Spreading Holiday Cheer

I’m all about holidays, all holidays, even those that very few people celebrate or recognize.  Who knew that “Answer the Phone like Buddy the Elf Day” was a thing.  Well, it is, and I celebrated it hard last week.  In my classroom, I go a bit overboard on the holiday decorations.  In October of this year, my classroom looked like a stop on a haunted hayride attraction.  We had put up cobwebs, signs, and scary things all over the place.  My students loved getting into the Halloween spirit.  Then, came November, and the Christmas decorations.  I put up lights, garland, and all sorts of fun stuff.  While many naysayers gave us a difficult time as we got into the festive, holiday spirit early, research shows that it’s healthy to do so.  As the big holiday is now upon us and my school is on its long winter break, I’m able to pause and reflect on how lucky I truly am.  I have the great fortune of working with a creative, talented, kind, and wonderful group of fifth graders in my class this year.  They are curious, hard working, and persevere like nobody’s business.  Each new day brings new adventures in our classroom.  I love it!  While my students have never failed to amaze me throughout the first few months of our academic year, recently, they did shock me a bit, and it all started with a dog.

Several weeks ago, one of my students, who loves all types of animals, shared how excited she was to be adopting a dog from a local animal rescue.  She talked about this new dog for several days.  When the big day finally came, she was over the moon the next day in school.  However, unfortunately things didn’t work out with this dog and her family, and they had to return the dog to the shelter.  She was heartbroken for several days.  I felt so sad for her.  Luckily, this student sees life through the eyes of a unicorn in a rainbow, and so she didn’t allow her sadness to plague her for too long.  Although she bounced back to her normal cheery self quite quickly, I knew that the loss of this dog affected her greatly.  That’s part one of this story.

Now for part two…  About a week and a half ago, our school’s phenomenal headmaster gave an inspirational speech to the school about serving others and helping our community during this season of giving.  He suggested that every student and teacher try to do something special to help someone or something else without any sort of hidden purpose or intent.  We should just help for the sake of helping.  My class was motivated and inspired by our leader’s words and wanted to put them into action.  They wanted to help.  That’s when I thought about the rescue that my student had used when attempting to adopt her dog.  Live and Let Live Farm in Chichester, NH is a rescue shelter and sanctuary for all animals.  They provide homes for any and all animals who can’t be cared for by others.  When I asked that particular student about us trying to help the Live and Let Live Farm, she seemed happy and giddy.  So, I suggested that, as a class, we find a way to help by raising money and gathering items to donate to this remarkable place.

While this idea had hit us very close to the start of our winter break, we only had about five days to put something together.  The students voted to host a bake sale at our school.  Within three days we had secured permission for our event, made and gathered various tasty treats, and put together an amazing bake sale.  A student announced our plan to raise money for this magical animal rescue at an all-school meeting the day prior to our big event.  The morning of our bake sale, last Wednesday, a student made another announcement to the student body, reminding them to help support this great cause.  My students made flyers and each student was assigned a job for the event.  That morning we sold many cookies, brownies, and delicious treats.  However, we still had many leftovers.  So, my class decided to extend the bake sale into the following day.  By the end of Thursday’s bake sale, we had sold out of many of the items we had all brought in.  It was amazing.  Later that day, my students counted the money and discovered that we had raised $127 for the Live and Let Live Farm.  That was no typo, $127.

In such a short time, we were able to raise a large amount of money for this wonderful animal sanctuary.  Amazing!  While I knew that we were going to be able to do something magical, I was not expecting something so over the moon.  The class had set a goal of $65 the day of our first bake sale, and some of the students were even skeptical that we’d raise that much.  I reminded my class of the power of positive thinking and hard work, and we almost doubled our original goal.  Working towards a special goal together as a community really does allow for wonderful things to happen.  While I’ve always felt that this time of year fosters a sense of kindness and caring in the world, I didn’t know it could be quite this magical.  I was so proud of what my students were able to accomplish.  When the total amount of money raised was shared with the class, you would have thought I had told them that the following day was a going to be a snow day.  They applauded and hooted and hollered something fierce, rightfully so.  And, when I looked into the eyes of that one student who had a special connection with the animal rescue, she was beaming with pride and joy, “They now have money to help other animals like Aubie.”  Talk about a special class of students.  I truly am one of the luckiest educators I know.  The holidays really can bring out the best in people.

To you all, I wish happy holidays and may you find a way to spread some cheer and love during this festive season.

Why Are there so many Keys to Progress?

About two years ago, as I was about to turn in the keys for the school at which I no longer work, I realized that I had way too many keys on my key chain.  I had about 20 keys on a series of interconnected key rings.  It often weighed down my pants, causing my right pant leg to sag significantly more than the left one.  Why, you might be asking yourself, did I have so many keys on my key chain?  I wish I had a better reason than the truth, like, it was because I am a secret agent for our country and always need to be prepared to unlock any door I may happen upon.  Unfortunately, my plethora of keys stemmed from laziness.  I was too lazy to take off the old keys that I no longer needed whenever I added a new one.  I had keys on my many key rings that I had no idea to what they went.  Did they unlock some secret hideout that I had created while sleepwalking?  Did they belong to my old house?  Did I find this one on the side of the road and just add it to my key chain for no good reason?  Who knows.  When I realized that I had a key problem, I decided to make a change.  I took the whole five minutes that it took to go through each and every one of my numerous keys to determine if I still needed to have them on my key chain.  I reminisced about some of the keys that went to things from years ago, while other keys simply left me scratching my head and wondering why I had it on my key chain.  I purged many keys in that short moment that kept me locked down to my past.  In the end, I was left with about four keys.  That’s all I really needed.  So, why did I have 16 extra keys?  I’ll never know.  I’m not one to old onto things I no longer need, and so I’m still questioning why it took me so long to rid myself of unnecessary keys.  Perhaps I just wanted to hold onto a little piece of the past.  Whatever the reason, I made a change that day.  I moved forward and chose to live in the present moment.  Progress really does happen one step, or key, at a time.

In the classroom, I often remind my students that we should be striving for progress and not perfection.  It’s all about the tiny changes and steps forward that make the big difference in the end.  Although my students don’t always realize or see the improvement or progress they make throughout the year, I do.  I see it and am always quick to point it out to them.  At the start of the year, a few students struggled with word problems in Math; however, those same students are now much more able to properly and effectively tackle word problems without the same stress and anxiety they once had.  They have found a way to see word problems as just another math task.  They made progress in that area, and after completing an assessment on which they had accurately completed all of the word problems, I made sure to praise their progress, effort, and perseverance.  “You have made much progress in the area of word problems.  I am so proud of the effort you put into understanding how to successfully tackle word problems.  Your perseverance is amazing,” I said to them.

Sometimes, however, students take a few steps back in certain areas or regarding particular skills throughout the year.  Many of my students began the year in Language Arts class being able to craft a quality story with a beginning, middle, and ending.  However, a few weeks or a month later, they were unable to demonstrate their ability to do the same thing.  I had several students complete a story for our current unit in Language Arts that lacked a solid ending or closing.  They just ended it with “The End,” ended with an awkward cliffhanger, or did not adequately develop their ending.  Those same students were able to showcase their ability to craft an original story with a strong beginning, middle, and ending at the start of the year.  So what happened?  Did I not provide the students with enough time to properly craft a strong closing for their story?  No, they had two weeks to work on this last story in and out of class.  Were my directions for the assignment unclear?  No, I used the same objective that I had assessed them on for the first story they created during the start of school.  Perhaps it was the timing of the assignment.  They began working on this last story prior to Thanksgiving Break and then finished it during the first week of December.  Maybe that long break made it challenging for some students to keep an accurate timeline for their story in their head.  I was very perplexed as to what had caused this strange occurrence.

To forge ahead, I made sure to provide each student with specific feedback on their story and the graded objectives via Google Classroom.  I also discussed this issue with the whole class.  “I noticed that many of you struggled to display your ability to craft a story with a strong ending.  Some of you used cliffhangers that were not effective, while others just quickly ended their piece with no build up or explanation.  For this next story, I want you all to take your time and develop an effective ending, so that you can demonstrate your ability to meet this objective.  If you are struggling on how to do so well, please see me for guidance,” I said to the whole class.  As they began working on the next story in this story writing project, I’ve reminded them all on numerous occasions to be sure they develop an ending that makes sense for the story.  So far, I’ve been blown away by their stories and their ability to craft a creative and well developed fan fiction story.  They are using dialogue and capturing the characters, setting, and plot effectively.  They are also staying true to the story line of the piece they used as inspiration for their story.  It’s quite impressive.  One student even asked me, “Does this ending work?  I feel like it does, but I want to be sure that it is a proper ending for the story.”  Wow!  They are taking such care in their story craft.  At this point, I’ve put eyes on almost every student’s story, and am happy to report that what they have crafted thus far is the best writing they have done all year.  The one ending I have read is almost flawless.  It fits the piece and really closes it nicely.  The students have made such progress from their previous pieces.  I made sure to address this with the whole class this past Thursday, “The stories I’ve read so far highlight the best writing you’ve done to date this year.  You are taking care to craft a fan fiction story that stays true to the original, while still adding in your own unique thoughts and ides.  Your word choice and sentence structure is phenomenal, and the stories are so engaging to read.  I can’t wait for you all to finish so that I can find out what happens.”  I believe that this statement made all of the students feel very proud of themselves, as smiles covered their faces.  They are seeing how feedback can direct their learning and lead to progress.  They are learning from past mistakes, and making sure not to repeat them.  It’s quite amazing.

So what brought about this change in their writing?  How are they now able to craft an ending and write brilliant stories, when their previous pieces were not strong writing examples?  What changed?  I think it’s all about progress and time.  The previous story writing task was a bit more restrictive and too difficult for many of the students.  I think I had pushed them beyond Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development with the previous writing assignment, which caused many of the students to be unable to demonstrate their ability to meet one or more of the graded objectives.  Where as this new writing task is much more open and engaging for the students and they aren’t limited by a word count, they seem really engaged and excited about this current fan fiction story task, which is definitely helping to motivate them and allow them to highlight their growth and progress as writers.  My students needed time to practice and hone their craft, a more manageable assignment, and specific feedback that explained the errors they made so that they can learn from their mistakes.  They are all now showcasing their ability to take a step forward in their ability as writers.  Awesome sauce!  I allowed my students to find their missing key as writers.  Sometimes, to move forward, we need to be pushed back a bit in order to see the power in progress.

How Do we Teach Our Students the Art of Self-Regulation?

Picture this: You’re on a family vacation, driving to your destination, when some careless driver cuts you off.  You’re angry, outraged!  However, what you want to do and what you should do in this situation are two different things.  Much like a Choose Your Own Adventure Book, you have some options at this point about what to do next.

• You could, if you are a thoughtless person, flip the driver the middle finger and curse loudly despite the windows in both of your cars being closed.  Of course, this does not remedy the situation in any way.  In fact, it makes you even angrier.  Meanwhile, the other car that caused you to become angry is long gone.  At this point, your young children, who witnessed the entire debacle unfold, are asking you why you used your swearing and inappropriate angry parts.  You then realize that you were not modeling the type of behavior you want to see from your children.  So, you then spend the next several minutes explaining to your kids that they they should not do or say what you do and say.  Oh, hypocrisy.
• Or, if you are using your self-regulation skills, when that driver cuts you off, you could do and say nothing, but instead take the opportunity to talk to your children about being a safe driver.  You could then crank up the radio and sing kid-appropriate tunes together as a family as loudly as possible.  Ahhh, aren’t family vacations the best?

In life, we are constantly bombarded with choices.  We can do or say something we regret, or take some time to think things through, acknowledge and control our emotions, and then act appropriately.  of course, we all know that doing the latter is often difficult.  It’s very challenging to be in control of our emotions.  However, imagine a world in which all people are in control of their emotions and act kindly and empathetically towards one another.  There’s no war or violence, just love.  I want to live in a place like that.  To make this dream a reality, we all need to work on the art of self-regulation.  It’s like self-control, but with a little more pizzazz.  When we are in control of our emotions, we do not react, but think, and then act.  When we allow our emotions to get the best of us and run the show, we often do and say things that we wish we hadn’t.  Allowing our emotions to hijack our brain so that we act like primitive humans is the complete opposite of being self-regulated.  While we are all works in progress, we keep striving towards being self-regulated people on a daily basis.  It’s hard, but we can do it, or, at least we can try.

If you think it’s hard for adults to self-regulate themselves, for kids, it’s exponentially more difficult, as their frontal lobe is not fully developed.  This means that kids often aren’t able to take the time to think because they can’t do so effectively yet.  Kids are incredibly impulsive and generally do and say the first thing that pops into their evolving minds.  However, with training and practice, kids can begin to exercise self-regulation too.  If they learn the power of self-control and emotional management at an early age, they are more likely to continue using it as their brain develops and matures.  Kids who are taught self-regulation strategies in school or at home, will more often than not learn to see the benefit in self-regulation later in life.  Being in control is super fun.  Who doesn’t like to control things?  That’s why they made video games, right?

As a teacher, I make sure to teach my students self-regulation strategies throughout the year so that they can learn how to harness their controlling powers.  I use Yoga and Mindfulness techniques during the start of the year to teach them concrete strategies to help them clear their mind and engage their bodies.  While these methods work for some students, they don’t help all students see the power in being thoughtful and patient.  This past week, I took a different approach to teaching self-regulation strategies to my students.

I found this very fun video online that teaches all people what self-regulation is and some strategies to be more in control of our emotions.  I like it because it is a bit silly but accessible.  It simply teaches three useful, self-regulation strategies: Deep breathing, talk to someone about something unrelated, or sing a song.  I shared this video with my students and we then discussed the strategies.  They loved the video, and laughed at many points right along with me.  Knowing that my students have lots of past experiences and knowledge, I decided to not just stick with the strategies covered in the video, but instead, dig into other self-calming or self-regulation strategies the students use or have used in the past.  One student shared how she likes to clean when she is upset or feeling a big emotion.  Another student likes to take time to herself to calm down, while another student likes to talk with her friends or others when she is feeling mad or upset in some way.  So interesting.  Our students are great resources for us as teachers.  Who wants an old, balding man to tell them what to do when a peer their own age could say it in more kid-friendly and relatable way?  I then moved us into talking about how this might relate to the classroom.  “What could you do if you get angry or upset in the classroom, during a lesson or activity?  How might you practice self-regulation then?”  One student suggested talking to the teacher about taking a break from the classroom or going for a short walk to calm down, while another student mentioned that she could move to a new spot in the classroom to get away from the situation that may have caused the big emotion.  One student said that getting a book and reading silently might help her practice self-control in the classroom.  I closed our mini-lesson by reminding the students to work on being mindful and aware of how they are feeling so that they can utilize one of the strategies we learned about or discussed in class.  And, that was that.

The next day, I could tell that a student was getting frustrated by her peer following our Morning Meeting.  In the past, when this student got upset, she shut down and was unresponsive.  However, this time, that same student came to me to ask if she could go for a quick walk around the school.  I knew that this was her way of practicing self-regulation.  Inside, I was jumping up and down for joy.  In fact, I almost cried.  About three minutes later, she returned to the classroom and got right to work on her math lesson.  She seemed to be in a positive mood and had a smile on her face.  When she was away from her peers, I quietly celebrated the fact that she made use of a self-regulation strategy, allowing her to move on and not become hijacked by her feelings.  I said, “I’m so proud of how you self-regulated yourself and calmed down on your own.  That was amazing!”  She seemed very pleased with herself and responded, while smiling, “You’re so weird Mr. Holt.”  Yes, yes I am.

The following morning, I revisited our lesson from Wednesday with a quick chat about the power of self-regulation.  I highlighted how a few people had made use of some self-regulation strategies over the past two days.  I praised those students and discussed how we all need to work on acknowledging how we are feeling, but then taking the time to think before acting.  Throughout the day on Friday, I pointed out times when students were self-regulating themselves and also shared how other people might practice self-control at times when they reacted instead of self-regulating.  I believe this approach is working and helping the students see the power of self-regulation.  I will continue to talk to the students about self-regulation throughout the school year, as we are all works in progress.  Self-regulation is hard for adults, and so kids need even more practice than everyone else.  My goal is that my students will begin to practice self-control and mindfulness strategies on their own by the end of the year.  So far, I’ve already seen progress from some of my students.  I now can’t wait to see what the future holds for the rest of my wonderful fifth graders.  I’m hopeful that in 15-20  years, one of my students will be on vacation with their family and be able to model for their children how to act when big emotions wash over them.