A Peek into Chaos

So today I went into a 4th grade classroom to help guide students in the task of goal setting.  I must admit, I was pretty nervous because I am used to 6, 7 and some 8 year olds.  4th grade is a whole different world.  Living with an 11 and 13 year old is quite different than standing in front of a room full of 10 year olds teaching.  Yikes!  As I over- explained to them the process of choosing a goal, I realized that these kids knew themselves really well.  They have had 10 years of people telling them what they need to improve on.  I didn't have to pull anything out of them at all.  They said things like "I sometimes take things too far and I want to fix that," or "I want to work on controlling my body more."  How insightful!  I just did not give them enough credit.  They were excited to get rolling with these goals and have purpose.   There was one important piece I took away today:  kids are so very aware of what their downfalls are but sometimes str

I feel like this blog is a constant work in progress.  Instead of just jabbering about myself in these posts, I'm going to try to reform this blog a little so that it is geared more towards the things I am doing in my classroom that are worthwhile.  My purpose is to help.    Before I get into some favorite tools and activities, I do need to give a little background.... A few years ago I found myself feeling burned out, worthless, and ready to quit my job.  I actually Googled "what can teachers do for a living?"  Multiple times.  I think we have all been there at one point or another.  I'm not sure where the turning point was exactly but I do know it had something to do with being involved with technology and surrounding myself with people who saw something in me that I did not see at the time.  I also found Twitter.  These things helped me to be more confident in who I am as an educator.  With this I have become less fearful, more willing to take risks and more EXCI

So remember when I was reeling from the conference in Hammond???  I took that excitement and went forth with Google Certification!  I have to admit that I was pretty nervous.  I have not used Google Apps in my classroom as much as I probably should have or could have this past year.  Through the training process, I learned so much and I am super excited to use many of these tools next year!  I also feel this motivation to certify at Level 2, trainer and innovator.  Never in a million years would I have thought that for myself but it's sort of addicting and exciting all at once! There's this other little thing that keeps creeping up on me that I want to do...I really want to share my love for Seesaw at a conference somewhere.  I thought about the Warsaw eLearning day this summer and I have started to fill out the submission form, like 4 times already and then stopped.  Again, intimidating but exciting.  I'm not sure what I will do yet but I should probably make a decision so

I just spent two days at the Indiana South Shore eLearning in Hammond and my mind is SWIRLING with ideas!  Ya know how you go to a conference and you leave feeling like you could take on the world??  Yeah, that is exactly how I feel right now!  What an amazing conference (see all the great things that were going on at #sselearn) that was FREE!!!  Unbelieveable!  I want to "document" the highlights of those two days so I can hold on to that learning and apply it to this upcoming school year. First of all, I cannot say enough about Buddy Berry.  If you have not heard this man speak, find him and listen to him!  (Follow him on Twitter @BuddyBerry) His story is really amazing.  I have heard him speak twice now.  I knew that he would be in Hammond and it was part of the reason I signed up.  I will admit that I initially thought, "Well, I have heard this keynote before so if I miss it, no big deal..."  wrong wrong wrong.  Just as powerful, if not more the second time.  

For some time now, our district has really embraced Twitter.  Teachers are tweeting what is happening in their classrooms, coaches are tweeting inspirational quotes, and administrators are tweeting about what is happening in their buildings.  I must admit, before our superintendent arrived I was not much of a "tweeter."  I enjoyed reading a few things here and there from the Washington Post, the local weather station, and...the Pope.  😊  Soon, however, I came to enjoy that I could peek into a colleague's classroom with the touch of a button.  I love seeing what others are doing in their classrooms and I am constantly looking for fun, engaging ideas to do with my own students.  Suddenly, I could see what was happening at a neighboring elementary within the same grade level.  I found myself thinking, "I never thought to teach it like that before..." or "That's a really neat activity!" I realized that this was the reason Twitter was talked about