half eighth graders. I love this setup for a few reasons. Number one, one of my literacy idols, Nancie Atwell, runs her classes this way. Number two, when half the class loops, you get not two teachers, but 16 teachers on year two. Number three (which I'm coming to find more and more this year, as it's our first year building a few classes this way), kids become unlikely friends. What I mean is that is most eighth graders are not friends with seventh graders. Setting up a class in this fashion gives them the opportunity to be friends with someone they probably wouldn't have been.

So back to my story, my kiddo tells me, "I don't like seventh graders," as he looks onward to the bleachers. Then, he turns towards me, places his hands on my shoulder, looks right into my eyes and adds, "Not our seventh graders."

sol #2: big mac on three

Found out last minute that JT from my ELA class is moving. So, beginning of the class today, I asked the class to think about something they might like to say to him in a letter that we would write towards the end of the block.

After they had written their notes, we met in a community circle. My coteacher and I had snooped through the notes, and we were so touched, and also curious about a nickname we didn't even know about - Big Mac. We sat down together and opened the floor up for sharing. 

First, EB explained that a handful of the boys just started calling each other Big Mac. I didn't really understand, and then IO asked me, "You've never had a Big Mac?" The kids went on to say that one day someone called another the name, then it stuck.

Then TF shared. She started by describing how at the beginning of the year, she was really upset that she was in a class with seventh graders (she's in eighth). She spent a lot of the first part of the school year being upset, but finally, she began talking to the seventh graders, and JT was one of the first kids she began to speak to. She said she was sad she wasn't ever going to be able to wink at him again, or see him wink back. She started to really tear up when she related the next story. You see, early on in the year, she had asked him for his snapchat user name, and she had it all along, but tears were really falling when she then added, "I had it. I had it all this time, and I never added him." That was when KA came over with tissues, but like half the box worth, and so every started giggling. Thankful for a little respite in that moment, but I am so proud of her reflection and courage to share something that I bet she now wishes she had done differently.

Another student relayed that he was also sad to have him leave, but it came with some comic relief. "You guys, it feels like a funeral!"

Then AO added, "Yeah, look, even Ms. Brezek is in all black!"

Luckily we were laughing and wrapping up, when EB asked to speak one more time. He sat there, on the little stool, leaning over, elbow on knee, pointing at JT, "Just remember, *this* is your home."

This is why I teach. These moments. Of course, I'm devastated that we're losing a great member of our ELA family, but to read my kids' letters, to hear the way they responded to this news, to feel the love in the class, this is why I do everything I do.

I'm reminded of Brené Brown and her new book, Braving the Wilderness. One of her tenants revealed in her research this time is "People are hard to hate close up. Move in."

It's the sweet spot in the school year, when we have formed those relationships. We've 'moved in' on the lives of one another. And to hear from a student after student, some in tears, saying how much they'll miss a peer (who some had no desire to even know on day one), well if that isn't magic, I'm not exactly sure what is.

Big Mac on three!

sol #1: sentimental stuff

Warm fuzzy day, I love it.

Every Valentine's day, the kids get little yarn necklaces and share kindness and appreciations that make one another feel "warm and fuzzy." This year was no exception to the amount of joy it brought me.

One trio of kids, we'll call them Alice, Tanya, and Isaiah, were huddled together. The girls were tying warm fuzzies to Isaiah's necklace, telling him such kind things:

"You're my best friend."
"You're so nice to me...well, you're not, but I know you're just joking."
"You're so cute, too," one of them said, as they grabbed his chin.

Then they asked him to say thank you. He just smiled.

"Say thank you!" they demanded.

"No thank you," he said, with a grin, shortly followed by, "Thank you."

The girls went on, "Now tell us something nice!"

Slowly, he pulled a string from his necklace, looked down at the floor, up at the wall, around behind him, and finally, said, "Here you go, Tanya, because........ you're cool."

All smiles, with Tanya, saying to her friend, "And after all that sentimental stuff I told him!"

Sentimental or not, all the kids were smiling, around all of the classrooms we did this. Like every other year, it was a win.

in love

It has been my dream for years to have a 7/8 combo ELA class where the seventh graders loop, a la Nancie Atwell. My dream is beginning to take flight this year!

Last year I had a combo class, but it was small. Mostly 8th graders, with three seventh graders. Those seventh graders are now in eighth, but my new combo class is a 50-50 mix of seventh and eighth, including my three from last year. The brilliance behind this plan has been found already, just in week one.

In four short sessions of ELA, I can already see the potential for this combo class design. This week, we began some procedures that will turn into daily routines. The first one is poetry, which is another recommendation from Nancie Atwell. Have kids study poetry every day because it packs big meaning in short text.

So there I was sitting with the kids in our meeting space, and after reading our first poem, Human Family to them, I asked them to partner read with their Accountability Buddy (long term partnership chosen by kids). The kids of mine who were with me last year knew exactly what was coming, and so it was such a delight to have them get right to work by prompting their partner to begin.

The choral reading of the poem we did, no complaints this year, no feelings that it was weird, because I had kids who were already accustomed to this practice. If I have just three kids looping this year, imagine the impact when I have 14 models next!

It's just the beginning, and I believe in my heart that this is such an effective way to deliver ELA instruction! I can't wait to see what other little insights I'll have as we move forward this year.

And to top it all off, on an exit ticket, one of my seventh graders wrote this:

"The highlight of ELA was being with the 8th graders."

Totally, #allthefeels.

Does anyone else have a combo, looping class? I'd love to hear more about your experiences!

Happy Saturday!

sol17 #19: silver lining

I found out last fall that I was nominated for a pretty special award, the Golden Apple, which is from a foundation local to Chicago. Even though I wasn't sure who nominated me, I applied, and found out in February that I had been named a finalist. Such an honor, I felt so thankful for that nomination, especially when I found out it was a former coteacher who I just adore. Those days teaching with her were some of my fondest memories of teaching. Thank you, Julia, for thinking of me this year!

On March 1st, two colleagues of Golden Apple visited my school. They met with my principal and assistant principal, and also panels of teachers, students, and parents. They spent over an hour in my classroom observing. As nervous as I was the night before (didn't sleep much) I was set right at ease when I met them. I had a great day, and so did all the people who participated on my behalf!

Following that, there was a brunch to honor the 33 finalists, a group selected from 600 nominations.

I heard from the founder that day, and really liked what he had to say about education. My big takeaway was that it's relationships that drives all the work we do, and I couldn't agree more. That's the best thing I love most about the work I am privileged to do each day.

For the past six months, I have been only sending positive energy at this possibility. I remember telling a friend a few months ago, "I don't want to get too excited, there's a bunch of amazing teachers in the running for this award," to which she responded, "No, Michelle. Envision it happening. Only think positive thoughts about it. Manifest this award that you are very deserving of!" Since that conversation, I have only been thinking that I would win, that Golden Apple would visit my classroom, a visit without my knowing, to tell me that I had become one of the ten fellows of their foundation.

So, when I got the call last week that I had not been named a Golden Apple Fellow, you can imagine the disappointment I felt. I thought back over the past few months, and really, until that moment, I hadn't thought that I wouldn't receive this prestigious opportunity.

That being said, I can't forget what an honor all of it is anyways. I was nominated - one of my peers thought I was good enough to be named golden. Then, my application essays created the opportunity for me to be part of a small group of finalists. People from the foundation spent a whole day with me and the people at Heritage. How amazing!

And so, even though I did not become a Golden Apple Fellow, I am still proud of the work I've done, not only this year, but in the 13 years prior. Work that led me to amazing relationships with awesome teachers, students, and parents, people who have taught me about myself and how to be a great teacher, peers who taught me to how live the most positive life, friends who shared an office with me or had a classroom down the hall who taught me ways to teach a child to read and love to write, colleagues who taught me the importance of consistency and compassion. Students who made me slow down, laugh, and have fun. Administrators who pushed me to be better today than I was yesterday.

All of that has brought me to be named me a Teacher of Distinction by Golden Apple, and will offer me an opportunity to collaborate with them in the future. I can't wait to find out more about this, and hope they don't mind if I continue to tweet to them, since they had me at their #teachgolden hashtag.

And just one last note to all those who cheered me on the past few months... the teachers who embraced me in the teacher's lounge, who high-fived me in the hallway or just shared a bright-eyed congrats... and to those teachers, students, and parents who showed up for me on March 1st, I continue to grow with all of you by my side. Thank you. xo.

Hey there kiddos! Here's an idea for Sunday:

A time I was really disappointed was.... but then I realized that something good came from my disappointment...

And if you don't like that idea, check out the padlet. And don't forget to leave some comments for others!

sol17 #11: exit tickets

WRITE your story.

SHARE your link.

GIVE some love via comments.

Lately, on Fridays, I've been giving exit tickets via google forms. I have kids do some ratings for the week, share the best part of their week, something about it they would like to change, "I wish my teacher knew..." and a spot for anything else. Here's a glimpse into what my students said about our past week.

I asked how they were feeling about Slice of life, on a scale of 1 to 4 with one being "Not at all" and 4 being "SO MUCH!"

I love this. I have about 5 students who are committed to writing every day, but seems that even the others who are only doing what I'm requiring (2 posts a week) don't mind it so much. Slicing is so personal, and when you're commenting and reading friends posts, it really builds community!

We also just started our Holocaust unit, one I really enjoy teaching. One student asked me yesterday, "Why do we have to learn this?" I answered with, "Why do you think we have to?" and we surmised some ideas, but I didn't tell her my reason just yet. Here's feelings on our new unit:

In an open-ended sentence, "The best part of my week was..." I got answers like:

• Learning about the Holocaust
• Writing comments for students
• Writing blogs for the Slice of Life (x5)
• Sharing
• ELA

In another open-ended sentence, "Something about my week I'd like to improve..."

• Not let someone ruin my day
• Not getting mad over small things that might not be true
• Get faster at quick writing
• Paying more attention and asking questions
• to participate in class more

And then I always include "I wish my teacher knew..." so that kids had a space to tell me anything they'd like. One student said, "I'm sorry for being mad when we came back to class."

This prompt just opens up a conversation for anything that could be on the kids' minds. Like it or not, students being perplexed by friendships or in a fight with their parents affects their learning. When I am privy to that information, I can be more compassionate. In this case, it makes me so happy that my kiddo who came back from lunch upset was able to take some time to feel better, then continue participating with us, and then reflect enough to share an apology that wasn't even necessary, but totally appreciated.

Do you do exit tickets that are beyond content? What other questions are you asking?

I'm so proud oyou're becoming writers. Did you know...

Be sure to look in your day for the stories, and then you'll have one to post for tomorrow!

Want ideas? Check out the padlet.

Want more ideas? Read some blogs of other students and leave them a comment, too!

sol17 #4: painless

WRITE your story.

SHARE your link.

GIVE some love via comments.

I was planning to teach a strategy for writing conclusions and had to read The Relatives Came to my class. I called them over to the rug, my seventh and eighth graders. And

It was painless.

It just was.

In the beginning of the school year, we sat there a lot. But it was awkward. It took a long time to get seated. They shifted around in spots they didn't want to be in. They were uncomfortable. But then two days ago

It was painless.

It just was.

I told them when they heard the timer on my phone ringing, to stop their blogging, save their work, and come to the rug for mini-lesson. The timer sang. Some kids were already sitting in front of me and another handful were on their way. Only two or three were still typing. Because this time

It was painless.

It just was.

I did a 10 second countdown and within that time all 18 kids were in front of me. No one was arguing over spaces. One kid who sat to the side of me, when he realized that I was going to read a picture book, quietly got up and moved to a better spot. Because now

It was painless.

It just was.

And so I read the book, and they enjoyed it, even clapping at the end. I used the anchor chart I had prepped to describe Circular Conclusions that touch back on the introduction. They listened as I reread the beginning and ending. They asked a few questions. No one argued. Everyone was learning. Because

It was painless.

It just was.

And then today, a whole 24 hours later, they completed my exit ticket for the week, and one student said the best part of their week was when we read that book together. Our classroom community is built. There is trust and love and so sitting together as a family on the rug is no big deal. Now reading together

Is painless.

It just is.

Need an idea? Check out the padlet. Want to leave a comment? Check out the Two Writing Teachers blog.

Still not quite ready to write? How about this idea...

The first day of ELA with Ms. Brezek...

Happy Slicing!

loving warm fuzzies... as usual

Today a student said to me, "Thanks for making me like reading again."

Swoon.

As much as I would like to report that they came up to me and said this out of the blue, that wasn't the case. But, the activity I did with them today always draws compliments like this.

Behold, the Warm Fuzzy:

These little yarn necklaces entered my life when I was and 8th grader, when a bunch of high school kids from a group called Snowball put on a day-long activity to teach us about positive self-esteem, staying away from drugs and alcohol, and being kind. Warm Fuzzy necklaces were handed out to each student and we were instructed to compliment one another and with each compliment, give a little string from yarn ball.

Fast forward to teaching, and every Valentine's Day I do this activity. I *always look forward to it. This year, I had my middle school kids do some Quick Writing afterwards to collect their thoughts. Three minutes of writing on their behalf yielded (yielded?) these ideas...

"I enjoyed it. It shows how many people appreciate me and how I make them laugh, how I've been a true friend, and how nice I am to everyone."

"It's awesome because you tell people nice things about them and they feel happy and feel like people care about them and that we're all like a whole family."

"I loved the fuzzy activity because we could remember who made us laugh and thank you for doing the fuzzy balls for us, Ms. Brezek."

"I noticed when everyone would say something to someone, the person would smile. It's good to see others smile."

"The Warm Fuzzy activity is fun and I think it helps you to talk about your feelings to others."

"My friends mean so much to me and I couldn't get them all candy, but the strings showed even more meaning to it."

"I enjoyed the activity, it gave us a moment to realize the positive things we see in each other."

"The warm fuzzy activity made me feel good. I walked into class not feeling so well, but as usual ELA made my day."

After class, one of my students wrote a blog post about our activity, too. Check that out, here.

I seriously love kids and love teaching, especially on days like today. You should totally use the Warm Fuzzies for community building, on Valentine's Day or on any day. Check out this post that explains how to make them.

So, ELA...what am I loving? You guys, definitely. Thanks for sharing the love today!

gratitude lately

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Hope you are set for an awesome day with family and friends. Before I get to the turkey, a little bit of gratitude on this November day.

Thankful for a five day Thanksgiving holiday, to see friends and family, to rest, to catch up, to spend time doing the things I enjoy.

Thankful for the kids I teach. I think they're so smart and talented and kind, and also, like all kids at this age, don't always get the consequences of their actions, which makes this life's work demanding and complicated, but so rewarding.

Thankful for these thankful notes our PBIS team put on, and messages from students.

The longer note reads, "Thank you Ms. Brezek for being a good teacher! I know most students do not like you, but I do. You're just really strict, but I like that about you because it keeps me on time in class and helps me do my work faster. Ok, I didn't mean "really strict." I meant you're a little bit strict. To other students you're "super strict" though. Thanks for being there to help me succeed and be a good reader and writer!"

Thankful that I continue to put myself out there in an authentic way, even if it doesn't always work out in my favor.... both in my personal and professional life. Thanks to Jennifer at Cult of Pedagogy for this, I can totally relate.

Thankful for family who is always there at a moment's notice when something goes wrong. Thankful that even though my car is smashed, I am not.

Thankful for Landmark Forum and it's personal/professional development sessions. It has has really shown me how to live my best life - to live more powerfully in all aspects of my life, with freedom and self-expression, and has created a greater sense of peace of mind. It's by far the best personal and professional development session I've ever participated in. Do not believe what the blogs out there say. Landmark will change your life.

Thankful for my niece, who will be my Goddaughter in April. And thankful for text messages and a shared love of Young Adult Lit.

Speaking of books - currently reading On Fire: The 7 Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life. Once again I am reminded that gratitude turns what we have into enough.

Thankful for a growing family of Arbonne sisters.

Thankful for Old St. Pat's. Every time I'm there, I laugh, learn something new, and leave feeling so perfectly peaceful, which is exactly what I need on Sunday evenings.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends and family!

What are you thankful for?

slice of life

It's Tuesday. My students created their blogs today and I had them publish their first post. (EEEKkkk! So exciting! I've already left them all a comment!) So, I should probably do the same and be a great model!

My slice comes from a small moment from Monday. It was passing period and I was standing in the hallway, supervising, high-fiving some students, joking with others, directing traffic to keep moving so the hallway didn't get congested. As the hallway started to clear out, one of the sixth graders came and gave me a hug. I half way hugged her back and then stopped and looked in her eyes.

"Is this hug for me or is it for you?" I asked her.

"It's for me," she replied softly. At that moment, I gave the kiddo a good hug. We had known each other since she was in third grade, just beginning writing in a fab writer's workshop, and over the years, we've learned more and more about each other.

She went on, "I just want to go back to Emerson. I miss it."

"There's a lot going on here in middle school, isn't there?"

She nodded and I continued, "Yeah, it's busy. Lots of teachers, lots more kids. Maybe some drama with friends, but today is just one bad day. Today is just one hectic day. Pretty soon you'll go home and rest, and then you'll have a fresh start tomorrow."

She nodded, and I sent her on her way to lunch.

Life is tough. There's so many demands on our kiddos - school, and friends, and family, and hobbies, and sports, and chores. Plus a million more. It's so nice when kids ask for what they need, like this case when this kiddo came for a hug because she knew it would make her feel better. But what about the kiddos who don't? 

Let's all check in with our students and children tonight and tomorrow. If they are not asking, let it be us who do so!

best week ever

No, seriously. You guys, now I'm back in middle school and I have a few of my own classes to teach. It's been three years without! I'm so happy!

Here's my homeroom on the first day. We're already a little classroom family and I love it! I can't wait to share our homeroom theme with you, it's not ready yet, but hopefully in the next week or two!




They're super cute as they learn the big middle school systems. They've done so well this week, I can't wait to see what comes next for them!

I'm teaching two classes: Challenge Based Learning and English Language Arts. This week, I've been working on two big things: Quick Writing & teaching kids to talk to and listen to one another.

Quick Writing
I learned Quick Writing from Penny Kittle's book Write Beside Them. It's prompted writing that happens in three minute spurts. There are three rules:

Rule 1: Write for the whole three minutes. Give the kids a prompt and then tell them that when they run out of things to say, that they need to listen to the talking in their mind and just write whatever that is saying. Main goal, to write furiously and not quit till time is called. Tip: Don't ask a question when you prompt, instead, give a sentence stem. Here are a few I used this week:

• What I like/dislike about this classroom is...
• Poetry is different than fiction/nonfiction because...
• Something I'm looking forward to doing this weekend is...

Rule 2: Don't let your head tell you what you're writing is crap. We all have that critic inside, but writing is messy, thinking is messy! In quick writing, the idea is to get it all to come out, and it doesn't have to be organized or correct or perfect. When you can't think of the next work, put a line to save the spot and keep going! Just don't stop writing.

Rule 3: Relax, have fun, play. Quick writing is meant to be the writer's playground. It builds stamina and fluency for writing, and it also allows a writer's voice to come out. But it has to be done consistently. One other point to note, if a kid has a great thing going after prompt #1, they can skip prompt #2 and stick where the writing is hot. It's recommended!

Quick writing is not collected or graded. Kids do the work, not the teacher. Even if we're not checking it, kids are still reaping the benefits. This week, on an exit slip, one student said this:

That was after session 1 of quick writing. Imagine the confidence they will have after a month of it!

Speaking & Listening

In the three years when I didn't have my own classroom, I read a lot of stuff without a space for application. This week I finally put some of that information to use! I read somewhere that when a teacher repeats what a soft-spoken child says, the message it sends to the other kids is that they don't have to listen to the quiet kid, because the teacher will just repeat them.

I no longer repeat anyone.

If a child shares to the group and is too quiet, I turn to a student on the other side of the room and ask if they heard what the soft-spoken student said. If they say no, I ask the second student to ask the quiet student to repeat themselves. It forces kids to speak up.

I'm telling you, my Challenge Based Learning kids thought I was insane the first day. There were like 50 times when I had to facilitate them listening to one another, but the underlying message here is so powerful: Each person's voice is important and deserves to be heard. So we're going to speak up!

I'm also having them work on eye contact, that rather than having it go from students to teacher and then back from teacher to students, it's one person (student or teacher) to everyone else. So that feedback sounds like this: "You did an awesome job speaking loudly, but can you say it again, and this time, instead of just making eye contact with me, say what you're saying to everyone?"

We will just keep practicing, but I know that the conversations in my classes this year will be wonderful, from kid to kid to me to kid to all the other kids and on and on. I just love it!

Not ready

This is the first year I was not ready - like, I'm still waiting on furniture and my new rug, I didn't have my bulletin board stuff until after the first day, my plans were written on a day-by-day basis, my library wasn't totally unpacked (in fact, 2/3 of it is still in my basement in a storage closet I'm afraid to go in bc I'm sure there's 100s of spiders in there!) And you know what? It was all ok. It was okay that my first day was more about making sure I remembered their names than showing the perfect power point presentation about rules. It's okay that there's a huge empty spot where a rug will soon be, it's okay that I only had planned for the few hours ahead of me. Every kid knows they matter to me, and that's the most important thing.

That being said, I can't wait till my room is ready for the blog reveal! It's coming along, day by day. I'm hoping that in the next three weeks it will be ready for a photo shoot to share with all of you!

That's about all on my end. My heart is seriously so full, I'm so thankful for the opportunities I've been blessed with. Working with kids puts me in that state of flow - you know, where there's nothing else getting at you, you're not stressed about anything, you're not thinking about missing out on anything, you're just living every moment and enjoying the ride.

How was your first (or second) week of school?

5 love languages

Hey all y'all! It's the BigTime Blogging Challenge. I'm writing every day in July to celebrate my blog's three year anniversary! Join me - write your post, link it up with mine, leave some love for blogging friends in the form of comments!

So the Love Languages. Seems weird to be a on a teaching blog, right? But, teaching is all about relationships and I totally think knowing the love languages of your colleagues is super helpful!

Gary Chapman is the guy behind this research and he found that people feel loved, or appreciated, in five main ways:

Words of Affirmation
Gifts
Acts of Service
Quality Time
Physical Touch

Words of Affirmation
This is my main language, but it's all about showing appreciation for someone by saying thank you, complimenting them, or using your words in any other way that can show your gratitude. I came across this one day and I believe it's totally true:

Gifts
Some people feel most appreciated when they are given gifts. I do like to pick up little things for friends at work. A few months ago, another teacher and I had this super funny story about pineapples, and then everywhere I went I was seeing them, wanting to buy her everything with a pineapple! I ended up getting her a golden pineapple pencil which I don't think she shared with her students, although they loved it! Giving thoughtful gifts makes me happy, but not as much as an email or a card that says nice things.

Acts of Service
Some people feel appreciated when you do something to help them out. Maybe you have a teacher friend at work and you make copies for him or her. Or maybe you do more of the grading writing/giving feedback than your coteacher and it really makes them appreciate you. Whatever the case, sometimes you can appreicate your colleagues by doing little (or big) things for them!

Quality Time
Spending time together is a great way to bond and bring teams closer together. When I was at the middle school, our team *always stopped working and spent time together over lunch. I think stopping work and sharing stories about our personal lives helped us grow closer and then, work together better!

Physical Touch
Some people do not like hugs. Or high fives. Other people though, do! Although this takes on a different meaning with our colleagues, showing you care with a hug or a fist bump or a high five may do just the trick.

So, are you wondering what your love language is? Head over to this link and you can take a quiz to find out! And be sure to check out Chapman's other books:

An InLinkz Link-up