Flexing

      PDC days, days where all the teachers have meetings and therefore no kids at school, always begin with me excited for a "break" and a chance to visit with coworkers and leave me wishing we'd just had kids instead! ha! Okay, so the meetings aren't that bad really ... its just complete and total information overload. My brain starts to shut down. I get sleepy. Lots of coffee is consumed. I generally end up surviving.

      Today was no different. BUT today we did make a major decisions: we are going to attempt, try, experiment with, flexing in our 4th grade Communication Arts classes. (bring out the whistles and streamers people, this is BIG news) Our math teachers have been flexing for a while now and loving it (at least mostly!). Math and Comm Arts/ELA are very, very different. And, they demand very different approaches. I can preach you a whole sermon on it. But, in an effort to always do "what's best for kids" we decided today we should jump (at least temporarily) on this bandwagon and give it a fair shake since it seems to be working for other people.

      Flexing is when students are grouped by ability - since there are 3 fourth grade CA teachers, we will have 2 high groups, 2 medium groups, and 2 low groups. The idea behind this is you can really give each group what they need -- more self driven things for your "high flyers", more broken down and teacher led things for those that struggle. Give kids things on the level they are at so that they can excel more.

      I really struggle with this idea. In my own classroom, I do some things (lit circles) by level. That gives me an opportunity to have kids reading books that are on their own level with other peers who can also read those books. But, for most things, I like mixed-ability grouping. This gives low kids a chance to learn from a high kid, and higher kids a chance to learn to work with lower kids AND deepen their own understanding by explaining things. Kids need the opportunity to learn from each other. They need to have deep and meaningful discussions together. When you flex between classes you can still mix within your own group a little bit, but its much more limited. It might be good -- maybe some of the "lower kids" will emerge as leaders in a different group/mix of kids. Maybe it will backfire on us.

      The nice thing is we are trying this for our next unit -- if it doesn't work, we just won't do it again! Simple as that! If it flops, we'll go back to doing things they way we have been. If it works, then that's just peachy too.

       The terrifying things for me? I'm going to have "the low group". Which I am ... apprehensive about. Can I give them what they need? Can I break things down enough? Can I challenge them without overwhelming them? Can I find a balance between "teacher led" and "student driven" that will suit the group? Can I maintain structure in a group that "potentially" has some not so splendid behaviors? Am I really ready to re-tackle the "beginning of the year" teaching of rules and expectations in my classroom? Will I be a good co-teaching partner for Mrs. P (our SpEd inclusion teacher) since I've never co-taught before? How many parent phone calls will I have to field as students and parents question why they have a new Comm Arts teacher? Will the kids that I won't have any more adjust quickly to a different teachers room? Will they be as awesome for another teacher as they have been for me?

        It is seriously like the beginning of the year all over again. Only maybe worse because this time I know what I am getting in to ... eeek!

        So we'll see how it goes. I'm excited. I'm apprehensive. I'm glad we're trying it. I'm scared we won't like it. I'm relieved we can start by calling it "temporary" for 1 unit, 1 quarter, or 1 year until we decide if we want it to be permanent or not. I'm just a bundle of emotions. Which is actually causing quite the pit in my stomach!

      Mostly I am thankful to be part of a team of teachers who are willing and excited to always try to do what is best for kids. No matter how much work it is for us. I'm thankful the ladies I work with will be willing to help me on this new venture. I'm thankful they will be willing to re-evaluate and change things if they don't work. I'm thankful they will be non-judgmental when I mess up and when I ask for help ... because trust me, I will.

       It's a giant leap off the deep end. It's a crazy experiment. It's an adventure. It's a test of what I believe as an educator. It's done in the name of finding "What's best for kids". If it is best for them, it will be wonderful. If its not, we won't do it for long.

        Hopefully I'll get some sleep between now and then. I'm thinking I'll need it!

What are your thoughts on flexing?

crazy week

       I really had every intention of writing on this blog regularly ... silly me! =) Guess you'll have to be content with a random word every now and then!

        School really IS going well. I have a (mostly) fantastic class. Of course, we have our moments of being less than awesome, but for the most part, the rock!  I am loving watching them become better readers and writers as well as better group members, friends, and people. They are all so unique and funny and smart in their own way, it is a blast getting to know them!
 
        This particular week was doomed to be crazy as it was my first experience with parent teacher conferences. I only had a couple that I was "worried about", and they both went splendidly. In fact, Monday and Tuesday's conferences were easy-peasy. Then, Tuesday as I was leaving school my sister called to tell me dad had called the ambulance for himself and thought he might be having a heart attack. Eek! Dad has a lot of "health problems" - asthma  past heart issues, hypothyroidism, tracheomalacia, all kinds of things. So we don't mess around with his health. Robbie and I met everyone at the Rolla hospital (and waited and waited). Dad seemed fine and the Rolla people didn't find anything wrong as far as they could tell, but since the Nitro he took had eased the pressure and he has a history (his own personal and his family) of heart problems, they sent him on to Springfield for more testing. Mom and I followed the ambulance up and got to Springfield about 12:30 AM. We spent Tuesday night and Wednesday night sleeping in the most comfortable chairs the hospital had to offer.....yeah.....

       Everything checked out okay with dad - he had a follow up appointment with his normal doc today and they are exploring some options like esophagus spasms that could cause 'heart attack like' symptoms. I am super blessed to teach with a wonderful team of teachers who, without second thought, made sure sub plans made it onto my desk Wednesday and Thursday AND covered my parent teacher conferences for me as well as doing their own. Simply amazing. I left early Thursday morning to get back to STJ and take a brief nap before doing my last 9 conferences Thursday night (Heather drove up to get mom and dad home once dad was released).

       So, nothing but blessings this week really ... but I am very tired! ha! So, I was thankful for today off and a husband who left for work quietly so I could sleep in =). Now its a relaxing night of Cardinal's game watching, and (if I get motivated), some lesson planning.

       Thanks for everyone who prayed for daddy while we were unsure what was going on, and for all the texts, calls, and offers for help! We are blessed to have a wonderful support system of friends and family and were lucky to have wonderful doctors and nurses along the way, too! Even in scary moments, God never ceases to amaze me -- He is so great!

Blessed

I love that when life is crazy, something always happens to remind me how blessed I am. Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church, Grandma called. She sounded stressed and said "uh, are you almost ready to go?" I was, and asked what she needed "Well", she said, "Could you go sit with Uncle Rusty? They just got back from the ER with his back, and Alisha needs to go get his prescriptions filled but doesn't want to leave him alone". I immediately agreed, but did wander why she wasn't doing it (because normally she would jump on that herself!) "I would go" she said "but they just took Jacob to the hospital thinking he will need his appendix taken out, and I need to meet them to pick up Joshua". And, with that, our Sunday was off and running!

Jacob did have to have his appendix out Sunday afternoon. He is recovering nicely at home and enjoying a couple of days off of school. :) I am thankful appendix removal is such an easy, routine procedure with a quick recovery - it is hard to keep at 4th grade boy down for long!

Uncle Rusty is still having some back pain, but I think is some improved! He has several doctor and chiropractor appointments, so hopefully they will get him worked out soon!

I loved sitting with Uncle Rusty. Okay, so by "sitting with" I mean he laid in bed (on his stomach because his back was hurting on a LOT of pain med so he wasn't very talkative) and I sat quietly in the living room so as not to disturb him, checking on him every 30 minutes or so. So, not a lot going on. I did my own thing, read, worked on some school stuff, prayed ... and I realized (as I do many, many times) how lucky I am to be a part of such a wonderful family. A family who is there for each other. A family who lit up my phones with texts asking how Uncle Rusty was and if I had news about Jacob. A family who always offers to help. A family who genuinely wants to help. A family who thinks to call *me* because they know I want to help.

Family is an awesome thing. I am blessed.

I was also very blessed to make it to Church Sunday evening to hear this sermon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF0mATW6VC0

I cannot speak highly enough of my brother-in-law's speaking ability! He is a great preacher and a very knowledgeable man. This lesson was perhaps "aimed" at the younger generation, but is definitely wonderful for everyone to listen as it focuses on a few key things like self esteem, remembering God in your youth, and not waiting till its too late. Great sermon -- check it out!