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!

20 down 160 to go

Today marked our 20th day of school.  Although this is the smallest class I have ever had (currently 16 I am used to having 21 -22), I feel like I am further behind than I have been in the past.  My intent is not really to complain, but I need to vent before my head explodes.

Our first series of assessments are due on the 30th and I am nowhere near completion.  I still have to finish a 100 point math test, that has to be administered individually, and our state reading diagnostic assessment, again administered individually.  I have been attacking the assessments piece by piece and they are coming along, but it is difficult to get them done when I am supposed to be teaching.    

I am not lucky enough to have an aide, but we were lucky enough to get 2 of our intervention aides back to be shared by all grade levels.  We had 4 last year, but darned budget cuts eliminated those positions.  She comes in for about 1/2 hour every other day during our reading block and twice a week during our math block.  While I am grateful for the time she is there, I just can't seem to get a lot done.  Part of it is because I tend to be a bit of a control freak and I have a hard time letting go, another part is that 1/2 hour flies by when you have to do everything one on one.

Ok, enough of that.  On the bright side, my students are just about ready to start workstations.  I know most of you start before the 20th day, but I really had to take my time getting my students to follow routines.  Although many of them had some sort of preschool experience, they were not used to being in school all day and it has been quite a transition for some of them. I still have one little friend who cries on and off throughout the day.  Seems like I always end up with the criers :)

I am still trying to figure out how to share things we are doing and making sure I am not breaking any copyrights.  Hopefully if I do goof, someone will let me know so I can fix it immediately.

I am going to go stalk some of your wonderful blogs now and get ready for tomorrow and Friday.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to make applesauce with some of the apples we picked at the apple orchard Monday.  Friday I have to do a parent workshop on the Common Core Standards and kindergarten expectations.  It is the first parent workshop I have had to present.  I hope I have everything I need and I definitely hope I'll be able to answer any parent questions.

Wish me luck!!

 

Someone is Very Excited!!

Thank you to Mrs. McCumbee for hosting such a WONDERFUL giveaway Mrs. McCumbee's Cutest Giveaway Ever!  I cannot believe I was lucky enough to win.  I have some big plans for my new teaching tool!  I'll be posting some pics as soon as it is packed and ready for students!

Thank you again!  

A Little About Me

This is my 5th year teaching kindergarten.  I originally thought I wanted to teach 5th grade, but destiny had it's own plan.  After I graduated I was not able to find a position at the beginning of the school year so I started subbing.   My former kindergarten teacher needed a long term substitute and after a few weeks, another kindergarten position in the building opened.  The principal asked if I was interested and since it was a full day kindergarten I accepted.  I think he planned on having me move to 5th when one of the 5th grade teachers retired at the end of the year, but I LOVED kindergarten so much I asked to stay.  I have been there ever since.

I consider myself a lifelong learner so I was ecstatic to find the blogging world.  However, after seeing all of the wonderful blogs out there, I am very hesitant to try my own.  I have been stalking so many creative and generous teachers on their blogs that I feel like my head is spinning.  It is hard to believe I have been missing out on these amazing resources for so long (I accidentally came across a blog earlier this month while surfing around the web and I have been addicted ever since!)  Maybe I shouldn't have thought of trying this so close to the beginning of the school year.  

Time will tell if I will ever be able to share something useful, but I do know that since I chose a non-prime time to start, it will be slow goings.  Please be patient with me :)