Bleu Passe Progress

I know have a blue wall (1329 Bleu Passe...to be exact!) in my classroom...very happy with it. See the blue in my header...up above? Yes, it's close to that color. This color makes me happy. Takes me right back to my first four years of teaching...which is probably still my favorite classroom. Why? It was a a well-lit (had two large windows), blue room.

Am I attempting to recreate my past? Yes? No? I cannot. As I told my lady Sunday School friends yesterday, I can't teach the same way I taught eighteen years ago, for the classroom is different. (The point I was actually attempting to make is that we cannot have the same type of church service either if we want to encourage the "young" people to attend church as we did while growing up. Right?]

The answer is no, I am not attempting to recreate my past....well, not exactly. I do want to bring in the best of my first years of teaching to this new Classroom Redesign Project. Not just talking about that energy I had as a new teacher, either...I want to bring in the vitality of my classroom to this one.

My goal: no matter where a student sits in my classroom, she is engaged. I have been following the discussion of Lisa Huff's AP Language class as they critique Dan Pink's A Whole New Mind and noted one comment: "Sitting in the back is just an invitation to dose, or even when I do want to pay attention I have to lean around everyone in front of me." I can achieve this with my new layout. Yes, I think I can.

Maybe this comment by another student sums my goal for this new design the best: I have always found that rooms with more color and design in them are easier to learn in. The pictures or colors can help calm a person down when he or she is stressed about something. Classrooms that are white and have nothing on the ceiling or walls are boring. I have noticed that students cannot concentrate very well in rooms with no design. I myself have a lot of trouble sitting still and listening in the boring classrooms.

Stop by and visit me this fall...let's see if I achieve my goal!

The Room

Today, I visited my room...a bare room where men were in and out...working and working! They are preparing the walls for paint, readying the floor for tile, changing out the air conditioning unit, and planning to lower the ceiling. Wow!

Right now, I am an oxymoron. Excited and a little concerned at the same time. Why? I love the change that is occurring and am so looking forward to my students, both former students and my "newbies," seeing the transformation.

My concern? Every item that was in my classroom is in a box, stored, waiting for me to unpack. Will my room be ready for August 19?

My philosophy? Where there's a will, there's a way. Going to ponder on "the way"! (Did I mention I may have to spend a few days recovering from a surgery between now and then?) May be offering Beta service hours for student helpers! See! There is a way!

Time with the Girls

Have now had a little down time since our five days spent colloborating with the teachers in Fort Smith and getting to better-know my five peers who will also share the experience of 1:1 computers this fall at Batesville High School. Took a little break from technology to...

1. Slept for about ten hours. We spent some intense, long, exciting days "playing" with technology.
2. Finished James Patterson's Sail, the novel that helped me get through a major storm on Friday!
3. Read James Patterson's Judge & Jury while re-acquainting myself with my comfy recliner.
4. Bought okra plants and a pool at Wal-Mart...shhh, the kids think the pool is just for them!
5. Took a nap.
6. Helped plant those okra plants. Now know I did not purchase enough. Have to have two complete rows! (By the way, girls, remember that bean-picking party I mentioned?!)
7. Am now using technology again...have recovered from my "maxed out" level.

While Twittering...or Tweeting as I have also heard it called...I came across a link posted by Bud the Teacher to Webspiration: a tool I will now weave into my lesson plans for the fall, a great tool for prewriting/planning papers and projects. Have I mentioned how much I like it?!

Okay...enough technology for a few hours...now have to help David Baldacci solve some sort of crime in The Whole Truth. By the way, I just noted Baldacci's interest and support of "literacy efforts across America."

1. Wish You Well Foundation
2. Feeding Mind and Soul: maybe a project for Beta Club or English National Honors Society?

Ah, another reason to support the reading of David Baldacci!

Note to Mrs. Ann and Mrs. Peggy...see you just have to write about whatever you are doing...just start a post and reflect!

Also posted at Treasure Chest of Thoughts.

A Cafe of Learning

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