Getting Ready for the Week

Being a teacher is a whole lot more than what happens from 7:30-3:30 on Mondays through Fridays. That is just when you are "on stage". This post is not about the prep work - gathering materials, writing plans, researching curriculum, grading assessments, etc. It is about the necessity of reflection. It's a mental process that, today, looks something like this:  1.  How can I engage early arrivers in authentic learning for a short period of time until the others arrive?  2.  How can I best partner students to work productively in stations?  3.  How can I better incorporate mini-lessons on rhyming and letter recognition throughout the day to provide the needed repetition to select students who need it?  4.  How can I make the day flow better while incorporating more "sing-song" style basic skills review activities?  5.  How can I encourage the quieter students to speak up more and be more expressive?  6.  Even though most students are ready for formal daily entries in a journal, how can I ease the transition for those who are not quite there yet?  7. How can I motivate them to "try their best" in all tasks?  8.  How can I incorporate more meaningful small motor challenges into the daily routine?  9.  How can I differentiate math class better by creating problem- solving activities with higher-level questioning into the daily lesson?  10.  How can I encourage deeper thinking in our discussions?  Now, to begin forming a few ideas... Monday morning is coming!!! 🌞