Routine is the word.

 Where has March gone? Eeeek.

I have been thinking about this word since I finished off my February post about the word list. Routine is another word that has become a big part of both my personal and professional life. I’ve noticed that has I’ve gotten older that small routines- like eating the same thing for breakfast most days, taking my vitamins each morning before my coffee, hand cream and eye cream before bed, etc- have become not necessarily more important to me but make the day feel easier. 

Interestingly, I was called a perfectionist earlier this year and I strongly reacted to that. I do not feel that I am a perfectionist. The dictionary defines a perfectionist as-

 noun- a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection.

 https://g.co/kgs/wAAM9NN

This does not describe me. I like to have a plan for things, for a lesson or activity, for my day but if something changes and we need to be flexible I have no problem changing the plan or rolling with a new idea. 

A few of my colleagues and I were talking about this and one asked if I would describe myself as easy going and my initial reaction was no. Easy going is defined as-

adjective- relaxed and tolerant in approach or manner.

https://g.co/kgs/CEK1jtJ

I think because I do like to have a plan in place, I like to be prepared ahead of time and I rarely approach anything without having thought it through that easy going can’t really be used to describe me either. 

So what’s in the middle of perfectionist and easy going? Is it a love for routine? 

I posted awhile back on IG about my use of digital weekly plans that allows me to hyperlink resources and use images to plan for read alouds that are shared with my class. You can see the picture here- https://www.instagram.com/p/C3ybsiYxzxb/?igsh=OTBldjgzcWpyMWZm

Having this template for my weekly plans (and daily plans last year in Grade 3 when the day was filed with different subjects and content areas, and therefore more “lessons” needed planning) helps keep me organized and small things are not forgotten. I can list weekly or daily to-do lists. I can use shapes and colours to insert routine reminders like library visits, assemblies, etc. 

Working with kids of all ages for as long as I have you start to notice that kids also thrive on routine. Many kids like to know what’s coming next and when. It’s why the pandemic was so hard for so many us. We didn’t know what was coming next and days bled into each other. In our kindergarten class we keep most days to a pretty similar routine and share early with the students if something is going to change. Fewer transitions during the day are key at this age to keeping the peace so we plan for longs blocks of outdoor play in the morning and free play in the afternoon. We have one small friend who had a lot of difficulty with coming to school in the fall and he would regularly check our visual schedule each day and often checked in with us about when it was home time. 

I think routines provide comfort and much like a list they download information from my brain so I’m not focused on a thousand little things. I can focus on the big things. I can pay attention to what’s happening in the moment, whether at school or at home. 

What routines do you have in your life? At school or at home? How do they help you? 

A list. The list.

FEBRUARY's ONE WORD is LIST. 

 I am a list maker. I make lists on paper. In notebooks. In Google Keep. On sticky notes. For almost all parts of my life. Personal and professional. 

When I started to think about what my second word for 2024 would be I knew right away that list would be a good one to continue after January’s word start/restart. In the last few years, I have used a few apps to track my reading. I’m currently using StoryGraph and I love the various data it provides about my reading. If there’s one thing I like even better than lists, it’s data. 

I’ve been searching for a similar app or website that tracks podcasts but haven’t really found anything I like. I decided to use my favourite app, Google Keep, to track them myself. 

I’ve been taking a screenshot of each podcast episode and uploading them to a Keep note. I also use Google Keep for a shared grocery list with my husband, that way no matter who goes to the store has the list. I have Keep list of plants I want to add to our garden, workout links, books to look into, websites I like, Christmas/Birthday gift ideas, and small renovations or changes we want to make around the house. So, so many lists. 

I find the more things I can download from my brain the easier it is to remember pretty much anything else. 

I’ve also used Google Keep for work-related lists for years but this is the first year that I’ve attempted to use it for assessment and documentation purposes. We currently create a new note for each student every month to collect pictures of the students in their play and learning throughout the day. We copy the notes into Google Docs and share them with the families at the end of each two-month cycle. 

I have really liked using this system for keeping track of pictures and being able to share with families without needing to access a separate app (which my board "outlawed" years ago anyway). However, when I started to work on first-term reports a few weeks ago I found that it was a lot of work clicking back and forth between different Google folders and docs to see the pictures we had for each of the students to write personalized comments based on their activities and learning. I won't say that our system was bad, I just think it can be more streamlined and made more efficient. And like many things, you don't know what is working and what isn't working until you try it out for the first time. 

So what now? 

Well, like any good former teacher-librarian (wink, wink) I did some research!

This video from Pocketful of Primary is one I watched a few years ago when I started using Google Keep and it has some great tips for anyone trying out Google Keep for the first time. I especially like the idea of using images for headers (you can see how I have done that with my Grocery List above) as it makes things super easy to find. 

A few other really good tips:

• how to pin notes
• how to add collaborators
• how to set up reminders
• how to add labels
• how to colour code the notes (my fave!! and I am going to start using it to colour code the four frames from the kindergarten document)

As I continue to learn about the Kindergarten program, play-based learning and pedagogical documentation I am finding that there are always so many things happening throughout the day that I am not documenting as intentionally as I want to be, or I am often helping students in the art studio or with small group work that I miss all the discussion and intention that went into building an amazing tower, boat, house until it's done and catches my eye. A goal for this second term is to be more intentional with my observations and pedagogical documentation of students' play throughout the day. I found this blog post from Mrs. Bacchus' Class that provided lots (maybe too many!) ideas to think about. From her list, I think I will stick with using photographs and anecdotal notes/observations, along with Google Keep, as a starting point for this goal. I am also starting my Kindergarten Part 1AQ in a few weeks so I'm sure I'll get even more ideas there. 

I do really like what she has shared here about a documentation panel:

The Documentation Panel can include:

• pictures, drawings or diagrams from students about what is being explored
• pieces of artwork
• student writing
• photographs of students in explorations or play
• overall or specific expectations from the Ontario curriculum

https://bacchusclass.ca/how-to-document-learning-in-the-ontario-kindergarten-program-strategies-and-examples.html

As we are embarking on new inquiry connected to families, emotions/feelings and community this month, it might be a great time to try this out as well as it seems like a natural progression from the photographs and notes I am already using. We added this planning area in our room a few weeks ago as we started to think about how we might change up our documentation.

I have some great resources that break down the Kindergarten program into list format (LOVE!) and make it easier to track what areas you may have touched on and discussed and what still needs a focus. I would like to look back through these lists and create some intentional goals for the coming weeks. I think using sticky notes to chart these goals, and even possible prompts, activities, and connected provocations, using this planning area in conjunction and then checking back in with myself to see how it's all going. 

To sum up, lists are here to stay but the goal is to be more intentional... that is I'll be making lists of what I want to document on my lists to stay organized with my lists?! 

🤔🤣

I did reach out on Threads/Instagram to see what people thought of when they heard the word list and the ideas shared were interesting:

-getting stuff done

-to list is to recruit or gather

-organization and productivity

-feels daunting

-barriers/how confusing the term is when you add the suffix -less to it

How do lists factor into your life?

OneWordx12 - January 2024

 Well, it’s been a minute since I blogged. 🫣 

I decided I wanted to redo my OneWordx12 challenge from a few years ago for 2024. Pick one word each month through the year that represents my thoughts, ideas, goals, plans, experiences, etc. 

The last 12+ months have definitely been a transitional period for me, mostly professional but some personal, too. As I moved back into the classroom last year and onto Kindergarten this year I’ve really been thinking about what I want my time away from work to look like, what I want it to be filled with, what I want to occupy my time, energy and space. 

As I’ve already attended my last OSLA meeting I no longer have any obligations to any volunteer or outside educational focused endeavours. Our podcast has been on ice for quite awhile as I found I couldn’t really keep it up the way I wanted on my own. I also decided not to attend any conferences this year. I quit Twitter/X and only occasionally post on BlueSkies or IG/Threads.  My time for the most part is mine. 

That’s a pretty new experience for me. 

I don’t know why but I don’t feel any urge or drive to push or cultivate any professional experiences beyond what’s happening in my own classroom with my students, books I’ve chosen to read for myself, or a few asynchronous opportunities I’ve taken advantage of recently.

Is it screen burnout from the pandemic? Maybe. Is it a desire to be the learner and not the facilitator? Likely. The TL role in schools and if you take it farther into the public sphere, like I did, creates space where people are often looking to you for ideas, advice, support and advocacy. Which was awesome. Until it wasn’t. 

I spent a lot of the pandemic alone (professionally). Either at home or in a closed library. There was very little scope for collaboration as I had known it previously and people were drowning in their own worries, learning and planning for online learning. I think in many ways it destroyed my desire to be in the library. To be a team of one. And yes, as a TL I was connected with other TLs and many of my colleagues in my school but I was still the only one. And due to the unprecedented situation there were a lot of demands on my time, energy, resources etc and without collaboration in the sense I was used to it felt like very little was coming back to me. 

I’ve written before about going back to the classroom and missing kids and that true. But I think it’s important to also recognize that in education educators take a lot from each other and don’t always give back. Teaching is a social sport. A team sport. A group effort. But not all team members pull their weight. That’s true of all teams, groups, clubs. It can become a weight though on those giving, giving, giving. 

In the classroom, and especially in a new grade, I don’t have to have all the answers. I don’t have to come up with new, innovative ideas all the time. I don’t have to walk people through my initiatives and convince them it’s a good idea. The last 4 months have been about curating sparks for what I might want to try in my class. Talking every day with my partner. Reflecting in the moment as we see learning happen, as we see growth, as a provocation sits and fails. 

I see friends and colleagues that have continued to give and give. Either through podcasting, presenting at conferences and workshops, joining in for new volunteer experiences, social media, etc. I’m happy they do because they are brilliant and talented educators but I also worry if they feel like I did/do. Are they getting enough back from others to keep up the pace? Or are the drowning but worry if they don’t help than no one will? 

So to get back on track with the purpose of this blog, my OneWordx12 for January with be Start. Or perhaps re-start is a better choice. 

Start to pay attention to those glimmers in my professional life. What sparks joy for me? Starting asking myself “Why am I sharing this photo/thought/etc on social media at this moment?” Start focusing on opportunities where I feel balanced in what I’m sharing versus how I’m growing. Start reflecting again through blogging? Or perhaps re-start my bullet journal habit? 

Here’s to the start of 2024. May your time be filled with moments that fulfil your spirit and kindle your love of teaching. 

~Beth