Summer and Moving Forward

Summer is officially here.  I've packed my physical classroom at school and my mini classroom at home.  I spent the weekend reading for me and possible a nap or two in the sun.  I planted flowers, dipped my feet in the blow up back yard pool and did some reading to see if a vacation would be/could be safe.

I did some blog reading and loved this post from my friend Mary Lee Hahn - Thoughts on Teaching and Learning Goals.  As distance learning came to an end for me I started thinking about the what next even with unknowns and was making plans similar to Mary Lee's.  I started gathering books to feel prepared for what's next.  These are books I'm going to explore and are new to me.

These are books I'm going to visit - 

Taming the Wild Text - Pam Allyn and Monica Burns
Deeper Learning with QR Codes and Augmented Reality - Monica Burns
#FormativeTech - Monica Burns
40 Ways to inject Creativity into Your Classroom with Adobe Spark - Ben Forta and Monica Burns
Tasks Before Apps -  Monica Burns
The InterACTIVE Class - Joe and Kristin Merrill
Read the World - Kristin Ziemke and Katie Muhtaris

I'm going to revisit -

Digital Reading - Bill Bass and Franki Sibberson

Amplify - Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke

When distance learning came my way I was using Seesaw and spent the first couple of weeks diving in, learning more and became a Seesaw Ambassador.  I couldn't have done distance learning without this deep dive.  I have plans to earn my Flipgrid Certified Educator Level 1, 2, and 3 and my Google Educator Certification Level 1 and Level 2.  I'm also on an interested in Book Creator Educator ambassador/training list.  These three are tools we used and I know with more learning we could be more effective with.  

I was also going to attend Discovery Educations DENSI experience in Chicago this summer and instead they are offering a three day virtual summer institute that I signed up to attend and am grateful they adjusted their plans.

I'm also saving to update my iPad and explore this new tool.

Yes, putting these ideas in print and out of my head seems like a lot and I know planning and preparing helps me with the unknown and new that is going to be ahead for us.  I share this here in hopes you will follow my journey and encourage me along the way.  I'm going to stop and savor summer - I'm headed to my vegetable gardens right now to plant some seeds, weed, and check in on what's already planted.  My yoga studio is reopening and I'm going to brave that space safely.  It's important we all take time to nurture us in and out of the classroom.

Miss Amy {Poetry Friday}

you

guided me

you 

guided we

invitations

opening doors

offering 

a starting point

encouraging

a high five 

a smile

a kind gentle word

guiding

collecting words

all poetry

possibilities

modeling 

mentoring

me

and we

@Mandy E Robek

Our distance learning journey was brightened each day by working with Amy Ludwig Vanderwater's Keeping a Notebook Series.  At first when my teaching world had been turned upside down, I used exclusively Amy's daily videos for my writing instruction.  I watched and observed teaching moves she made to guide her audience.  I watched my students connect and respond to her ideas growing their own writing.  During our morning meeting responses I started getting a "high five Mrs. Robek, just like Miss Amy."  After spring break, we began a poetry unit and I continued using Amy's generous sharing.  As my student's shared their writing with me, I began noticing teaching moves I could make to help accelerate their writing or reinforce an idea Amy shared.  Our writing workshop grew.  We'd watch Miss Amy's video and then I would try Miss Amy's idea in my notebook - snapping a picture to share and recording my thinking over the photo using the tool Seesaw.  Sometimes, a few students would address Miss Amy in their writing sharing with a connection, wondering, or telling her they wanted to do something different today as a writer.  Distance doesn't seem like the right word here for our learning together.  Our continuous structure and repeated visits brought connections - we had connected learning.  Thank you Amy for making something challenging doable.  Hugs.  XO.  - Mandy

Thank you Carol at Beyond LiteracyLink for hosting Poetry Friday this week. 

A Sense of Normal {SOS: Magic In a Blog}

I wasn't in a rush to return to my classroom physically.  I was worried I would be flooded with sad feelings and honestly, I couldn't take any more sad missing feelings.  I usually do my set up and tear down when things aren't buzzing and this year was no different.  I arrived at 6:30am on a Saturday and as soon as I made it through the new sign in routine, I felt a sense of normal.  These halls and the silence of coming in to work on my own felt right.  I got to my classroom door, took a deep breathe, and opened it to find things had been moved around a bit.  I felt a bit unsettled my space had been jostled a bit and realized it was needed for cleaning and work that's always done when I'm not here.  As I gathered student work, materials to go home, and packed up my classroom things I started gathering reflective ideas about education.  

As I stacked stools and chairs, I realized these and the tables offer spaces of collaboration. The writing materials in our studio space offer and require students to share materials.  Fostering opportunity to work on the life skill of taking turns.  We work on collaborating and taking turns as we use our  math manipulative to visualize math concepts and solve problems.  Class discussions in real time seem to foster collaboration more authentically then some recent experiences I've had.  I looked at our empty meeting space and thought about the moments the carpet gifted our class.  Moments of  connections, laughter, hesitation, worry, and honesty.  We also had moments of frustration, joy, and contentment.  The carpet space naturally fosters a community - there's something about sitting together physically.  I admired their self portraits one last time and thought learning in this space is about making and creating.  It's about fostering a different side of our brains.  As I took down their names on our job chart, I thought about fostering responsibility and the pride they take in each one of those helper jobs.  This space has so many benefits.

I had a very productive day and got lots done; leaving at 2:30pm.  As I continued to pack up and move things around my feelings of normal continued and my soul needed this.  I'm so grateful my students and I had this space to connect and grow before we were required to do distance learning.  Goodnight room 127.

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A Volcano Visited Us Today {SOS: Magic in a Blog}

This is a season of waiting along with so many other words.  We've been waiting for a decision from the university about fall travel abroad plans.  There's been plans made in our house for Fall in Paris with everyone there for Thanksgiving.  I feel like my bags are packed.  I rolled over a personal day to give me four days.  The virtual meeting last month for two hours gave this daughter hope.

Today the email came mid afternoon all study abroad plans were cancelled for Fall 2020.  We expected this might happen and had prepared a little.  We could move it to spring semester or do the quick three week summer trip in 2021.  I feel like this was just the lava gurgling at the base and WHOOSH - life erupted.

Text messages, phone calls, emails followed and the lava was everywhere.  Her roommate decided two weeks ago to cancel studying abroad and was in the process of getting an apartment with a new friend.  Did we want to join them?  Could we find a sub-letter if Paris in spring is an option?  Could they find a fourth roommate, no three room apartments left.  Were they willing to add a new roommate in spring?  There's one four bedroom apartment left and we could take it today.  Possible?

This was the first wave of that WHOOSH.  More eruptions come.  We send emails to different offices.  Is there going to be a spring or shorter summer option?  Reply - plans for spring and study abroad not cancelled, right now.  There's hope and still a housing dilemma.  

Scheduling emails are sent because scheduling was done for Paris.  Courses are full.  Bubbles are brewing in the flowing lava.  There's hope with an email that more courses will be added since more spaces are needed and there's still a housing dilemma.

Roommate update flows in not going to seek a fourth roommate.  Going to stick with two roommates we are roommate less.  She doesn't know.  We approach her with Paris in spring - apartment not financially responsible and offer a single dorm room in an older population dorm.  This makes me sad to think she'll live without a roommate.  I pray she can travel in the spring.

She begins to process this and is very financially mindful.  Roadblock with housing while emotions are still flowing - you can't see what rooms or dorms are available until you pay a two hundred and forty dollar fee.  Okay - we'll take care of it tomorrow.

Her old roommate calls to share the news she went with the two bedroom and same roommate for the year.  My girl understands why and feels sadness.  She begins searching dorms that are wet.  It would be nice to spray this volcano with water and make it all stop.  A wet dorm is where students who are 21 can have one beer in their room.  I think for her it's more about being with older college students.

So, our erupting evening ends with the image of my junior in college living alone, drinking one beer alone for fall semester.  I share this with her and we both chuckle.

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Cookies to Hero. {SOS: Magic in a Blog}

The tray of chocolate chip cookies comes out of the oven and hmm.  They don't look right.  These are her speciality and they are flat and smooshed out and large.  We chit chat and decide she used the largest cookie scooper.  She decided to downsize.  The second tray goes in and for some reason she checks on them and it's happening again.  Cookie dough spreading out to be a flat pancake?

She's made a double batch.  They don't seem to have enough flour and she agrees, adding more.  Now she can barely stir the blob of dough in the mixer.  I half smile and wonder; too much flour?  It was one of those moments with a wondering should I ask and I decided to in a sheepish voice.  

I feel like I'm watching a balloon deflate right in front of me.  Plans of dropping these off to friends floating away.  Negative talk emerges - something to the effect of being a failure, I can't make cookies, a feeling that the world was crashing down.  I site bailing the biggest sister out from multiple monkey bread flops.  It's not working.  She goes to the couch to rest.  

I clean up the double batch fail.  Clean the dishes and rally her to try again.  I leave the kitchen and return to find her laying on the kitchen floor while a batch bakes. We both agree this is very tiring.  I check in to see how the first batch is going and success.  We are in the clear!

During dinner there's a note card for me in an envelope near my plate.  I open the envelope and find a message on the front of the card - She makes the world a better place and the inside said...

And to think a chocolate chip cookie flop made me a hero and yes they were delicious and shared with her girlfriends.  We all won this day.

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Listening In {SOS: Magic in a Blog}

Sisters. High school age. College age. Stay at Home. Pandemic. 

All possible addends for a firework equation.  It's a Tuesday morning.  I find them on the floor of one bedroom facing each other eye to eye knee to knee with make up palettes in-between.  They are smiling, chatting, and content.  As I walk in it's shared they are doing each other's make up.  I wonder how this is going to go.  They migrate to the bathroom.  Make up is done and they are still smiling.  The youngest said, I look like her - she did her make up like she does hers.  I look.  I ponder.  I agree.  So funny - it makes sense they would do their style of make up.  That's what they know.

They migrate to the bathroom.  The youngest has talked the older one into letting her pluck her eyebrows.  She is willing and a little worried about it hurting.  I just walk away and listen in from afar.  

"It doesn't hurt what are you talking about."

"I might pluck my legs and shave less."

"That would take a long time."

"I have lots of time in quarantine."

"Do we have to do the other eyebrow?"

"You can't leave them uneven."

While listening in, I'm grateful they had this time.  These uncharted territories have brought ups and downs.  They seem to take turns.  There's been friction adjusting to being together earlier than either had planned.  The daily groove has been disrupted by each other.  It's hard to accept what you can't control.  I hope they remember this day during COVID19 where they could just hang out.  Where they could smile, chat, and be content together.

PS - I wanted to burst right out, REALLY pluck your legs?

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Grateful {31 of 31 Slice of Life}

Reflections - 

What a month of slicing with some very unexpected turns.  It was nice to rejoin this community.  I started several pieces and restarted trying to focus on the small moment.  Too many things going on that could easily turn into a rant.  At one point, I thought about abandoning and in all my years of participating I've only abandoned once when some really hard things were happening personally.  I knew it was okay if I had to abandon and I knew I didn't want to.  I had to find some new norms for my participation.  If I didn't slice I went back and caught up because the thoughts were in my head.  I did this twice I think.  I had two days without a slice and I think 29/31 is a win considering all that is being thrown our way.  My commenting wasn't the usual level of participation and I am thank you for the comments I still received.  My reflection is a bit of a confession.  Right now, I'm working hard to accept grace.  To give grace to others and myself.  Thank you, Slice of Life community and beyond for anyone stopping by that helped foster grace; making me grateful for slicing all month.

Thank you Two Writing Teachers for fostering this writing community and offering this challenge.