Etch 'n Sketch Reflections

                                                Usually I would make a comment at the beginning of the school year about how it seems like summer just flew by. I can't really say that this year. Summer didn't seem very quick this year. That's probably because it wasn't a normal summer. And this won't be a regular school year. I mean, gosh, walking back into my classroom for in-service felt a little strange, like I hadn't been there for 6 months...oh, wait, that's right, it has been 6 MONTHS! This was an in-service like I've never experienced; of course, that's because we are living in a time where much of what's going on hasn't been experienced in a very long time. However, I think our district has handled things well. And the number one thing that was done correctly was providing us with time. We are needing to prepare ourselves for teaching in a way that a large majo...

This week was most definitely the strangest last week of school that I can remember. It was a week of mixed emotions and one that I hope I don't have to repeat again. Cleaning, meetings, conferencing, teaching, and partying (yes, partying) all rolled into one week. In all my years of teaching, I don't think I've ever been able to get my room packed up and ready for the summer in 2 hours. Well, that's what I did on Monday. As a staff, we were provided with a sign up to choose a time to go in and clean things up for the summer. It was the first time I had been in my room since the middle of March, and the date was still on the board. When we left, we thought we were just going to be gone for a few weeks. Those few weeks turned into a few months. There wasn't a lot to clean up--I mainly just needed to wipe off the boards and clean off my desk and shelves. But it was just really strange to go through those things that had just been left there and to think about what had...

Memorial Day has come and gone, and the feeling of summer is upon us. While it isn't quite here yet, it's close. If we were at school, the buzz of energy from the students would be through the roof. Virtually learning, however, has definitely put a damper on that. At school, we would be wrapping up units while trying to rein in the students' attention away from their dreams of sleeping in late and other summer plans. This week, units are still being wrapped up, but that struggle of reining in their attention isn't quite there; many of them probably already sleep in late, and summer plans are obviously still up in the air. Last week was when I officially wrapped up my final science unit, so this week was made up of some enrichment activities related to that final standard. We have been learning about how chemical reactions occur when two substances are mixed and a new substance gets created. This week I gave the students an opportunity to dig in a little deeper to chemi...

It was really hard to get into a groove this week, and that was right from the get-go. Monday morning started out with our middle school staff meeting at 8:30 am. It got done at about 9:00, and the next meeting for the day was a 5th-grade team meeting at 9:30. Well, around 9:20 my wife, who was sitting across from me at the kitchen table (that's my "office") started to act strangely. My wife has multiple sclerosis, so there are plenty of stories I could tell you about her health. Needless to say, though, this didn't look good and needed to be addressed quickly. Out of nowhere, she began to tremble, had difficulty completing sentences, couldn't make eye contact, and had poor depth perception/motor skills. We've been together long enough, however, that some of these symptoms have come up in the past. As a complication to her MS, my wife is prone to UTIs--she probably gets one every other year, if not more. I took her temperature and he had a fever of 100.7. We c...

In class the last few weeks, the students have been working toward meeting a standard in which they need to conduct an investigation to determine whether the mixing of two or more substances results in new substances. In essence, the students need to be able to determine whether or not a chemical reaction occurs when two things are mixed. To be able to build up to this point, the students needed to understand what a mixture is (and they also learned the difference between a mixture and a solution). From there we learned about the differences between physical and chemical changes. This part was fun because it was an opportunity for the students to see some pretty cool changes. The idea of a chemical change resulting in a new substance was tricky for some of them to understand, however, because a lot of times those changes come in the form of gas being created. So we needed to look for evidence of gases being created, such as the substances getting very foamy or bubbling up. I think that...

Teacher Appreciation Week! It was a week filled with sporadic messages and tokens of appreciation from students, families, and colleagues. With how things have been, it definitely wasn't the typical Teacher Appreciation Week (is anything really going to be typical anymore?), but there were still several signs of thankfulness. The week started off with a nice note and gift card from my mom--she's thoughtful like that (I love you, Mom!). Then came a video message of thanks from a wide variety of individuals and families from around the district, along with free lunch, compliments of the school district. I'm going to have to find some time to take a drive to Sheboygan and get it! As the week went by I received several emails from students with messages of thanks for all the help they've received this year. Today brought a few surprises in the form of more cards and gifts, plus a nice visit! One card I received in the mail was from my mother-in-law (she's thoughtful l...

Not a bad week, but it just felt really long...one of those weeks where you can't remember what happened at the beginning of the week unless you really think hard. All in all, it was a good week (except for yesterday--yesterday sucked), but a rather busy week both in and out of school. Things have become pretty routine-oriented for school now. Monday is spent in staff and team meetings in the morning, and a homeroom video chat with the students tossed in before lunch. The afternoon is then spent emailing students with missing work updates and feedback from assignments turned in over the weekend along with prepping for Tuesday's science lesson and assignment. This particular Monday also brought a little excitement out of school hours; my daughter and I finished building a desk for her room. She wants to redecorate her room with some homemade furniture, and a desk was the first thing on the list. She designed it, I cut the wood, she stained it, and we worked together building it...