Nature Name: Champion of the Sun

I originally posted this on my personal blog in October, 2014. Since it was school related, I thought I'd post here as well!

Most beautiful moment of peace in the mountains

This is going to be poorly written. I know it, and am sorry. Maybe I'll edit tomorrow but no promises-- I'm so behind on posts and just want to be up-to-date, and this is my last one for the night!

It still is incredible to me that our big 4th grade field trip is taking our students to Switzerland for a week. The trust that must take for our families is so huge, and it really does reap amazing benefits. Last year it was one of my favorite weeks of the year, and this year was no different. 

So much joy!

I've been struggling a little bit because there are so many times with this group of kids that I'm just like, "UGHHH WHY DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO DO THIS!?!?! JUST FIGURE IT OUT!!!!" But since I don't want to scar them for life with memories of a verbally abusive teacher, I just keep that to myself and sweetly and calmly say things like, "What independent step could you take?" or "How could you be a problem-solver?" What I need to keep in mind is that the students I'm comparing them to are end-of-the-year-4th-graders, and these are beginning-of-the-year-4th-graders, and I need to give them a break. 

This week away at camp has such an amazing effect on the students, and they gain so much independence through natural consequences. The examples I give might seem small, but they really are huge for these children. Each morning we go up to the lodge for breakfast before heading out for the day's activities. If a child forgets something, they have to go back down to camp and get it. That will happen about 10 times for each child the first few days: coats, backpacks, water bottles, hiking boots, indoor shoes, etc. are left in rooms and need to be retrieved. If they're forgotten after they've left for the activity, well, they don't have it for the day. The first few days are full of many trips up and down the hill but by the end of the week, everyone remembers what they need. Before dinner each night, the kids have an hour of free time to play with their friends, shower, read, write in journals, or spend time the way they'd like. The choices they make in this time show so much problem-solving; one room set up a shower schedule so nobody missed free-time each day. Another boy spent Wednesday packing so that he wouldn't have to the next day and could spend his last day stress-free. Little things like this truly make an enormous difference in these kids, and I absolutely love seeing them change and grow over the course of the week.

They're not even posing. This actually just happened. I love 4th graders :)

Relaxing after a challenging hike, while the group hops
back and forth over the France/Switzerland boarder

My absolutely favorite part of the week is the hike. Our fourth-graders were split into four groups, with two groups hiking each day. I went with a different group on both days, and met up for lunch and the second half of the hike with the other two. It's not too far of a hike, but takes a while with 10-12 kids in tow. They bring sandwiches they've made themselves, and we picnic halfway through the day. Along the way the kids learn songs, pick flowers, find perfect hiking sticks, learn about the plants that they're seeing, and form new friendships. The most incredible part of the hike comes right after the steepest climb; we hike from Switzerland to France. It's a struggle for many of them (not going to lie, for me as well), but on both days I watched the most athletic little ones rush up to the top of the hill where the border was and cheer on their classmates as each one made it to the top. We played a game where everyone stood in a line in Switzerland, and the counselor would yell "Switzerland" or "France" and the kids would jump back and forth from country to country. It was so amazing!

I take it back- my favorite part is the bond that I develop with the kids throughout the week. These are definitely called "Bonding Trips" for a reason! Being able to see them outside of the classroom lets me see them in a whole new light- their personalities shine as they hike to the top of a mountain and take in the beauty of nature that surrounds them. We say that their counselors become the teachers and teachers become the parents, and I feel like that's pretty accurate- we take on the comforting, hand-holding, nurturing role that they need while away from their parents, and it creates a trust that carries back to the classroom. The learning environment at school is so different when we return. They bond so much with their counselors too- one of my little boys was so sad to be leaving that he couldn't even participate in last day activities; he just wanted to cling to the wonderful lady who had been leading him through the wilderness for the last 5 days! Our week in Torgon is amazing, and we are all so lucky to have it. 

"Field Trip" to Switzerland

I originally posted this on my personal blog in October, 2013. Since it is school related I thought I'd also bring it to this blog!

Most adorable little old couple that I saw walking around all week 

Saint Oyen- Mom and Dad, this is your future town!

When I was in elementary school, field trips were to the museum or planetarium. 

On one particularly exciting Girl Scout outing, we slept at the zoo. At my new school, 4th grade and up takes week long "Bonding Trips" all around Europe, and I was lucky enough to be a part of the trip to Torgon, Switzerland with 34 nine year olds.

Hiking boots and leggings
to work=awesome

For weeks leading up to the trip, the kids asked billions of questions. 

We'd set aside the "Activity" or "Share" time of Morning Meeting (usually, Morning Meeting includes Message, Greeting, Activity, and Share) to talk about what we were excited or worried about for the trip, and for me to answer as many questions as I could. Seeing as I'd never been on the trip either, I didn't always have a ton of answers! We left at 8:15am on Monday morning, waving goodbye to tearful parents. Most of the kids had never even been to a sleepover, so leaving the country for a week was a huge deal! We got pretty lucky on the bus ride- no pukers :) I cant even explain how beautiful the drive was- all mountain views and picturesque villages (Mom and Dad, I found your future town! Saint Oyen, Italy). 

View from the lodge was AMAZING!

Around lunch time, we pulled into Torgon.

There were six wonderful, amazing, fun, helpful counselors (all with awesome nature names!) that divided the kids into three groups. We tried to make the groups so there were an even number from each class, split up any kids that fought (or girls who brought out each others' mean sides!), and weren't sleeping in the same rooms. The actual camp itself was pretty nice. There was a building with a dining room, a little sitting area, and upstairs, a rock climbing wall. Then there was the lodge where we all slept. Dividing them into groups of 4 or 5, where each kid was with at least one person they chose (we had them list 5 people they'd like to be with), kids who fought weren't in the same room, and no one who wasn't a native Italian speaker was stuck alone in a room with all Italians was hard work, but eventually it worked out! The other teachers and I each had our own rooms. For the most part, the rooms were great! The only bad part was that the doors were really hard to open, so I walked into the rooms many times to tell the kids to quiet down only to find someone desperately trying to get the stuck bathroom door open. 

Starting the hike on Day 1.

Monday and Friday were mostly travel, but the teachers and I split up the days so we could be with each group for a day.

Tuesday I went on the hike. The other two days were split into two day time activities but hike day was all day. I'm not really sure what this means in miles (8 maybe?) but about 12km of hike was so much for such little kiddos! It really was incredible though. The mountains were gorgeous, and it was sweet to see how much the kids supported each other. 

One of my little photographers

My absolute favorite part was the solo hike. 

   

I went ahead and the counselor stayed back, sending kids off one by one in minute intervals so they could hike for about 15 minutes alone, listening to the sounds of nature. It was so peaceful! One of my little guys was so sweet; he finished first and as each kid came to the stopping point, he'd meet them to give a high five or a hug and say good job. They all supported each other and were so caring. One little guy was having a lot of trouble and was soooooo slow (my arm hurt so badly the next day from literally dragging/carrying him up the mountain), so they let him set the pace by making him the leader. When he'd stop they'd all start up with encouraging words and congratulating him on how well he was doing. 

Even the cows were cooler in Switzerland!

It was nice to divide up the days because then we'd get to see all of the different activities but also get to know the entire 4th grade and not just our own classes.

One of the best parts for the kids was all of the independence. They got to make their own sandwiches for lunch, and felt so grown up doing it! And while we would tell them they really needed to take showers and brush their teeth, it was mostly up to them (until they got too stinky) when they made the time to do it. They also learned to "Bust a 50" or "Bust a 100" in the woods... It's the little things  that make them happy heehee. 

So cute with their walking sticks. They spent all
week trying to find the perfect one!

I'd love to show all the kids mud facepaint, but I don't
think I'm allowed, so I'll just show mine!

The other two days were full of lots of different groups and activities. 

In "Living With Nature" they learned to make a shelter and build a fire, and in "Earth Works" they learned about ecosystems and played a bunch of fun games. That one they particularly loved, maybe in part because the leader was Italian and would explain things to them in their own language (the other counselors were Portuguese, Hungarian, South African, and two Americans). The next day we went to "Where Are We," where they learned to read and make maps and use a compass, and went rock climbing. 

To me, the most challenging part was being one of the three Mom's to all the kids. 

Fourth grade is at the older end of elementary school, but they still really are such babies! From nannying days, I remember putting one kid to bed is enough of a challenge, but 34? Ahhhh so crazy!!! At the same time, it was one of my favorite parts. It gave me such a different perspective on the children in my class, and helped me to bond with those who weren't. From my class, my strongest little girl was the one who cried the most over missing her parents, and the little boy I hadn't connected much with yet was the one who held my hand during the "Fluffy Clouds" portion of the night, and asked to borrow one of the stuffed animals I brought since he had forgotten his. Fluffy Clouds was AWESOME! One of the other teachers did this visualization technique that put the kids right to sleep. One of the rooms was all my boys, though we did try to prevent any all-one-class rooms. I'm pretty heavy on terms of endearment (I know, you're probably thinking, "You? Really? I don't believe it."), so I'm always calling them my little darlings or little angels. I went into the boys room to say goodnight and they all had glow sticks on their heads like halos and were like, "Look Miss Streisel! We're you're little angels!" Gahhhh I love being a teacher so much!

My little guy in blue congratulated
every kids accomplishments... Love him!

So many new friendships! The girls in the back are both
 in my class, but hadn't bonded until the trip

Anyways, as homesick as some of them were (I literally had to pull a few onto my lap and hold them until the hysterical crying stopped a bunch of times!), they were so sad to leave and loved camp. The bus ride back was also smooth, and although one girl turned completely green (I finally know what people mean when they say that!), there was no throwing up. The only downer was how obsessed with watching "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" the kids were. Isn't that weird? I remember watching it once when I was little, but despite how old it is they all loved it. Probably the most annoying, high pitched movie on Earth. What made it better was hearing their little accents refer to the movie over and over again as "Shitty Shitty Bang Bang." Hehehe. What a week :)

The bus driver saw me trying to take a picture of the beautiful view and stopped for
me to take this one. Whatta guy :)

P.S. If anyone knows privacy laws better than I do, PLEASE let me know if any of the pictures of my kiddos aren't okay. I think back of the head pictures should be fine, but feel free to message me if I'm doing anything wrong!! Grazie mille :)

P.S.S. I crossed the first item off of "The List!" Woohoo! Eating chocolate in Switzerland: Completed. 

Genius Hour: The Adventure Begins!

I am BEYOND excited to share with you something we're adding to our weekly routine! 

After reading about Genius Hour all over Pinterest and various teaching blogs, I was hooked; it encompasses so much of what I love about teaching! Genius Hour is based on Google's 20% policy, where Google gives their employees 20% of their work time to focus on their own projects. The thought behind this is that if employees are passionate about what they're working on, productivity will improve. If the rumors are true, Google was right- amazing resources we all know and use (Gmail, anyone?) have come out of this initiative! In the classroom, Genius Hour is a time given to students, usually about an hour each week, to focus on their own Passion Projects, exploring and investigating topics that fascinate them.  

In both undergraduate and graduate school, we were asked to write our 'Philosophy of Education.' I remember researching all different theories and ideas, but what stuck with me most were two quotes:

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." Albert Einstein

"The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards." Anatole France

In my mind, those two ideas were going to guide my teaching, and that is still my hope and the words that guide me. Above all else, I hope students leave my classroom loving to learn. My long-winded point here is that I believe Genius Hour does just that; it involves students in learning in a meaningful, exciting, authentic way. Passion Projects engage students in their own curiosity, drawn in by their desire to know more. 

Anyways, enough chatter, and onto Room 213's first Genius Hour!

Sometimes my excitement has unfortunate consequences and I'm unable to keep secrets. It's not so bad; I can keep those of others, but never my own! Long story short (something new for me), I blabbed about Genius Hour a few weeks earlier than I intended. Their reactions were amazing, and their enthusiasm infectious! Even though I accidentally spilled the beans back in December, I treated our first 'official' Genius Hour like it was truly our first. 

We began our session by watching Kid President's hilariously inspiring 'Pep Talk,' and talked about what Kid President's message for us was. Our take away: never give up, keep trying, make the world awesome, do something! I told them that we were going to be starting something extra awesome in our class, and showed a quick PowerPoint introducing the idea of Genius Hour- their reactions were everything I could have hoped for-- there was actual cheering! Needless to say, the questions were ENDLESS! They wanted to know everything: Could they work with a partner (no)? When would we do it (Friday afternoons)? When were projects due (we'll see)? Could it be about Pokemon (depends...)? Honestly, I didn't have answers for all of their questions yet- as it's my first time with Passion Projects too, I want to see how this one goes and let it evolve naturally!

After the PowerPoint, we went through the guidelines for the project.

Many already knew what they wanted to study, and nearly everyone surprised me. I had them go through a brainstorming activity, where they thought about what they loved doing, learning about, and wished they knew more about. The idea is still very foreign to them, and I think that they don't quite believe me that they can do their projects on anything they want as long as it is guided by a question, is researched, and presented. If they finished during our hour they could move on to submitting a formal proposal, convincing me that they should be given class time to work on their projects. I also had everyone, even if they finished, take their brainstorms and proposals home to talk over with their parents.

I love how focused and excited everyone was! One of my boys is very new to English (he moved from Korea this past summer), and though we spend a lot of time working one-on-one, and he goes to ELL lessons each day, I still worry that he isn't picking up on what we're doing always. Luckily, one of my girls is also from Korea and a complete rockstar- she spent half of the time sitting with him, going back and forth between Korean and English, helping him understand the project, and working with him to create a mini-dictionary for his topic (words on his list included leopard, leopards, cubs, hunter, and hunting)... in addition to being fantastic to see students helping other students, it was also a great lesson in plurals/nouns/verbs for him! Woohoo!

Anyways, I am PUMPED and hope that my students find a topic that they're as passionate about as I am about Genius Hour! You can find all of the materials I am using in my Genius Hour: Explore Your Passions! packet on Teachers-Pay-Teachers. 

My students added their inquiry questions to the heater/board (I'm out of bulletin board space!) as they had their ideas
approved. There are still a number who need to finalize their ideas! I'll post a list of our questions next week :)

Reestablishing Classroom Community After a Break

The first day back at school after two and a half weeks of relaxation and family fun... ahhhhhh. 

If your students are anything like mine, it's a very exciting day where everyone is very excited to see each other, but also a little nutty and restless. With four students still on vacation, and a new student who arrived a week early (I already adore her- she is the sweetest little girl from Saudi Arabia!), I wanted to find a way to ease us back into school routines and expectations, while putting us back into a community frame of mind. 

At the beginning of the year we did an activity that I found on Pinterest (I can't find it again! If you know who originally posted the idea, please let me know so that I can give credit!) and will keep a part of my beginning-of-the-year routine for years to come. Before the students came in I hung posters around the room, each headed with one of the following questions:

1. Our classroom should be ___________ everyday. 
2. School is important because...
3. What should students in our class do to help our class run smoothly?
4. To reach my goals this year, I need to make sure I...
5. What does Miss Streisel need to do to help you learn and grow?

Three of the girls deciding on classroom expectations

We spent some time moving between posters independently with a marker, adding initialed ideas to each poster, and then talked about our ideas before setting our hopes and dreams and our classroom rules. 

Today I brought the posters back out and again hung them around the room. I told them about how much I love the beginning of a new year, my birthday, and a new school year because they're all times to look at where I am, think about what I love about my life, and what new goals I want to set for myself. The same is true for our classroom- a new year is the perfect time to reassess our community and our environment! This time, I told them that they could add a new idea to each poster, or they could find their idea from the beginning of the year and leave themselves a comment. After a little while, two little angel girls came over and told me that they were finished, and asked if they knew who had written certain comments and had seen them do very well on something or work hard on a goal, if they could leave them a 'good job!' message. I love these thoughtful little bambinos (bambini... sorry... I like the sound of bambinos...). Afterwards, we had a great talk about how we'd move forward this year. Hopefully in the next few months, our classroom will become/continue-to-be the joyful, fun, organized, tidy, creative, and kind classroom my students need!

Bright Ideas: When You Need Three Extra Minutes

With last year being my first year teaching, I often found myself needing a few extra minutes to read over a lesson plan, gather materials, or just pull myself together. I found a quick, easy way to keep the kids engaged and give myself those extra few minutes. 

More often than not, my students are anywhere but their desks. We usually meet on the carpet in front of the whiteboard, and when asked to meet, the first question they ask me is always, "Circle, rows, or blob?" Circle is self-explanatory, rows are facing the whiteboard, and blob is usually facing my read-aloud chair. For this activity, I have my students meet in a circle and call on one student to be the teacher. I give my teacher (with the rest of the class listening) a question to reflect on. The teacher has his or her classmates raise their hands to reflect on the question. For my more shy students (or language learners), simply calling on classmates is more than enough of a responsibility. For the leaders of the classroom, they love offering feedback to their classmates. To be considered for the position of teacher next time (this happens a few times a week), students need to behave exactly as they would if their real teacher (me) were a part of the circle. This means raising hands to be called on, staying on topic, and actively listening to their peers. Being the teacher is a highly coveted position, so everyone is typically on best behavior during this activity.

You can have students reflect on anything you want. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. What is one fact you've learned so far about landforms/inventors/explorers/what-ever-your-current-unit-of-study-topic-is?
2. What book are you currently reading?
3. What are the properties of a polygon?
4. What strategy could you use for solving a given math problem?
5. What features might you find in a non-fiction text?
6. What is your CAFE goal or strategy and how are you working towards it?
7. What did we work on yesterday in math?
8. Give one fact you've learned about the Scientist of the Month. 
9. What book are you currently reading? What do you like about it so far?

It is usually an academically based question, but sometimes is also social curriculum related. In our school, we use Responsive Classroom and focus on a value each month, so sometimes the question is based on those ideas.

1. How will you stay balanced this month?
2. What does active listening look like?
3. What went well during our last activity (or recess/art/cleanup/etc.)?
4. What are our classroom rules? Why is that rule important?

Sometimes we also use this time for peaks and valleys or compliments and appreciations. More on those at a later date!