The Late Night-Coffee Drinking Ramblings of a 5th Grade Teacher???

    I promised myself that I would faithfully blog at least once a week.  However, just like my resolve to keep up with the laundry, exercise daily, and walk away from the chocolate, it hasn't happened.  The good news is that it is 11:06 pm and laundry is washing, I played some volleyball (that had to have burned at least 3-4 calories!) and  I bought a candy bar today, but didn't eat it most of it. Guess that means I can also blog.  So much time has past, that I don't want to bombard everyone with a massive overload of pictures about things we accomplished, which is phenomenal if I do say so myself. Instead, we will start fresh.  How about an idea for my parents and a teacher tip instead?
    As I was driving between, no joke, school and basketball practice, a dinner with several legislators, and my volleyball game, (Yes, I am amazing: I accomplished all of that plus laundry this evening! LOL!) I was thinking about how I hope to be the teacher that the kids remember fondly. With all of the push for assessments and rigor in the classroom, I don't truly get to know my students as well as in previous years.  It is a really depressing observation, but they are the reason I teach. Not assessments. While I try to attend games, concerts, etc if my kiddos ask, I would really like a chance to get to know them and their families.  So what I am proposing is a monthly dinner night.  Wish I could pay, but well, I'm a teacher not a doctor.  I'm thinking Pizza Hut this month.  I will be calling everyone tomorrow to send out the invite.  Hope to see whole families there and I can't wait to "Get To Know You Better!"
     Here is a teacher idea; you be the judge if it falls under "great."   How many teachers have their "pensives" or thick 3 ring binders filled with classroom observations, student data, and conferring notes? I did, but found myself cramming things in, losing it, and finally started dreading using it. This year I created a clip board with small pieces of paper taped to it, like a file-o-dex.  Student names are in the corner so that I can flip quickly to their sheet.  Writing small, I can get several weeks notes of conferring on the paper.  It makes it easy to visit with the students regarding previous conferring sessions.  When the paper is full, I add it to their file folder and start fresh.  I am adding a picture of my clipboard.  (I covered up their names however, for privacy.)

My Clip Board Conferring Sheets, aka "Life is sure a lot easier without that big bulky notebook,clip board"

       My handy computer clock is now reading 11:28, my contacts are starting to get blurry, and my caffeine energy is finally fading. Of course, I might find some time for Pinterest before the clock strikes midnight.  Good night all, and will "blog" with you soon!