My Bucket is Overflowing (& That's A Good Thing)

The 2013/2014 school year has come to a close, and I am happy to look back and say it was a good year.  Every year has some bumps in the road, but this one was pretty good overall.

One of the things we did differently this year was talking about filling buckets.  I began the year by visiting every classroom the first week of school and reading, How Full Is Your Bucket? for Kids by Tom Rath and Mary Reckmeyer. The book is about how everyone has an invisible bucket.  When our buckets are full, we feel great.  When our buckets are empty, we feel pretty awful.  We fill buckets through kind words and actions and empty buckets through negative actions.  This sparked great conversations with the students regarding how to fill one another's buckets, and I LOVED getting a chance to go into classrooms and talk to kids right off the bat.   

In the front hallway we created a display about bucket filling.  I told the students that the teachers and I would be looking and listening for bucket fillers.  When we saw bucket filling, students were given a water droplet to fill out describing their bucket filling action.  The water droplets were then added to our display in the hallway.  The kids and I talked about how awesome it would be to see a wall full of water droplets at the end of the year.  We discussed how a school full of bucket fillers would be a pretty amazing place to attend.

All year long, the teachers, aides and I watched and listened for bucket fillers and recognized them accordingly.  It was pretty cool.  As the year went on I saw more students doing little things like holding the door for one another, helping someone who dropped their books and helping one another in the cafeteria.  Those little things added up and made our school a better place.  In turn, if someone made a poor choice, I used the bucket analogy to help the student understand how his or her actions emptied someone else's bucket.

Looking back, I know there were times when I got a little lax and forgot to watch for and celebrate bucket filling, but in all I think it was a pretty good year.  I know my bucket was overflowing and that was because of all our awesome students and staff.

Real Money, Real Learning

If a purse-snatcher ever crossed my path, he or she would be so disappointed.  I usually have about three dollars on me and a handful of change.  Purse-snatchers take note; my purse is so not worth it.

So many of the money transactions in my household take place using debit cards, checks or online banking that my children don't often see me spend much real cash.  Well, except for the ice cream stand.  I can always dig up some cash for a trip to the ice cream stand.

This limited exposure to the use of "real" money is something that I've noticed is becoming a problem at school.  Kids just do not get enough practice with real money anymore.  Even student lunches are usually paid for using a prepaid debit system.  Kids swipe a card, enter a pin number, or in my daughter's case a scan of her finger, and money is electronically taken out of their accounts.  Kids are not getting enough practice counting change, and it shows.   

To give my own two daughters practice with real money, we use allowances at our house.  We have a chore chart from which my daughters select chores to complete.  Each completed chore receives a sticker on the chart.  At the end of the week we count up the number of stickers they each earned.  Each sticker is equal to twenty-five cents.  I know it's not big money, but to them it adds up quickly. 

They both quickly learned that four quarters equal a dollar, and let's face it those big fancy dollars are what they really want.  They have learned that the more chores they complete, the more money they earn and that helps a lot when they really, really, really want to purchase that beautiful toy they saw.  They are also learning that sometimes it is better to save their money.  My oldest daughter (second grade) has realized that she wants to save her money to buy souvenirs on our next vacation.   

This system works for our family for several reasons.
1. I'm a busy mom who needs some help around the house and that chore chart helps (even if it is just a little).
2. My daughters are learning to be responsible.
3. The girls are learning how to count money.
4.  They have realized that things aren't free, and if they want something they have to earn it.

As a side note, not every chore earns them stickers.  Some chores they just have to do, such as picking up their toys. 

Whether it is an allowance system, or some other method, I strongly encourage every family to give their children experiences with "real" money.  At school we work on counting money, but I promise you it is those real world experiences at home that really help students to understand and appreciate the value of "real" money.

This was a bad week for beds and floors at my house.  Oh my!  Maybe we will get to those later in the week. 

What's Best For Kids

Right now is a tough time to be an educator.  Between state assessments, moving to the common core standards and new evaluation systems there is a lot coming from many different directions.  All of that can be very overwhelming and I know has even caused some educators to question how much longer they should stay in the profession.  We can easily drown under this wave of reform.  But we should not.

Everyday we should ask ourselves, "Are we doing what is best for kids?"  In the end, that is what matters.  Are we preparing our kids for the future?  Are we teaching them the skills they need?  When our students leave us, will they be better off?  Will they look back and say thanks?

I'm not saying we should ignore the changes.  As a matter of fact, many of these changes, although overwhelming, are pushing us to do better for our students.  What I'm saying is do not get bogged down in the hype.  Do what you know is best for kids.  Let your moral and professional compass be your guide, and in the end everyone will benefit.    

Image credit: http://helenotway.edublogs.org/2011/01/02/different-compass-point-same-ultimate-direction/

Loved, Cared for and Safe

I had the most amazing conference with a teacher and a family recently.  The teacher explained that she wanted to make sure that a new student in her class feels "loved, cared for and safe" while he's here at school.  I loved that.  Those words were exactly how I hope every student in our school feels.  I want every student to come to school everyday knowing that we are thrilled to have them here and that we are going to take care of them.  The smile on the parent's face assured me that she was delighted to hear those words as well.

The teacher talked about the importance of relationship building with her students, and she is so right!  Just like we as adults would never want to work for a boss who seems cold and uncaring, our students are the same.  Our students need to know that we care about them, that we want to be with them and that we want to help them.

I am lucky to work with such caring teachers and thankful that I have a job that allows me to be a part of so many students' lives.

http://flyontheclassroomwall.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/student_clipart.gif

Advice to Job Hunters

Looking for a job in education?  Whether it is a teaching job, classified position, or substitute position the job market is very competitive.  As someone who interviews and hires staff, I have some advice.  I am not an expert, but you never know it just might help.  :)

1. Proofread your application.  Even better, have someone else give it a second glance for you.  Typos are not the first impression you want to give. Please, please capitalize your name and other proper nouns.
2. Sell yourself as much as possible in your application.  Tell me all about the responsibilities you held in your previous and current positions.  Your application needs to stand out from the crowd.
3. If you get an interview, do some research on possible interview questions ahead of time.  You want to go into the interview confident.  Know your stuff, sell yourself and once again stand out from the crowd.
4. If you know you are going to be job hunting, you need to do some leg work ahead of time.  Participate in professional development activities.  Do some reading.  Learn from other educators through social media.  Do what you can so you can speak about what's going on in education.
5. Be prepared to talk about technology.  Think beyond using word processing.  How do you have students use technology to engage, learn, and create?  
6. Be positive and show your enthusiasm!

The hardest thing about interviews is that really you only get about 20 to 30 minutes to demonstrate why you would be a good asset to the team.  That is no easy task, but you can do it, especially if you do some prep work ahead of time!

Watching Our Garden Grow

Let me begin by saying, we love fruits and veggies at our house, but I was not blessed with a green thumb.  A gardener, I am not.  I can grow some fairly attractive flowers, but if I manage to grow a handful of cherry tomatoes, I am overjoyed.

When two staff members told me they wanted to put in a school garden, I knew I would be no help to them on the gardening front, but I thought a garden was a great idea.  Our students could learn about plants, see where their food actually comes from, and maybe develop a taste for some healthy fruits and veggies while they were at it.

The garden began with a set of grow lights in the front lobby.  The students watched the seeds sprout and were intrigued.  Now after lots of hard work digging and preparing the soil, the plants are in the ground and they look amazing!  I can take credit for none of this hard work, but I was very impressed watching it from the sidelines.

I am so proud of the staff members that took the initiative to get this started.  I have heard so many positive comments from staff, students, and community members.  I can't wait to see how the plants and this project will continue to grow.

Journal of Memories

This year my daughter and I started a very low tech form of communication . . . a mom and daughter journal.  I wanted to create a fun way to encourage her to write and a way to record some of our memories.

We started the journal about mid-way through her first grade year.  I let her purchase a special notebook at school - which she was SUPER excited about.  Something about putting quarters in that vending machine just makes her day!  We used the notebook to write letters back and forth to one another.  Nothing fancy.  Sometimes the letters are only a few sentences long, but she gets so excited when she gets a new letter from me.  We write about the events at the time, her thoughts, whatever.  It's just a fun way to communicate.  We don't write to each other everyday.  If we get to it once a week, that's great.  There was even an unfortunate period when I cleaned the house and put it in a "very safe place" that I couldn't remember.  Yikes!  Luckily I found it this week, so the letters have begun again.

It has been interesting to see how her handwriting and writing skills have changed over just the past few months.  I hope the journal is something we continue doing.  I know she probably won't want to write to me when she's a teenager, but I am going to cherish this time while I've got it!

February

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