New Year, Fresh Start

New Year, Fresh Start     

Happy New Year Everyone! It feels like it has been a while since I last wrote. Coming back from break can make it difficult to get back into the swing of things. We have been on break enjoying our time with family, friends, fabulous food, which bring in all the FUN. Those moments make our heart warm and happy, as we make new memories in our so-called “Life”. Well in the midst of it, all we put our job to the side, losing the motivation that we need to get our TEACH ON! J

You may ask, “How do you regain focus on your purpose as you are still focused on winter break?”    

Whenever we lose our driving force in our daily job, remember to go back to your “Why?” Go back and think of why you became a teacher to find your purpose. What are you trying to accomplish as a teacher? What are you trying to accomplish this school year? These questions will bring back the spark, ignite your fire for education, and get you going back to when you first began this job.

As you think of this, take a moment to realize that many of our students may be feeling the same way. Some students are driven to move on to bring on the second half of the school year, while other students do not want to return to school at all. This is your opportunity to bring the fun back to the learning, leaving you both a strong desire to return taking on the next challenge.

“A good teacher is like a candle-it consumes itself to light the way for others. ~unknown

January is a month when we look at our own lives to reflect, keeping the good and getting rid of the bad. You can definitely do this with your occupation! The more we reflect upon our practice, the better it gets! Now imagine if you have children reflect on their learning on a daily basis, but with a stronger emphasis, returning from Winter Break…the impact can be great! Here a few suggestions that may assist in getting a new calendar year started/half of the year kick started:

1.     Journal Writing- Begin with asking students to answer the questions, “What have you liked best about my teaching this school year? What can I do different the second half of the year to help you succeed?

2.     Goal Setting- Have your students set a goal for Language Arts and Math. Ask them to think of something specifically of a concept they want to achieve before the school year is over (for example achieving more Reading Counts points, higher RI Level, writing a well-written paragraph (using text evidence), mastering multiplication fluency (up to the 12s), learning why and how to divide numerical operations, etc.). When students have set their goal, have them write the steps he/she will take in order to achieve their goal.

3.     What’s Your Word? - I loved this idea from Instagram Teachers because students choose a word that will define the rest of the school year for them (for example Believe, Hope, Advance, Try, Brave, Organization, etc.). It’s not another step they have to stick to, more importantly it is a motivational word that will be on their mind every time they take a step to achieve the goal.

4.     Provide a weekly quote to give your students “Food for Thought”. Feed their soul with encouragement, as the learning gets tough. You want your students to realize that everyone goes through hardships when trying to reach a goal.

Find what brings the joy into your classroom, go with it and remember to have fun throughout the educational journey. As state testing approaches, it will also serve as a good reminder that the learning process is a lot more important than a test score. Although, they will soon realize that once a goal is attained, growth will happen! You get your students to BELIEVE and they will ACHIEVE! 

Live, Love, TEACH!