Ugh...I hate data!

Frustration.

That's what I feel after looking at my teaching goals and the associated data for the year.

I know how hard I have worked with some of my students and all the extra work that my paraprofessional has put into interventions with some of my students. 

I have one child that is going to be retained.  His parents have the paperwork to sign as I type.  I have another child with some health issues that I would like to retain.  His health and lack of attendance (partly due to doctor appointments, partly not) combined with his progress basically stalling out in January doesn't bode well for first grade.  He is not meeting goals for kindergarten and will sink in first grade.  His parents have put off the meeting to determine a health plan and best placement for him for next year.  I am hoping to get it rescheduled by the end of the week.  I have another child that is finally, slowly making progress.  She's not meeting end of year goals but is making steady progress toward them.  Her parents, even after talking about the possibility of retention at our March conference, seem startled by the fact that we would like to meet with them to discuss next year's placement.  So, yes, that is a total of three possible retentions from my class of 18.

Of my other 15 kiddos...there are some very high students, some who are right at grade level.  I'm pretty happy with the progress of most.  However, there is a group of kids (about 5) that did not meet the end of year goal for writing.  Three of those five are only a half-point away on the rubric, which, in most cases, means that they either didn't have enough details or style and voice wasn't quite strong enough.  My readers were similar.  There were 7 that didn't meet the end of year goal.  6 of those 7 were one level below the goal.  All 7 of those students came to school without knowing more than a handful of letters (mostly just those in their name or less) and zero sounds and all but one made it to a level C.  I think that's pretty good, but it's not the end of year goal.

Sigh.

I understand we need goals for students to be sure they will learn everything they need to learn.  However, I also know that the kids that are struggling now, most likely, will be just fine by second grade.  They will take off in their reading once they get to levels with more interesting books.  They will take off in their writing also, once it becomes easier to hear the sounds and write them down rather than having to put so much thought into each and every letter they put onto the page.

I know these things.

I still don't feel great about my students not all meeting the end of year goals.  It's never happened.  Not once, in all my teaching years...oh my, 13 years.  Every year we come close, every year I feel disappointed because I know that "people" will look at the numbers and not know the child.  They will see that there are kids that didn't meet the goal but they will not know who's parents divorced during the school year, who had health problems, who's parents were involved at home and who's parents were not.  They don't know how hard my littlest peanut worked to pass the first text level this year.  They don't know that after working hard all year and being in intervention groups all year, he finally passed the first level on May 30th and we celebrated and gave him high fives.

They just don't know.

But I do. 

I have to remember the huge amounts of growth my students made this year even when they didn't meet the end of year goal.  I have to help them celebrate what they did and learned this year.

Because I know and I am proud of them!

Working On My Workshop...Growth to Follow

In my classroom, I have reached the time of the school year when I need to re-evaluate the writing environment.  It's time to step back and take a look at how things are going.

This is what I've been doing for the last week.  Trying to decide what is working well, what needs adjustment and if anything needs an overhaul.  The first thing I did was move children around.  They have seats at the tables that don't change.  However, I've noticed that during writing workshop, these are not the best seats for all children.  My first order of business this week was to change the workshop seating.  I spread the kids out all over the classroom.  I would ideally prefer for the kids to make these seating choices on their own but with this particular group of children, if I allowed that choice, writing workshop would turn into chat workshop!  :)

In order to move students around, I have had to rethink their writing tools and caddies.  I made it work last week by stretching what was available the best I could (kids that sit on the floor got clipboards, some students sit on the counter, some are at small tables around the room, etc.) but it ended up meaning that a few kids were walking around the room to locate an item (a certain color crayon, a colored pencil, a regular pencil, etc.) rather than just being able to get comfy and absorbed in their work.  To fix that problem, Monday we will be switching to a combination of tool caddies.  There will be some caddies that stay on the tables...for children that sit there during writing workshop.  For students that are on the floor, at a small table elsewhere in the room, or sitting on the counter space, I will be putting together pencil boxes that have the pencil, crayons, and colored pencils that they will need.  I know there will still be supplies that they will need to get up for, but at least it will be somewhat more contained to allow them to get caught up in their work.

I have also been doing some rereading of my professional books. I spent time this summer reading Katie Wood Ray's book: The Writing Workshop - Teaching the Hard Stuff (and it's all hard stuff). I've gone back to that book to review some of her ideas that really struck a chord with me. I also pulled out a book that I purchased recently but hadn't yet begun to read. It is Marcia Freeman's Teaching the Youngest Writers: A Practical Guide.  I have to share a quote from this book that resonated with me as I read from the chapter on creating the workshop environment this morning.  "Your first big step is to expect your students to write.  Act on that premise.  In the beginning, treat them as writers, call them writers, make them believe they are writers.  Have faith: Build it and they will come."

I think that is what it all boils down to...build it and they will come.  If I make sure the environment is in good shape (and of course, my teaching as well), they will come...or maybe more to the point, they will write.

My OLW for this year is grow.  I think I found my first opportunity to reflect on this word.  I am pushing myself to grow by doing some reflection and professional reading right now and I am expecting to see my students grow in their writing as a result.

Because it is also the time of year when assessments are high on my list and report cards are on the horizon, I am looking forward to collecting a writing sample from my youngsters.  I can't wait to see what kind of growth they have made!

Time is a Speed Demon

 With a new year literally just hours away, I keep finding myself thinking about how my children are growing so quickly before my eyes.  When I was little, I used to think it was funny when people said how the year just seemed to fly past.  Now I understand.  As I watched my children open Christmas presents I realized both how young and how old they each are and how quickly it has happened! 

My 9-year-old was delighted to open his Kindle Fire...a gift we pondered over for a long time before deciding upon.  It is really hard for me to comprehend the fact that he is old enough to be responsible with it and yet young enough that when he opened the wrapping paper on his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure, he couldn't stop there.  He immediately tore the package open, popped out the turtle and started to play with it!  But oh, he is growing so fast!

Then my 7-year-old opened her tiny little box.  She couldn't even begin to guess what was inside...an iPod Shuffle awaited her!  She was so excited she jumped up and down and danced around the living room!  It was my idea to get it for her because she loves music so much and often asks to listen to my iPod.  I loved watching her face as she realized what it was and that it was her very own.  She's growing so fast!

My 4-year-old fell head over heals in love with her Pete the Cat stuffed animal!  She enjoyed her new Lego sets, her horse and stables set and had them assembled and spread over the kitchen table for hours of play on Christmas evening.  But...she also loved the video games she got and has spent much time playing them as well over the last few days.  She's growing so fast!

The 1-year-old little lady actually understood how to open presents this year!  It was a joy to watch her dig in to the wrapping paper, toss the gift aside and play with the boxes!  Last year she sat in her bouncy seat and watched.  She played with the shiny bows and chewed on her new toys...after someone else unwrapped and opened them.  Oh how times change...she's growing so fast!

I keep thinking about my students too.  Wondering how their Christmases were?  Did they get a special gift that they enjoyed as much as my children did?  Have they been able to relax at home and play with their new toys like my children have?  Do they miss school and the predictable routines?  My own children have enjoyed being at home and having free time but they are beginning to ask when they will get to see their friends, the babysitter, their teachers again because they love those things too.  While I love my time at home with them, and my own vacation, it makes my heart happy to hear them ask when they get to go back to school!  Somewhere along the line, they fell in love with school, just as I did as a child and just as I hope my students have.

Oh they grow so fast!  My wish for the new year is to be more aware of this "speeding of time" so that I can slow down and really enjoy what I have here and now. 

Goodbye 2012 and all the good times you brought (and the less than stellar times too, because they make us who we are).  Hello and Welcome 2013!  May the new year be filled with kindness and love.

Game On

Read other Slice of Life stories at the Two Writing Teachers website.

Surviving parent-teacher conference week is a badge of honor, both as a parent and a teacher.  As a parent, I get to experience the joy and satisfaction of hearing about my children through the eyes of someone else.

I am pleased to say that my two oldest children are doing very well in school.  They enjoy school, they love their teachers and they are happy.  Even more satisfying is listening to their teachers and feeling the genuine care that they feel towards my children.  It does my heart good to know that when I'm not there, my kids each have another adult with them who looks out for them, encourages and nudges them to be their best selves and who honestly cares about them.  They are both in good hands.

My two younger children are also lucky like this.  They have a wonderful daycare - a place where they look forward to going each day, a place where they don't want to leave in the evening, a place where they feel at home.  They love their sitter and she loves them.  She is calm, kind and she knows my children as well as her own.  She searches out new foods for my one-year-old who doesn't make feeding time easy.  She cares for my four-year-old's food allergies as I do myself...carefully, vigilantly, but with respect.  She always makes sure that she has a yummy alternative if there is something she can't eat like everyone else and she has searched her cookbooks for things to make that are safe for my daughter.  Needless to say, we love her.

While reflecting on these important people in my own children's lives, I started thinking about my students and their families.   As a teacher, I have always enjoyed meeting the parents of my students.  I met families this week that are strong and resilient and supportive.  They have faced adversity and challenge and haven't given up.  Instead, they have pushed on and have repeatedly sought out the best help for their children that they could.  I also met parents who don't understand or don't want to understand that their children are struggling, no matter what they see and hear.  How will I reach them?  I met families who regularly see counselors in order to deal with and manage their daily lives.  I heard stories of adoption and stories of health problems.  I heard about little problems and big problems.  I heard about success stories - babies who weren't supposed to walk or talk but who are active kindergarten students today!  I met parents who are well established and stable.  I met parents who are so young they are still learning to take care of themselves, let alone their children, and everything in between.  How will I reach them?


I've been thinking of all of these families and how I am linked to them. I keep thinking about how lucky my own children are each day to share their days with amazing people and how I hope that my students and their families feel the same way about their kindergarten experience this year. 

I have some very difficult children in my classroom this year.  I have children that try my very last nerve each and every day.  I can't help but think that these are the same children who need my love, caring and kindness more than all the rest.  I need to find a way to get through to those kids.  I know that if I can win over those children, I can win the game.  It's time to huddle up and strategize and do this!  Game on!

Let It Be

Slice of Life Tuesdays are hosted by Ruth and Stacey at their Two Writing Teachers blog.  Check out more Slice of Life stories on their blog!

Last week, on the hottest day of the year, maybe the hottest day known to man, my husband and I packed up the family and headed to the zoo!  Had we not already made hotel reservations and had my husband not already taken a vacation day, we probably would not have embarked on this trip on the 102 degree day.  Maybe that isn't crazy hot to every one, but where we live, we just don't get too many of those days!  All you had to do was stand completely still outside in the shade to work up a sweat.  But, it was still a fun trip and we still saw most of the zoo animals...except for the ones that thought they would stay inside where it was cool.  We really enjoyed the penguinarium and the arctic circle buildings...where it was air conditioned!  After the zoo, we found our hotel and made a beeline for the pool.  Well, as quickly as you can after changing four kids and two adults into "baby suits" (as my four year old calls them-love her!).  After the pool, there was some hotel room down time.  This is where my ponderings began to take root.  Not that I've never felt this way before or thought about these things before, but this was when I realized just how at odds I can be with myself.  Oh, and a little wisdom from the Beatles never hurt, right?


Let It Be

I'm caught in this crazy web of Teacher Me and Mother Me.
How do I know when to be which?
I am so much of both at once.

We take a family trip to the zoo.
We take in the sights: butterflies, penguins, tigers, polar bears, seals, zebras.
We feed the giraffes with great delight!

Teacher Me asks the kids: what animal was your favorite?
Mom Me says: what was the best part of the zoo today?

So much the same, yet so different, these parts of me.
Teacher Me whispers in my ear: The zoo!  The zoo! Write about the zoo! 
It's real, authentic, not forced by me!
Mom Me speaks in the other ear: their teachers said to write over the summer.
Here is the perfect topic for both! Have them write a story about the zoo!
Maybe a list off animals? Write the best part? Write about the heat?

Alright, maybe it's a tad forced.  It's summer.  They don't want to do school stuff;
Not anymore than Teacher Me wants to.

What?

A third voice?

"Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
Whisper words of wisdom.
Let it be."

Where did that come from?  Lovely...another Me?

Writer Me speaks her mind: Let it be.  Let them be. 
Let them fill their tanks this summer. 
They are reading.  [Reader Me rejoices!]  They are experiencing. 
They will write soon enough.

But how do I feel about it?
How do I bring these Me voices together?
A mixing, blending, meshing of Me parts and pieces?
A co-existing, cohesive me?
Is it possible for them to live happily in a place side by side?
And...is it a place of writing or not?

"Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be.
There will be an answer. 
Let it be." 

Summer Writing Camp -- Here I Come!

With this being the final week of school, I am buried in end-of-the-year assessments, report cards, wrapping up projects and saying goodbyes.  It's always a bittersweet time of year; a time to reflect on the journey of my students and myself throughout the year.  It's a time to look back and see how far we have come, how we have changed and where we are headed next.  This has been a challenging school year: maternity leave and a new baby at home, difficult student behavior, etc.  However, it has also been a year of fantastic growth; not only student growth, but my own growth.  I'm just getting my feet wet in this writing business, but I love it.  It's in me and I can't wait to see where it goes. 

When I think about making the time to write during the school year, I have found that my writing time is after my children are in bed...and usually after my school work is finished for the night.  That generally means I am writing during my tv/relaxation time before bed.  Most of the time that is the way it plays out.  However, there are times during the school year that aren't as busy and I am able to make time during my classroom teaching breaks.  Those are the rare days when there aren't copies to make or phone calls to return or things that I want to chat about with my teaching buddy across the hall.  Now that it's almost summer, I am thinking that my writing time will shift to the morning.  Most likely, the early mornings will become my writing time.  I am most likely to catch some quiet time then...assuming I can get myself out of bed to write.  I mean, it is summer after all, right?

I am sure that the place I write and the amount of time I write will vary depending on the day.  I will make time for writing but will also have to take what I get sometimes.  I have been teaching long enough to know that while I like to think of it as having the "summer off"...there is nothing "off" about the summer.  It's just as busy during the summer as it is during the school year.  The kind of busy is all that changes.

My summer writing plan?  I'm really not sure.  Since I'm just beginning to think of myself as a writer, I don't really have a plan yet.  I'm still going with the flow for now.  Maybe this writing camp will give me some direction?  Maybe my own reflections of the past year and the next school year will give me some direction?  Who knows?

A wise lady I know is retiring after spending her whole life in the business of teaching, professional development and school leadership.  When people ask her what her retirement plans are she says with a smile, "I don't know!  But I know I will keep busy.  I'm not planning to just sit around in my rocking chair!"  As I think about my writing goals for the summer I feel similarly.  I don't plan to sit in my deck chair all summer!  I'll stay busy with my writing, but I don't know yet what I'm going to write!  But, as Pete the Cat says, "it's all good!"

Themes It's Popping Up Everywhere!

Tuesday's Slice of Life stories are hosted by Ruth and Stacey at their blog Two Writing Teachers.  Head over to their blog to read more great slice of life stories and even add your own!



I'm reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio right now.  I took my children to the library on Saturday morning and began reading it that afternoon.  I could not put it down all weekend.  That being said, I still haven't finished it.  (Here is where I give the excuse of having four small children...reading time is hard to come by during the daytime hours!)  But, possibly because can't spend the time I'd like to really devour the book, I have had time to reflect on my reading as I go.

It seems to follow the overarching themes that have been floating around me during the last two weeks.  I have been running into the ideas of making a difference, standing up for what you believe in, standing up for others and choosing kindness.

I see it in the book: the children who become friends with Auggie and choose kindness, they stand up for each other, and they make a difference in each other's lives. 

I see it in my classroom: making an extra effort to connect with a child and make a difference in the way they see themselves in school, as a student and as a learner.

I see it in my colleagues: standing up for the type of professional development that will be helpful and not hurtful to their team, thinking about relationships and the dynamics of teamwork and collaboration.

I see it in my mentor: teaching others by showing them their gifts and using those gifts to benefit the whole, encouraging people by meeting them where they are, validating them and then giving them a nudge to soar on their own, fostering independence, and leading by example.

I see it on the signs I drive past: "To belittle is to be little."

I see it in my own writing: read this post and this post for more.

Then again today, as I settle in with Wonder for a few minutes this evening, I see it again.  Only this time, it has an additional message attached.  Auggie said it well: "I do know what I'm really known for.  But there's nothing I can do about that.  A Star Wars duffel bag I could do something about."

Sometimes things happen and we can't do anything about it.  BUT...sometimes we can.  Don't complain about what you cannot change but take charge of what you can change.  Never be little - never belittle.  Take a stand where you can.  Make a difference.  Choose kindness. 

Cheers - a reflection on reading and slicing

Slice of Life Writing Challenge - Day 12 - hosted by Ruth and Stacey at Two Writing Teachers.

Recently, as part of the Slice of Life challenge, Stacey asked slicers to reflect on our writing so far this month.  I answered her charge at the time by commenting; leaving my thoughts.  However, I have continued to reflect on this and was even thinking about it as I woke up this morning.  Here is today's reflection:

"Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?"

                               

   

I've had the "Cheers" tv show theme song in my head all day.  I'm not sure why.  I couldn't tell you the last time I actually heard the song...but it's there, so there must be a slice about it, right?

As I pondered this idea today, I was watching my students read.  I couldn't help but feel proud of their reading journey.  I thought about how hard it was when they first started; how long it took for us to build up our reading stamina to the point we are now...20+ minutes!!

The atmosphere in the classroom today as they shopped for new books was electric.  Many of them were shopping in a new reading level!  It certainly makes my job fun, and worth while, when I see that gleam in their eyes that tells me they are feeling proud of themselves.  (And it doesn't hurt to know that over half of them just moved up a reading level either!)

I just love the way they drape themselves around the classroom now and get cozy during reading to self time.  Some of them truely lose themselves in their books for a little while.  The SOL writing challenge has become this for me!  Writing and reading SOL stories has become my time to:

 

"...take a break from all [my] worries

[and it] sure does help a lot. 

Wouldn't [I] like to get away..."

 

Yep, I think I'll go read a few slices.