Lately, I've found myself reflecting on the school year. Partly because I can't believe it's already April and the other part of it is I can't believe how far my students and my teaching have come. Every day I find myself saying, wow these kids are amazing! This is my 15th year of teaching and I'm not going to lie, it feels as if it's my first. I say this in a good way. So much of what I have done this year is new. My classroom feels so alive.

It all started in September where my new endeavor for the year was going to be Mindfulness. My co-teacher Mrs. Marshall and I took an incredible course over the summer through Mindfulschools.org. We texted daily about how the practice of Mindfulness was helping us in our daily lives and also how we were going to use it in our classroom. We were nervous! Mindfulness was new to us and then we were going to ask a class of 4th graders to take the journey with us. We didn't know what to expect and we knew there would be resistance. There was and there always will be. What started off as learning how to sit with mindful bodies and in quiet turned into at least 3 minutes a day of mindful meditation which many kids say is the best way to start their day! They've even introduced Mindfulness to their parents. Practicing Mindfulness in our classroom led to a community of learners who trust and respect each other in ways that I've never witnessed before in prior years.

This classroom community led me to open up more as a teacher and trust my students more. Trust their voice and their need for a more engaging and student led learning environment. At the beginning of the year, I'll admit I prided myself on my classroom "management". I had a classroom that was quiet and productive. We got it all done in a day. Reading, writing, math, and content area. We were on a roll. Or I should say I was one a roll. My kids on the other hand must have been bursting at the seams! Maybe it was my mindfulness that kicked in or maybe my Twitter stalking in chats (I wasn't an active participant in chats at the time) or the Twitter feed of incredible ideas, but one day I remember saying to my co teacher something needs to change. I needed my students to have more of a voice. They needed to have more of an active role and take more ownership of their learning. They needed choice in how they learned and shared their learning. They needed to lead the class, teach me and their classmates. It took courage, trust, a shift in mindset and a different kind of management (which I have to admit I'm still figuring out) but it works! Wow does it work!!

Thanks to Twitter and the amazing educators who share their daily happenings I've introduced more new things to my classroom this year then ever. Mindfulness, Turn Key Thursday, SeeSaw, blogging, Book Snaps, book reviews, book clubs, student led book talks, wild reading habits, across grade collaborative learning, Genius Hour, Global Awareness, March Book Madness, Homework choice, the list goes on and on. I look forward to going to work everyday and I'm proud of that! I'm even more proud of my kids! As I said they amaze me every day. I know my kids look forward to coming to school everyday as well. I see it when they arrive. I see it in their enthusiasm. I see in the pride and effort they now put into their daily work and homework. I see it in their daily SeeSaw posts and comments to each other. I feel the enthusiasm and can't wait to see what the rest of this years journey will bring. It's April and that means I have 3 more months of excitement ahead.

What's new in your classroom this year? What are you proud of? How and why does your classroom feel more alive?