The Happy Learning Den

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Love-fest 2016! :-)

A beautiful thing happened yesterday. A little over 120 students realized they had been tricked by their parents and teachers... all in the name of love. :-)

Two weeks ago the 5th grade teachers in my school sent a sealed envelope home with each 5th grader. We told them it was homework for their parents. We stressed that no one was in trouble. It was about middle school.

Lies! All lies! The reality? It was a letter to their parents telling them that we wanted them to surprise their children.

Thursday evening parents came to the school, without their children, and decorated their child's desk. Candy! Stuffed animals! Giant cards! Regular sized cards! More candy! Streamers! Balloons! Chocolate covered strawberries! Confetti hearts! Glitter! Love! So much love went into decorating the desks. (A few parents from each class were unable to come, but the teachers in the school adopted desks, donated supplies, and the parents who came also donated decorations so no child was left out.)

Friday morning, students were told to report to the cafeteria. They were not allowed to go to their rooms. When they were allowed to come up, and they were all gathered in the hallway ( in line of course)... one teacher made an announcement. She told the students that they needed to walk into their class quietly and show respect. That inside were middle school representatives from various schools. Students were told they would hear from all the schools today, and then would have class parties. They were so excited. Then we opened the class doors ... their parents were inside!

Such an amazing, love-filled day!

Hoping you have a love-filled weekend,

Sandy @ The Happy Learning Den

Monday, January 25, 2016

Art needs to make a comeback!

I'm going to stand on my soapbox for another moment... We need art class back in the elementary schools full-time. Students need to enjoy drawing for the sake of drawing a beautiful picture (while learning art curriculum). This shouldn't be left up to the classroom teacher. You know it is!
*Side note, I don't teach the art curriculum. I do however try to infuse art elements into their assignments. However, the only mediums I have at my immediate and daily disposal are crayons, colored pencils, and markers.

Thank goodness once again for the parents in my school. They step up every month and teach art to all the grades.

This past week they learned about Mardi Gras masks and they loved it!

Here are some of their creations!
Enjoy!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Reasons to LOVE Teaching

There are plenty of reasons to be aggravated and disgusted with the path politicians are leading our education system down. HOWEVER, there are plenty of reasons why I still love teaching. These are my top 3 reasons, and I would love for you to comment below and tell why you love teaching too!

1. Learning! Always learning.

A teaching career is a never-ending journey of learning. I was terrified at the beginning of this school year! Me? Teach Science? O.M.G..., but I took several science professional development courses over the summer and have continued learning throughout this school year.

But I haven't just been learning about my core subjects this year. I have also been given the opportunity to reflect and learn how to work better with my colleagues. "You pick your friends, but you can't pick your colleagues." No matter what, I always greet each coworker in the morning with a "good morning and a smile." Of course I do have a few colleagues that are difficult. (Who doesn't?) So when I interact with them I try to imagine that my students are watching/ listening. It helps me not stoop to their infuriating level. :-)

2. Every Day is Different

There is never a dull moment in teaching. The lessons, incidents between students, interactions with colleagues, planning- moving students forward while continuously reteaching skills and concepts, and of course all of the emotions felt throughout the day. It's all in a day's work.

3. Seeing is Believing

My students surprise me every day. The kindness that they show one another... just when I think that one student is going to tease another, he puts his arm around his peer and says, "let me help you. Or when they are assigned to work with a student that they "don't like," and grumble all week about it. They argue during the assignment, and I of course help them work through it... just when I start to kick myself for putting these children together.... they are giggling and learning together. It happens more often than not! And I love it each and every time it happens! Seeing is truly believing.

What are your top 3 reasons you love teaching?

Until next time,

Sandra @The Happy Learning Den

By the way... Check out my newest resource "Talking the Talk" in my TPT store. It features cow and turtles with accountable talk conversation stems. A good friend/ colleague and I developed this resource because we wanted something kid-friendly and cute in our classrooms. Since my favorite animal is a cow, I use the "Cow-tastic Conversations" portion in my classroom. Gina's favorite animal is a turtle. So naturally she is using the "Turtle Talk" in her class. But just in case you aren't a fan of cows or turtles we also included desk tags that feature students. The more I insist that my students use the accountable talk, the more natural it becomes for them, AND the more respectful they are becoming toward one another. Let me know what you think!