Phillipians 4:8 NLT “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Winter is providing us with a glimpse of spring, filling us with renewed hope. As educators, we have encountered various new experiences like curriculum updates and new faces, yet the essence remains constant with a few modern adaptations. How about infusing a touch of freshness into our traditional methods?
A new perspective can add excitement to our daily routines. Let’s explore areas that could benefit from a makeover: from organizing our spaces and refreshing classroom practices to enhancing the curriculum and improving reading and math resources. Let’s also reimagine our interactions with colleagues. Get ready to embark on this exciting four-part series to shake things up!
Organization
- Layout of your classroom – You have a room that doesn’t work for what you want it to do. Can you create a flow for movement and open space for gathering? Can you create a layout that allows for flexibility and specific areas for content, work space, or materials?
- How can you look at what you have with a fresh lens of movement and clarity?
- Teacher space verse student space – You need more storage for your curriculum and student items. Can you combined some of your items with the student items to create a shared storage space? Do you have a clearly identified area that is just for you? Do your students have a space that they have ownership and a sense of responsibility for?
- With a fresh lens of space, how can you provide an opportunity for responsibility, ownership, and sense of community with shared spaces?
- Visual aides for student self-advocacy and ownership – The space that I have limits what can be hung on the walls and many are too high. How can your wall space be used for student ownership of work and also reference when working? Do your students add resources to the wall space? How can your students have ownership within the classroom for resources and reference material?
- A fresh perspective can open up an opportunity for students to own their learning space rather than just exist in your space.
Classroom Routines and Procedures
- Part 2 will introduce a fresh perspective on tried and true routines and freshen up some procedures with a new lens of student voice.
Reading and Math Manipulatives
- Part 3 will freshen up learning tools with multiple ways of using manipulatives and cutdown the time spent creating new things.
Interactions with our Colleagues
- Part 4 will conclude the series with seeing our colleagues with a lens of purpose and genuine curiosity. This is one of my favorite conversations and deeper dives into learning who people are.