All the Little Boxes....and Moving Forward

I have been reflecting for a while about why I had been feeling so overwhelmed.  When I was enduring my BlogDentity Crisis (and my BloggyFriends lifted my spirits until I felt like a fairy princess in a Starbucks megastore), I tried to "take apart my struggles" and analyze the bits and pieces of life that had gotten the best of me.  It has been a challenging year, yet I wasn't sure precisely why I just felt so... depleted. I'm not unhappy. In fact, I think I have been blessed with a wonderful life, but school has just been... difficult!

Now that I am feeling a little better, I can take two steps back and really LOOK. As I prepare to go to school this morning, I have an inkling of why my school day feels like a merry-go-round...

When I sat down to plan my day this morning, my lesson plan looked like this:

Each of those "little boxes"? Those are my attempts to differentiate instruction for the WILD range of abilities in this year's group. It's easy to see why I often feel like I am not doing enough for anyone. I am so thankful that I have TWO reading groups doing the same (or at least similar) things each day. I don't dislike the planning--in fact, it's almost like an out-of-control Sudoku game--I just want so desperately for the kids to LEARN and enjoy sixth grade.

Even with THIS MUCH emphasis on literacy and math, I still have quite a few kids who are below grade level.  Yet I am constantly telling them that "forward" is the goal. Everyone started the year at different places in different subjects.  The key word was FORWARD on the very first day.  And that has become my OLW as well.

I have a few kiddos who have slid backwards, but, for the most part, we ARE moving forward. It hasn't been an easy year, but with middle school looming in just 67 days, we just keep trying with each new day to learn the skills that will make our middle school experience more successful.

So... not a Pity Party, just an explanation. I love when I can make sense of the oatmeal in my brain.  I keep looking for the good... and I keep finding it. Life is good!

With that, I have to gather the rock samples, the integer line-up cards (Thanks, Stephanie!), the shared reading text and questions, and the Book Club materials. 

A new day awaits!