Full STEAM Ahead: Reflecting in This Year

As we get closer to the end of our journey in fifth grade I began to reflect on our year. I happened to come across the photo above that made me laugh because it is exactly how I feel. Even today, with a few days left I still feel this way. We have to complete our Rube Goldberg Machines and just started our Revolution Musical. Students have worked so hard on their STEAM lessons this year. Their inventions that arrived are so impressive! Some should patent them. It is amazing what their inventive minds created! I cannot wait to share the finished product with you all! The skills students gained during these activities will resonate with them long after they leave me. They worked in collaborative teams, discovered design process thinking, and presented work to an authentic audience. Our students should be so PROUD of their work as these learning experiences will certainly help others! I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving me their best self each and ever day. I could not have had all those tabs open without them!

As I get ready to close those tabs we will be packing down our classroom, celebrating our success, and giving our final presentations of the year. Please reflect on the student who walked into our room in September. I promised you all it would be a completely different kid by the time he or she walked out. I hope you all agree that is the case. Our students have grown so much this year and I was thrilled to be part of that!

Greeting Students Builds a Classroom Community: What Does Your Handshake Say About You?

I happened to be watching a news story that eventually went viral. It started with a handshake. Each morning in a kindergarten class in TX there is a class greeter. This student is there to welcome his or her classmates into the room with a handshake, fist bump, high five, and some hugs. This is something so simple yet has a huge impact on the classroom culture. I decided to greet each of my students last Monday morning with a handshake like I did at our open house in August.

I awaited each child, and as they went to enter the room I stuck my hand out and said, “Good morning.” Many were confused by this greeting but happily shook my hand. I had to remind students to look me in the eye, have a firm grip, and respond to my comment. Often times out in the real world the handshake is the first thing we notice about someone. Forbes came out with a great article about 7 things your handshake says about you. I am sure we have all met one of the seven examples, but which one makes a good impression on you? My father always taught me to stand tall, look the person in the eye, and use a firm grip. I am glad he did!

Over the course of the week as I greeted each student I began to notice subtle changes. First, the students were ready to work by 8:30 AM when usually I have to prod kids along to finish morning work. Second, they had more smiles on their faces in the morning. I have also begun to observe more of the perfect handshake in 22 students than a week ago! This morning I happened to be talking to a colleague in the hallway when the students arrived. I turned around to see half my class waiting by the door. Not one student had entered the room. They were waiting to greet me with a handshake.