The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. I had two professional development days, and got a chance to re-bond with the school staff. I took two flights, one red eye and one at 6:00 AM (ouch is right!). I went to one rehearsal dinner, and one wedding, standing as a groomsman. I lost a temporary crown, and had it replaced (don't ask). Lastly, I finished my first day and first week of school.
The difference between year one and year two of having your own classroom is exponential. My overall comfort is well beyond last year's, which is funny considering how comfortable I felt last year. My nerves were there, as I hope they will be for each and every year until I retire. My planning running up to this school year has also been more efficient as well. While I knew what was coming last year, I always felt a step or two behind where I wanted to be. This year I might be behind where I am scheduled to be, but I am right where I should be (pacing/instruction-wise).
There are some great things coming. We're already reading Rules by Cynthia Lord for our read aloud. I felt like that would be a great way to bring out acceptance of different people (as the book surrounds an autistic boy and one who is mute). I'm also hoping to get the blog rolling this year, a new wrinkle or tool to use in my instruction. I also have some more specific work that the kids are going to be doing with our wiki, as opposed to creating pages to document the topics/subjects we are/were studying.
Good things in the works. Buckle your seat belts!
Congrats on finishing your first week. I have followed your journey since introduced to your blog my one of our mutual professors.
ReplyDeleteI recently got a job teaching sixth grade in the same district and I am struggling with my decision about the best online forum for use with my kids. My colleague uses an edublog, and the kids love it, to the extent that they blog about personal stuff. I'm still deciding how I feel about this. I want to be able to post updates, get responses, allow kids to post reviews, podcasts, etc. And then I'm told that our district will be coming out with a new classroom website platform soon. Any thoughts?
It all depends on what the purpose is. I am not entirely sure which of the variety I am planning to use. It was high on the to-do list, but has dropped a rung or two behind welcome letters, and copying some reading assessment stuff. I would suggest going through each via the tour function. See if it has the features you are looking for.
ReplyDeleteClassblogmeister (spelling?) is another. I think each has their advantages/disadvantages. There is also a classroom blogging wiki out there which can be checked out, but the link escapes me currently. I prefer the external function, but I am unsure of how successful the class website platform will be (whether limited, extended, etc). Hope that helps.