Life Happens

This school year is a whirlwind! Every hour a new group of students come in wanting something different (Language Arts, Yearbook, Newspaper, Enrichment, Leadership). I've spent several nights at the school until 9pm, but I still don't feel caught up! I'm praying for the year to begin coming together, so I can't back into a routine.

Until then - teaching school, being in graduate school, and being a mother, daughter, sister, family member, and friends is a 24/7(+) job and blogging will be taking a seat in the back.

I am using the blog on my teacher page on our school website to help keep parents up to date on what we're doing, so please feel free to come check me out over there!

ELA, Enrichment, Leadership Blog

Yearbook Blog

Newspaper Blog

Monday Made It

I "made" my classroom ready for students. That counts as a Monday made it … right?

I used Donor's Choose to get these stability balls for my classroom last year. They have been ah-mazing. The students love to sit on them, and they have to keep their behavior in check and complete their work to keep the privilege to sit on them. It's a win-win all the way around. They increase focus, build better posture, and help keep the "wiggles" under control. 

The only downside is they do need to be blown up again occasionally which can take some time. It took 4+ hours to re-inflate them after the summer break. Thankfully - the students who love to sit on them also love to inflate them!

Do you use any "outside of the chair" seating in your classroom? Please share!

Wednesday Wisdom

This "Wednesday Wisdom" is pretty straight-forward. If you don't enjoy your career or classroom, how can you convince the people in your room to enjoy it? No one wants to get up early, sit all day, and be told stuff.

If you aren't having fun in your classroom, no one else is either.

Try something new. Break up the monotony. Get inspiration from Pinterest. Ask another teacher to collaborate. 

If you still love teaching, try another career! There are millions of careers out there. Don't make our students suffer in your misery. Shake it up or shake it off. You'll be glad you did!

Day One

It's here! It's here! This is our first week back with students. This is always an exciting week! I hate that many teachers feel like this cartoon:

Give me a few months, and I may join you - but right now - I'm up early and ready to go! Let's get this year started!

On the first day of school I like to keep it simple. We review the syllabus, complete a classroom scavenger hunt, and get to know each other. Many teachers spend the day lecturing with rules and procedures. This results in students sitting a good portion of the day, so I like to break it up and let students move in my classroom! 

I cover procedures and drills on day two, and by day three, we are on coursework!

How do you structure your first week?

Encouraging Scripture

Tomorrow is our first day back with students. I love the excitement and energy this time of year brings! With all of the busyness and craziness that back to school brings, it is very important that we take to pray for our students. 

The year will get bumpy. Things will go wrong. Thankfully - at the end of the day, it will be okay. We are good teachers. We are passionate. We love our students. We are here to do what is best by them. In a few weeks, when we hit a dip that feels like drowning in data, paperwork, grading, sports, clubs, and parent emails - remember - you are human, students are human, and it will be fine. Tomorrow is a new day.

Put your best foot forward. Admit when you are wrong. Admit when you need help. Show students that failure is okay. Let your students see you mess up and correct yourself! If we only show perfection 24/7, how can we expect our students to learn how to fix a fumble? They need "modeling" for these simple life skills just as much (if not more) as they do modeling for content. 

Proverbs 22:6 carries a great deal of importance in our classroom. You are not teaching english, science, math, history, or art. You are teaching children, preteens, and teenagers. You are teaching people. They watch you and learn from your habits, mannerisms, and words. Love them. Teach them. Show them how to concur life - one mistake at a time!

& We're Back!

This has been the first week back for teachers! We have an entire week before students return, but most of this week has been full of PD and team building - not much prep time. Thankfully, I worked on my classroom last week! 

How do you spend your teacher workdays before students return?

Encouraging Scripture

I have been blessed with a gift of teaching. I bask in God's grace daily with the joy this gift and career brings me. From students who challenge me and warm my heart to colleagues who inspire and encourage me, I am surrounded by glory daily.

There are also many other gifts God has blessed upon me that I feel help in creating a strong, focused, and engaged classroom for both my students and myself: organization, communication, and the ability to adapt. I do my best to pull from any and all gifts and build upon those gifts to reach my full potential and teach in proportion to my faith.

On the flip side of having gifts, there are many gifts I do not posses: patience, counseling, and memory. I do my best to find ways to counteract these short comings, but I recognize these weaknesses. Recognizing areas that need growth and reflecting how you work within those areas is the best way to grow! I lean on others to help me with patience and counseling as needed in my classroom, and I am always using technology and planners to help me remember things!

While we can see our own gifts and short comings, it is vital that we help our students see their gifts and short comings as well. Students need to be told that they matter and have purpose! They also need guidance on building on their weaknesses to improve.

How can you help your students find their gifts this school year? What can you use from your gifts to improve your classroom?

Encouraging Scripture

As we approach a new school year, keep in mind, and close to your heart, you are more than a teacher! You are there to counsel and guide students through this phrase of their lives. You make an impact! Sometimes we see students more than their parents see them. 

Consider your classroom habits and how you can work to connect with your students individually to help guide them in their journey this year. Pray for your students and love them!

Celly VS Remind - Classroom Communication

For the past several years, I have used Remind in my classroom, but at the GRITC conference I was introduced to Celly. They both offer a great resource for connecting with students outside of class time, but they have different features. What is the best fit for your classroom? Let's have a look!

The below information is what I have found through online articles and using the sites myself. If you have additional or different information, please share! I am still learning.

Remind

I'm starting with Remind because it is my tried and true platform. 

Remind started as a one-way text/email service, but they have recently added a chat feature. The one-way messaging is a great way to get a message out quickly without having to reveal your phone number, worrying about replies, or typing in emails one by one. I've enjoyed using this to remind students and parents about due dates, field trips, and upcoming events. 

The new chat feature opens the floor for one-to-one communication. Teachers initiate a chat session with a student (or if you change your settings, students can initiate the chat), and they can essentially email each other via Remind. I don't find this feature useful to me as I already have my school email address forwarded to my iPhone, and I can reply quickly from there when I am available. 

Students and parents sign up for Remind by texting a class code to a specific number or sending an email to the class code email address. No account is needed and sign up takes only a few seconds. This is very useful as creating an account takes time and no one needs another password to remember. Remind also has an app students/parents can download and messages can be read from there.

You can also schedule Remind messages to go out (I typically schedule a set of messages for the week on Monday) and add attachments to the message.

Celly

Celly is very new to me. We used it at GRITC, and I enjoyed it! I played around a lot, joined a few education topic cells, and began reading reviews. 

With Celly, you create "cells" or groups. Students join the cell, and everyone in the cell can chat together. Collaboration is key to a successful classroom! Celly also offers private chats for one-to-one communication. 

There are three cell types in Celly:

1. "Curator" - The cell creator (teacher) receives all messages privately first - then he/she decides if the message needs to be sent to the whole group or left private. (This is my favorite for classroom use.)
2. "Open" - All messages are sent to the entire group.
3. "Alert Only" - Only the cell creator can send messages - no one can reply. (Great for large groups where replies would be overwhelming.)

Celly provides a joining guide for parents and students.  It can be accessed through the website, app, or text messages. If you use the website or app, you must create an account. You do not need an account to use the text feature.

Celly also offers options to send attachments, photos, and POLLS! I love the idea of the poll feature. You can also schedule messages.

This program will be wonderful for classroom collaboration. Students can answer each other's questions (as I approve the message), make comments on readings and homework, and see that everyone needs to ask a question sometimes!

Pros/Cons

Remind - Pros

• No account needed for sign up
• One-way messaging feature is fast, simple
• Schedule messages
• Add attachments

Celly - Pros

• COLLABORATION
• Different cell types for different situations
• Mass messages can still be sent to the class
• Add attachments/photos
• Send polls

Remind - Cons

• "Chat" is the equivalent to email (I don't need another place to check)
• No Polls (without app)
• Lacking collaboration

Celly - Cons

• I have not experienced the text feature yet, but I feel it may be overwhelming if you are a part of several cells and receiving texts for all messages.
• Creating an account to use the app/website can take time and may deter parents from signing up.

Both programs offer great resources for the classroom! This year I am going to venture out with Celly and see where it takes us. I can still send mass messages like Remind, but it also opens the floor for collaboration and students to ask questions that can benefit the entire class at once. 

What about you? Do you use Remind? Do you use Celly? Are you thinking of switching from one to the other? I want to hear about it!