Home Visits

This summer, I attended the Model Schools Conference with my principal and two co-workers. Schools from across the country participated and gave presentations on innovative instructional strategies. South Heights Elementary out of Kentucky shared how they engage their community into their school culture. Home visits are just one of their many strategies. They make it a big deal before the start of school every year. It's a community event.

So, this year my school is trying it out. My co-worker and I have called all of our students asking their families for just 5 minutes of their time to introduce ourselves as their new 4th grade teacher. I was able to successfully contact 3 of my families. Today, I met a student at McDonald's. The smile on his face was priceless! I'm hoping to meet more of my students before the start of school.

The home-school connection is lacking in our culture. Community schools no longer exist. Families are more transient and everyone wants to stay private. There is a saying: It Takes a Village to Raise a Child. We need to cling to this now more than ever. In the meantime, I will continue to build relationships with my students and hopefully make an impact in not only their lives, but in the lives of their families too!

Becoming Edmodo Savvy!

Last school year, I was technologically upgraded and it was much needed! Our school became immersed in professional development centered around technology. It was overwhelming at times, but now I have tons of online resources to refer to in my classroom. One resource I really want to learn more about is Edmodo. It's an educational website with a social media platform for teachers and students. I have met a countless number of teachers who use Edmodo religiously in their classrooms.

A couple of weeks, I received an email about Edmodocon 2014, an online professional development conference with educators from around the world. I registered and it has been an impacting pd experience. Not only did I get to participate in a conference in my pj's, but I was able to listen to teachers from all over the world talk about how they are using Edmodo in the classroom. Edmodo has so many capabilities beyond what I could have ever imagined. Here are just a few of my favorite sessions:

Leveling Up Student Writing with Badges
From Tech Illiterate to Tech Savvy: How to Foster Non-Cognitive Skills in Edmodo
Solving D3: Data-Driven, Differentiated Instruction

Being a PBL newbie, my plan is to dive right in and become Edmodo Savvy! There's so much technology out there and it's easy to get scattered. Edmodo seems to be a great central platform. We'll see what happens!

Awe Some Classroom Design

Maybe a week or so ago, I went grocery shopping at Target. Of course, going shopping at Target is always dangerously fun. While on my way to the food section, I made a slight detour to the furniture section. I was in decorating heaven. I saw all this neat stuff for my classroom. There was this really cute bungy chair and the wall art was insane. Being a budget conscious person, I made the decision to take pictures of my "must haves" and marinate on how my picks would fit into my new classroom.

Design has and always will be a part of my genetic make-up. I love colors, architecture, patterns, you name it. My classroom is no different. I decorate my classroom like it's my house. So much of my life is spent in the classroom during the school year and I believe making it comfortable and inviting is essential. Moving into PBL, I want to have the most unconventional classroom. I want it to be opposite of what a traditional classroom should look. In Montessori, we didn't have desks so I'm used to that concept. But, in PBL I want my classroom to have exercise balls for seating and the really cute bungy chair from Target. A small sofa with a coffee table would be cool. My students should come into the classroom ready to collaborate and the design of the classroom should allow for such. I've pinned almost a million (slight exaggeration) innovative classroom designs on Pinterest. I spent the weekend in Atlanta and visited the IKEA store. They also have the most unique furniture design. 

Innovative Classroom Here I Come!

TED Talks with Adora Svitak

What do I do for fun??? Watch TED Talks! I would put LOL, but it's true.

I love TED Talks! Last night for fun (lol), I wanted to watch a few talks and stumbled upon Adora Svitak. The title of the talk and Adora's young face captured my mention, "What Adults Can Learn From Kids". Being an educator, I know we can learn a lot from kids but I was curious to hear what Adora had to say. Her talk made me think about Project Based Learning a lot. She says we need more irrational thinking and hopeful thinking. Kids have limitless thinking and students should teach their teachers and the learning should be reciprocal. There's a lack of trust and too many restrictions. I couldn't agree with her more! I hope my classroom will be a place where students think freely and projects spark creativity. This year, I want to learn from my students. This generation of children has the entire world in their hands and the possibilities for them are endless.

If you have a moment, watch the video and be inspired!

PBL Newbie

This upcoming school year, I will be teaching Fourth Grade Project Based Learning. I am super excited! For the last three years, I have taught Lower Elementary Montessori and before that traditional 4th and 2nd grades. So I've had a wide variety of teaching experiences. Being a Montessori teacher really exposed me to the endless possibilities in Education. When my principal asked a coworker and myself to jumpstart PBL at our school, I was thrilled!

My first year of teaching I wanted to journal my experiences, but never did! With the explosion of technology since my first year, I've decided to chronicle my first year of PBL. This is my digital footprint for all the current and future PBL teachers. My coworker and I have read several PBL books, attend workshops, conferences, and planned extensively. We have had great conversations with teachers at other schools in our district who also lead PBL classrooms. 

Our school year begins for students August 20th and I can't wait to introduce my students to a new way of learning. I hope you will follow me as I share my experiences, good and bad.

Follow me on Twitter: @iteachpbl