September 30, 2016



I have a really bad habit of thinking the worst of things.  Even before I start something, I will have thought through every possible scenario and even then I will feel like I'm not prepared to begin.  But I have also realized that if I think it's going to go bad, then the odds are that it probably will.  If I'm dwelling so much on what could go wrong, then I just might miss would went right.  

A couple of years ago I started horseback riding and jumping, which is something that I NEVER saw myself being able to accomplish.  Every time I approach a fence, I have to make the conscious effort to not let my mind go to what could go wrong.  Yes, things happen.  But I have to force myself to think about making it to the other side.  I have discovered that if I focus on picturing myself landing beautifully (on the horse, not the ground), this makes the possibility that much more real because I am more confident that I will do it.  

I never learned this while I was still doing piano competitions. On stage, I was known for hyper-focusing on a mistake I had made.  A piece might be 10 minutes long with a couple of movements, but my brain might still be stuck on that one note I flubbed in measure 8 in the first movement.  Not good.  I never competed well and I really think my inability to keep moving past mistakes was a big reason for this.  

As I've gotten older, and certainly as I have gained more experience in the classroom, I have begun to appreciate the necessity for mistakes.  The kids make them, I make them... it's a part of living, a part of being human.  They are necessary for our growth to be better each day.  That's exactly what I teach the kids.  It's what I want them to embrace.  And somehow, I am slowly beginning to teach myself the same thing.  

Anyway...

Here are a few things we've been doing in the classroom lately:


Reading:  TESTING!!
So much of what I have to test with the kids is great, but it's a LOT! I will be glad to be able to sort them into groups and start teaching small reading groups.  I'm planning for next week to be center practice since we'll be done with testing and then to start guided reading groups the next week.  I really want to make sure the kiddos can work as independently as possible in centers.  It's still a struggle at times and I think some of this is due to my attention being off of them to do testing.

Math:  Word problems, subtraction
I am really working on getting my math block underway.  The kids seem to struggle more during math centers than reading centers, so they're keeping me on my toes with how to keep centers the engaging for them.  We have been testing in iReady, TRC, and Dibels, and I really feel this has kept me from getting the math routines down.  This is definitely something we are going to revisit this next week since I want the kids to be able to do more hands-on type centers in math.  

Science:  Habitats - We have just started this unit and we were able to go to Lazy 5 Ranch for a field trip this Friday!