Teaching With Intention - Chapter 2

The thing I liked best about this chapter is that it made me think - about my teaching, my classroom, my students and how they all are an integral part of my beliefs and philosophy. Being able to articulate your beliefs and philosophies is no easy task. I have taught a total of 16 years and I find that my beliefs and philosophies are not static. They have changed as I have grown as a teacher.

My Beliefs and Philosophies Presently:

• Every student is unique. From their looks to their experiences to their learning styles, from their ideas to their senses of humor, every child is different. And that is GREAT! 

Celebrate your students' learning diversities!
Don't you just love these adorable faces!!!

• Since cookie cutter students do not exist, no packaged program is going to meet everyone's needs. I must find what works best for each student to help them grow as both a learner and as a person. I like when Debbie Miller says. "Real life is not scripted. Neither is real teaching."

• Learning needs to be fun - period - no need to say more on this one.

• It's okay to make mistakes. Each year my heart goes out to my students who break down when they make a mistake. So when I make a mistake, I like to actually point it out to my students so that they learn that even adults make mistakes and that the world will not fall apart when they do. Then we brainstorm on how I can correct my mistake or if I can't, what other choices do I have. 

• My classroom is designed for my students - not for me (although it does make me happy), not for parents  - but for my students. It needs to be a place that they enjoy coming to for 176 days out of their year. 

• When I teach something new I like to make it as concrete or tangible as possible. I like to use manipulatives, models, and find read alouds that aid in the teaching of the concept.

• Getting to know your students is crucial for them to feel comfortable and to be willing to take risks. I send home a "Getting to Know You" sheet to parents at the beginning of the year that asks lots of questions: siblings, pets, favorite food, favorite song, and so much more. My kinders think I'm magical because I will use the names of their sibling or pets in a conversation and they have no idea how I know. Haha!

• Patience and persistent are key to a successful year. Just as students are all different, so are their learning rates. Some find their wings in October, while others may need until February to take flight. 

• My door is always open. Some teachers fear their principal or administrators coming into their rooms. I welcome anyone in my room. I have a saying I use. "Come on in because I am always doing what I am supposed to be doing." There is always some type of teaching or learning going on in my room. Sometimes I am the teacher and sometimes the students are. We may not always be "textbook" learning though - sometimes we are learning to be a good friend or a good person. I have had board members stop in to stay a few minutes and then hang out in my room for half an hour as they listened to students sharing their "little books." I read Greg Smedley-Warren's post before I began mine and I like how he is going to challenge himself to teach with his door open this year. Go for it Greg!

Something to Grow On:
I like to share with my students that it is great to learn new things. Some things that I would like to work on or develop are seamless transitions to maximize learning, a thoroughly cohesive curriculum with clear purposes, and finding the best way to blend traditional teaching with technology since we are now all teaching digital natives.

       

Be sure to check out the posts of the hosts for Teaching With Intention - Chapter 2:

                         

and of the book study coordinator:

Teaching With Intention - Chapter 1

I am so excited to join Kindergarten Smorgasboard's book study of Teaching With Intention by Debbie Miller. Debbie Miller is AMAZING. A few years back, I had the opportunity to attend one of her day-long conferences. I learned so much and she was even gracious enough to autograph my book. Can you say starstruck?!!!

My ideal classroom is one where the students walk in on meet-and-greet day and turn to their parents to say what a cool room it is with a huge smile on their faces. It's bright, colorful, and sends a "You will have fun here" message to the students right from the get-go.  Rainbows make me happy so my room has bold primary colors. This past year I did what I called a primary pirate theme. 

My ideal classroom has lots of student work all around it. I don't worry about the things I hang looking perfect; I want them to look like true made-by-a-five-year-old work. It is kindergarten after all. During the first week of school each student made a self-portrait pirate for our doorway to build ownership of this space and place. 

In my ideal classroom, testing is minimal. The teacher learns what she needs to know about her students from watching them and conversing with them. Also, in my ideal classroom, student anxiety is non-existent. Students are confident in who they are because they know that the teacher believes in them and will support them no matter what.

My ideal classroom has the students names in several places around the room so that they know they are an important part of my Mighty Fine Crew. My classroom is not a quiet place. Students are involved in learning discussions and social conversations constantly. So many students are coming to school these day with language delays. They need many opportunities to practice speaking and to gain vocabulary. 

In my ideal classroom we have FUN with learning everyday. My students do 3 literacy centers every day as well as 1 math center. The centers are hands-on and engaging. I use lots of manipulatives. My centers are also differentiated for multiple learning levels. Sometimes one literacy or math center will have a more social focus. Students need the opportunities to interact, to problem solve, and to use their imaginations (or in other words - a chance to play). The ideal classroom still has a dramatic play center, a block center, and other centers like this that help them learn the life skills of negotiation, self-regulation, and turn-taking. Here are a few pictures of my centers in action.

Students and teacher are moving and grooving. In my ideal classroom, we move a lot. From the floor, to the tables, from one center to the next, from quiet to active. 

Students and teacher are talking with each other frequently. In my ideal classroom one of our favorite things to discuss is books. This past year we read 368 books (next year my goal is 500.) We keep a book tally for each month. And as we read we discuss - what did we like, why things happen, how a characters feels - we talk about it all. 

In my ideal classroom, students do many things independently and the teacher facilitates as needed. I establish a strong routine in the beginning of the school year that cultures independence. As the school year progresses, students do more and more on their own.  

This is an easy question to answer. ORGANIZATION!! I am often overwhelmed and consumed by papers. One corner of my room is my teacher hidey hole. It's small and compact but the amount off papers in it pack a powerful punch to my neatness. I also need to pare down the amount of things I have. I have a super small room with minimal storage. I am working on that as we speak.  I feel if I could get organized it would give me more time to zero in on my students' skills and develop lessons to better meet their individual needs.

I also struggle with finding BALANCE between work and home. It always seems like if I do well with one, the other suffers. I am the working mom of three teens. We are knee deep in college searches for the second, paying college bills for the eldest, and helping the youngest survive his freshman year of high school. There are days I am literally overwhelmed. 

My classroom is student-centered and student-focused. It's a happy place where a lot of fun and a lot of learning take place. My students make a lot of progress and gain many skills without even realizing it. In my classroom there is mutual respect between all parties. I pride myself on learning as much as I can about my students: the names of their brothers/sisters, names of their pets, their favorite color, song, food. For nine months of each year my classroom is not a place with a teacher and students, it is a place with a very large family that learns, laughs, and lives together. 

Want to know more? Click on one of Chapter 1's hostesses links below or The Kindergarten Smorgasboard to learn more about this book study. 

Thank you Jessica for the question headers!

Be sure to check back in next week to read about Chapter 2.