Celebrations: I Love a Rainy Day

Eddie Rabbit may love a rainy night

but I love a rainy day,

Which is why I am celebrating today's weather. 

This is the view outside my house.

Today's rain is giving me permission to work inside my house,

which honestly needs some attention.

I plan to:

 de-decorate my tree;

put the clothes back into my dresser -

they somehow threw themselves out onto the floor

in a lemming-type fashion 

while I was looking for a specific white shirt;

go through the Mock Caldecott ballots form 1st and 2nd graders;

and, re-shelve books that have been actively read 

during the past month. 

In the writing of this post, the weather has just changed from rain, to rain and snow, to snow!

It's now noon. It's a plan. We'll see how it goes!

What are you celebrating today?

Celebrations: The one where I celebrate a technology glitch

"That's right, you got have friends."

...and thankfully, I do and they are not all gone. This week, one of those friends was just where I needed at the time that I needed. There was nothing terrible happening, I just needed some quick help.

Picture this:

It's 7:30 am, on a school day. I am in my library. I am setting up for a virtual visit with an author (see: yesterday's post). Although I tested EVERYTHING the day before (with said author), I want to retest it this morning.

I launch Skype and look through my contacts to see who is on at 7:30 am. I see the telltale green amoeba indicating that someone is on. It's my friend, Peter. I try him. No answer. I scroll back down the list and see another friend has just come on Skype. I give her a ring.

Across the oceans and continents arrives a beautiful, lilting voice and the warm and welcoming face of my friend Myriam, who is sitting in her flat in Paris. 

She can hear me but not see me, the video feed on my end is not working. We hang up. I play with the Skype settings, check the connections on my web cam and try again with the same results, no video. We hang up. I quit Skype and log back in and...no luck. I abandon my laptop, pick up a student one from my library tables, download Skype, connect it to the projector, Topcat, and web cam and then try again.

Which is about when my principal walks in.

I'm standing in my library having a wonderful conversation with Myriam and she is showing me a sculpture she has recently purchased. 

I turned to him and introduced them. 

Doesn't everyone begin their school day with a conversation with a friend in Paris?

The principal chuckled and greeted my friend, checked to see that I was all set for the author visit and went on his way.

Myriam brought the laptop over to the balcony so I could see the view at this time of year and remember our dinner sitting there two summers ago.  Although geography and busy lives keep us separate, I love that she was there when I needed her, just as any friend would be, and that we could pick up right where we left off when last we spoke. In precious few minutes, we caught up on family events and occurrences. 

We said our goodbyes and I went back to setting up for the author visit. Just the beginning of an awesome day, which is why I am celebrating friends, all my friends, both near and far, who are there when I need them.

 ___________________________________

Celebrate This Week is a meme started by Ruth Ayres, over at Ruth Ayres Writes.

Celebrations: the one where I reflect on having a long break

We returned to school on Thursday, January 2nd after our twelve day December break.  I stress the number of days because this was a "long break" and those of us working in schools spoke of this often, knowing that the "short break" years of six days will be coming back around soon enough.

I was happy to return to school after this long break.  I was happy, although not necessarily ready.  I missed my colleagues and I missed my students, but I could not wrap myself around being a teacher (meaning managing a learning environment).  I always have this brief anxiety before going back to school in the autumn or after a long break like this one that I will have forgotten how to be a teacher.  

I was very much enjoying this long break year - each day unscheduled but involving: waking up, chatting with family, cooking, eating, reading, playing games, and spending a significant amount of time outdoors playing in the snow.  So, I was happy to return to school after this long break, but also a little anxious. Good news, Thursday went well. The students were experiencing the same thing: excitement to be back at school and seeing friends, but not quite ready to be back learning in school and living within a school day routine. I was tired by noon and so were they.  It takes a lot of energy to be in school, mental and physical energy.  My body wanted to lounge on a chair and play games or read.  Playing in the snow is so much less tiring.

Wait. Did I mention it was snowing? Well, it was and it was only the beginning of a fairly big storm.  Talk of a snow day swirled throughout the school like the billowing snow outside. By early afternoon, the Superintendent had canceled school for Friday. Young bodies danced the celebratory dance of a snow day and talk of sledding and play dates ensued.  

How could just five hours into the start of school after a long break cause such jubilation? Because, like me, the students were happy to be here in school but not quite ready. I am sure that Monday will be a better day to really begin learning during this next part of our school year because we will all be both happy and ready to return to school.  

I am enjoying this surprise three-day weekend, after a long break, after one day of school and excited to return to learning with my students on Monday, which is why it is my Saturday Celebration (a meme started by Ruth Ayres, over at Ruth Ayres Writes.)

Celebrations: the one where vacation begins on a high note

This was a beautiful work at week. I am heading into vacation energized by my students. Not only did I have students in the library learning, creating and making during traditional classes but I also had classrooms in for collaborative projects. 

The crème de la crème? 

Friday was pajama day, for the entire school. 

This was the first time we have had a school-wide pajama day.  I see fifth graders and second graders on Fridays. The fifth graders are working on book trailers for the Mock Caldecott books. I did not want to lose this day as part of the project, even though it is the Friday before vacation, so I decided to wear regular clothes for the morning to help the students understand that we would still be working hard (she questions her own thinking here...).  

Prior to coming to the library for classes, I hosted all three classes in the library for a presentation by Jim Parks from Wingmasters.  I looked around at a the engaged, respectful audience of pajama clad students (and teachers).  I quickly ran to the bathroom and changed into my pajamas (which I had brought for the afternoon of second graders).  I am so glad I did. I loved being part off a community of pajama wearing learners.

The fifth graders worked just as hard as if I had stayed in work clothes. (Now, as to my own work ethic, it was a little less than normal -- shluffing around the school in monkey slippers, snowman bottoms and an Elephant & Piggie shirt was just way too much fun!)  I had the best day teaching in pajamas, which is why it is my Saturday Celebration (a meme started by Ruth Ayres, over at Ruth Ayres Writes.)

Celebrations: The One Where the 2nd Graders Take Over the Library

The second graders owned the library yesterday. They worked, they helped each other, they took on leadership roles.  I loved watching the expert helpers look around for the raised hand of a classmate in need of assistance, or the student walking around with the chimes ready to alert the room that someone was recording. It was nothing short of awesomeness, which is why it is my Saturday Celebration (a meme started by Ruth Ayres, over at Ruth Ayres Writes.)

Sometimes the perfect collaboration occurs, the classroom teachers and I meet, we plan, we create, we co-teach, the students learn, the students create. Other times, it falls in our laps - the perfect opportunity to jump in part way through a project and play a role in student learning. 

I am happy to take either experience! 

 The later happened this week. After months of trying to plan out a unit that could never come to fruition due to schedules and timing, the second grade teachers and I threw planing to the wind (forget caution, it was also long gone) and jumped on... what? a motor boat? a sailboat? hmmm...never mind. To use a different idiom, we jumped in with both feet (or feet first - like this dog).

The second graders are in the midst of a mini unit based on the book, Duck on a Bike by David Shannon.  They have then been engaged in writing their own stories involving animal characters on modes of transportation.  This unit also explores ideas touched upon in the previous Lucy Calkins unit on writing strong beginnings.  

Here's where I came in!

"Why don't we have the students draw their animal and mode of transportation using Kid Pix and then they can record part of their story?"

I think Kid Pix is an effective tool for aligning to the common core - the program gives students the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of an idea or concept while also practicing public speaking and oral storytelling.  It's 21st Century learning.

When the students came to the library for this project, I explained which tools they would be using in Kid Pix and then reminded them of the tips and tricks when recording their voices - speak slowly, speak with expression, etc.  Since I have a mixture of laptops and desktops, you will hear discrepancies in the audio quality.  I tried to use my chimes to quiet the room when someone was recording, but with twenty odd students, it's impossible to have silence! I made signs that helpers can hold up as a reminder when we are recording.

I love what these second graders created.






There is always a learning curve with any technology-infused lesson.  You will notice that one of these slide shows is twice as long as the other two.  It turns out that some of these students are quite comfortable speaking into a computer and sharing their stories!  After this first class, the classroom teachers and I explained that the students should only share part of their story - a bit of a story hook, if you will.

Next week, the students will assess their slide while watching the slide show.  Here's the rubric:

Please evaluate your work on your slide. Circle the appropriate response:

Enunciation	I tried to speak clearly.	I sometimes spoke clearly.	I spoke clearly.
Pace	I tried to speak slowly so that people could understand me.	I sometimes spoke slowly so that people could understand me.	I spoke slowly so that people could understand me.
Expression	I tried to speak with expression so that people could hear my emotions.	I sometimes spoke with expression so that people could hear my emotions.	I spoke with expression so that people could hear my emotions.

***These students actively used Kid Pix throughout last year, so it was possible to complete this part of the project in a one hour visit to the library.  This is another reminder to me as to why finding a technology tool that works for you and staying with it is a best practice.  This project was less about Kid Pix and more about them sharing their understanding of a concept.