Teach Dailey

I greeted my students today, on the first school day of October with a festively decorated classroom. We had a rich discussion last Friday about what we enjoy in October. Students listed many different craft and food projects. As I wrote all the ideas on the whiteboard we felt a sense of community as we look forward to all the fun we could have. We then talked about how all the fun stuff could only happen when we completed all our other work. Today there was a buzz around the room. Students were collaborating and working hard to ensure that there would be time for some fall fun. The flowers were a gift from my husband, and the desk name sign was made by a former student. He used a magnifying glass to burn the letters. The math bulletin board is ready for some spooky decimal anchor charts!  I used pumpkin washi tape to outline our daily schedule My desk is all decked out in pumpkins and fall decor. Thank you Target for some $3 tablecloths :) These are so...

Students are learning about the early European explorers in my classroom. Today, we used some of my favorite tools from  mrnussbaum.com . They traced routes, named continents, and described sea monsters. The students were so proud of their creations that they all wanted to share and discuss the topic further! We talked about why explorers wanted to find the most direct routes. We decided to call this the ice cream rule. If you had ice cream and you wanted to get home quickly you would want to take the most direct route, so that there would still be ice cream and not cream soup. I continue to be impressed by my student's creativity and passion to investigate history.

This week was so busy! We had back to school night, picture day, and were working hard to get back into the routine of school. This year I have 29 students, but I feel so much more organized than last year. It made all the difference to reflect over summer and work hard to prepare for the coming year.  I'm really impressed by how supportive everyone has been. Our amazing PTA, my grade level team, my btsa support provider, our new principal, and the special education team have really made our school feel like a family. It makes such a difference to look forward to going into work, because you know there are wonderful people there. Last year was great, but there seems to be something special about this year too! I appreciate that we all can lean on each other and do our best work to support the kiddos. My students and I were talking about resilience today. We looked at examples of famous "failures" and how they tried again after not being successful. It was so fun to se...

What I love most about a new school year is meeting so many new people. As I shook their tiny hands and told them how happy I was that they would be in my classroom I couldn't help feel joy wash all over me. These students that are strangers now will in a few months be a part of every day. Soon I'll think about them while doing the dishes and wake up in the middle of the night with an idea of what to try next to improve their skills in various areas. It is a wonderful feeling that I'm sure many teachers can relate to. After reflecting upon last school year, I would like to have more opening and closing routines for each day. An  edutopia article  I recently read gave me a few wonderful ideas to embed social emotional learning into an opening routine. Do you have any favorite routines? This year I will have a strange time slot at the end of the day where students will return to me from a differentiation block and have 10 minutes left in my classroom. I'm trying to use ...

I have been really working to have a 21st century classroom. I want to prepare my students to be great digital citizens. Getting this certification seemed like the logical choice. I love using google apps for education in my 5th grade classroom. We share Chromebooks with 3 other classes, so I have to be creative to integrate technology. My goals for this new school year are to elevate the way we use technology in the classroom. I don't want to simply replace paper with technology. I want to harness all the resources and allow my students to take a more active role in their education. I'm excited to use google forms to make formative assessments and get feedback from students. The sheets application is also going to be really helpful in looking for trends in data as well as calculate student grades. I'm still enjoying my summer, but looking forward to starting the next school year. :)

As I pack up my classroom to prepare for summer I can't help but think about this past year. The walls are so empty now. Previously decorated with paper leaves, vines, and flowers they now stand an off white. So much happens in a year. Students grow and I certainly grew. I thought I'd make it through my last day with students without crying, but didn't quite make it. I have spent the last year getting to know them and how they learn best. Assessments, games, and so many conversations will dwell in my memory, but what I will hold closest to my heart is how kind everyone has been. This year was so difficult. It would not have been possible without the kindness of my fellow professionals, parents in the community, and to patience of my family. I have felt welcomed and accepted as I began my process of learning how to teach. When I made mistakes my team was kind to me and showed me other options. I'm looking forward to planning next year and becoming a more effective educ...