Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Focus In: PreVacation

The school vacation is right around the corner and everyone is ready. There's been a spell of illness which has caught some at school and children are starry eyed as they look forward to holiday festivities. Teachers are tired too--we've been pushing a lot in the last few months and we're ready for the reprieve as well.

Yesterday everyone pitched in and cleaned up the classroom. Now there's some paperwork to organize and assessments to correct. We've got a slew of good division lessons too. Students seem to like to play with the numbers in multiple ways.

As far as the university course goes, the lessons are done and there's a final portfolio review ahead. In the meantime, there are lots of blog posts to read and websites to look over. The semester provided the students with a solid overview of what to expect and do as elementary math teachers.

The new year will bring a deeper focus related to classroom work and teaching each student well. We have an excellent grade-level team, super families and students, plenty of resources, and collective will to do a good job.

There's a few challenges in our midst, but we'll steer clear of those as they don't relate specifically to the work we're called to do.

With regard to professional learning there's lots to read and study with regard to the shared teaching model and math education. That will be the focus as I complete the TLI capstone and continue to contribute to Teachers.Do. Both efforts have been positive, collaborative, and empowering with regard to specific work I do to teach children well.