What connections are you making with your students?

 Every Fall I make a batch of pumpkin bars. I have made them as bread and this year I'm trying them out as muffins, but every year I make a batch of some variation.  While I do think they are yummy, I don't think that the taste is the real reason I make them every year.  They take me back to a very happy memory!  One day in second grade Mrs. Frick took us to the cafeteria and we made pumpkin bars!  It was sooooooo much fun!  I was so proud to take the recipe home and share with my family.  I made it for my parents and older siblings and it was a hit.  I smile every time I think about the way it made me feel!  I hope that I'm making memories with my students just as Mrs. Frick made with me all those years ago. (42!)

Last Friday, I celebrated my first Carpe Diem Day with my students.  It was a very blessed day.  We had extra recess, practiced being kind to one another and shared what we liked about each other.  The students had time to draw, color, play, enjoy each other and relax.  We talked about how we were going to really enjoy the day living in the present. We made a mantra for the day "Be kind and choose to be happy" and discussed how we would try and continue that mantra for the rest of the year.  I'm thankful that I got to experience this day with my students.  I know it was a memory that they will hold on to for a while.

That day was special, but I'm not sure that it was on the same level as the baking of the pumpkin bars with Mrs. Frick.  When I reflect on that day with her, what I think made it truly special was the fact that she was sharing HERSELF with us.  She shared a love for baking with us.  She shared a recipe from her family.  She bonded with us through this activity.  I still feel connected to her and that class today when I bake those pumpkin bars each year.

That makes me wonder.... am I connecting with my students?  I think so.  If you know me well, you know I love the Houston Astros.  I started watching them with my son about 10 years ago.  He was already a fan and playing baseball was his passion.  I wanted to connect with my son as he grew into a young man and so I decided I would learn all about baseball.  I began to keep books for his team and watched the Astros with him and talked about the players and the stats (they were bad back then) and it worked!  He and I remain close and baseball is one of many topics we enjoy talking about.  I also THOROUGHLY enjoy watching every game I can throughout the season.  Ok, sorry, I got sidetracked talking about baseball and Trent (two of my greatest loves).  But I want you to know that I also really enjoy sharing my passion for the Astros with my students.  As the playoff season began in September, I've talked to them more and more each day about what makes the Astros so fun.  As they began to near the end of the ALCS championship, I even showed a couple of highlight clips from the games during snack time/ indoor recess.  On my morning slides, I tend to ask "trivia" type questions about the past night's game and give small prizes to those who know the answer.  I have a couple of bobble heads and a pennant from the 2017 World Series in my room and gave Houston Astros as the bonus spelling word on our test last week.  It is part of the culture in my classroom.  Not only do I love them telling me that they watched part of a game, or asked their parents to turn on Sports Center during breakfast so they could catch the score of last night's game, but sharing it with them has made me love the games even more.  I can't wait until tomorrow when I will hear their excited screams when we discuss the fact that the Astros are going to the World Series!!!  And I'm super excited to talk about Yordan Alvarez winning the ALCS MVP trophy.  He is one of the players that I have highlighted to my students and one of the bobble heads in my classroom!

Are my students struggling academically after the past couple of years of "Pandemic restricted" instructions?  Yes.  Am I having to teach them expected behaviors at school as many of were instructed virtually from home for the last 2 1/2 years?  Yes.  Does every data point we screen them point out deficits that need to be made up as soon as possible?  Yes.  Do I have to spend an exorbitant amount of our instruction time testing them to obtain data to be examined to show these obvious gaps?  Yes.  Does this mean that I can't take time to enjoy connecting with them because we have too many academic skills that need to be taught?  NO!!  These connections are one of the only things that keep me going to school with a smile every day.  Making these connections are what allow them to feel safe with me and their peers so that they CAN LEARN and close these gaps.  We HAVE to PRIORITIZE these connections.  My students are valuable.  They are smart.  They can learn.  They will learn.  I will continue taking time to have fun with them, engaging with them and creating opportunities for us to connect!

I see so many of my colleagues on social media that are becoming burnt out.  It is not an easy time to be a teacher y'all.  Almost every day we have absences from staff members where no substitute can be found to help out.  I see administrators and support teachers stretched thin.  I see so many people in the education system working hard to help students close the academic gaps.  I hope we don't forget that the connections have to be made too. 

5 Things I learned as a Camp Invention Connect Coach!

 Five years ago I was given the opportunity to instruct for a week at Camp Invention in Katy, Texas.  It was such a fun experience, I can't imagine not being able to do it every year!  Last year, when the world "shut down" due to the Global Pandemic, I was able to witness the amazing transformation that the National Inventors Hall of Fame made to their camp to allow it to be taught virtually.  It was challenging, exciting, engaging and fun for instructors and students.  This year, I jumped at the opportunity to be a National Coach again.  It has been a highlight of my Summer!

Here are 5 things I have learned:

1)  Collaborating gets kids excited.  They learn so much from talking to each other (as humans, we all do, don't we?)  Camp Invention Connect is devised in a way that guides me to help them collaborate.  I'm not overloaded with curriculum to "shove at them", but just to spark interest and ignite their creative fires!  The learning happens when they feel free to share with each other.  They support each other and push each other all at the same time.  Sometimes, I feel like I'm just an observer myself, often times learning the most from my students!  I plan to remember this in the school year.  I don't want to hinder my students by "teaching" too much.  I want to make sure that I give them plenty of opportunities to collaborate to the fullest degree!

2)  As a coach, I'm reminded of why I became a teacher in the first place.  I really do get my energy from interacting with kids.  During the school year, if I'm not careful, I can allow myself to be bogged down by data, grades, planning, intervention, TESTING, and blah blah blah.  With Camp Invention, I'm given opportunities to support children growing, learning, exploring, failing, succeeding, trying, sharing and growing.  It refuels my energy and excitement to teach again next year!

3) I'm constantly being pushed out of my comfort zone.  Daily, I have to help students build, design, and trouble shoot their inventions.  We work with motors, batteries, wires, solar cells, pulleys, and so much more.  I'm not naturally a builder.  I spend most of my personal "hands on" activity time being "crafty".  The lessons of Camp Invention push me to reverse engineer and create things that I would have felt were too difficult for little kids (and maybe even me sometimes!).  They give such clear instructions and guide me with trouble shooting tips.  I also have all the supplies and make sure that on camera isn't my first time to experience the build so that I'm ready to support them towards success!  Every student has been successful in every build this week.  I'm so proud and happy for them.  Some of them were skeptical at times too!

4)  I love meeting new kids!  It's funny, but all these years, I'm still excited to meet them with their quirky personalities (kids don't hide their quirks the way grownups do) and to enjoy learning with them.  I'm so blessed to meet kids from all over through Camp Invention!

5) Hands on is important!  Kids (ok, everyone) learn by doing!  Camp Invention has designed a program where kids are constantly creating and building with their hands and I am witness to the powerful learning it creates.  This inspires and challenges me to integrate more hands on creating and building in my classroom!  Students work through the Design Thinking process in Camp Invention and I plan to incorporate this practice into my Project Based Learning in my classroom.

I want my students to love learning at school as much as they love learning from Camp Invention.  To make this happen, I must be brave and inventive.  Thank you Camp Invention for inspiring me and supporting me to be a better coach and therefore teacher.

By the way, if you have school age children you should check out Camp Invention and find a program for them either in person or online.  (There are programs designed for Middle School and High School students as well)    It will be worth it!

Check out the fun I had on Road Rally day!

I also enjoyed Solar Bot!

And yes, I had fun with Duck Chuck too!

By the way, I'm super excited about this upcoming school year!  I'll be opening a new building and learning every day with a new group of third graders.  I'm going to enjoy my last few weeks of Summer, but can't wait for this new school year!