The PoINt

A variety of my attention getters for my 4th graders. 😎✨🎥Credit : mr_napoles 🍎 Like our page Magical Teachers for more teaching ideas and methods. A team of teachers sharing the highs, lows and honest aspects of teaching! #teachertable #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofig #teachersofthegram #teacherlife #teachergram #iteach #iteachtoo #iteachfirst #happyclassrooms #targetteachers #teacherblogger #teacherspayteachers #classroomorganization #classroomlibrary #teach #teacherstyle #classroominspiration #firstgrade #teacherootd #teacher #teachers #teacherfollowloop #teachertribe #teachertips #teacherideas #teacherfriends #teachertalk #teachergram

A gentle reminder to never underestimate the impact you have on your students. ❤️

(via Rainbow Sprinkle Studio)

I don't know about you, but the longer I'm in the field, the more I realize there is so much more to learn, reflect upon, and tweak as I go and grow.

I wanted to get more personal with you and share some of my most recent practices that I've tweaked over the last few years (with the "why," of course!):

I no longer redirect children to the carpet for circle time/morning meetings. I did this throughout my entire career. It seemed like an expected norm. Something I HAD to do and achieve, otherwise I wasn't an effective teacher. Truth is, an effective teacher is a receptive teacher.

- Preschoolers & younger should not be made to sit still and focus for an extended period.
- You can force a child to sit, but you can't force intrinsic motivation, nor can you force learning.
- If a child isn't truly engaged and worrying the whole time about regulating their body, what's the point?
- I don't want to single out or make children who are struggling to meet an unrealistic expectation feel embarrassed or ashamed.
- So much time is wasted in redirecting children.

So now, I still hold these meetings, but I make an announcement inviting children to join if they'd like. I continue to keep it engaging, which leads to most, if not all, children coming over and staying anyway. I read the room, and go with the flow. If the majority of the children are really engaged, I keep it going. If children need to move more on this particular day, less engaged, keep it short and revisit tomorrow. Be flexible and receptive - this keeps rapport up as well, and keeps you less frustrated when the meeting doesn't go as anticipated.

Seasonal Themes.. So I'll DEFINITELY explore and help guide them, but ONLY if the children show me they're genuinely interested in them. I can't tell you how many apple, pumpkin, winter, etc. investigations I've prompted. And I can't tell you how many times the children were far more interested in something else, but I highlighted and planned for seasonal experiences instead because I felt it was expected of me.

If children are talking about leaves changing colors, apple/pumpkin picking, etc. - sure! Let's run with it! But if I notice they're having a ball with glue and tape (for example), we're most likely emphasizing "things that stick" and expanding upon it - I don't care if every other class is in the middle of their apple taste testing/tallying. I'm following what the children are showing me they're genuinely interested in, as nothing beats intrinsic motivation when it comes to deep & meaningful learning.

Asking children open-ended questions during their play - this one I did A LOT! I thought this was really great and I was really scaffolding higher-level thinking. So what's wrong with this? The more and more I respected children's play and truly saw it as their work, the more I realized, "wow... I must be annoying." I mean, imagine, you're in the middle of your work, and someone kept interrupting your train of thought by asking a bunch of questions.

I don't care if they're open-ended or close-ended, they're probably distracting. So now, I stand back and observe from a comfortable distance. I assess when I should take notes/photos, and if a child engages me, then I will lead with the open-ended questions for more information (when applicable). And/or if they've worked on something for some time, I may circle back to it at a later time with a "I noticed you worked so hard on this. I'm curious to learn more about what you were doing here."

Lastly, offering new experiences/ activities/ provocations all the time. Woof, another one I really struggled with. I'd always want to offer new activities and experiences, almost daily. I wanted the families to feel like their children are getting all these diverse & rich learning experiences. But again, I was leading more with what I thought the adult would prefer over what was developmentally appropriate and meaningful for the children.

Children absolutely and undoubtedly require loads of repetition to process concepts, language, and skills. Providing the same experience over and over again may admittedly seem boring to adults, but these experiences aren't meant for us. They're for the children. Revisiting experiences contributes to practice, recollection skills, planning, mastery, focus, attention, creative and innovative thinking (as new ideas on something familiar can begin to surface), etc.

We all have room to improve and grow! Don't be afraid of change - no growth happens in our comfort zone. Some questions to consider:

Am I driven by developmentally appropriate practice or adult/peer expectations/preferences?
What is going well in my room? What makes it work?
What is hard in my room? What adjustments can I try/make?
Am I adjusting the curriculum each year to meet the unique group of children I work with, or doing the same thing I've always done?
Am I racing through experiences, doing themes of the week, etc.? How can I slow down the process?
Am I picking an investigation/unit/activity based on what I think is "cute"/expected or what the children are showing a genuine interest in?
How does my classroom look and feel? How may this affect how children feel/engage in the different spaces?
Are product-driven crafts plaguing the classroom, or is the process of learning more-so highlighted?

Teaching is constant reflection and change, but I think that's what also keeps it so interesting!

Also, I know many educators have their hands tied with several of these things, and are required to follow practices they do not agree with. I'm very sorry if this is your experience. Sadly, I feel many of these restrictions and expectations are putting a tremendous strain on the field, as developmentally inappropriate practice is making school life a dreadful experience for both teachers and children. But hopefully with more and more conversations, we can help sway and change traditional, dated, and ineffective practices.

Bismillah wal hamdulillah. Tahun baru semangat baru....insya Allah akan membersamai tim hebat pada sesi motivasi dan pelatihan dalam rangkaian kegiatan rapat kerja KB TK Shidqia semester 2 tahun pelajaran 2021/2022, dengan topik "Mengasah Keterampilan Guru Abad 21" bersama narasumber Bapak Agus Abdurrohman, S.Ag,, M.M. {Praktisi Pendidikan). Semoga Allah memberi kemudahan dan keberkahan, serta menjadikan sebagai ilmu yang bermanfaat. Aamiin