I clustered my parent conferences into three days, rather than the six week usual schedule, so that I would be essentially presenting all families with a similar snapshot and discussion of their child's progress at the same time. Therefore, I have a few hours for curriculum work today, and that work will literally be cleaning.
A large number of children in one relatively small room for the numbers can result in a considerable mess without regular attention. What adds to this mess is the fact that over the years I've collected lots of great materials for learning and un including about 1,000 books, legos, blocks, toys, art supplies, and more. I took the time to set up the room in the fall, but now that I know my class well it's time for a bit of a revision to meet the needs of these energetic, imaginative learners who love to read, create, and play.
As I clean, I'll shore up the art area with lots of supplies and organization as I know this will be a mainstay for this year's children. I'll also put away a number of materials that I had out which are related to spring units as that will give us some extra space. I'll weed through the books to throw out the ones that are overused and to organize the remaining books in ways that will interest this class--this group knows what they like thanks to the great reading teaching of all the teachers before me. I'll also rearrange the coaching area with less room for my things and more room for coaching and student meetings.
As I think about the year so far, I realize that many of the activities that create a successful classroom take time, and often that time is not available such as time for correcting and reviewing work, time to clean up the classroom, and time for those valuable one-to-one conferences. It's important that schools use their time and staff wisely so that we are completing the tasks that really matter when it comes to student engagement and learning. This means that it's important that teachers and students have a voice in how time is spent during the school day and year so the best possible learning, prep, and research is completed.
