So, now the questions is what exactly should I reflect on? There is so much that goes into our daily lives in the classroom. A few things you want to reflect on are organization, routines and procedures, and unwanted behaviors. As a reflective educator I am sure you thought about many of these things throughout the school year and made adjustments where necessary. Now is the time to think about what really worked for you and your kiddos! Let’s get started together.
WHEN TO REFLECT & WHY
I typically begin my end of year reflections and observations one month before the school year ends. I do this for several reasons.
1. I want to reflect on things that were not working while I still have students in my care. This allows me to try out something new with a live group before the summer and perfect it based on reflection and observation.
2. I can get a head start on my summer to do list once I have tried something out with my kiddos and think it would be a great addition to the classroom.
3. It gives me the opportunity to talk with other educators in my building for suggestions.
ORGANIZATION
Organization is literally everything we do as teachers. The way we collect assignments, return assignments, set up our games, library, indoor recess materials, desks, you name it…we organize it! The best thing to do here is take a couple days and reflect on each corner of your classroom. What worked well? What was a disaster? What just needs to be fine-tuned? Did having the students place their homework journal on their desks, opened to the page from the previous night work well? Great! Then no need to tweak it, keep it! (love that rhyme) I’ve included a FREEBIE with a list of some organization end of year reflection and observations you may want to consider.
ROUTINES & PROCEDURES
We know that without routines and procedures our classroom will not function. So, which ones did the students master and looked like little Ms. or Mr.________ (insert your name here) walking around the classroom? Which routines did you find yourself having to repeat in order for it to be carried out? Take your time reflecting on this one. You want to save yourself some nerves in the upcoming school year. Some of your routines may already work, but just need a routine revamp. Use this time to compare notes with other teachers on how they handle lost pencils, unsharpened pencils, too many pencils, mechanical pencils…OMG, I can go on and on about pencils. Routine revamp is also a great way to freshen up something you have been doing consistently. Try something new!
UNWANTED BEHAVIORS
This is a big one. Through your end of year reflections and observations about the organization and routines and procedures you will more than likely correct some of the unwanted behaviors you may have seen this school year. The end of the year is the perfect time to increase positive behavior boots. These may look like a teacher assistant who gives Class Dojo points, a routine revamp, seating arrangements, a mystery student, and all the Pinterest ideas you could ever want. Be sure to think about the needs of your special population and the kinds of reminders they may need.
Grab my End of Year Reflection & Organization Workbook to help you plan all of your back to school solutions. Planning ahead for how you would like to attack organization, routines and procedures, and unwanted behaviors can be such a relief. Use this workbook to help you reflect on the glows and grows of your year. Take it one page at a time. It is summer for goodness sake!! I promise, taking this time to really analyze will make you feel so much more put together, less frazzled and organized.
Cheers to the best school year, yet!
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