Day 63: Pep Talk

Pep Talk from Kid President

Try listening a little closer to kids.  They're probably saying something important.

Day 62: The Power of a Compliment, UPDATE

100 Acts of Kindness

The beginning of something positive: Miss Tucker's class is displaying acts of kindness outside their room.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a story about a group of high school students from West High School in Iowa City, Iowa who are using social media to send complements to their classmates.  I asked the question of how we could do something like this as a building, and I'm happy to say that some classroom teachers have answered through action.

Heather Tucker, a 1st grade teacher at Hilliard Horizon, emailed our staff about a plan she already had for her classroom called 100 Acts of Kindness:

"If anyone is interested in learning more about the 100 Acts of Kindness project, email me and I will put a copy of it in your mailbox. I will send home a letter about the project on Friday, Jan. 18th, and the project will start Jan. 22nd and end on Valentine's Day. I am encouraging students to participate in Dr. King's dream by doing 100 acts of kindness at home, in the community and at school. This project can be adapted to take place any time of the year..."

Miss Tucker's project features some of the same aspects that the Westhigh Bros project in Iowa has: sharing acts of kindness and displaying it for a community to see.  It really is the perfect answer to the question of how we could do something similar to Westhigh Bros in an elementary school.

Close-up of Miss Tucker's display

More classrooms have already started, and we are looking forward to more joining in on this positive community building project.

Mrs. Remington's class Acts of Kindness display

Day 61: Mrs. Estep's 2nd Grade Scientists

2nd Grade Gravity Experiment

Mrs. Estep's 2nd grade students are exploring the properties of gravity.  In this video, two of her students demonstrate an experiment they created.  For more information about gravity, Mrs. Estep shared I Fall Down by Vicki Cobb.

2nd Grade Gravity Test from HZN165 on Vimeo.

Day 60: Kids' Pics

How Will You Be Remembered?

One of my top priorities is to make sure each and every student I see everyday knows I am happy to see them at school.  Since I don't work in the same classroom throughout the day, this is my way of connecting with students in our building.  I try to make sure I smile and acknowledge every student I see in the hallway.  I've tried to learn as many names as possible this year.  I'm up to knowing about 250 students, so I'm a little less than half way there (the principal, secretaries and kindergarten teachers have us all beat--they know everyone).  All of these interactions are great, but I still wonder sometimes if I am connecting.

One of the chances I've had this year to get to know and interact with students is during my cafeteria duty during the week.  Honestly, cafeteria duty is not every teacher's favorite thing to do.  It's hard to get 100 kids to focus just on eating their lunch for 25 minutes.  However, the interactions I have with these kids are worth it.  They make me laugh every time.

One girl calls me "Mr. Higgy-baukie" because she thinks it's funny (and it is).  Another boy told me I'm going bald.  And one girl likes to bust the rock when she sees me because she thinks it's funny when I tell her she's "busting my knuckles".  

The best part is they think I'm funny.  Trust me: the next time a 6-year-old asks you to peel a banana, hold it up to your head, say "Hello?", and see what happens.

This week, I received a stack of letters from one of the 1st grade classes.  They were thanking me for spending time with them at the end of the day last week.  The letters full of kind words, but the pictures were the best.  One picture in particular made laugh out loud, but it also made me wonder "What do kids think of me?".

As you might be able to see, the girl who wrote the letter that goes with this picture said thanks for walking them down the hallway after lunch (Just picture a 33 year old guy trying to get 100 6 year-olds to move quietly from the lunchroom to the classrooms at the end of the building).  I love this picture because it's funny and because it shows me what some kids might be thinking of me: The guy that "shushes" them in the hallway.

While we hope our kids will remember the words we choose carefully to pass along knowledge that will help them, chances are they will remember the very words we don't want them to.  

It makes you wonder what your kids remember about you.

Day 59: Rex, 4th grade student

Factories and Products

Each school year, students are introduced to a multitude of new vocabulary words that they will be using as they learn throughout the year.  Learning new vocabulary can be a challenge for students at times.  Teachers share great techniques for learning new words.  And then sometimes, the students find their own techniques for learning new vocabulary.

In this video, Rex, a 4th grade student in Mrs. Smith's class, shares how he keeps the words "factor" and "product" straight as he continues to learn more about multiplication.

Math Vocabulary Connection from HZN165 on Vimeo.

Day 58: "The Purple Scarf"

Today's post is from Kelli Litterer, Reading Intervention teacher at Hilliard Horizon

The Purple Scarf

I wore a scarf today.  Not the kind you wear to keep warm.  It was a “fashion” scarf, the kind you wear all day.  This may not seem like a big deal, but in a way it was for me.  See, I don’t really like scarves.  That’s not exactly true, though, because I do like them on other people and I’ve even bought a few. I don’t wear them because I don’t really like things bunched around my neck.  I also don’t wear them (and this is the real reason) because I don’t really know how to tie them and wear them with confidence.  I bought a beautiful purple scarf in December.  I looked at it every day in my closet.  I kept finding outfits it would look great with.  Still... I kept chickening out.  Until today.  For some reason I decided to wear it today and you know what?  It looked good! 

If you’ve read this far -- thank you!  You hung in there even though you probably didn’t know what Mrs. Litterer wearing a purple scarf to school could possibly have to do with Horizon’s 165 Days of Learning.  Here’s what I learned today:  I was reminded of how kids feel every day.  They are nervous.  They are wondering what others think of them.  They want to fit in.  They take chances in their learning and step out of their comfort zones.  I was reminded of how I felt in the days when I was more anxious to try new things yet sometimes unsure.  I am so impressed with our students here at Hilliard Horizon!  They come in to school with a positive attitude (usually!) and every day they put themselves out there.  They share their ideas, they display their work, they listen to constructive criticism, and they keep trying new things.  They do this with confidence, excitement, and even with butterflies in their stomachs.  They do this with the support of the amazing adults in our building as a safety net. 

As adults, I think we occasionally forget what it’s like to do that every day.  We get in our comfort zones and tend to do what we’re used to.  I stepped out of my zone in a small way today.  I like the way I felt.  It makes me want to try other new things. 

Yet again, the teacher learns from the student.

Day 57: The Power of a Compliment

The Power of a Compliment

Over the weekend, I received a link for the video below from another educator.  The video shows how one group of students at West High School in Iowa City, Iowa.  The group is called "Westhigh Bros" and they use social media to send out compliments to other students at the school.

It's a great project that I think indirectly challenges all of us to try and create this for every student at ever school.  I'm not sure how we could do this in an elementary building, but I'm not going to let that stop me.  If you have a suggestion or comment on how something similar could be done at an elementary building, please feel free to post a comment.

Enjoy the video!  It's worth it!

Day 56: Authentic Learning

Building Excitement for Reading with Book Clubs

One of the biggest motivators for students when it comes to learning is when we create authentic learning experiences.  These learning experiences go beyond the "ditto sheet" learning of the past and instead provides students with real-life experience in which to learn.

Earlier this week, Mrs. Meister, a fourth grade teacher at Hilliard Horizon, emailed me about an authentic learning experience she was creating for her students.  Here's part of her message:

I just thought I'd let you know that my class will be browsing several books in class and choosing one for their book clubs tomorrow. They are pretty excited about this. Just thinking maybe we could chat with a few of them about how they decide what book they choose for book club and what they are looking forward to the most. We spent today talking about the purpose of a book club and tomorrow we will brainstorm discussion topics before they have time to make their top two selections.
Just a thought...not super interesting, but they seem pretty excited about it and that's all that matters. :)

Students created a list of discussion topics to use during book club

As Mrs. Meister mentioned, one of the authentic learning experiences many teachers, including Mrs. Meister, provide for students at Hilliard Horizon is through providing time and support for students to be involved in their own book clubs.  Just like book clubs many adults are apart of, student book clubs share the experience of reading a book together as a group and discussing what they have read.  This is a highly motivating reason for reading for students.   

In the video clip, Mrs. Meister is asking Alex about his process for choosing which book to read for book club.

Day 55: Reenergized

Doing Less Gave Me More

http://www.flickr.com/photos/twicepix/4140229373/sizes/m/in/photostream/

It's hard for me to stop thinking about school. 

I notice it when I'm watching a game on tv, but couldn't tell anyone what was really going on.  I notice it when I'm reading a story to my daughter just before bed and I have to keep rereading words I've read wrong because I'm thinking about school at the same time (It's a good thing my kid thinks it's funny).  It really is hard for me to shut it off sometimes.

My favorite way to unwind at night is to check out Twitter or to read the news stories and blog posts on my RSS reader on my phone, but both my Twitter account and RSS reader is full of education-related information.  It's great because I keep learning everyday, but it keeps me focused on work.

A sampling of "leisure reading" from my RSS reader.

I'm not complaining.  I love what I do.  I'm passionate about teaching and teaching is a huge part of who I am.  But this past winter break helped me learn something important about leaving work at work.  I learned to relax.

I stopped looking at Twitter.  I stopped checking email.  I just spent time with my family and friends and let the rest go.  I had a feeling that it would pay off when we returned to school, and I was right.

Today, I was focused and reenergized.  I had clarity to see what the next important item on my to-do list was.  I was more patient with kids and more patient with myself.  I'm looking forward to what the rest of the school year will bring to the students, families and staff at my school.

There still will be times when I won't be able to sleep at night because I am thinking of something at school.  However, I now have this recent experience to remind me that doing less will get me more in the long run.