St. Patrick's Day FUN!

Every year in kindergarten, we read books about leprechauns and then set leprechaun traps to try and catch the mischievous little things! Some of my students had me as their kindergarten teacher and excitedly asked, "Do the leprechauns come to 2nd grade, too?!?". I sadly explained, that they usually only came to the kindergarten classrooms, because 5 and 6 year olds do not set very good traps and they could easily be escaped. On March 17, I decided that I would not "destroy" the room as the leprechauns had done in kindergarten. I would simply move desks. As I started to turn desks around I had an idea - spring cleaning!!! The leprechauns would empty out their desks! This was a great opportunity to get everything out of their desks (including orange peels and other assortments of food - gross). The kids were so excited. No matter what grade I teach for the rest of my career, I will find a way to incorporate the leprechauns. Many of the students probably don't believe, but I realized for many of them that this was one of the few opportunities they had in a day to be a carefree child. Unfortunately the reality is, as it is in many elementary classrooms today, I have students that come to school without their basic needs being met. They are often tired, hungry, and unclean. They do not experience an abundance of joy and carefree time at home. Again, this is the case in many of our classrooms. I am going to continue to be conscious of it and address it the best I can in my room. We did do some educational things about St. Patrick's Day as well on March 17. For example, we made a really neat Flip Book. Each page had a different language arts activity on it. I originally had pictures of the flip book on this post, but quickly deleted them and added the picture of our classroom as I reflected on student impact. While the process to obtain National Board certification was a tedious one, it truly taught me to reflect on everything I do and how it will impact students. The leprechauns coming was the most impactful thing that happened in our classroom on March 17.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

In honor of Dr. Suess' birthday on March 2, we read "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Suess. The kids loved it. We also listened to it on the Smartboard. We have been talking a lot about goals and reflection this year in 2nd grade. These have been hard concepts to teach to such young students; however, I have been trying to do more of both myself. I feel that it's important to start talking with the kids about goals, and reflect on not only what we are doing, but why we are doing it. This was a great little lesson about setting a goal about a "Place You'll Go." It was interesting to read their responses. Some had very detailed and specific plans. For example, I will go to Antarctica to study animals. Others wanted to go to a zoo. The kids (and other classes!) loved seeing themselves floating away, just like in the story!

Twitter!

I have used Twitter as a professional development tool. I have connected with hundreds of educators (and others) all over the country and world. This past year, I have delved into Twitter "chats" and learned even more!

I constantly think of ways that I can connect with parents and the community about what is happening in our classroom. I began to think about how much Twitter has helped me connect and thought I would try it with my 2nd graders.

Note...I did try a daily "Kinder Tweet" in my kindergarten class. It was great writing practice for the kids, but they did not understand the concept of Twitter at all. I also found that parents were not connecting. For this particular class and group of parents, they did not use Twitter. 

I decided that since Twitter has helped me become a more global and connected educator, that I would try to use it to help create more global and connected students in my classroom. This especially resonated with me due to our geographical area.  I did not grow up in the "north woods"; however, as I live here longer and longer I realize that many of the children and families that I work with do not have the opportunities to travel and have "cultured" opportunities (for lack of a better word). 

Little did I know that my students would not only become more connected, they would become excited and LEARN! 

We created a class Twitter account on the Smartboard. I thought I would "teach" the kids all about Twitter, how to use it, internet safety, etc. What I did not anticipate was how engaged the students would be. The most genuine and engaging learning took place during that discussion. We also had an incredible discussion about internet safety, what information to share and not to share, etc.

So far, the kids absolutely LOVE Tweeting. We are also following other 2nd grade classes around the world. We have met some of them via Skype - amazing! Students also think it is "so cool" to follow their favorite sports teams (even though some of them like the Bears...) and pop stars. I hope their excitement continues!