The Power of "Yet"

I've been excited to write about what it means to have a Growth Mindset.  A Growth Mindset means that you believe you have the power to do and accomplish anything.  But, how can that be?  Aren't we born with a certain set of skills?  Don't we all have strengths and weaknesses that define us?  There answer is "no," when you believe in a growth mindset.  Your brain has the ability to grow and change over the course of a lifetime.  Have you ever heard the quote, "Use it, or lose it?" That means if we don't use our brain, we lose the skills needed each day.  So what if we used that idea to motivate us to learn something new, or keep trying something that is challenging?  Keep using it. Believing that you haven't accomplished something "yet," is the way to think when you have a Growth Mindset.  It gives you power and drive to keep trying, no matter how long it takes to be successful.  

I had planned to write about this topic for a few weeks now, and then something special happened that lit me up with ideas and motivation. Two days ago, my amazing colleague, Mrs. Winters, approached me with one of my students asking me, "How do you feel when you have too much to get done?"  I responded almost instantly, "overwhelmed."  Isn't that how everyone feels?  She turned to my student and said that they discussed this idea at their Girls on the Run meeting last week, and my student said she feels empowered when she has to much to do, because she knows she can do it.  What if we all believe, yes we can? What if we let go of overwhelming feelings, stress, anxiety, and remind ourselves, I just haven't done it yet. Imagine your potential.  

5M students wrote "I Can" Statements to help them develop a Growth Mindset.

Check out this video to learn more about Growth Mindset.

Bittersweet Goodbyes

I've taught 5th grade for 13 years now, and it's always been something that I love to do.  My fifth graders are smart, kind, witty, and by the time June comes around, are able to get my jokes.  My good friend, Ms. Zanone, always says that the worst part about teaching fifth grade is that when we finish our year, we don't always get to see our kids again.  They go off to the middle school, and we no longer see them roaming our halls, waving hello, and checking in with us like the younger grade teachers get to do.  Some kids will visit us here and there, but our last day of school is sometimes our last goodbye. 

The pride I have in my students each year at our Moving Up ceremony brings tears to my eyes every year.  But those tears sometimes stem from the fact that I won't always know where these kids end up.  The time and effort we put into our year together is priceless.  I hope for all my students that they will do the things they love to do, try something new when given the opportunity, and to remember that I am always thinking of them and wondering how they are doing.  So while I am so ready and excited for my summer break, as I know all of my students are, too, I also feel a sense of sadness getting ready to say goodbye one last time. 

To my fifth graders, I hope you know that your EHB family is always here cheering you on from afar.  We hope you will find your way back to wave hello, give us a hug or handshake, and tell us how you are doing.  Good luck to all of you!

Do You Have Spring Fever?

Warm weather.  Green leaves.  Beautiful petals falling like snow. Green dust layering the cars...  Achoo! Cough!  You heard it, spring fever.  Whether you suffer from allergies or not, you probably have that other form of fever, the "I-can't-wait-for-summer-break-virus!"

As teachers, students, and parents, we can taste that last day of school coming.  No more homework.  No more early mornings.  No more shoving breakfast in our mouths and chewing fast so we can get out the door.  Summer brings a rest and relaxation that students and teachers need more than anything, but also brings some mixed feelings about what is to come and what is about to change.  Recently, my son, who is starting Kindergarten in the fall, said to me, "I can't wait for summer so I can relax.  No more work."  This made me giggle, but also made me feel bad.  When did Preschool become so burdensome?  We also talk about all the excitement to come with Kindergarten, and most days he really looks forward to the new teacher, new classroom.  But recently, he started showing sadness, thinking I won't visit his classroom when he's in Kindergarten.  It made me think about my 5th graders.

The 5th graders are approaching the end of their time at EHB.  They are moving on to something new and so exciting:  Middle School.  No more walking in lines.  They get a locker!  They move from class to class with new kids in each room.  But, they are going to be the babies again.  Is this a scary thought?  Sometimes change is so exciting, but sometimes it's also a time to feel nervous.  Teachers feel this way too.  Every year I wonder what my new class will be like?  Will they get along with each other?  Will they get my jokes?  Will they make me laugh?  Will they be kind to one another?  We all feel more than one way at times.  It's normal to feel excitement and sadness together.

This time of year brings a lot chatter, lack of focus, and craziness with the upcoming events:  field day, pool party, graduation.  Our schedule changes daily, routine has gone out the window.  But, it also brings pride and joy when we get to honor and reflect on our accomplishments.  So, if you feel excited, sad, nervous, or happy, just know that you are not alone.  Everyone feels it. And as those sneezes and coughs fade with the pollen levels dropping, so will those nerves.  The courage and happiness will take over, if you let it. To my class of 2018, be brave, be excited, but don't be afraid to be scared!

Be Your Best Self in 2018

Recently, I've heard that many people are setting their resolutions for the New Year to be their best selves.   When I think about what it means to be my best self, a lot comes to my mind.  What do you think might happen if everyone tried to do this?  Would there be more kindness? More productivity? More happiness?

I often have complaints about the world around me.  Sometimes, I even get caught up in these complaints and consumed by them.  Most of the time, the complaints are about things that are completely out of my control.  For example, I complain about what other people are doing, or not doing.  When this happens, I really have to stop myself and remember, I cannot control what other people do.  I can only control what I do and how I think.  Although it may upset me when others aren't doing the right thing, or following all the rules.  There is nothing I can do to change other people.  But, I can change my thinking.  I can change my "self."  If I focus on me, and do what I need to do to make myself happy and get my job done, I might be more happy, more productive, or even more kind.

So, when I think about what it means to be my best self, I need to focus on me.  Do my job. Be kind.  Make myself happy.  Choose to focus on what I can control.  Maybe if everyone was able to focus on being their best selves, we all could make a bigger, better change in the world.

Therefore, I am committing to my New Year's resolution:  Be my BEST self.  What is yours?

Guest Bloggler: George - Fun Social Studies

Fun Social Studies

Guest Blogger, George

   This week we have been doing fun things in social studies.  We have been doing stations about the Boston Massacre, Boston Tea Party,Townshend Acts, Intolerable Acts and the First Continental Congress.  We make T-Charts about these events with British Point Of View and American Point Of View. We learned by watching videos and reading textbooks like History Alive, America’s Past, and other resources for the T-Charts.These T-charts will help us with understanding these events of history. This week of social studies is so fun and exciting to learn about. I love it!

Guest Student Blogger - Genevieve: Mindful Popcorn!

Mindful Popcorn

~ Guest Blogger, Genevieve

It was our writing period and Mrs. Malki had told us to get out a pencil, and our writing notebook and come to the rug. We all gathered to one side where we all saw a desk with a microwave on it, but we didn’t know what was going on. She then had came to the rug, too. She explained that we were going to be mindful and use our senses, and right down what we hear, taste, see, feel, and smell.

First Mrs. Malki took out a bag of popcorn and slowly opened the plastic bag so we could hear what was going on. I then started to understand how this was helping. Since later on when we write our story we could add in details, dialogue, setting, and more because we always can make things better. Not just writing, you can get better at sports, reading, math, and science. We also could add more to our writing.

After she opened the plastic bag, she took the paper bag, which had kernels in it, and put it in the microwave, the door closed. It had gotten stuck a couple times so Mrs. Malki adjusted the bag. While the class was waiting we were all moving to see what was going on. I was wondering are we actually going to get to eat this?

After Mrs. Malki adjusted the bag we heard the bag popping like a balloon, I also saw the bag blowing up like a balloon. I heard people saying they smelt the butter already, but from where I was I couldn’t smell a thing. I jotted everything I sensed down.

The bag was taken out from the microwave, and Mrs. Malki was holding it from the tip of her two fingers, since it was hot. The bag seemed full. I noticed it was sizzling like a frying pan. Mrs. Malki teared the bag open, and gave us a whiff of what it smelt like, to me it smelt like potato chips combined with butter and salt, but much stronger.

She went to the other side of the room with the bag of popcorn and took out a couple, and down it went into her stomach. Now I was really wondering are we going to get to get to eat the popcorn? I guessed everyone else was jealous too, I couldn’t blame them.

Something got me smiling again though, and my question got answered. So we went back to our seats with a paper towel and popcorn on it. I was peeking at others’ desks to see if they got more then me, but I couldn’t tell, so I decided to forget about it since it really didn’t matter. I couldn’t tell if others were doing that too. I tried eating it slow so I could really taste it.

I really didn’t expect this day where we got to eat popcorn in the classroom, but I was glad it happened.  Being mindful helped me use my senses to write a good story.  I wouldn’t want to miss a day in 5th grade, because you never know what can happen!

Guest Student Blogger: Rachel: Wacky Science!

Wacky Science

Guest Blogger, Rachel

Hi, I’m Rachel with a guest blog post. I’m here to keep you informed on our life in school. We’ve recently been doing many science experiments. This really surprised me because it seems really soon for science experiments, but I’m glad we are doing these experiments.

Here are some examples, one time Mrs. Malki told us all to wear safety goggles because she was putting a glass test tube on a hot plate with room temp water.  She also had a balloon on top of the rim. When the water heated up you might have guessed the balloon rose, but we first weighed it and it weighed 363.2g. After she put it on the hot plate, there was a problem… the balloon had a hole in it. Not to worry, a hero came in her name was… Mrs.Malki, she saved the day with her side kick Mrs.P. Thanks to them our science experiment was saved, YAY! We finally found out that the expanded balloon weighed the same as the deflated one!

Here is another experiment that we did with Mrs.Malki as our guide. Oh no, there was a volcano made of baking soda and vinegar and it was exploding it’s up to us to fix this  perfect example that shows how air takes up space. A related project is when we combined baking soda and vinegar to make a gas and make a glove rise!  

From all these science events we learned about the fact that all matter, even gas, takes up space. This is my report on our lives at school. Write To You Soon!!!