If You Say You Can... You are usually Right!

This is a quote from Henry Ford which emphasizes how much attitude determines success or failure.

    I use that quote a lot and often couple it with YET(if it's I can't).  We may not find that our path is clear or success quick but we can control our attitude, our willingness to persist and the opportunity to find joy.  I think I may have told you in the past that I was voted most optimistic my senior year of high school.  I really don't think that it's always a great quality to be so optimistic.  There have been times when working a plan with staff in a school my optimism got carried away and when the results came back I found myself super disappointed.  I do know this, however, that working in a title one school is difficult.  I mean super difficult.  It's rough on a good day.  The grind can start to wear you down if you do not find joy, happiness and dare I say FUN in the work.  We have to mine our inner optimism and say:

I CAN HAVE FUN AT WORK!  I CAN INCORPORATE FUN INTO LEARNING!

Remember if you say you can't you are usually right.

    No one can tell you to have fun or make you have fun; it's a choice.  Though fun at work is sometimes thought to be a distraction, research suggests that it has a positive impact on engagement, creativity and purpose.  When we find tasks enjoyable, we're more eager to dig in and complete them.  When we make time for joy and laughter we become resilient.

It's Possible

Fun in Collaborative and Action Teams

Consider this email our 1/2 CT received on Friday:

I just wanted to send out a quick thank you for this morning.  I know that seems silly, but it genuinely meant a lot ot me.  It has been a very long and trying month and things are FINALLY starting to look up!  Today was the first time in a long time I felt like myself again and it was so rejuvenating to be able to laugh and joke with you all.  I know that I often have quite the RBF and I don't intend to.  Thank you Kim for pointing this out to me a few weeks agao. :).  (By the way I didn't tell her she had RBF.  I said you look stressed.)  Please know I genuinely appreciate everything you all do for our students and for our staff.

Happy Friday Heather

    Yes, we laughed but we also found time to dig through Bridges and find the standards that go along with workplaces.  The team was focused on targeted intervention and found new ways to support kids.  We also talked about how to make content fun and aligned with holidays.  People shared how they could use pumpkin seeds and other clip art to align with Halloween.  It wasn't a scary or meaningless CT.  It was FUN!

 

    Having fun and truly experiencing pleasure and joy in life is just as important as being productive.  For one, if we do not take the time to relax and have fun, we will just continue to build stress, which can lead to burnout and an even greater lack of productivity.

It's Possible

Fun in Math

Consider this third grade modification to a Bridges Lesson:

    Third grade students will be estimating how many seeds are in small, medium and large pumpkins.  Then they will getting their hands dirty, pulling out the seeds from the pumpkin to check their estimates!  When finding the total number of seeds in each pumpkin, they will need to decide if they're going to count by twos, fives, or tens.  Perhaps students will come up with other efficient ways to find the total number of seeds in each pumpkin.  Then they fun continues with the (cleaned) pumpkin seeds; each student will get a different number of pumpkin seeds to solve some addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems about the pumpkin seeds of students in their class.  The kids will have a blast and the teachers will too!  Keeping math at the center of the work is easy when it's hands on. LITERALLY!

I've also observed making learning meaningful in fifth grade.  They often change the problem to involve Ms. Oswald, Mrs. McGee or Ms. Adams.  The team will also change the context of the problems without reducting the expectation of the grade level standard.  Whether simple or a little messy there is always an opportunity to have fun in math.

It's Possible

Fun in Literacy

Consider this:

You always have the option to intgrate reading and writing in the content area.  As a matter of fact, it's a super powerful ways to have kids apply what they are learning during comprehension within informational text.  There is absolutely nothing stopping you from ordering books themed or aligned with you Social Studies or Science units.  The AEA will  send them to your speciffication making sure there is an appropriate reading level range for your student.

    Finally, the units in the Literacy Resource are set up for you to. immerse your students in a theme.  You can do a little or a lot it's up to you.  I know Julie would love to partner with your CT to get this started.

When teachers use activities that make learning engaging and fun, students are more willing to participate and take risks.  Having fun while learning also helps students retain information better because  the process is enjoyable and memorable.  

What is your next move to have FUN in the classroom? Discuss with your team and share in the comments.