Not much summer left. Part of me is trying to ignore the fact that we have this new and unknown back-to-school ahead of us. Part of me is also trying to prepare.
I've kept up with some PD this summer by taking three courses. Teaching Remotely: A Practical Guide, Integrating Climate Change into the Classroom, and a Strategies for Science, Technology, and Engineering workshop. Teachers never stop learning!!
The Teaching Remotely course from The Friday Institute offered some great insights and resources. The main theme in almost all of the teacher discussion posts was "How am I going to create and develop authentic relationships with a new group of students?" We knew each other in the spring of 2020 which made the transition to distance learning easier in my experience. Starting to build a relationship virtually will be very different.
There are many other issues to consider: How to support the social and emotional needs of my students? How to best provide feedback and assess their learning? How to support students with special needs? How to teach effectively and be culturally responsive in this medium? I know all these things can be done and be done well, but we have to work to get there.
Something I will continue to use is my Digital Dashboard. This is a Google doc (the 2019-20 version will be replaced soon) where I post brief class agendas, links to resources used, and list homework/assessments. I feel this is a great way to make my classroom more accessible to families since they might not be able to get as much information from Google Classroom summaries.
And as an avid collector of resources, here you go. "Education under COVID" (I think I will be creating Wakelet collections for our science units more often now, it's free and easy). It feels like a hot mess right now as I figure out the best way to organize it. This is part of me preparing. I still have some time to do ignoring.
I regret not posting here more during our distance learning/shut down.
But I came across this note behind a poster while I was cleaning out my room yesterday.
I don't know what the fall will look like.
There were lots of things I missed about teaching in person and to be honest there were things I did not miss.
My heartfulness training never wavered -
May you be well
May you be healthy
May you be safe
May you be happy.
Hello All,
There have been so many changes in the last few days and I know it's a lot to take in.
Take a breath.
I use this in class for mindfulness practice sometimes (not for 10 minutes, but you certainly could).
I know there are a lot of questions floating around in my head and I imagine the same is true for you and your family. We are facing major changes and although they may be temporary they are intense. I am waiting to get more information from the district about the expectations around how learning will happen over these three weeks (or longer). Free breakfast and lunch distribution spots have been set up for any child 18 and under.
Before I get to anything academic I want to share something from Character Strong, the social emotional learning curriculum we are currently using in our period 5 classes. They have put out variety of digital resources that you can sign up for here including a 30 Day Kindness Journal, Virtual Assemblies, and access to their virtual library of tools and resources. These difficult times will require more kindness and understanding from us all.
As far as learning opportunities go, I will continue to regularly use Google Classroom for announcements and links for students. I don't want to get too bogged down in details and will wait for guidance from the superintendent about academics.
For now feel free to check out the Review and Links pages on my website. I admit it's been a little while since I've added any new content but what's there should lead you somewhere interesting.
And it's spring (or just about)! There is a lot going on in the natural world and as elementary as it seems it's a perfect time to make observations. Take photos daily of a particular place or a plant that is starting to grow. What new bird songs do you hear at different times of the day? Make a pinecone and peanut butter bird feeder and watch who shows up. What plants are starting to wake up, which ones are still dormant?
Lastly, know that I am thinking about the variety of situations my students and their families are now in and I am available to help in any way I can. Email me any time.
