Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Back to School Goals

My summer is grinding to a halt, and I can hardly believe that teachers report back next Tuesday!  I've been working away in my classroom, and can't wait to post up pictures to share what all I've done...but that will have to wait!  In the mean time, I have linked up with I {Heart} Recess to set some Back to School Goals.  So here we go!

 
Personal:  We eat out WAY too much, especially when school starts back up.  It's usually so hot still, and I'm tired, and the last thing I want to do is cook dinner, but my wallet (and waistline) says otherwise.  I just need to suck it up and do it...and then I will have left-overs for lunch the next day! 
 
Organization:  Last year, our District moved to a Standards Based Report Card that required proficiency to be measured for every 3rd grade Common Core Standard.  While all of my assignments and assessments are standards-based, I struggled to find a manageable way to keep up with it all.  I'm working on it.  Any suggestions?!
 
Planning:  I don't know about you, but in my classroom, it seems like Science gets booted to the curb whenever time gets tight.  I'm making it my goal to plan for more hands-on Science learning because we all know how much the kids L-O-V-E it!
 
Professional:  I'm currently taking an online Stanford math class about how people learn mathematics.  If I can successfully finish it, I'll consider that quite an accomplishment, because we all know how much extra time teachers have at the beginning of a new school year!
 
Students:  My goal in this are is to inspire a love of mathematics.  I hope I can wrangle them in with fun real life math projects, then keep their interest peaked with all the tricks I have up my sleeve!
 
Motto:  Let them be little!  I've shared this on my Facebook page, but something strange happens to my beloved kiddos between 3rd and 4th grade, and often times, 3rd grade is the end of the "little" kid stage.  So it is my goal and motto to let them be little.  We will have recess.  We will read silly stories.  We will learn lots and encourage each other along the way.  We will have fun at every turn.  We will make lifelong friends and play hard. 
 
What are your Back to School goals?  I'd love to read all about them!     


9 comments:

  1. I especially love your motto. Let them be little. It made me kind of choke up, actually....

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    1. Thanks, Yvette. Can't wait to carry that forward with my new group, I'm beyond excited!

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  2. I love your motto! A great thing to live by!

    Jamie
    teachingtidbit.blogspot.com

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  3. Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier! I love your motto! I teach middle school and my kids grow up and act like adults too fast. :(

    -Bagby
    Math Madness

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  4. Hi Jana, I happened upon your blog, and must say that I love the design, especially the header! I'm signing on to follow you on BlogLovin. Stop by my blog if you get a chance! ~Deb
    Crafting Connections

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  5. I love that motto :) It's so true... when my babies come back to see me each year, its about the end of 3rd grade that they are too cool for me! It makes me sad!

    Mrs. Thompson
    Adventures in Teaching (A First Grade Blog)
    My TpT Store

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  6. Your classroom looks so colorful! I tried to reply to your comment on my blog, but for some reason blogger wouldn't let me. So I just added a comment below.

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  7. We are moving towards a standards based report card too. Kristine Naninni (Young Teacher Love) has been doing some awesome posts on standards based grading. She also has some great products to go along with it!

    :) Kaitlyn
    Smiles and Sunshine

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