Thursday, June 2, 2011

The end is near...

I'm glad all my friends made it safely through last night's tornadoes.  It was pretty wild out there for a while.  It's been pretty wild in here too, lately.  The end of the school year is always a difficult time for my group.  They know the stability of school will give way to the freedom of summer and there are many reasons why this may not be exciting for them.  During the time leading up to the last day, my students tend to be more easily aggravated, quicker to explode, faster to judge, whine, and insult.  Tempers run high and patience is worn thin!  It's a yearly phenomenon but it never gets any easier. 

Besides trying to wrap up all my end of the year responsibilities, I start making lists of things that need to be done over the summer, for next year.  I reflect on my progress and start planning for improvement come fall.  Behavior plans and minute sheets are adjusted, schedules are worked out, and lessons are tweaked yet again.  One challenge that comes with teaching the same group for several years in a row is developing new units.  I can't teach the same lessons every year, it's more like every 4-5 years.  I start planning for the fall in the spring!

I am really set on making lessons dynamic and engaging.  I find that my boys are especially engaged on a deeper level when they can move around, solve problems, and create new ways of doing things.  I'd like to find ways of combining active lessons with technology  to build problem solving skills.  I need to find resources for these kinds of things.