Are You a Clean Desk Club Classroom?

I’m a proud member of the clean desk club! I was throughout school and still (somewhat) continue to be. 

As an elementary school student, I felt so much pride as a member of the clean desk club, as I’m sure many do! But what about those students that aren’t part of it? 

Becoming a mom and spending time teaching has widened my view of the clean desk club. I have one child who will clean and organize all day every day if I let her, and while I haven’t seen her desk at school, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was part of the clean desk club at any given moment, too. 

On the other hand, I have a child whose brain just does not work in a way where things around him are organized or clean. The more chaotic his surroundings, the better he does in general. 

What I’ve learned is that some people just genuinely don’t want or need their workspace to be clean. 

So why is the clean desk club a thing? Or desk cleaning days? Or teachers micromanaging the state of their student’s desks?

My first thought is that the teachers doing this know they are more productive when they are organized and tidy, so they feel like their students will be the same. However, we have to also consider the teacher’s needs as well as the students, maybe it’s taking time out of their day to constantly have to wait on students who are searching a messy desk for a paper or book. 

How can we as teachers find the balance between a well-run classroom, while also giving our students space to be themselves and feel comfortable in the classroom? 

Allot the time to your students who need it to find items in their desks. Give them an early heads-up to start their search while you finish up other miscellaneous tasks. 

Minimize the space your students have to keep tidy to cut down on clutter. A teacher I know got rid of desks in her classroom and switched her students to tables. They have their pencil boxes, a shelf in the classroom with book boxes for their books, and a spot in their coat cubby for papers. Everything has a place and it’s easy to eliminate clutter when there’s no space for it. 

Stop praising the clean desks. This automatically places shame and guilt on those with messy desks, which is not helpful for those students. 

Have real conversations with your students, ask them what their needs are. Do they like clean desks? Do they work better with messy desks? How can you work together as a classroom so that everyone wins? 

What is your stance on the clean desk club? 

School Affirmations Round Three

Last month we featured a post of affirmations for students to use at school. We also have a list of Back to School Affirmations. They were so popular that I knew right away we needed a part three. 

Affirmations can be so important to us when our bodies are feeling one way, but we need to remind ourselves what is important and who we are. They may be awkward at first to say to ourselves, but given practice and time, it can 

“When I want to shrink, I choose to expand” 

“I deserve to take up space” 

“I am enough”

” I am not responsible for others happiness” 

” I can feel hard feelings until they pass” 

“I can have restarts. I can try again. Mistakes help me grow” 

” I am doing warrior work” 

“I own peace and presence in all circumstances”

” I am brave” 

” I can communicate my needs clearly” 

” I am capable of moving forward” 

“I am still learning. I deserve grace” 

“I hold serenity and peace” 

” I am a champion” 

” I can feel frustrated and be calm.”

“My voice matters” 

“I embrace change and welcome challenges”

” I have the knowledge and space to overcome any obstacle I face”

Putting Homework in the Child’s Hands

Homework… it can be such a tricky topic! There is little research that shows homework being effective for children in elementary-aged classrooms. Upon a quick Google search, “Is homework effective for elementary-aged students?” There are pages of results full of articles denying that homework is academically effective. 

So as a teacher or a parent with higher-ups enforcing homework in the classroom, what can you do? 

Change the role of homework, stop seeing it as academic advancement, and start seeing it as an opportunity for students to build their self-awareness, self-fulfillment, and responsibility. And we do this by putting the homework in the child’s hands. 

This means as teachers we are encouraging parents to remind, but not nag, about the homework. 

It means, if possible, grading based on completion and participation instead of correctness. 

It means giving the responsibility of the homework, completion, and bringing it back and forth from home to school, to the child and not the teachers or the parents. 

It’s doing our best to teach them the intrinsic motivation of learning and practicing by watching them accomplish more and do better with the work they have put into their studies. 

It can also mean starting the conversation with your principal and superintendent about the research on homework in younger grades and seeing if you can help change school policies. 

In the end, putting the homework in the child’s hands and letting them take control of their learning can bring them more benefits later than actually doing the homework will.

School Test Scores Won’t Tell You the Important Things

We moved to a new area about a year ago. We relocated to a rural farming community of about 2,700 people. For the sake of this blog post, let’s call the town Smallville. In this community, there is one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school, and that encompasses the entire school district. 

During our period of searching for homes, I also spent time researching schools in each town and area that we were considering moving to. Of all the cities we possibly could have chosen, Smallville was last on my list because the school rankings for the district were… well… not great. In fact, they were some of the lowest. 

But lo and behold, we ended up in Smallville. With my oldest starting kindergarten just three months after moving there, I was in constant worry about what we should do for school. Should we keep her at Smallville Elementary or drive her to one of the surrounding town’s schools each day? Every passing day throughout the summer it was constantly on my mind. 

We ultimately decided to keep her at Smallville Elementary at least for her first year of school, see how the year would go, and then move her to a new school for first grade if needed. 

After her first full year of school, I was absolutely humbled. Sure, the school rankings on the Idaho State Department of Education website weren’t favorable for Smallville by any means. But do you know what the website doesn’t tell you? 

It doesn’t tell you about the principal that is outside each and every morning and afternoon, no matter the weather, helping the teachers manage school drop-off and pick-up lines. 

It doesn’t tell you about the kindergarten teachers and how every single one of them loves their students something fierce and will do anything to help the students succeed. 

It doesn’t tell you about the first-grade teachers organizing a fundraiser all on their own to help raise money for a field trip. 

The website doesn’t ever mention the school janitor that helps your daughter clean up her spilled lunch box off the floor of the cafeteria and then comforts her when she is in tears from embarrassment. 

There aren’t stats for what a community bonding experience it is to attend a high school basketball game and have everyone come together for the evening, catch up, and rally together to cheer our athletes on to victory. 

Never once did the website mentions how the superintendent, principal, and teacher would bend over backward when you make the difficult decision to pull your child from school temporarily and give distance learning a try

It doesn’t tell you about the text your child’s teacher will send you in the middle of the school day, “I noticed your child was struggling with a specific math skill, I sent home some classroom manipulatives she can work with this week to help her.” – Classroom manipulatives that the teacher surely purchased herself. 

It doesn’t tell you the important parts of the school. 

The website can show statistics of test scores all day long, but what it can never show you is what an incredible community you gain in any one specific school, or in our case, one specific school district. 

Going to school is based on academics, but that’s not our only goal at the end of their 12+ years in those hallways and classrooms. The goal is to raise good humans that know how to problem solve, interact with others, be a friend, have empathy, and more. 

I’m grateful for our little Smallville school district and I’m even more grateful that we didn’t try to send our child away from such a community-driven school, regardless of what the test scores said. 

Dear Students,

You’re walking through my doors for the start of the school year soon. You’re not the same kid you were a few months ago when you left for summer break. You’re bigger, stronger, and smarter. 

I know you may feel so small and not ready to be in this classroom, but let me tell you- you are needed here. You have a place, a desk, a seat in here. And you are more than ready to start this school year in this classroom. 

This year you’ll make new friends, meet new teachers, and explore the walls of not only our classroom but our school. You are here to make your mark and take up space, and I cannot wait to see how your school year unfolds! 

I am excited to meet you and get to know you and your heart. I cannot wait to learn more about you, what your favorites are, and how your mind learns. 

This school year we’ll not only build a classroom, but we’ll also build a family. And you are an important part of our classroom family. 

I can’t wait to see you. 

Sincerely, 

Your Teacher ❤️

Beat Spring Fever: Bring the Outdoors Inside

Spring fever is hitting hard in our town, school is out in three weeks and everyone is ready for summer vacation. One of my favorite ways to combat spring fever is to bring the outdoors inside. Flowers are blooming and the weather is nice, so naturally we gravitate toward the growth. Instead of suppressing this, why not embrace it? Here are a few ways to bring the outdoors in: 

Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-classroom-without-student-8500643/

Plant something: Have each student plant their own vegetables or flowers to grow in the classroom, or have several classroom plants that students help care for. Our kindergarten planted six different plants in cardboard egg cartons. Once they started popping through the soil, they were sent home to be planted. These individual sections can be cut apart from each other and planted directly into the ground for continued growth. 

Open the windows: This may or may not work in your particular classroom. But if you’re able, slide open the curtains, open up the windows, and let the sunshine and fresh air fill your room! 

Add potted plants: Large, potted plants that grow in your home or classroom year-round can be pulled from the corners and brought out to more loved places in the classroom. Near your reading nook would be a great place! 

Photo by Madison Inouye: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-potted-houseplants-2894950/

Create a rock garden: Are children just predisposed to collect rocks like it’s their full-time job? Or just my kids? Put that skill to use! Find an area in your classroom to create a rock garden. Paint rocks for the rock garden if the time and space allow you to! 

Hatch a Butterfly: There are different programs and companies you can go through online to order a butterfly hatching kit. How exciting is it for students to watch the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly right before their eyes?! 

Create bug habitats: Research the best habitat for a specific bug and work together to create an ideal habitat for them to live in your classroom. 

Paint bug rocks: Another way to utilize those never-ending rocks is to paint them to look like bugs and add these rock pets to your classroom. 

Make a dirt sensory bin: If sensory bins are a part of your classroom, consider adding a sensory bin full of dirt, rocks, and small shovels. Sand can also work as well. 

What have you done in your classroom to bring the outdoors inside? 

Dear Future Teacher Me

Dear Future Teacher Me, 

I know it’s been a few years since you graduated with your teaching degree and received your teaching license (OKAY it’s been more than a few.) But someday you’ll find yourself back in the classroom teaching again when it feels suitable for your family. Someday you will walk through those doors to set up your own classroom instead of walking your own to theirs. 

And someday when that day comes, there are things you need to remember to carry with you that you learned during your time as a parent in the school setting instead of a teacher. 

Remember that all you ever want is what’s best for your kids. So when it feels like a parent won’t get off your back about something, remember that really all they want is what’s best for their child. 

Remember that you’re doing the best you can to support your children’s teachers, but sometimes it’s hard to be as supportive as possible because your life is busy and there’s a lot going on. So someday when you feel like you’re not getting enough support in your classroom, remember that these parents have multiple children and jobs and responsibilities. Their time to volunteer may not be right now. 

Remember that every day you send your children to school and worry immensely about their safety, but also place a lot of trust in the teachers and staff of the school to do everything they can to keep them safe. Remember this, because someday parents will be sending their kids to you and expecting the same. 

Remember that you think so highly of your kid’s teachers and are constantly impressed by what they are able to create and do in their classrooms and that someday, parents will think the same of you. 

Remember that you often forget to convey your gratitude and appreciation for your kid’s teachers and that parents will forget just the same. But that doesn’t mean the gratitude and appreciation aren’t there. 

Most of all, remember that you love your own kids, but you’ll also love your students like they are your own kids, too. Someday, you’ll make a great teacher. You may not have been teaching in a classroom for the last several years, but you’ve done your fair share of teaching with the children in your home, and that experience will carry over to your classroom someday, too. 

You’ve got this.