Calming the Chaos

Once again, my BlogFriend, Kristy, from Two Peas and a Dog, has linked up some bloggers to discuss their strategies for Calming the End-of-the-Year Chaos.

In reality, this blog post ended up being rather therapeutic for me. We still have six weeks of school left, and my sixth graders seem oddly certain that summer is already HERE. We haven't even finished testing yet, and I am having to hang on for dear life just to keep the peace among thirty-five tweenagers.

I've been staring at a blank computer screen for the last hour wondering about the answer to this question: How WILL I survive until June 15th?

After some reflection, I have narrowed things down to three basic tenets...

First, I have to stay healthy. This includes getting enough sleep and expanding my food intake beyond items that consist primarily of sugar and/or caffeine. I'm not sure about your school, but in the past few weeks it seems like a conveyor belt of treats has been shuttling non-stop through school. Those yummy snacks leave me tired, which sends me in search of more caffeine... which rarely keeps me alert (or even awake) and more often leaves me feeling grumpy--all of which is counterproductive!.

A good attitude (made more likely by a healthy diet and enough sleep) gives me the reserve of energy I need to fight off the blues (theirs and mine!). Besides, every time, I don't follow through with better eating and sleeping, I get sick. And we all know how that affects the process.

Yesterday, I planned four math mini-lessons, a review of the elements of a narrative, a comparison of two texts, and a brush up on using context clues to decipher unknown vocabulary... all before lunch. By the time, the second child said, "Wait. Which one is the narrative?" my patience was ebbing. Add to this: sibling-like squabbles and broken rules and lost pencils and unfinished/misplaced/I-never-got-that-page homework, and the smile was quickly fading.

I've settled on a two-part approach to this problem. The first is forgiving myself. If I am going to reflect endlessly on the lessons that fell flat, I'm not going to be successful when I have to return to school the next day. I'm going to have to let it go (which is very hard for me--with or without the song) and focus my energy on a different approach. Today it was rotating through stations with fewer math problems but in a way that seemed more somehow more accessible. Not perfect, but better!

Even more importantly, I am going to have to pick my battles in terms of behavior. Obviously, there are problems that must be addressed. (And maintaining my routines is the next item on my list). But I think the kids are getting tired of having yet another "serious discussion" about sharing and honesty and trust and respect and, and, and... Sigh. Time to replace the lost pencil, apologize, forgive and move on. Time is precious.

This last pledge is based on the previous one. While I need to change up my lessons and plan some fun activities and let the small stuff go, I still have to navigate through twenty-nine more school days. I need to keep some constancy in terms of routines and expectations and schedules... or we will never make it to June!

At some point this week, I confused letting it go with letting it all GO. That was a mistake. I think, at least for my kids, there needs to be enough predictability so that the fun activities are novel and stand out. When there just a few days (or hours) remaining, I can let things unfold with less direction. But with weeks still yawning ahead of us, I let the hot weather convince me that we were almost done. In reality, it's not summer yet. There is still plenty of teaching and learning (and fun!) ahead of us.

So those are my three hope-fors. I recognize that many teachers are, truly, just days away from the year's end. But if you're like me, there are still days and days to fill...

That's why Kristy pulled some teachers together. You can click on any of the blog buttons at the end of the post to read about other approaches to beating the End of the Year Blues and finishing strong.

How are YOU calming the chaos? I'd love to hear your strategies for finishing the year on a good note. Leave a comment below so I can also add your ideas to my list.

And whether it is a few days or few weeks until your countdown is complete, I am hoping you have enjoyed a wonderful school year!

Five for Friday: Getting Close to the End...

YIKES! I'm not sure how two weeks have flown by so quickly! Every minute seems jam-packed and, yet, it seems like so little is getting done! As usual, my Five for Friday is being posted on a Sunday, but at least it's being shared (Last week's post came and went without ever getting out of the camera!)

ELEVEN days left of school!

 

I have checked in the last set of homework and classwork for the year! We still have plenty of "work" left to do (including two benchmarks!), but report cards are due this week and I now have LOTS of data to review. I have been drowning in paperwork all year and finishing this task is so liberating!

 

Family Life Education is DONE for another year. I'm not sure who is more thankful: the students or me! Aside from the "typical" lessons on parts, ailments, and responsibilities, our district has recently included a lesson on cyber-safety. The videos are haunting reminders of the dangers of "making friends" on the Internet. This lesson really impacted the students... and it made me even more conscious of how easily our students can become victims just by sharing their name...

Last week I was away at a training for a day. And I was away from school one day this week. And I will be at a Common Core training for two days next week! I feel like I am writing sub plans in my dreams.

If you haven't tried out any of the items at 4mulaFun (TpT) you are missing out. That's one of her triangle activities in the picture above. This blogger/creator has lots of interesting activities, wonderful units and terrific lessons for math notebooks. Check out her store HERE and her blog HERE.

And, if you haven't ever read The Cay--or, better yet, read this book with students, just do it. (Please forgive me, Nike!)

 

Speaking of Common Core, this is the book we are reading for our writing project. And our trainer is the author, Larry Ainsworth. I am learning a lot about curriculum design... specifically how hard it is to do!

 

Ever see something in a store and simply KNOW you have to purchase it? Yep, that's how I felt when I saw these storage boxes. Math centers? Art materials? Guided reading sets? I don't know what I will be using them for, but just looking at them makes me happy!

In other news: I am trying out my first LINKY PARTY! 

As I have been reflecting on the last ten months of school, I have made a mental list of things I am definitely going to do DIFFERENTLY next year. In fact, although this year is not yet finished, I am already planning next year's lessons, classroom management strategies, activities, and decor! Are you doing that too? If yes, this Linky is for you!

And this one has a twist!

The Linky Party will be up for a week starting tomorrow. Then, next Sunday evening, I will use the random number generator to choose one of the people who has linked up and joined the party. That person will win a $25 gift certificate from TpT. What a great way to start gathering those resources for the year to come!

I am so thankful that tomorrow is a holiday. Just sitting in one place is a delight! I hope that you have the day off tomorrow too--and that you will come back to join my Linky Party.

Until then, if you are still in school, I am wishing you at least a few moments of rest or relaxation. And if you are already out, enjoy the bliss!

PS Those little doughnuts/cookies are from Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Designs. The numbers are already on them, so making math materials with them is a snap! You can get them HERE!