Day 168: I know it’s nearly all over when, one day later, I can honestly remember NOTHING that happened in class yesterday. I can only assume that means neither anything bad nor anything particularly wonderful happened. Class itself was pretty average. I gritted my way through a pair of teacher-directed lessons, getting by on management more…

Day 167: Sometimes, it all just works. First period handles the decomposer lab – including leaving to go put soon-to-be decomposed bread in their lockers – without flipping out. Second period’s usual characters were all calm and focused. Fourth period, aka my homeroom, aka my darlings, aka my devil-children, were all engaged and on their game.…

Day 166: We had indoor recess today, due to rain. I had to tell five girls to get into the classroom three times; they finally went in when the building sub walked by and said, “Do what you’re told.” So, you know, that had me in a good mood, the whole not-following-my-directions thing. TC was the…

Day 165: Every time I teach a lab, I make a point to reinforce the importance of respecting materials, even when they are everyday materials that you might have in your house. This usually results in on-task behavior. And then, sometimes, kids are kids. Like Friday, when JM ate the bread that was meant to be…

Day 164: Thursday was our annual 6th grade field trip to Blue Hills, a hiking area and nature preserve south of Boston. Last year, I had to sit out due to car accident-induced concussion and whiplash, so I was excited to get to participate this time around. The weather was perfect – 85 degrees and sunny.…

Day 163: Tuesday, I committed to a better Wednesday. By better, I mean not only helping my kids be more focused in class, but also writing plans that were worthy of class – not end-of-May crap. Mission largely accomplished. Fourth period was grossed out by the decomposing rabbit slideshow I began class with, and then was…

Day 162: Sometimes, you just get caught off guard. Tuesday morning started innocently enough. I had two classes come in and nail class. And that’s despite the fact that second period featured a skit on energy pyramids that totally bombed last year (ah, the wonders of improved management). I let myself think it was going to…

Day 161: Friday morning, we took the entire sixth grade to the Upper School – the 7-12 campus where they’ll move after this year. We saw the recess yard, we met the principal, and we had a tour of the 7-8 building where they’ll have all of their classes. Two items stand out. First, we ran…

Day 160: Thursday’s Theme: Win some, lose some, then try to get some rest. The sixth grade was presenting plays on Greek myths at various points throughout the morning. This means I got my third period class intermittently over a period of 10 minutes while I was trying to start class, and teach a really tricky…

Day 159: Wednesday, I had one of the best classes with my homeroom all spring. Sort of. After three or four quick warnings, the Do Now was silent. Not sort of silent, but actually silent. When it came time for the food web demonstration – throwing balls of yarn around the room to make a big…