July Blogging Challenge: Day 1

It's July y'all..meaning PD is on the horizon and the kiddos are coming sooner than we are probably prepared for. I have been really reflective today about where our focus as teachers should be. I love math..I'm not afraid of being a nerd. But, more than that, I love love my kids who challenge, stretch, and allow me to open my heart in whole new ways. I can't even explain how much they change my life. I hope I never lose sight of being a difference maker and of reminding my students that people will likely not remember you for how cute or smart you were, but by how you made them feel. I want my students to feel warmth, acceptance, challenged, and loved by me. I pray that this becomes even more my focus in my life.
One thing you'll learn about me is that I am REALLy sentimental. :)

I am joining Shelli in doing the July blogging challenge. I can't guarantee that each post will be incredibly thought-provoking or have anything worthwhile, but I can say I will try and I hope you are able to see my heart for my kids and my desire to see them grow mathematically. I'm going to follow her theme today.

3 things I want to START....

• I want to start making use of community resources. I want to make kids more aware of how much of what we learn is used in so many different careers. I want them to use our mathematics to generate possible solutions to community issues.
• I want to start researching and understand the structure and benefits behind Standards Based Grading. I know many of you use this in your classrooms and I want to pick your brains and see how it has helped your students master concepts more efficiently.
• I want to start using more google docs in instruction. There are so many neat ways to incorporate these in mathematics both to have students do more writing, complete quizzes, share solutions, etc. Let me know if you have some neat ways you have used them!

3 things I hope to STOP this year...

• I hope I can stop focusing on what's ahead and live in the moment. I forget to remember that this specific moment is all that I'm promised and that I must make it worthwhile.
• I want to stop being so disorganized. I struggle deeply in this area. I am a natural scatter brain. I get it from my momma.
• I want to stop feeling like what I have to say about teaching is discounted because I have only taught for four years. I want to make it more of a point to share more with my school colleagues the resources that I create and find. I want to remember that years of teaching is not the primary contributor as to whether what I have to share is valuable.

3 things I want to Continue...

• I want to continue to incorporate more and more inquiry based lessons and activities into my classroom. I want my kids to see the value of what we learn and discover the value of mathematics in their lives.
• I want to continue interactive notebooks. It is so valuable for my students because they now have a "go-to" place for resources, rather than losing the resources I give them so soon.
• I want to continue to grow in my classroom management. I am amazed at how far I have come in this area in my years of teaching. I am proud that, even when times were considerably discouraged, I kept pushing because I knew it was a process and I would learn. I want to grow in this area even more so that I can more adequately foster a learning environment.

Let me know if you are going to participate in the July challenge so I can keep up with you!