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