Family, friends/a social life, exercise, me time, vacation, our new house, SLEEP, grad school, work/improving myself as a teacher.
These are my "big rocks." My priorities in life.
However, why is it that I put those in my "bucket" AFTER I've tried to cram a million little rocks in there? If those truly are my priority why wouldn't I be sure they made it in first...and then whatever space and time is left over would be filled with the little things?
My mom has always told me "Natalie Jean, do NOT sweat the small stuff."
I sweat it.
Lately, I feel like I'm up to my neck in the small stuff.
When being presented with this idea of the "big rocks" and how crucial it is to prioritize those first in life it couldn't have come at a better time. I currently find myself being so encompassed by the little things that happen throughout a day in my life as a teacher, student and wife that I had very little room for the things that truly matter. Since that realization I've been trying, very hard, to put as many big rocks in my life bucket as I can and, only when those rocks have been tended to, do allow the little rocks to spill in.
I think this concept is essential to focus on because it's your big rocks in life that really matter...and life is way too short to focus on anything that doesn't really matter.
So, what are your big rocks and how do you fit them all in?
Sunday, April 21, 2013
It's all backwards!
As a fourth year teacher I've become accustomed to planning my own units when I feel that what our curriculum has provided me just doesn't cover what I hope my students will come to understand...that is if I have a curriculum to use! However, the way in which I've "planned" these units has, until recently, been designed around "fun" activities I found via other blogs, Pinterest, or coworkers. "What's wrong with that??" I thought. "My students are SO lucky to have a teacher that just wants them to have fun and really be engaged in our activities." Pat on the back.
However, when being presented with the concept of Backwards Design...my little unit-planning world came to a screeching halt! At first it seemed like a very overwhelming concept. I thought I'd have to start alllll over again and essentially from scratch. To my delightful surprise, I was wrong.
When planning a unit, subconsciously I've always thought about why my students should know the information. I didn't want to produce students who constantly wondered "how in the world am I ever going to use this?" Now, I know I'll be more deliberate about beginning with those big ideas and essential questions and I've actually found, when reading through our state standards and benchmarks, that they are stated in a way that is easy to format into a bigger understanding and question.
As I move into the assessment and instruction piece I'm coming to see that I simply need to be more intentional with my formative assessments. I need to use a variety of them in a way that will gather helpful data to curve my instruction for the days to follow. Also, there are many things that I am already doing with our 1:1 iPad initiative that can easily be used for these assessments!
Overall, I'm no longer feeling as overwhelmed as I anticipated being. I'm taking deep breaths and settling in with the fact that this first unit won't be published in a Backwards Design handbook...and I'm okay with that :)
However, when being presented with the concept of Backwards Design...my little unit-planning world came to a screeching halt! At first it seemed like a very overwhelming concept. I thought I'd have to start alllll over again and essentially from scratch. To my delightful surprise, I was wrong.
When planning a unit, subconsciously I've always thought about why my students should know the information. I didn't want to produce students who constantly wondered "how in the world am I ever going to use this?" Now, I know I'll be more deliberate about beginning with those big ideas and essential questions and I've actually found, when reading through our state standards and benchmarks, that they are stated in a way that is easy to format into a bigger understanding and question.
As I move into the assessment and instruction piece I'm coming to see that I simply need to be more intentional with my formative assessments. I need to use a variety of them in a way that will gather helpful data to curve my instruction for the days to follow. Also, there are many things that I am already doing with our 1:1 iPad initiative that can easily be used for these assessments!
Overall, I'm no longer feeling as overwhelmed as I anticipated being. I'm taking deep breaths and settling in with the fact that this first unit won't be published in a Backwards Design handbook...and I'm okay with that :)
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