Catered Classroom

Truck or Treat is good for all the feels! So much fun! But I think the grownups understood the Wizard of Oz reference more than the kids.

Fresh new year with a fresh do!

Last year was something, between the Covid restrictions, first year in a new school, first year teaching kindergarten, and health struggles with my diabetes. But I took my time this summer to take care of myself so that I'm ready for the new year. So what better way to start it than a new haircut!

So about 3 weeks ago, I had the "genius" idea to group the scholars, give each group a problem to solve, and then let them teach each other. Well, things didn't go as hoped, and the lesson resulted in a lot of chaos as some groups finished quickly and grew bored while others were frustrated with the work. Then they struggled with using the new Smartboard to teach as well as keeping the attention of their peers. It was a mess.

I had accepted the fact this lesson hadn't been a success and moved on to the next challenge. But then, when we started our math lesson today, I had the scholars work on their first problem, and one of them excitedly asked if they were teaching again today. So even though I walked away from that lesson 3 weeks ago thinking of all the ways I needed to improve it, my scholars not only liked it, but wanted to do it again.

Nothing feels better than successes in the classroom, and this one in particular as I had previously labeled it as a failure. As people in a profession of compassion, I think we often lack the compassion we show to our scholars when looking at ourselves. I'm so glad to have a job working with kids, who have the greatest capacity for compassion and enthusiasm.

Looking for ideas on how to organize your groups? Find out how I keep track of my differentiated materials by visiting the link below.



http://cateredclassroom.blogspot.com/2020/03/circles-triangles-stars-and-blue.html