Oops...

Teachers,
Here is your later than usual weekly dose of “5-Point Friday.”

Oops... —
I have been reading about students making mistakes and how we as teachers deal with that. So the question I want to ask is how do you deal with mistakes in your classroom? The brain research is showing that when a mistake is made the brain sparks and grows. This does not happen when we already understand something. It also tells us that how we look at mistakes (mindset) can either help us improve or shut us down. This is important in our classes because we want students to improve and not shut down. So how do we do this. We make sure the climate in our classroom is one that welcomes and encourages mistakes for learning. This can be tricky. We as teachers need to expect and encourage mistakes and show how persistence can help students understand that mistakes help us learn and our brains to grow. That also means we cannot be punitive with mistakes. We need to explain and correct misconceptions. Teaching persistence with unknown information will help our students brains grow. Sometimes we need to convince students to be persistence. That is where being an expert teacher comes in. It takes convincing and not just telling. Show them they can be persistent. It is worth it as their brain will grow. We are growing brains in our school. Big brains.

Quote I’m pondering —
"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin." - Mother Teresa

What I’m watching —
Angela Maiers - You Matter
I have been following Angela on twitter for a long time. She is an education and technology guru. She has some amazing insights and thought on tech in the classroom as well as education in general. This video is about how much all of us matter. Everyone matters. Everyone.

Favorite Website This Week —
gonoodle.com
What a great site for brain breaks and just plain silliness a couple minutes. Get the students up for a minute and have them move. It has some great meditation videos also. It is a free sign up for teachers to use and track whet you have watched. Yes, they can be used K-12. Don't limit your class with what you think is too hard or too babyish. Middle school kids do these. Try one every couple days. You will be surprised.

A Big Thank You —
Thank you teachers. What an amazing night our First Annual Hispanic Culture Night was. You all deserve a big thank you. All the work you put into your classrooms to show off your country was amazing. The activities, the food, the fun, the photo booths, and the decorations. Amazing. A special thank you needs to go to Third grade for the idea of having this celebration. Thank you third grade. Another special thank you goes to Shelly for bringing it all together. Organizing this celebration was no easy task and it ran without a hitch. So many families come and just enjoyed themselves. So thank you all. Thank you for your dedication. Thank you.

I appreciate all of you and your hard work. Have a wonderful weekend.