Changing Habits

When I changed school districts and positions this past fall, I never imagined that my writing would suffer. Actually, I thought the time I would be able to spend on it would increase but that is not the case. I went from teaching fifth grade writing to kindergarten-first grade STEAM. Things are different.

I have traded correcting papers for cutting out lamination.

Knowing the names of 90 kids to trying to remember 400.

Following a curriculum to creating my own.

Enjoying a quiet classroom to embracing and encouraging conversation.

When I first started out as a STEAM teacher, I had this vision of trying to incorporate journals into my daily routine. That worked for a split second until I realized that time was my enemy. I am a thinker and writer and maker. I mourned my idea and worked at trying to include literacy in different ways.

We have a caterpillar, EETCHY,  that leaves mystery objects for my kindergartners. They use this tool to help figure out the item. Little do they know that EETCHY will be the backbone to their research unit on animals.

My first graders are recording PSA's for the weekly announcements focusing on an issue in the school that is important for everyone to hear. Today, it was the rules of taking part in an indoor walking recess.

There are books. A few baskets of them for my early finishers or students that just need a break. The students get excited when there are new ones in the basket.

And mentor texts. Every single lesson I do is centered around a mentor text. It's our routine and works.

Someone once told me that the difference between kindergarten and fifth grade is simple. With kindergartners you have to be emotionally available all day long. The end of the day comes and you are too exhausted to think. With fifth graders, they can take care of themselves, for the most part, during the day but the exhaustion comes after school hours when you are up late correcting papers or worrying about the child in your class that needs to take care of her siblings so she can't do her homework.

But I thought it would be different. I thought that since I am a creative arts teacher that it wouldn't be so emotionally draining and I would have more energy in the evenings. Um, no! Just as tired as everyone else. Too tired to read. Too tired to write. So exhausted that I haven't participated in Slice of Life Tuesday in over a month. I have every intention of doing it. Plan out the post in my head but never get around to pulling out the computer and typing my thoughts up.

So with March, a month I would just like to skip because we are so busy it is a bit overwhelming, I am going to change some habits. One of them is writing. More time. A little each day to participate in this challenge. Thirty-one days. And hopefully when I am done, my writing will once again be a habit that is part of my day.