Goal to Self!

Next year I'm going to be better at recording things as they happen. I've had so much reflection this year. I'm a perfectionist and determined to be the best, most effective teacher ever.

We are testing right now. This is a stressful time for teachers. It's good to get feedback on how the students retained what was taught but then it's discouraging as you see some students carelessly or randomly pick answers.

My two goals when I set out this year were: To make sure each student knew I cared about them and to make sure each student felt successful in some way. I have done anonymous surveys to see if these goals were met. Each student did feel that I cared about them but I got some mixed feed back on being successful. I need to spend the summer reflecting more and refining. Teachers could work on their techniques and lesson planning 24/7 and still feel there is so far to go. You are constantly figuring out what works for each student and trying to make it all fit into your limited time schedule. There are days I come home and feel like a complete failure. There are also days that make me feel like I made a difference, these are the days I try to focus on, to recreate more often.

Christmas magic

The last day of school before the Christmas break was like eating sour patch kid candy (which I happen to love). At first, there is a shocking zap to your senses but then the sweetness underneath gradually takes over. I thoroughly enjoyed the day with my students. Sure it was chaos and the students were a bit "high strung", but there was a magic in the air as well. I smiled as one student I have had trouble with gave me a hug good-bye at the end of the day. I hope that in the coming months, this magic will pay off as an investment.

Notes to myself about Christmas:
*Have thank you notes filled out ahead of time so you don't have to mail them (although I think the students love getting a letter).
*Consider toddlers in your classroom when parents are doing a classroom party. This makes for extra confusion and can get messy if there aren't alternate activities available for these little tikes.
*Give yourself plenty of clean-up time and have lesson plans ready for when you come back so that you aren't spending too much time after school ends.
*Plan fun things for the day, things that don't require grading! I loved the students' production of our Christmas reader's theater.
*Be festive!!