Monday - in my district, the students leave at 12:30pm on Mondays so we can have time to plan and hold PD. This Monday, my Principal gave "The Gift of Time" telling us all that we could leave when the kids leave and take care of any personal December tasks we may need to do during our Monday contract time...
However, for me, I was asked by my district to represent our county by being a member of the 5th grade SOL Writing Committee and the committee was meeting in Richmond to work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. So I couldn't leave with the kids at 12:30pm because I needed to write substitute plans for 3 whole days. The good thing - there was no line at the copier. The bad thing - the whole school felt like a tomb...no one was around. It is hard to push on when one is ALL ALONE...
Then I spent 3 days away...
I wonder now, why?? As I age, I reflect more on what I do and why I do it. I guess because I have come to realize that my time is limited. And due to this, I want to make the most of the time I have. Did I need this distraction of three days away from my real job - teaching my 4th graders? Probably not. I will decline the invite to apply next year. Unfortunately, one usually has to do the task once and spend the time once to know they never will do it again...
Then I returned home Thursday afternoon and headed to school at 4pm. Friday was a big day in the 4th grade at my school - Colonial Day! In my room, students would come to do candlemaking and soap carving. Since I made it back home, I went to set up the classroom - move desk, roll up rugs, write the schedule on the board...I ended up working until 6:30pm, only to return to school the next day in my Colonial Day outfit at 6:30am.
Now it is Saturday and I reflect on this very different kind of week. My substitutes said the kids did a good job and worked hard while I was gone. I still need to look at all their worksheets (which I used more this week as it was easier to tell a sub to do this kind of teaching). Friday was SO fun and all had fun learning about history through the hands-on activities. But as I left school yesterday at 5:30pm I was exhausted...more so than the 14 hour fieldtrip to Jamestown, I think. I guess overseeing 25 kids dip candles and another 25 sit and carve soap in my large classroom space for five one-hour sessions, despite all the wonderful parent volunteers helping, just took a lot of my energy. But once I ate dinner and slept for 8 hours, I feel better today.
It wasn't the best week of learning for my students...but not the worst, either.
I still wish more was happening in my classroom:|
- I wish I knew how to teach math well and had more than just four 55 minutes a week to teach math to a group of 23 kids who do not have strong number sense.
- I told my strong readers that I'd be putting them into book clubs at their Nov conference. Now it is Dec. 7th and I wish I had time to get this started. I will, but when??
- I am teaching strong mini-lessons but I wish I was having and documenting strong conferences in writing and strong conferences and/or small group instruction during independent reading in RW.
- I wish I was not constantly giving my energy to guiding those students who constantly choose to make poor choices, causing my classroom management to struggle.
- I wish I could find a balance to teaching ALL the subjects well. RW, WW, MW, and also science and social studies. Maybe it just takes time to figure out the content and how best to teach it in the limited days we have. I'll admit that my students ARE getting strong RW and WW instruction but not science and social studies...and math is a struggle, too...
So much to do, so little time...As I move closer to 2014, I need to ensure my time is being used wisely. This is my wish, the choice I WILL make!
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