Ditching the Glitz and Glam

Do you love #targetdollarspot, Dollar Tree, Big Lots, and any other retailer that sells all those teacher goodies cheap?  Then do you run home and sketch out your classroom on graph paper (so you can get it to scale), plan the most creative bulletin boards with burlap, and design the cutest table settings ever?  I don’t know about you but I love to decorate, rearrange, bargain shop, and plan layouts for my classroom all the time.  However, I had to do some serious reevaluating at the end of this school year.  My test scores went down.

Now I know it’s not all about the test scores, but at the end of the day that’s what the greater powers are studying.  Sure I could chalk it up to all the days I missed for obligations I had this year that were school related or even that my kids were not as academically strong as my previous group, but as a teacher I should be able to teach any group of kids under any circumstances.  What can I do to make things better?

I started looking around my room at the cutesy decor that hours were spent preparing and arranging between my volunteers and myself.  All the money I spent in items, materials, labor, and decorations that really didn’t assist my class academically.  Why was I wasting my time and money when there are no beneficial results for the education of my class?  What can I do to change?

1. Quit shopping for things because other teachers are buying them. #instagramismyenemy
2. Only place things on walls that are relevant to my instruction at that time. We can make digital anchor charts and reference tables to visit later. Besides, all that clutter gets very distracting and no one can focus if there’s too much.
3. K.I.S.S. No, not the band.  Keep It Simple Stupid.
4. Make my environment like home, not like the “My Little Ponies” exploded in the room.  A cozy and purposeful room will promote feelings of comfort and confidence for my scholars.
5. Use what I already have.  There’s no need to break the bank when I already own the necessities.  Flexible seating, collaborative groupings, and other environments for all learners can be created using what I’ve accumulated over the past five years.

This year I vow to ditch the glitz and glam in decor and transfer all that energy into my teaching.  I vow to spend my time making outrageously exciting lessons for my class instead of trying to recreate the cute rooms I see on Instagram and Pinterest.  The sketches I create will be small group instruction strategies versus bulletin board creations that serve no purpose.  When the test scores come in at the end of the year I will know that my time was well spent because I ditched what wasn’t important and focused on the job I love.  Who’s ready to start this journey with me?  Let’s spread the word #ditchingtheglitzandglam.

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christyhnj

I love the idea of room transformations.  They bring this sense of magic to a classroom.  Last year was my first year doing these on a larger scale and it was also my first year in fifth grade.  Some last a day and some have lasted a few weeks.  This year I did decide not to have them last more than two weeks for a few reasons: 1) After a while I cannot handle the chaos; 2) My scholars lose interest; 3) It starts to get in the way.  Most of the ideas I have used have come from watching other amazing teachers on their blog, but others have come from my own crazy brain (oh yeah we did have one with jello brains) based off of our current curriculum.

For the past two weeks we transformed our room into a safari as we were completing the second half of our ecosystems unit.  I write a ton of grants so some of the materials come from there, but most of what you will see in this transformation came from Dollar Tree and family donations.

In the above picture we have "jeeps" for our safari.  This idea was borrowed from Hope King over at RCA and Elementary Shenanigans.  She used hers for her Jurassic World Unit.  The jeeps are made from plastic table cloths, aluminum foil (jeep grill), aluminum pie plates (two in a pack for $1 for the headlights), and duck tape!  I made 6 jeeps for about $10 since I already had tape.  Last year my families donated items and this was the leftovers so this year it was free!  The hats they are wearing came from Dollar Tree about four years ago, the trees were on loan from our library, the stuffed animals came from my home since we have about five million.

This is a picture from last year to see the whole class view.  The jeeps were modified a touch this year.

This was my favorite picture from last year.  To practice food chains and food webs we had to dig through alligator poop (aka mud from our garden - with real snails and worms).  The weren't sure if it was poop until we left for the day.

This year I used the Smart Chicks' Fish Guts activity.  I made Oobleck for the guts because it was cheaper and I could make so much more of it.  Note: It is HARD to close up the gloves for this activity.  I don't know if it was the gloves I had, but I was dying!!! I had to get my husband to help because my fingers were so sore.  This is not because of the Fish Guts product, simply a future note to self to make a few a day up to this date or enlist family volunteers from our class to come in and assist.  I purchased the animals she listed in her product and created my own food chains.  The last animal is the chain was the "guts" they were investigating.  The kids LOVED this.  It was just as fun as the alligator poop (which I will bring back at the end of the year for an EOG review).

The day I introduce a room transformation I always open my door late.  The scholars know it's that kind of day because all of my windows are blacked out and they can hear music playing.  I also always dress up (if it's more than one day I dress up on at least the first day).  It's so much fun for them and for me.  It doesn't take much but it makes a lasting impression on these kiddos!  I'd love to hear what you do in your room!!!

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christyhnj