Cheers and Jeers

With 13 days left, the school year is quickly winding down and the kids are really winding up.  This has been an interesting year.  It is the first year I have had less than 21 students (I have 17) yet I feel more stressed than I have ever felt before.  My kiddos have accomplished A LOT and I am very proud of their progress.  Not all students quite made all of their benchmark goals, but they all showed TREMENDOUS GROWTH.

Throughout the year I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my teaching...what is working, what ISN'T working, things I should have done, things I WILL do next year.  I have decided to share some of my Cheers and Jeers from this year in the hopes it will keep me focused over the summer.

Cheers to:
Guided Reading - for the first time I actually felt like I knew what I was doing...most of the time.  I was able to move groups around as needed and all but 2 of my students met their end of year benchmark (level C).  Despite all of the interventions we had, these 2 just couldn't quite get there (they did get to level B, just couldn't quite get to C).

Daily 5 Stations - For the most part, students were engaged and eager to do station work. I was able to buy or steal design activities that challenged students and gave them the freedom to move at their own pace.  Wonderful to watch!!!

Math Stations - this is the first year I implemented math stations.  Debbie Diller's book  (below) was a real eye opener.  I think my students made deeper connections to the concepts and it showed in their assessments.

Jeers to:

Classroom Management -This truly isn't usually one of my weak points, but I had a rough group this year. Unfortunately, at times I really let them get to me.  My little friends were nowhere near as bad as the little friends I had my first year (I went home and cried almost nightly with that group.  I'm actually surprised I went back the next year...yes it WAS that bad) but this group brought a very unique set of issues with them.  I found myself not being as consistent as I have been in the past which really bothers me.  I also had ZERO minimal parental support.  Consequences at school meant nothing to my little BFFs because as soon as they made it home they got to do whatever they wanted anyway. 

Organization - With all of the changes I had to go through this year (both personally and professionally), my organization went down the tubes!  I have piles upon piles and stuff strewn all over my classroom.  THIS WILL CHANGE NEXT YEAR.  It has to or I will go completely bonkers!   

Report Card Fiasco - Our school system knew we were moving to Common Core Standards well before the end of last year...did our curriculum director anyone think of working on a report card that matches the Common Core expectations over the summer????  NO!!!!  We had a group of kindergarten teachers scrambling 2 weeks before first trimester report cards were due trying to put a Common Core report card together.  I am not going to say anymore about that...I am sure you can imagine the stress we were under. 

RIF Notices - Budget cuts and some alleged mismanagement in our HR department really hurt us this year.  We are in danger of losing A LOT of good people.  I am not sure where I will be or IF I will be anywhere.   

Thankfully summer vacation is almost here.  I will definitely need the time to recuperate.  Hopefully I'll have more of this figured out and I'll try to share SOMETHING.  

It is getting close to bedtime so I'm going to get off of here and get ready for tomorrow's cheers and jeers.  Hopefully there will be at least one more cheer than jeer. 

~Christine

Yowza!

Oh my...the school year is almost over...30 more school days to go... and I have not really done much with this blog.  It has been a very eventful year.  New principal (3rd principal in 5 years), starting the new Common Core standards, and new evaluation rubrics are enough to make anyone feel like their head is stuck on a permanent out of control carousel ride.

I am very excited to be in a school corporation that values, and helps pay for, professional development.  I was able to attend our state kindergarten conference in December, I get to go the the IRA conference in Chicago starting tomorrow, and best of all I get to go to the National I Teach K conference in Las Vegas this summer!

I will do my best to better tend my blog once school is out.  I feel guilty for not giving back to everyone who has already shared so many wonderful activities and ideas.  Thank you all for helping me get through this crazy, but exciting, year!