Out of That Room?

I have not posted in what feels like forever.   I am busiest I have ever been in my teaching career.   I have changed schools and I am teaching a very new and very different school.   I am in the same district,  but our district went out on a limb and built a new STEM Academy.   I absolutely love it 98% of the time.    It has been incredibly challenging and incredibly interesting.    I come home from work a whole new level of exhausted,  but I believe in what we are doing,  so it is good exhaustion.

I have wanted to post,  but then I get distracted by this or that. This year has been overwhelming.   But I want to get back to blogging,  I feel it makes me a better teacher.    My blog title seems kind of wrong these days as no longer have a "classroom".   Even the pink and cute doesn't feel so much like my teaching anymore.   I am thinking it is time for a blog make-over.   Something STEM-y.   Any ideas?

It is hard to explain how awesome my school is.   It is open concept,  very tech-ed out and beautiful.   Here is a little video showing a glimpse of it.  

This past year has been a lot of trial and error.   We have 3 second grade teachers and 3 third grade teachers in our "house".   We share an area that has 1 giant "classroom" - that can be made into 2 by closing a white board wall,  a giant science lab that can also be made into 2,  and a big open area in the middle with small kind of partially walled off areas.   You can see some in the video.  We have tried and retried a lot of different teaching models - and we feel like we have a good idea of what we are doing for next year!

We are a K-8 campus which is actually my favorite part.   I have never worked with middle school teachers and they are awesome!! We work in different ways and I feel like I have learned so much watching them.   It is also great to see the continuation of what we do.   Many of the 7th and 8th graders were in my class in 1st grade and it was so great to see them everyday and see how they were doing.   We are a PBL school and have some of the coolest opportunities to share.   I love seeing what PBL looks like in kinder one day and in 8th the next.  

Working here has made me think so much about teaching and education in general.   Our principals are amazing and truly listen to us and think through things with us.  They make decisions that make sense for kids.   I love that.   I will be better at blogging this coming year.   I am so excited to see what is in store for us!

But right now I am just really happy to have SUMMER!