What's Working / What's Not

I'm about to finish the third fifth week of school so it's a good time to stop and think about what is going well and what is not.

Cheers

- The kids. They are a great bunch. First graders are a great group.
- There has been some great learning in the class, and some students have taken big steps already.
- I love Seesaw and can't wait how to use it better. Right now it has been just a moment recorder and tool for parent communication, but there is so much more I can do with it.

Challenges

- My room is not how I would like it to be. But I know that will come in time.
- I want to do more with anchor charts.
- The kids. They are first graders. They are so young.
- My own mental blockages. This is a case of not knowing what I don't know, so I need to know more. It's good that I have colleagues I can learn from.

Next Steps

Time has been my biggest challenge. I want to find a way to make time to collaborate with coworkers more.

I also want to find more ways to maximize the class time.

Lessons Learned

Every day is a learning opportunity. Sometimes you don't need to look too hard; especially when you are learning something new yourself.

Here are a few lessons I have been reminded of the first few weeks back in the classroom.

1. Relationships Matter
2. Prime Students to Learn
3. Seesaw is awesome

Relationships Matter

I think the quote goes, "Kids won't learn from people they don't like." (I think this goes for all humans.) I took time to get to know the students since I am a new teacher to the school and I didn't know anyone.

In a school, however, there are more than students in the building. I was reminded that building relationships with all people in the building because you never know who you will need to turn to for help.

Prime Students to Learn

This I didn't do this year. I was so focused on getting to know the kids that I [tried to] jumped into the learning, but soon found out they weren't ready. Now in the third week, they still aren't ready, but they are getting better. 

Next year, I would spend the first-week building relationships and priming the students to learn while doing some project-based learning. 

Seesaw is Awesome

I was so happy when I heard that my new school was going to Seesaw this year, and it hasn't disappointed. 

Parents are happy to see students in action at school, and I am happy to share with them. I don't remember a year with better communication between myself and the parents.