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?