Monitoring (Heide Donalson)

Dear Heide,

You are such a great teacher in many ways. You shared with me how you monitor and keep track of each child's progress in your classroom. Heide, please share with all of us your successful, monitoring plan.

Your buddy,

Cathy Daniels

Answer from Heide Donalson to Cathy Daniels
Thanks friend for thinking about me. I am very type A with a lot of wanting to find a better way of keeping my life easy.

Since I am in a co-teach model, I had to come up with a system that would benefit the two of us plus the 3 ESOL kids, 1 speech child, 13 PMP kids, 11 target children, 14 kids being pulled by Mrs. Williams, and the wonderful Landstar readers! AHHHH! So, I created individual folders that include their diagnostic profile sheet, a yellow form that allows others to know what that child is working on, a reading form, any target information, and a place for everyone to sign that works with that child.

This took a lot of work in the beginning, but now it is very easy and it benefits everyone!

Balance (dayle timmons)

Question: dayle,
I know your dedication to young learners and the teaching profession is steadfast and I admire that about you. We've talked about this before, but would you share with me and others (that may need to hear your words of wisdom), how you have managed to keep these two areas blanced throughout your career as an educator? I struggle with this daily and often carry guilt in one area or the other? Please reassure me that I am not crazy!!!
All my admiration,
Elizabeth

You’re not crazy, Elizabeth. There is nothing more difficult than trying to be all things to all people. Balance, for me, like for most moms that work, came over time. I learned that you CAN have it all, you just can't have it all at the same time! These are some of the things that worked for me along the way. I share them in hopes that they might be helpful to someone else…

1. I have always considered my life at school as my own personal mission field. I believe that God put me on this Earth to be a teacher, to minister to those around me including my peers, the children and their families. I really do believe that I am doing God’s work every day and that colleagues, children and parents that come into my life come by Divine appointment (usually because of lessons I need to learn instead of lessons that I need to teach!), so I have never resented the time that school takes. I feel a deep moral obligation to do this part of my life right. My life goal has always been to make a difference and most of time, I believe that teaching allows me to do that. My advice: Think about why you teach, what it really means to you - and find the joy in it.

2. I am very organized so I usually have a good idea of what needs to be done. I am a very good manager of time. I usually have a list (that used to be in my head but lately I have to write it down!) of “things to do.” Some of the things are for school and some are for home. When the kids were little, I tried to include them in my “to do” list – even if it was something for school, but mostly I always kept the “to do” list accessible. When the kids were out or occupied, I would work on the “to do” list, knowing that I couldn’t get too absorbed (which is the key) because I needed to be available to them as soon as they were “back.” Children, especially, have to know that they come first. My advice: Always have an on-going plan for getting things done. Never put off until tomorrow what could be done today.

3. I have always known when things were just “too much.” Most of you know that after Courtney was born I stayed home for a year, went back to work for a year and just couldn’t juggle it all. I felt like I wasn’t doing anything well. I have always felt God’s hand in the personal part of my life. He gave me a family for a reason and He has very high expectations! Being a teacher, a wife and the mother of two was just too much for me at that time in my life. Even though some people have called me driven, and I personally thought that staying home was the end to any kind of “career” aspirations I might have had (how could I have known all that would happen to me AFTER I came back to work!) I was able to make the decision to stay home very easily. I stayed home until Courtney went to Kindergarten. Although we hadn’t prepared for me not to work, and things were extremely tight, I have NEVER regretted that decision, because it gave me peace. My advice: Don’t get overwhelmed with your life. It will rob your happiness. Know when enough is enough and always know what the greater priority is in your life.

4. I am a morning person. I get up early so when the kids were little my husband and I worked out a compromise. I got up before the kids got out of bed and left for school. I did all my planning before school at school (it’s so quiet and you get so-o-o much done!) and was ready to leave when school was out so I could be home for the kids. Jimmy coached so he was not available in the afternoon and early evening. He did all of the breakfast, dressing, getting to school and I did all of the being there after school, dinner prep, homework, afternoon activities. It gave each of us individual time with the kids and also gave each of us guilt-free time to do what we needed to do for work. My advice: Work with your support system so that you have time to do what you need to do (I love Karen Morris’ suggestion in an earlier post of one night a week at school, which is the same idea).

5. Decide what’s really important to you and get rid of the stuff that you’re doing just because somebody else thinks you should. For instance, Secret Santa was one of those activities that I had to let go. I LOVE Secret Santa but one year I realized that I spent as much time stressing over Secret Santa gifts as I did buying presents for my own children. Secret Santa was just too much for me. Now I go and enjoy the breakfast and don’t feel one bit guilty about not participating because I know it was the right decision for me. I could give you dozens of examples. My advice: Be intentional about what you choose to do. Align your time and passion with your belief system. Free yourself from guilt.

I wish I could say that I have it all figured out and that I never get stressed any more. That’s not true, but I do know to listen to my heart. When I feel overwhelmed, I know that something is out of balance, and that’s my internal signal to really think about what’s going on in my life and to straighten things out before things get too far out of balance. Often it means trusting my relationships, being honest with myself, and asking for help.

I have a special place in my heart for young mothers. You have the whole world open to you if you can use the energy and wisdom of your age and yet still see life through the eyes of your child. You are preparing our next generation of children to take their place in our world, not only in your homes, but in your classrooms. This time in your life is your legacy…

With great expectations, dayle

Organization (Lori Metzger)

Question
To: Lori Metzger (Mentor Extrordinaire)
I always say that I used to be very organized, until I became a teacher!! You are known around the kingdom for being extrememly organized and having a spic-n-span classroom at all times. Please share some pearls of wisdom, maybe some simple things you think every teacher could do to get even a little bit more organized. Maybe you could also address dealing with the infamous beast of paperwork!

You are awesome and amazing! Beth


Organization is my specialty! I'll share my paperwork secrets here in this magical blog.

First, create a filing system that works for you. In my file cabinet I set my folders that correspond to each reading and writing skill or strategy that I teach. For example, I have folders titled main idea and sequence in the reading section of the drawer and I have folders titled setting and character development in the writing section of the drawer. Everything that I come across for that skill goes into the folder, but only one copy. That way the folders aren't bulging full of extra papers that I don't need.

I also have a set of weekly files labeled Monday through Friday. I try to organize the papers that I'll need for the week in these folders. If I have a test run off that I'm giving on Friday, I keep it in the folder and pull it out after school on Thursday.

My secret to being organized is my third set of files. Before the school year begins, I take a copy of the school board's yearly calendar and Chets Creek master calendar: I use four different color packets of construction paper, one color for each quarter. I fold the paper in half and use one page for each week of the school year. So this week's packet has the following dates on it: Oct. 22, Oct. 23, Oct. 24, Oct. 25 and Oct. 26. Next to the date I write anything important, such as early release, WOW days, picture days, tests that I know I'm giving, etc. Inside the construction paper I slip anything in that I can get ready ahead of time, homework and test papers, blank progress reports, field trip permission slips, etc. It does take some time to plan ahead but I don't find myself scrambling at the last minute for papers I need. I keep my construction paper files in milk crate in my office. Stop by if you'd like to see how it works.

One last tip is something I read years ago. I learned to touch a paper only once (if at all possible). For example, when I received the ballot for the Teacher of the Year, I stopped and grabbed a pen and filled it out right away. Then I turned it in.

I hope these organizational tips work!

Lori Metzger