My planner matches my class (or does my class match my planner?)

I am joining Robyn of Kreative in Kindergarten and Meghan of Keeping up with Mrs. Harris for Plan With Me Sundays (yes I know today is Tuesday, but I've had a busy week). I wasn't sure I wanted to participate since my planner use really doesn't start until the school year, but I figured I have "technically" started and this weeks' post is about supplies. Those I can talk about.

I tend to have an AWESOME planner the first week of school...and then it all just gets lost. This school year I am making an effort to do better!

I tend to plan in four different places, my phone, my e-mail (Outlook), my desk calendar, and my school planner. Outlook I am more or less stuck with because my bosses use it and I need to mark when I am busy there so people know when to schedule appointments. My desk calendar is key for big items, but not day to day. My phone is awesome, but sometimes having things in writing is just best.

Normally, my school planner isn't much to look at, but this year I moved into a new classroom and am really trying to make it homey. I got some awesome black and white wrapping paper from the dollar store and have used it for accents around my room. It covers part of my podium, is the background of my wallpaper, and acts as the border for the class bulletin boards. I used this to add some color to my free "weekly lesson plan" notebook the school gives every year.

I can't show the inside of the planner because I don't know my schedule for another few weeks. Until then all I can really do is play with the cover and wait.

So, my yet-to-be-completed cheap-o school planner.

I am a big fan of school spirit, so dollar bin gold tape and blue rewards stars rim the edges. I also LOVE stickers (who doesn't?). I grab mine from all over the place. Sometimes I grab them from Michael's, The Dollar Tree, Target and of course a small store called The Grossmont Nutrition Center that always has random stuff. I haven't doodled it yet, so it is rather plain. I like to leave my covers relatively unfinished so when I bring them into meetings I have something to doodle. I am a strong believer in the power of doodling.

I do HAVE favorite pens for planning, but will admit that since this comes with me home and to school, I usually use whatever is on hand.

I am a HUGE fan of highlighters, not only for focusing on important ideas, but also for color coding. I teach five different classes and work after school. All of these are on rotating schedules, so I like knowing that I can match one color to a specific class or activity. 

For big things like headers, (or marking days off) I am a huge fan of chalk markers. They don't seem to bleed through as much as other markers, don't have that marker-y smell, and seem to be rather pigmented.

These Beary Genius ones also come with reversible tips so I can have some freedom with the size of lines.

These work great on any surface, but they really pop on chalkboard labels. You can find chalkboard labels all over the place, but I LOVE these from Chalkola. The neon colors really pop and they have tons of fun shapes I can play with that make my planner more fun to use thus, I actually use them!

I also tend to use  a lot of sticky notes. These are however for less permanent things. For example, if I know a student is very sick, I may put a post-it in my planner for a week from when I find out that reminds me to send a letter, or call home if they still haven't showed up. Once I've done that I throw the sticky out, so it doesn't mess with anything else. Stickies are basically my code for, "This is something you need to handle ASAP and it will take you less than five minutes."

That's pretty much it. Hopefully as the year progresses I'll have a chance to share what the inside looks like and you'll be able to laugh as you see the development of  the cover of my planner as it goes through numerous meetings.

My 2015 Adventure

I am so ridiculously excited abut going 1:1 this year. I think I may be the most excited of all parties involved.

For those who aren't familiar with 1:1, it varies a bit to bit, but basically means that each student will be have a device to use in class. In our case, the students are each receiving a laptop at the start of the term. They will be expected to bring this device to every class and teachers are encouraged to develop ways to have students use their laptops productively.

Last year was my first year at this school and I STRUGGLED with technology. Booking the computer lab wasn't always a guarantee. Plus, those computers tended to be old, slow, and complicated to log onto. Most of my students had laptops, so sometimes I would just tell them to bring their laptops. Then however they would expect me to help trouble shoot the five different models, My favorite was when the exchange students would expect me to help them.

Student: It isn't working for me.
Me: OK, let me look..... your computer is in Chinese... I can't really do much from here. 

Now I know 1:1 isn't a magical key. My students did a lot this year without it! We rocked interactive audio books, used student made review games, fund-raised for charities, made interactive "What Character Are You? quizzes, and used infographics to support a thesis. But imagine what I can do with students having their laptops every day! Plus, students will be able to gain technological literacy on a quasi-daily basis.

Now don't worry, it won't be all typing in my class! Conversation is still key :) Anyways, I just wanted to share a quick post about what I am most excited about next year (it was a close winner, my classroom being the second thing I am psyched about).

I hope this excitement will last me the whole school year, but I am also rather practical. I teach literature after all and know that no hero's adventure was great without obstacles and bad guys. I am sure wifi signals will go in and out, sites will be down, students will be off task, laptops won't be charged and overall chaos will ensure. However, I am really excited that in the end we will have gone on an awesome adventure.

I'd LOVE to know what YOU are excited about for this upcoming school year. For the next week this link-up is open, so feel free to join :)


   

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