Count On Me

Kids Can Teach Us

Have you ever found that your heart and soul find the people who are meant to be in your life? When I first started on Twitter, introduced to me by Dr. Tony Sinanis,  I didn't know what Twitter was all about. Fast forward 1.5 year later, I've met some of my favorite people on Twitter. People who enhance my instruction, my well-being and my way of life. Liv from @thelivbits is one of these people. From the first tweet that I read of hers, I had #heartbeeps, as Liv calls them. I knew that Liv was destined to be in my life. I also knew I had to meet her.  

When I was asked for suggestions for PARP 2018, I was certain Liv had to be a part of it. If there was anyone who could talk books with kids, it was Liv! If there was anyone who could teach kids that the books they read, connects them to a wider world, it was Liv! I
f there was anyone who could teach, inspire, and motivate children to have a voice in our world, to do a greater good, it was Liv!

Going into the day with Liv I had high expectations. She met those expectations and more! When I met Liv on Sunday night at dinner, with her mom, my colleague, and my daughter, I was in awe. I was so impressed by her poise, her respectful manner, and her adorable personality. She immediately became buddies with my daughter and made her feel comfortable. I knew in that moment that the day at Schwarting was going to be the best day ever! At dinner I learned even more about Liv then I had known through her Twitter tweets and our conversations. Did you know that she has been to over 14 states sharing her work? Did you know that her work is international (she left dinner for a conference call with China!)? Did you know that her goal is to spread her voice and teach kids and teachers that kids have a voice and they can teach us? Did you know that she goes to school full time, participates in Twitter Chats, created digital book clubs and challenges with authors, and corresponds with a teacher across the country through SeeSaw, in order to challenge her Coding skills! Liv is incredible, gifted, and talented on all levels! Liv’s work is not only centered around digital citizenship but she teaches about life. She teaches about love. She teaches about #heartbeeps. She is everything we want our children, students, and adults to be in this world.

The next day when it was time for me to introduce Liv to the school, I was nervous, as I had never done this before. Liv knew I needed calming down. She looked me in the eyes and told me to read and practice my speech in front of her. She then said that she's a 10 year old girl about to give a Keynote speech, there's no reason why I can't get up there and say a little introduction. I looked at her and thought, wow she is powerful. When Liv spoke to the kids, Kindergarten through Fifth grade, they didn’t blink. Their eyes were glued to her and her message. She spoke about using her words for the good. She spoke about kids having the chance to teach us. She spoke about teachers allowing the children to have a voice and follow their passions. She spoke about spreading positivity in the world and digital citizenship. She was a natural!

When it was time for a dance party in the middle of the Keynote, kids got up, danced their hearts out and then immediately sat down for the next bit of inspiration she had to say. Her words had that much power over them, they didn't want to miss a second. The day continued just as spirited as the morning Keynote. She went from grade to grade in different sessions, teaching about blogging, LivBits, book love, and kids teaching kids. Just like the keynote the kids were enthralled. They listened to her every word and asked questions that demonstrated they were intrigued and wanted to learn more.

Throughout the day, several teachers approached Liv, saying their own children had been or are being bullied in school. They told her that after the day with her, they are certain their son and/or daughter will be okay. She gave them the strength (LivBits started after Liv encountered bullying in scecond grade). That night I had parent teacher conferences. Parents of my students and my colleagues had conversations of their children coming home from school inspired to read more and use their voice. One student the next day came running into school excited to show me a video she made. The video was of a song she had created for Liv, the words were filled with positive quotes. She told me she was nervous to post it on SeeSaw, but then stopped herself and said, “You can post it. I’m nervous about what other people may think, but Liv inspired me to be me.” The amount of lives that were touched in the short period of time spent with Liv is outstanding. 

After spending the day with Liv and knowing the power of kids teaching us, I would be remiss to not share one story that stuck with me. Earlier in the year, after days of traveling and spreading her book love in Keynote speeches and school visits, Liv returned back to school, only to be held in for recess for not completing a reading log. Pause a moment and let that sink in! Liv is a walking, breathing, living, reading log and she got "punished" for not complying to school expectations. The decision to hold her in for recess makes no sense to me. I would challenge that decision and ask, why?! I personally know that if I believed children should all be help to the same expectations, I wouldn't have many of my own student success stories that make me so proud. Every child should be held to their own individual standards and capabilities and then be empowered to move and grow from there. Every student in your class learns differently. Every student's fire is fueled in a different way. In my mind holding Liv in for recess set the tone that school is about compliance and if a student thinks or demonstrates their learning in an alternative way, it will not be accepted and fostered. Thank goodness this experience did not stop Liv and she still believes in herself and all she has to offer. This story leaves me and I hope my readers with the question of, are we as educators teaching for compliance or empowerment? If you are looking to have more "Livs" in your class, more students who own their learning, and more students who are passionate, then I urge you to honestly reflect on your current classroom practices and read the book Empower by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. 

In reflecting on my day with Liv and this story, I needed to stop and think how I've been influenced and how my teaching will be changed. I was left with the impression that every child in my class has a voice, every child in my class has a passion, every child in my class has something to offer this world. It is my job to be there for every student and help them find their voice. It is my job as a teacher to teach them and enrich their lives and their passion. They need me to show them that I care and to show them I respect their voices. I need their voices, the world needs their voices. The children in our classes are our future. They can all be "Liv's" with the right amount of empowerment. 

Power of #classroombookaday

I'm feeling lost, angry, scared, and so many other emotions, as I'm sure so many of you are as well in the wakes of the Parkland tragedy. This morning I opened Twitter and started to read and learn about the teenagers who are bravely fighting. My heart started to open up. Only a mere few days after they have lost friends, teachers, and siblings, they are not giving up hope. Within the articles and tweets I read, there were also comments that praised the teens but at the same time made mention to the kids doing what adults should have done in the first place. Then plenty of other posts that spoke to these teenagers changing history.

Reading these articles and comments bring me back to the importance of #classroombookaday and my role as an educator. Every time I close, a #classroombookaday book, I hear myself saying or thinking the words, history repeats itself and you boys and girls are part of the change. You all have the power! Every moment, of every day, you children, have the power to make a difference. Even if it’s through a simple gesture, smile, or invitation to be included.

It's in times like this tragedy, that I am reminded of the deep discussions my classroom had, when we read books like, “The Youngest Marcher”, “Let the Children March”, “The Other Side”, “Wishtree” “Shaking Things Up”, “The Story of Ruby Bridges” and so many more powerful titles. I am reminded of the difficult discussions had with the children in my classroom, about the strength of the children who fought, marched, and some who took on the roles of the adults. The bravery of the children who stood with or up to the adults and said we are innocent and can and will fight for our own beliefs and rights. Each #classroombookaday book leads us to discussions about kindness, including others, and how the books messages make us better children and adults. After every book is closed, I feel a little bit better in the fact that I and these books are making a difference.

The teenagers in Parkland need us to support them, believe in them, and show them that their fights can and will make a difference. Because history repeats itself, and as we have seen in our many #classroombookaday books, children do have the power to make a difference!

I encourage you to learn more about #classroombookaday from the brilliant Jillian Heise. Her website is classroombookaday.com. Thank you Jillian for introducing #classroombookaday to classrooms all over the world! 

Cultivating Community one Snap at a Time

I think of myself as a pretty grateful person. I do my best to appreciate the little things and big things in life on a daily basis. When Tara Martin tweeted about the #GratitudeSnap challenge during the month of November, I knew I was in! I also knew that this was something I wanted to bring into my classroom for my students to try.

Through the Seesaw app and using Pic Collage, the students were challenged to create and post a #GratitudeSnap daily, about something that they were grateful for. I knew I would get the typical I'm grateful for my video games, my clothes, and toys. However, they surpassed my hopes for this challenge. The kids pushed past objects they were thankful for and started to notice much more in the world around them. They became more mindful of their everyday lives and surroundings.

I felt during this time in my classroom, the students were more in the moment appreciating little things, along with being calmer. Another benefit of participating in the class #Graduatesnaps was further enhancing our class community. Through SeeSaw they got to see their classmates #GratitudeSnaps and get to know the many sides of them.  Such as, the student who posted that she was thankful for her Tae Kwon Do, art, and swimming lessons when the rest of the class didn't even know that these parts of her existed. They are a huge part of this young girl as a person and the other kids needed to know this. As did I. My eyes were opened up to my students many talents, hobbies, and the family and friends they were thankful for. Equally as beautiful were the student’s comments to each other.

I am forever grateful to @taramartin for her blogs, her inspiration, and for getting this challenge out to the world, for my students to participate in.

Check out my students reflections on #GratitudeSnaps!

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1vC4uhHIp0YlxGu3QhZxUGbl4McZWwH1dNkO9dtkd3QE/edit?ts=5a12ee1a#slide=id.g2b0688056b_0_5

Let Go of the Agenda

Through my daughters swimming experience I've had a first hand opportunity to see how much of a difference a teacher can make by the way content is presented. My daughter is 6 and has been in the beginners swimming group since the day she started at camp. That was 3 years ago. They have a regimented progression of what each child must do before they can move on to the next swim level. Within each swim level they teach the skills needed basically to "pass the exit skill test". My daughter refuses to dunk her head. So because this is a skill for the "test" she has not budge in her groups. Now here is where the problem lies (one problem I should say considering I'm having many issues right now)...where is the differentiation? Where is the meeting my daughter where she is, rather than where they think she needs to be? She is still learning to blow bubbles! She is way more capable. She will happily blow bubbles till she is 10 if they don't figure out a different approach. A way to motivate her. If I had a child in the same reading group for 3 years (this would never happen) I would not try to change her, but rather change my approach a long time ago. Let go of my agenda. 

Now the interesting part is that she takes swimming lessons outside of camp. In these swimming lessons she goes under (not voluntarily), swims with strokes, and recently made it a few feet to the ladder without any guidance. This coach met her where she was at. Left his agenda behind and figured out what would work for her. He knew she was resistant to dunking so he made no mention of it.

It's the way in which we work with children that will make the real difference. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Only when we meet them where they are at and leave our agendas behind, will the true learning occur. 

100 Days of Practice

Recently I reached a milestone in my meditation practice. 100 days of practice! I remember sitting down for my first guided meditation through the Headspace app. Through the guidance, Andy said, set your intention for your practice. So I did. I had so many intentions or outcomes. I wanted to be more in the moment, I wanted to be less anxious, I wanted to live my #OneWord and appreciate more, I wanted my thoughts to be less frequent. The list goes on and on. The truth is through these daily mediations I wasn't getting the results I was looking for. The results that people claim come out of mediation. I was actually more anxious and frustrated at first and I didn't understand why.

I now realize in the beginning sessions I didn't have an intention for growth or practice. I had an expectation, an end product that I was looking for. I expected to sit down and through meditation, all of a sudden this product would come about. The problem with this was that I wasn't starting from where I was. I had very little experience with mediation, yet I wanted to be an overnight expert. My intentions were good, however, I was ignoring the process and making it all about attainment or an end product. This is the complete opposite of what both meditation and mindfulness are about. In fact with resistance and wanting to change things as they are, comes more resistance.

Over the course of the 100 days I've grown in my practice. I let go and now meet each practice with an open mind. I'm still practicing and always will be because there is no final product. Each day I sit, I allow the mediation to be as is. There is no good or bad mediation. I sit down for the daily guided mediation and remind myself this is a practice. This a process that I'm building on each day.

As I reflect on my meditation at Day 100, I can't help but relate this experience to teaching and how children learn. Teaching needs to be more about the process and less about the end product. We need to meet the children where they are, find the hidden gems in every student and then lift them up from that point. This is the only way students will be successful.

When we meet and accept where the students are, it is only then that we can meet their individual needs. Take out the end product and each child will amaze you in their own way. Similar to mediation and mindfulness, children need space. Space to grow, space to learn, space to make mistakes. In an environment where space is provided students will feel more comfortable and take more risks.

Teaching children the process in all subjects is important. Allowing for practice and space where they can try out the strategies taught in mini lessons is necessary. Provide space where they have the drivers seat and be their co-pilots. I know in my guided mediation practice I look forward to those moments where there is less guidance. The silence where I'm free to try out the techniques. It's not always perfect, but it is always my own practice and each time I get up, I'm proud I tried. Our students deserve these opportunities. Opportunities to try. Times where they can show us what they can do on their own. Then we can guide them from the place of where they can, instead of from where they can't.

After these opportunities we can teach students to use growth mindset and ask themselves, "Where am I now and where do I need to go? What do I need to do?" This too is part of the process. Guiding students to knowing themselves best as learners.

Whether your into mediation or not, I ask that you think about your classroom and students. Be mindful of the process that comes along with learning. Provide your students with more space to grow and learn through the process. Opportunities where the product is not the same for each child because each child is not the same. Give them the space and they will amaze you.

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?