Happy New Year of Learning!

Welcome back, I hope every teacher out there had some restful days drinking coffee slowly, lounging in pajamas, and not using an attention-getter before speaking. After a well-deserved two weeks off, we jumped back into school this week and already, my students are showing some incredible growth! I wanted to share this New Years project we did in class because it revealed just how thoughtful, creative, and brave my students have become. I have uploaded the free materials to my TeacherPayTeacher site, so make sure to grab them there!

This week, we read the book "Giraffes Can't Dance" by Giles Andreae (one of my personal favorites!) and we talked about learning to do new things, even when they are scary. I shared how many grown ups make "new year resolutions", which really just means a goal they have for the next year, and invited my students to do the same. "We've learned so much already," I said, "What would you like to learn this year that you don't already know how to do?" I gave my example of wanting to learn a new language this year, and then, with my paper, demonstrated how to draw myself doing that new thing.

We had some private think time about what we might want to learn this next year, and then we turned and talked to a partner about it. As I moved around the room, I heard some amazing ideas! We shared some of our ideas to the whole class for inspiration and then, once they had an idea of what they wanted to learn, we returned to our desks for some independent work time.

Check out what these kids came up with!

In 2018, I want to learn how to do the splits.

In 2018, I want to learn how to drive a car.

In 2018, I want to learn how to do a handstand.

In 2018, I want to learn how to be a veterinarian.

In 2018, I want to learn how to make a fidget spinner.

And my personal favorite...

In 2018, I want to learn how to be a Ninja Turtle.

All hung up in the hallway!

I was blown away by the ideas my students had for themselves. Every teacher wants students to dream big, but it's hard sometimes to cultivate that in our hectic, pressured, structured environments. So to see that my students actually had ideas about something they would want to learn, something that would be meaningful to them, I felt a wave of relief. However stressed I get, however down I feel about my ability to succeed, I have proof that my students see themselves as capable! And that's exactly how I see them, too.

Teach on!

#newyear #goals #resolutions #learning #writing