That's right lovelies and gents, in the first few weeks of the school year, the classroom dynamics have flipped in Room 2 and Curly Kay is the current (but temporary) lead teacher! It has been quite the adjustment transforming from the instructional assistant that leads small group instruction to the lead teacher that lesson plans, assesses student growth, and manages classroom behavior. My past few weeks have be encompassed with reading educational blogs, surfing Pinterest for interactive classroom lessons, and classroom management systems, and keeping up with grading.
My classroom is full of students that earned the reputation of the unruly generation, but I must say that they are not behaving half as poorly as their reputation let on. My students are slowly but surely grasping leadership expectations and habits, and are actually beginning to exemplify these learned leadership traits in their everyday procedures. Each student has a leadership role in my classroom which gives them each a purpose throughout the day, no one feels left out, or unimportant. Seeing them transform from this bunch of kids that run chaos in their classrooms, to students that value the leadership component of our school and get excited about goal setting is surreal.
One of my favorite things that I have implemented in my classroom is our classroom economy. The students each have a "bank account" in which they can earn money for good behavior, performing well academically, and exemplifying leadership in their normal actions. They can also be fined for poor behavior, bullying, breaking rules, etc. I must say the best part of the economy in my eyes is the real-life connection - Paying Rent! That's right, I charge my students rent for their desks, storage, and textbooks! Their faces when they paid their first rent deposit yesterday was priceless, seeing their balance go from one thing to another, and realizing that they have to work to earn more money to replenish their bank accounts.
Being the lead teacher is rewarding in many ways for me; for one, any doubts I had about my abilities were quickly diffused when I had to suck it up and go for it. However, I must say there's no greater feeling for me than seeing the "aha!" moments my students have and realizing that I'm that one that helped them achieve that moment; along the many spur the moment drawings and cards I receive from my loving students. The number of positive comments I receive from my colleagues about the work I am doing in my class is truly motivating to continue bettering myself as an educator and to complete my degree and certification.
The biggest adjustment for me has hands-down been managing my time. I have had a difficult time balancing my work and personal life, as lately my time has been monopolized by preparing for the next day or the next week. As you can see, my blogging time was cut just about completely while I organized my school life, along with many other pieces of my life. I am actively trying to restore the balance in my life, because the last thing I want is to burn myself out. Making sure that I don't take on too many responsibilities and relinquish too many of my "me time" activities is a daily battle, but I am determined to keep my work ethic above the bar.
Stay tuned for more updates on my classroom and my personal challenges!
Thanks for reading lovelies and gents! I'd love to hear from you on twitter, mention me at @lifeascurlykay or comment below with suggestions on how to restore and maintain the balance in my life! :)
xoxo Curly Kay
My classroom is full of students that earned the reputation of the unruly generation, but I must say that they are not behaving half as poorly as their reputation let on. My students are slowly but surely grasping leadership expectations and habits, and are actually beginning to exemplify these learned leadership traits in their everyday procedures. Each student has a leadership role in my classroom which gives them each a purpose throughout the day, no one feels left out, or unimportant. Seeing them transform from this bunch of kids that run chaos in their classrooms, to students that value the leadership component of our school and get excited about goal setting is surreal.
One of my favorite things that I have implemented in my classroom is our classroom economy. The students each have a "bank account" in which they can earn money for good behavior, performing well academically, and exemplifying leadership in their normal actions. They can also be fined for poor behavior, bullying, breaking rules, etc. I must say the best part of the economy in my eyes is the real-life connection - Paying Rent! That's right, I charge my students rent for their desks, storage, and textbooks! Their faces when they paid their first rent deposit yesterday was priceless, seeing their balance go from one thing to another, and realizing that they have to work to earn more money to replenish their bank accounts.
Being the lead teacher is rewarding in many ways for me; for one, any doubts I had about my abilities were quickly diffused when I had to suck it up and go for it. However, I must say there's no greater feeling for me than seeing the "aha!" moments my students have and realizing that I'm that one that helped them achieve that moment; along the many spur the moment drawings and cards I receive from my loving students. The number of positive comments I receive from my colleagues about the work I am doing in my class is truly motivating to continue bettering myself as an educator and to complete my degree and certification.
The biggest adjustment for me has hands-down been managing my time. I have had a difficult time balancing my work and personal life, as lately my time has been monopolized by preparing for the next day or the next week. As you can see, my blogging time was cut just about completely while I organized my school life, along with many other pieces of my life. I am actively trying to restore the balance in my life, because the last thing I want is to burn myself out. Making sure that I don't take on too many responsibilities and relinquish too many of my "me time" activities is a daily battle, but I am determined to keep my work ethic above the bar.
Stay tuned for more updates on my classroom and my personal challenges!
Thanks for reading lovelies and gents! I'd love to hear from you on twitter, mention me at @lifeascurlykay or comment below with suggestions on how to restore and maintain the balance in my life! :)
xoxo Curly Kay
- 10:00 AM
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