So you're a teacher, now what?

As one year comes to a close teachers are busy preparing for the next.

It goes to show you that teachers never are off.  The Summer is a time to rejuvenate, evaluate, reflect and plan for the upcoming school year.

As I clean up and declutter my classroom,  I find resources to use to improve my craft and become better at being a better teacher.

So what do I have?

How about thinking about classroom management to start with one of the things students struggle with is believing in themselves.  This year I came across that so often and not just in the classroom.  My own daughter has struggled so much that she gets discourage and down on herself.  So I promised my self that next year I was going to start the year of  with discuss and

Fixed  vs Growth Mindset:

I think it is important that students understand that mistakes are valued and that they have to speak positive thoughts over themselves.  So   I found resources that describes the difference between the two as well as show it looks like.  How will you give students a leg up?  How will you inspire your students and your own kids.  I talk to my daughter a lot and it seems to be working, but it is an everyday thing.  So I thought about my own classroom and realized that if a student has been struggling their whole academic lives, that at a certain point that fixed mindset has become the reality for them. So what do we do as educators and parents?

We create situations and activities that allow them to feel some success,.

We provide scaffolds to  help them reach the levels that must be met to be successful

We give the praise for their efforts, 

We praise what they can do, not criticize what they can;t do

Another thing that has become a pressing concern of mine is the need to build students vocabulary banks.  As a fourth grade teacher, who takes 3 state mandate assessments.  I became aware  that it wasn't that the kids didn't know the answers, they didn't recognize  a lot of the vocabulary.  It is obvious that we need to focus on teaching Synonyms and Metaphors to students, as well as do a better job of exposing students to vocabulary.  I started planning how to start at the beginning of the year exposing students to words.  How do we do that?  We have to make sure we create an opportunity for students to Read in class.  As a Reading/LA teacher I plan to do just that.    

Resources that I utilize to help with my vocabulary instruction:

I plan  make sure to utilize my Word Study Block more efficiently.  By setting up the materials that will allow students to play  with and make words.  I plan to use my small groups to do explicit vocabulary instruction.  Utilize my spelling inventories to better guide my instructional planning as well.

The third thing that came to my mind as I clean and declutter my room is how to better use the time I have to better serve all of my students at their individual levels.  I propose to make more use of a timer, small groups and independent time for students to read and write more in class.  I propose as educators that we study our curriculum and determine what they have to know  to be successful in the current grade level.   However,  we also have to look to resources that represents the grade level  the students are currently  working  and utilize them.  IF we want to change the mindset of our students we have to make sure that they will be successful.  If they feel successful then they will work harder, then their mindsets will began to change.  It all goes hand in hand.

As educators,  we have to step back and reflect often.  What type of mindset do we have?  What are our beliefs about how students learn? What are willing to do to insure that learning is attainable by all students?  What is our role as educators?  

This Summer I plan to make list, to plan, to research, to study, to read, to prepare, evaluate and reflect on just what type of teacher  I want to become.  After 17 years of teaching,  I realize that times change, people change, things change, so I need to keep changing.  The only way to do that is through a Mind  Shift.

What is your Mind  Set?

My Mom is a teacher, Now What?

As the year winds down,  I reflect on how my year went,  I look at students progress, I make adjustment and modifications for next year,  I go thorough all my check list and then the thought hits me.

How often as teachers, that our own families and lives are put on the back burner for the job we been called to do .   I was sitting filling out blue and pink cards for students grade placements and was watching my daughter sit and stare at me from one of my students desk.

As a teachers child, she attend all events whether she wants to or not, she has to stay after all her friends leave for the day, she is often in attendance of staff meetings and stuck in my classroom until I decide to pry myself away from my desk.

I looked over at her and asked, "what's wrong, you ready to go?"  She goes, " Yea,  but I know we can't leave until your done."  She grabs a computer and begins to play games and look at Netflix.  I smile and think to myself what an awesome child.


It is so often that we as teachers have to grade papers, attend professional development, stay late at school and make decisions that affect not only the students in our classes but our own kids.  We take our work home with us everyday.    I really am impressed with how well she accepts what being a teacher's child encompasses.

She works hard all day in her classroom, and then has to come and look at my classroom.  Being a teachers child is a daunting task.  She has to contend with the fact that I know what is happening in the class, I know what she should be doing, I know what is being sent home, I know when she is having an issue.   How do I know all this you say.  She is in the same grade level as I teach.  As if  having a mom as a teacher isn't enough, she is on the same grade level as her mom.  She acts as if she doesn't mind, but I am sure it does.  It has just become the norm for her.


I asked her did she like being a teacher's child she said it was rough.  I found that the kids make fun of her, they call her the teacher's pet because they think she gets favoritism and she has to contend with my actions and words to the other students in the fourth grade.  I often see her go into a huddle and move out of sight when I began to give directives or correct  a student.  It is so funny, but at the same time probably embarrassing as well.  She has to deal with the backlash the next day.  I try remember that.

I love her being at the same school because I have her close and don't have to worry about how she will get home.  On the other hand,  I don't want her to rely on me to step in when she is upset or having issues.  We talk daily about her problem solving and not looking to me to step in or fix the issues.  It started out rough but is getting better.  One more year with me, then off to middle school alone.  I am trying to get her equipped with the skills and tools she will need because I want be there to fall back on like now.

So just like teaching I have to find a balance.  We talk about the expectations for her as a student versus the expectations for her as my child.  We talk about the difference between me as mom and me as the teacher. She sees a part of me that she doesn't see at home.  She sees the firm, no holds bar disciplinarian, who has high expectations for students and want let them make excuses for things.  She says  sometimes I scare her, she doesn't recognize the person I am at school.

I laugh and ask the difference.  She told me at home  your funny, fun and act goofy.  At school,  you are serious and  direct.  I said, "good."  I explained to her as a teacher, I wear many hats, just like at home.  I also talk to her about how sometimes the way I wear the hat is presented differently.  A teacher's job is never done. I also have come to realize that I can't help her with homework,  because I know the curriculum and what is expected.  This causes me to be harder and push her towards the expected behavior when it comes to school work.  I realized she wanted me to be Mommy not Mrs. Lawson.  I had to step back and let my colleagues do the education and I provide the support and motivation.  


I say all this to say,  I appreciate both of my daughters.  The eldest attended college with me and put up with a working mom of two jobs and night school.  She grew up to be a very loving and supportive 21 year old that I am so proud of.  She  will be a Senior in the new school year.  She has been my rock and champion. She helped me to reach my dreams by not complaining about the time she spent in college classrooms, she cheered when I graduated, and she was the best little helper when I started teaching.  She too endured being at the same school with me.  I appreciate my 10 year old because she had endured long days and nights at the school house when other kids are home in regular clothes, watching T.V., outside or doing fun things besides sitting in  a classroom waiting for me to release and leave.

Teaching is a calling,  I get called mom a lot.  I realize now that I am a mom, doctor, counselor, friend, sister and teacher to not just my daughters but to the many students that I have taught over the years.   However, it is the two above that make the ultimate sacrifice.  Thank you Regina and Brittany.


I teach because I love it,  I teach because I care.  I became a parent because I have so much love to give and because I care.  I was called to teach, So I teach.  So Mom is a teacher, Now what.

I Teach

What is a teacher to me?

T-    Totally dedicated to her mission to create             life long learners

E-    Eager to learn with the students

A-    Always willing to be flexible

C-    Cares about the whole child

H-    Helps in any way he/she knows how

E-    Enthusiastic about what I teach

R-    Ready for anything

A teacher's job is never done

It's the end of the school year, I am dreading taking down  my classroom.  What about you?

Well here are some things you could start doing now so you want be overwhelmed  and running around the last week of school.

1.  Classroom helpers-   Get a group of trusted students  to start making  and label file folders  for the stacks of papers that you have on your desk or guided reading table.

2.  Bulletin Boards:  Start taking down the ones that have multiple parts and possibly post a large poster or chart if you just hate for it to be bare.
      As for me and my class, they are coming down for STAAR testing, so It won't be going back up.


3.  Libraries(Reading Teachers)  give a basket  to each students and have them to help you to reorganize them according to the labels on them.

4   Start labeling and organizing math manipulative's, ( I use Tupperware dishes,  and jars)

5.  Start collecting Guided Reading books ( we have classroom sets for our Reading Curriculum and a Book room as well)

6.   Start storing all old teachers  editions in the cabinets.

7.  Place all things you know have to be inventoried or turned into someone in one area.

8.  Turn in all those library resources you haven't returned yet.

9.  Gather all your teachers editions and place them in the cabinets

10.  Start thinking about things you need to work on or read for the Summer and create a pile somewhere in the class.

Create a checklist of all the things you have to do before the end of school year and post somewhere visible.( computer screen, desk top even in the corner of the dry erase board)


So the year is over and you want a break.  You deserve a break.  How about a vacation, whether it is a long one, short one or a weekend.  Get away and relax .  How about treating yourself to a spa day, or a movie night alone, or just go for a long walk to the park and sit and read a good book.  These are just some of the things I will do.


What am I doing this Summer?

I am teaching Summer school.  I know don't even say anything. I also plan to set up my classroom  this Summer.  I know, I know.  Your saying what is up with this chick.  I love to study teks, read books, lesson plans and teach in the Summer.  Well,  I do.  Sue me. I'm weird.  I like to drive the Custodian crazy, showing up to see if he has done my room so I can start setting it. up.  I love to set my class up in the summer because I have the time to do so.  I can set it up, move things around and modify and adjust things.


I also plan to work on creating more products for my TPT store and posting to my facebook and instagram pages.  check them out and follow me for more ideas, tips and resources for teachers.

www.teacherspayteachers.com/store/Ready-Readers.
www.facebook.com/rhonda.educates.5
www.instagram.com/Educ8tes

So, why do I set up my room in the Summer?  If your district is like ours, that first week without the kids is filled with PD.  I might see my classroom 1 hour out of the whole day.  That last day, is our  Meet, Greet, and Peek night where parents  and students come and check out their classrooms and parents get a chance to meet the teacher.  That day is for us to set up our classrooms, but as usual things don't ever go as plan in a teacher's life.


So how do I relax in the Summer?  When do I take off the teacher's hat?


 I go to Arkansas and visit my family for a week or so.  I go and we barbecue, we hangout, I get to catch up with family and friends I haven't seen in a while.  I get to eat from my favorite places.  I can't wait until July to eat some Shot gun's deep pan pizza, to get some real catfish steaks, to have breakfast with my family at I-hop and to store hop with my sister.  So you see.  I will have a Summer.  I just mix business with pleasure.  I create that  balance I talked about in an earlier blog.


So tell me what are your plan this Summer?  Leave me comment below.

So you're a teacher, Now What?

As I write each blog,  I hope to give you a better understanding of just how much work goes into being a teacher, and allows you to see the journey through my eyes.  Every one's experience is different.  My hope is to provide resources, tips,  advice and support to my fellow teachers and to allow others to understand that teaching is not as simple as they paint it out to be in their minds.


If your interested in pictures of some of the things I discussed check out these sites:

follow my instagram page:   www.Instagram.com/mrseduc8te,
join my facebook page:  www.facebook.com/rhonda.educates.5
Follow and view my TPT store:   www.teacherspayteachers.com/Ready-Readers


The school year is coming to an end, now what?

So with everything  we need to do to close out the school year, the state leaders decided it wasn't enough.   We have to prepare the students to take the State STAAR test.   What a joke?   It isn't bad enough that we have people who are not educators making up the test, now they don't have a clue as why it shouldn't be given at the end of the school year. Well,  let me tell you why,   the kids are basically on Summer mode, rowdy, checked  out  and ready for the year to be up.  Yet,  you want me  get them to focus for a state test. I have to figure out how to keep them focused and engaged. So what do I do to get them prepared.  I try to make test prep fun.

 I come up with games, and technology apps that will review the necessary skills that the test will cover.  I allow the students to work  in whole groups, in  partnerships or small groups to review and practice testing strategies.  I come up with challenges that the students engage in to out beat their classmates.  But most of all,  I try to assure them that it is only a test and progress and growth is my goal.   You see,  these kids are overwhelmed and somehow think this test makes or breaks them academically. They are so worried about passing or failing.  As a teacher,  I assure them that progress is the goal and that this is not the end all be all  that decides their academic success or failures.  It's a shame  the amount of pressure the  test  put on teachers, students and parents.  I just wish they would let us teach.  As if preparing for the  state test isn't enough.  I have the end of the year activities to manage as well.


What end of the year activities?

  1.  Grades
  2,  Classroom Inventories
  3.  Paperwork for  Tier intervention groups, tutoring groups
  4.  Professional Development Planning
  5.  Awards Ceremonies
  6.  Field day
  7.  End of the year party
  8.  Library check out list
  9.  Student portfolios
 10  End of year Testing for Reading, Spelling
 11. Student Data cards
 12. End of the year Checkout list  and so on and so on.

But wait,  as if this list isn't enough to do,  I also have to think about next school year.

I have to prepare for Moving Day.  What is Moving Day?


It is a day that our administration set up for  students to be able to meet their new teacher for the upcoming school year.   Even though I have to plan for this day. It is so awesome to have the opportunity to get to meet my future students before the new school year starts.

The students get to spend two hour with their new teachers.

What do we do with them?

I  usually create a bingo scavenger hunt, give reading, writing and math surveys to get an idea of students mindsets about those particular subjects.  I create a power point to introduce myself,  and I may  read First Day Jitters. The students get a chance to ask questions and peruse the classroom.   I also provide them with a Summer packet to keep them abreast of skills needed to be successful in fourth grade.

The end of the school year is very hectic so having 2 hours to  do something different is awesome and almost therapeutic.

 I  have the students  that are in my class, write letters to the incoming students telling them the things they need to know for fourth grade and what they need to know about their new teacher, Mrs. Lawson.  Reading their letters are hilarious.  Every year,  it amazes me as to how the students describe me.   After the two hours are up,  student's return back to their homerooms and we go about our day.  I officially  on this day go into planning for the new year.

So do you still want to be a teacher?
It's a calling, not a job.
It takes compassion, commitment, self reflection, understanding and most of all constant learning and training.

It's Summer time, Now what?

Believe it or not teachers don't have Summers off!  It is amazing how many of my friends think that my job is cushy.  I immediately tell them they wouldn't last a day.  I wake up and get to work before  seven a.m and at least 3 days a week I am there past 5 pm . At least one day  aI am possibly working as late as 8 pm with after school events. Have you ever driven by a school after the students are dismissed?  Go by one and tell me what you see.  I bet you 9 out of 10 times there are cars still on the lot. Those are those teachers making sure their reading to take care of your kids while their own are at home waiting on them.

So do I deserve the Summer off, yes. But, do I get the Summer off.  Not really.

What is it that teachers do in the Summer?

We prepare for the next school year.  When May rolls around, our curriculum designers start updating units of study for the upcoming school year.  I then copy the first units for all subject areas I will be teaching and gathering PD books, resources I can use to prepare activities, I print off subject area Teks to  refresh understanding of the expectations,  and I pull data .  I take all of this home and began to analyze the data first and determine the needs of the students and decide what modifications and adjustments will be necessary for the upcoming school year.  I take anecdotal notes on students using data from the portfolios that are passed down from each grade level to the next to understand how my students process information and learn best. I start developing plans around student needs and correlate it with unit and grade level expectations. This is a rough mock up of what I may use.

A Typical Lesson plan format for me:  I even copy and use as  data form, and a anecdotal note form.

Date: Do now	Materials:
Mini lsesson	Material
Guided Activity	Material
Independent Activity Small groups Mid teaching point share	Materials

Do I do all this at once?  Of course  not I take days and relax and commune with my family but for at least two hours a day,  I am doing my own book studies, my own studying of Teks, my planning and brainstorming of things I want to try that are new or things I want to change up that may not have worked the previous school year.

We engage in book studies that our administration usually assigns for the Summer.  Yet, I love to learn and I really love learning about Reading and Writing I engage in additional book studies. I may sound like a nerd but I love  learning and constantly planning for classroom instruction.  I am constantly reflecting and evaluating my teaching practices. This Summer besides the  book Atomic Habits and the RTI book assigned by my principal  I plan to dive deep into books on Student engagement, building relationships, differentiation and depth and Complexity.  I have pulled all the UOS  Learning Targets we used this year, the assessments we used and the actual UOS Unit 1.  I am  waiting for the release of STAAR.  

I also engage in professional development  seminars our district holds every year,  We are required to get a minimum of 18 off contract PD hours.   Where we get to choose from an array of courses that will inform my instruction and provide  additional resources and information in all subject areas. This year it is called Optimizing Outcomes and instead of going for a week it is only 2 days, and we choose courses that are recommended or that we deem needed to be successful.   I also I find online webinars, and seminars to go to, I listen and study Educational blogs and Youtube channels.  

Unfortunately a lot of us have to take on additional jobs on during the Summer.  You see if you get into the field of teaching to become rich your in the wrong field.  I get in for the joy of teaching. .  So I often choose to teach Summer school.  It allows me to  to help students who need extra support in Reading and /or Math.  Summer school is less tense than the regular school year. and allows for more intimate one on one connections and teaching to the students.  Our class sizes are kept low.  The highest I have had since I have been doing it is  15 kids,  the lowest 8.  

So you see it is Ironic that  I spend part of my Summer doing the one thing I was waiting to stop doing by May,  I teach.  Another thing I spend my Summer  doing is studying the data of this years students to see what  Learning Target was lowest to make sure that we don't over look it next year.  I get the opportunity by July to see a list  of the students who  will enter my class in the new year. I get a chance to start collected data and getting to know them academically.  How do I know who they are you ask?   I get persistent and annoying.  I beg admin daily, I either send emails  or  call until they  are able to share it. Most of them know my work ethic by now and are used to me wanting data before school is over  so I usually get it just in time.   

A teachers job is never over.  We are constantly planning our next teacher moves.  We even spend the Summer planning out how we want our rooms to look for the new year.  We develop bulletin board ideas, buy supplies, yes we by supplies because we are always short.  I look for resources and supplies to create a welcoming environment in the classroom. 

Do I have to spend my Summers doing all of this?  No,  I don't have to.  I choose to and many other educators choose to as well.  Like I said this isn't a job it is a calling. Is it necessary to do all this before school starts? If we didn't do some of these things we would not be prepared for the incoming school year. Who wants to walk in a classroom unprepared.  I equate my job to one of a lawyer.  Would I want a lawyer who opens up case law the day of my  court day, or one that comes well prepared and knows what he/she is talking about? So yes ,  we work in the Summer  and No we don't get paid to do so.  Teachers opt at their contract time to have their 9 month check spread across 12 months or we wouldn't have income for  the rest of the year to survive.

So when do I take a break?

I do manage to relax during the Summer.  I take time off and spend with my girls and my family.  We go bowling, to the zoo, shopping, get our nails done, binge watch movies while eating junk food,  and travel to see my family in the month of July. You see  I am here in Texas with the best family ever.  My school family.  However, my family is in Arkansas.  I look forward to going home every Summer and reconnecting and having fun.  I step out of teacher mode for a while and let loose.  I get to reconnected and catch up on  my daughters lives because I am so focused on other peoples kids during the school year, and feel like I have neglected them all year.  Leaving them to fend for themselves and solve their on  issues.  The guilt eats me alive during the school year . So I work hard to reconnect during the Summer with Brittany now age 26 year old and Gina, my now 16yr old working teen ager.  As a Single parent lots of my time is focused on my job, as I get older and deeper into my career  I realize It wasn't fair to them, so now I do better because I know better.  While I am in Arkansas.,   we visit all the places we miss out on during the school year,  enjoy family picnics, family dinners,  and just hanging out with my sister and mom.  I often get to catch up with my classmate as well. 

However,  once the end of July and beginning of  August hits I kick it into high gear and go to the campus and start setting up my classroom.  I focus on my classroom library first. Once that is set up I begin to set up progress monitoring folders for my students, and really dive into data and make some plans.  So you see were not off for the Summer.  So what do I do?

I teach and prepare future presidents, lawyers, doctors and teachers. What is your super hero power?