Hello, and happy Wednesday! Today was an emotional day for me – our daughters went back to school, and we now have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartener. Ohhhhh the emotions! I made it worse last night by looking through my girls’ baby pictures, watching videos of when they learned to walk and talk … the waterworks were in full force! However, I did NOT cry today as we walked them to their classroom and both girls had an amazing first day of school. We’re going to have an awesome year! My school year officially starts tomorrow – I don’t really count the before school meetings as “back to school” because my students aren’t there – and I’m experiencing the same feelings I have the night before school starts that I have every year since I started teaching. I’m nervous and excited to start year ELEVEN – that doesn’t seem possible – and am excited to share some of my teacher goals with you for this school year!
Intentional Tech Integration
As you all know, I am a HUGE proponent of intentional and purposeful technology integration in the classroom to enhance learning – hence the name of my blog and the focus of my book 😀 As I emphasize in Illuminate, tech integration should be intentional and meaningful, and the focus should be on how tech can enhance learning. I’m constantly searching for new ways to incorporate technology to enhance learning, and am excited to use InsertLearning this year to encourage my students to connect more with resources and information that we use in class.
Flexible Seating
I’ve excited about and interested in flexible seating for YEARS but am finally making some strides in that direction. I’m fortunate enough to have 6 bungee chairs in my classroom this year and I am PUMPED! I hope to eventually have a few tall, round bar-height tables and bar height chairs, maybe a couch, a rug, and a few tables to provide my students with more options and choice for where their learning takes place. Fingers crossed!!
Make it AWESOME
This year, I want to continue to focus on creating a learning environment that students actually want to enter, and where they feel like they can learn safely and effectively. I want our classroom to be an inviting space where everyone feels like they’re a valued part of our community and my students know that I’m there for them – to help them learn, to challenge them to understand and apply a concept at a deeper level and to encourage and motivate them to be successful.
Thanks for reading 🙂
P.S. –> I’m adding a new option to my Hashtags through History extension activities! Download your copy of “If we had Twitter when …” today!
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