Desks vs. Tables

This year was the first year I haven’t used desks, and I absolutely LOVED it!  I know the table setup doesn’t work for everyone, but it is perfect for my classroom!  Now… that’s not to say that some of my precious kiddos don’t become “islands” at some point and have a desk to themselves until they can earn their way back to a table. So why do tables work so much better for me?

Here's a picture of what one of my tables and the bookshelf look like:

So what do you think?  Desks or tables?

Classroom Layout

Can y’all believe it?  I go back to work in less than 4 weeks!  This summer has gone by so fast!  I do have to say, at the moment, I’m kind of looking forward to going back to work though.  This year is going to be very different.  While I am staying in third grade, my ENTIRE third grade team is new.  One fourth grade teacher is moving down to third grade, one of our paras that did Tier 3 pull outs is coming to the team, and then 3 teachers from a neighboring school are joining us!  Two taught third grade in our district last year, and the other taught fourth.  We are definitely not lacking experience, which is wonderful!  I feel like a little kid again, excited for school to start, and not really knowing completely what to expect!

So, since I’m already gearing up for back to school… the first thing I always think about is my classroom layout/setup.  Luckily, this year I’ve decided to keep my same layout from last year.  All I’ll have to do is take all of my personal furniture and decorations out of the back closet and put them back where they go. 

I’ve been at my school for 6 years now and the classrooms are all set up pretty much the same way, so I’ve been able to perfect the layout that works for me.  Below is a graphic of the layout of my classroom.  I didn’t put in all of my personal bookshelves (there’s one at the front of each student table and several around my reading area and behind the horseshoe table).  Also, this is absolutely NOT to scale!!

The day of orientation I like to walk through all the classrooms at school to see how each teacher has set their room up for the year, it never ceases to amaze me how different each classroom is, even with the same layout and permanent fixtures.  This layout works for me, but it’s really all about finding out what works best for you. 

I’m going to continue a series of blog posts this week about my classroom layout/setup and how I use different parts of my room.  I’d love to hear about what your classroom layout looks like!  Is there something you like about mine?  Something you’d change?  Comment below!

New Beginnings

Okay… here it goes!  I’m ready to try this whole blog thing again, and I’m CRAZY excited!  Did you catch that?  CRAZY?  Notice that somewhere else on my blog?

I've spent the last few weeks brainstorming a new name for my blog.  Teaching Fun in the Sun definitely fits for a teacher in Florida, but I am LOVING this new name.  It really does fit me!  I definitely feel crazy sometimes [okay, most of the time] as a teacher!  Crazy in love with my job, and sometimes just plain ol' nuts.  C.R.A.Z.Y. is obviously an acronym as well though.  As a teacher there are SO very many roles we play.  C.R.A.Z.Y. stands for some of the words that I think of when I think about the most important parts of our job from day to day.

  

Compassionate – As teachers, we obviously have to be compassionate.  In my personal opinion, the number one way to help students learn is to build a relationship with them.  Not to mention, with the world our babies come to us from and go home to each day compassion is of the utmost importance.  Especially if we expect them to display it themselves.  There’s been a ton of research done to show how important the relationship between teachers and students can be in a child’s life too.

Rigorous – Is this not the new buzzword in education or what?  It has been in our district for the past few years any way--since Florida adopted Common Core and then changed it to the Florida Standards.  I am completely on board with rigor and Common Core though.  Teaching our kiddos to think critically and dig deeper into what we’re learning about is more like what they’ll probably see someday in the real world.

Adaptable – Change is NOT always easy.  In fact, sometimes, change is REALLY, REALLY hard.  Yet as a teacher change is something we deal with all the time.  New standards, new curriculum, new “must dos” from administration, the district, the state, new students each year with new and different learning styles and abilities, not to mention personalities.  Sometimes the changes that come are GREAT, and sometimes they’re, well… not so great.  What it comes down to is: if you can’t adapt, teaching probably isn’t going to be for you.

Zealous – I wish this was a P, so I could use the word passionate, but then my blog would have to be called “Teach like your CRAPY”. Hahahaha… so Zealous it is!  If you haven’t read the book Teach Like a PIRATE by Dave Burgess, then you are missing out.  He is absolutely correct when he talks about how important passion is in our profession.  If you expect your students to be engaged and motivated to learn what you’re teaching, you better be passionate about it, and if you’re not… fake it ‘til you make it!

Yielding – The word yielding means two different things for a teacher in my mind.  First the word yield can mean to produce or deliver.  So what do teachers yield?  We are hopefully yielding the best possible instruction, lesson plans, activities, assessments, etc. we can.  However, the most important things our classroom yields is students.  We should be producing critical thinkers, knowledgeable citizens, and compassionate little human beings.  Yield can also mean to give way to.  In this sense I think about the need for us to yield some of our power to the students.  Learning to release some control to my students continues to be one of my biggest struggles as a teacher, but I know in my heart how overwhelmingly important it is that I learn to be “the guide on the side” rather than spending most of my time being “the sage on the stage”.  Letting the students take control of their own learning is a rewarding experience all around.

I’m hoping this blog post gave you a little insight into myself as a teacher and for any of you non-teachers or new teachers out there, maybe some ideas about important parts of teaching.  I probably won’t have many blog posts like this, but I thought it was important for y’all to get to know me and what my blog stands for!

What are some important words that you associate with teaching?