So I've been thinking and thinking about what my first blog post should be about...it's a lot harder than it might seem! I reflected on my twenty-something years of teaching...what strategies have I used that I liked the best? What will really begin to tell my story? What might be helpful for others to read?
Well, I think I've come up with a winner...something I may use on a weekly basis...Three Pluses and a Wish! Have you ever used this strategy when teaching? I used to use it a ton when I taught upper grades. We would reflect on something we did in class and determine parts that went well and parts that needed to be reworked or reviewed.
I started using a similar strategy this week with my kinders. They did a fabulous job! Here's what we did: We have stations every day for about 50 minutes - 3 rounds for about 13 minutes each. In between each station we meet on the carpet. This week I added that we have a quick discussion about what went well or what needed work during that round...kind of a check-in. One little one who was at the writing station said, "Someone at my station really worked hard figuring out how to spell a hard word!" Another one said, "We were playing around at Book Boxes instead of reading our books." I was really impressed with how well they were able to honestly critique themselves.
So here are my Three Pluses and a Wish for last week!
Plus 1:
On Monday, we wrote reading goals and most of my little ones were able to brainstorm and write an appropriate goal!
Plus 2:
My little ones LOVE to write. We are working on writing opinion pieces and most of them have been able to state their opinion and back it up with a reason!
Plus 3:
We had a bit of an eventful week at school - a fire on Thursday, the coldest day of the year so far. I am thankful for all of our fire drill practices because all kiddos followed our procedures and were out of the building safe and sound. (Did I mention that this fire occurred during kindergarten lunch when we didn't have coats?) All is well now, but, at the time, it was a bit scary...having 20 little ones under my care during a stressful situation like a fire is exhausting!
Wish:
I'm hoping that, in the upcoming week, I can begin to see the growth that I know my kiddos have made. Our assessment window opens on Monday, and I will be assessing to see where everyone is. I can see such improvements on a day-to-day basis...I hope they show me what they can do!
Until next time....
