It’s a good thing, too, because two weeks ago I took a fantastic road trip with my mom. (Note to self: Plan a trip the week after school gets out every year!)

Since we got back, I’ve been cooped up in the house, thanks to the PNW heatwave, and I’ve been surprised to see my mind turn pretty quickly towards prepping for next year. I’m sure part of my compulsion is that I’m teaching at a summer intensive course at the Micha-el Institute next week (you can still sign up!) but I’m also remembering how fun it is to dive into a new subject when I’ve got time to explore and I don’t have Monday morning’s lesson looming large.

So today I’m thinking about the most satisfying way to start your summer planning. 

Finish Your Reports

In general, I recommend finishing your reports before starting your prep. It’s difficult to dive into the planning with wild abandon when you’ve got that big task hanging over your head. 

That said, there have been some years when I have taken a more leisurely approach to my reports. I savor the experience and really live into the process of reflecting over the previous year. There is something to be said for really slowing down and giving each child your undivided attention over the course of the summer. But, the planning really shouldn’t wait that long.

If this is how you like to do it, create a schedule for yourself and do a little of both all summer long. Each day can have a little reflection and a little forward-thinking.

Map Out Your Year

The first thing I do when I start planning is sit down with the school calendar. To get a basic overview of the year, I highlight the breaks and count up how many weeks are between each break. This helps me start to envision where the blocks might go. Here’s what I did for our school year last night.

I tend to think about the school year as chunks of time from break to break, so my next step was to list the blocks and start chunking out that time.

So I wrote out how many weeks total, and then broke those weeks down into blocks. So in that first stretch (September-Thanksgiving Break), we’ve got 11 1/2 weeks, which maps out to two 4-week blocks and one 3 1/2 week block.

From there, I just look at my list of blocks and start slotting them in. I usually decide this based on seasonal projects and the inward vs. outward nature of the content. This year I plan on starting with a 3 1/2 week Botany block. Hooray!

Gather Your Resources

Over the years I have been a big fan of my local library. There is nothing more inspiring than finding the right area of the shelves, browsing the titles, and heading home with a big bag of books. It’s like book shopping — but free! I can’t tell you how many true gems I have found this way.

But I also can’t tell you how many times I couldn’t find a great resource that I remember using before. Just this morning I was desperately trying to remember a fantastic botany coffee table book I used years ago. I searched my order history on my favorite used book site, the local library catalog, and every search term I could think of — no dice. I wish I’d just bought it!

For this reason, a few years ago I decided to bite the bullet and buy all my own resources. Here’s my thinking.

1. Let’s face it. I’m going to be a Waldorf teacher forever. Those books will earn their keep.
2. Used books are cheap, and for some topics, the old books are the best anyway. This year I spent less than $100.
3. School resources get lost and stuck in colleagues’ personal libraries. I’d rather just have my own.

You may think it’s a little early to start gathering resources, especially library books. I mean, won’t you really need them when you’re teaching the block? Well, there are a few reasons to gather your resources now. First, it’s the fun part. There’s nothing that gets me more in the mood to plan than book shopping. I bought my books this morning and it got me so psyched I sat right down and started this post!

But the other reason is that it takes time for those books to get to you. Used books usually come from all over the country and they just take longer, and I’m not about to pay expedited shipping. Library holds also take time. There were a few books that I decided were too expensive to buy, so I’m just getting them from the library. With my name on the list this early, I’m pretty sure I’ll get them before the end of the summer.

But I’m telling you — if I end up loving those library books, I’ll keep an eye on the used book sites so I can add them to my personal library.

And because I’m such a book nerd, here are a few of my can’t miss fifth-grade books (in case that’s what you’re teaching, too). 

• The Plant vols. 1 & 2 by Gilbert Grohmann — I love this one so much I’ve bought it and loaned it out twice.
• Sequoyah’s Gift by Janet Klausner — Such an inspiring story for when you’re teaching the South in North American Geography.
• Buddha by Deepak Chopra — This biography of Buddha reads like a novel. Perfect summer reading.
• The Iron Ring by Lloyd Alexander — A great class reader for the India block.

Some others that I haven’t read (yet) but look promising:

• The Odyssey, translation by Emily Wilson
• The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
• The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wholleben
• Botany for the Artist by Sarah Simblet

So, those are the first things I do when starting my summer prep, and often that’s all I need to get the ball rolling. Once those books start arriving in my mailbox or coming in off my holds list, I can’t help but sit down and get reading. 

If you want more summer planning help, you might be interested in signing up for my annual Summer Productivity Course. It runs from late July through August and is designed to walk you through, step-by-step, the process of getting ready for the year. 

To get on the list to get more information about this course, click here and I’ll keep you in the loop.

Related posts:

How to Summer: Waldorf Teacher Edition

What I love about my classroom | Waldorf Grade 3

Friday Reflections 12.8.2018

The post 🤔 When Do You Start Planning? appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

hobonichi for teachers

Because here’s the thing. This little (beloved) planner of mine is something of an acquired taste. And to be honest, there are things about it that make the Hobonichi less-than-perfect for teachers.

But the paper. Oh the paper. And the lovely understated lines and colors. And the fact that you get a page for every day of the year in a thin little book. (Did I mention the paper?) Well, let me give you a little picture of how I use this planner and what I like so much about it.

My Planner Evolution

A few years ago I wrote a post about how I used the Plum Paper Planner and then before that a different post about using a bullet journal to meet all my teacher planning needs.

And I really did like those systems. To this day, those posts are some of my most popular ones. It seems that there are a lot of teachers who love to plan. As much as I loved those systems, you know that if I’ve switched to something else, it’s got to be good.

These days the Hobonichi is my main squeeze. Here’s why.

Tomoe River Paper — the holy grail for the paper aficionado.

Tomoe River Paper is this incredibly strong but delicately thin paper manufactured in Japan. Only a few stationery companies use it in their products, and Hobonichi is the most popular.

What’s so special about this paper? Let me sing its praises.

• The paper is remarkably thin. It’s Bible-in-the-hotel-drawer thin. This means that you can have a book with a TON of pages, that is still thin and lightweight. My Hobonichi planner has a page for every day, in addition to weekly, monthly and yearly spreads (and even a few pages in the back for notes).
• Tomoe River Paper (or TRP, as it is known to its fans) is crazy strong for how thin it is. I’ve NEVER torn a page.
• This paper is also SO smooth! My pen just glides across those pages so easily, which is why fountain pen users really love this paper. It’s truly a pleasure to write on. Of course, the downside is that this means it has a long dry time. You can’t just write with your fountain pen and slap the book shut without having ink on the other side.
• It doesn’t bleed or feather at all. Even though the paper is SO thin — the ink doesn’t come through onto the other side (bleeding). And your written words stay intact without spreading all over the page (feathering). Now, you can see the writing on the backside (this is what we call ghosting) but that’s different than bleeding. And I’ve actually come to like the look of ghosting. It makes me feel like I’ve got a well-used planner and a productive life.

But the paper is just one thing I love about Hobonichi.

The Different Hobonichis

Hobonichi makes several different planners in three different sizes that fit a variety of needs. Which is the best Hobonichi for teachers? Let’s see.

The A6

This little planner was the first that Hobonichi made and these days there are a few different options.

• The Original. This book has yearly, monthly and daily spreads and is almost entirely in Japanese. I get one of these every year and use it for journaling, memory keeping and keeping score in family card games.
• The Original Avec. This is very similar to The Original but the year is divided into two different books.
• The Planner This is very similar to The Original, with a few differences. It has a black, textured cover, is almost entirely in English and has a more subdued color palette. You can get this book with either a Monday or Sunday start on the monthly spread. Last year I used this instead of The Original.
• The Day-Free This book was new last year. It has yearly and monthly spreads, but blank pages instead of dailies.
  

Here are some shots of my wee little a6 planner. It’s my personal planner — the planner of my heart and soul.

The A5

The A5 is called the Cousin and it comes with just a couple of options.

• Cousin This is the basic book. It’s got the entire year in one book with yearly, monthly, weekly and daily spreads (along with some extras.) It also comes in an April start (which corresponds to the Japanese academic calendar.)
• Cousin Avec. This is just like the Cousin, but the book is spread into two books — January-June and July-December. This is the one I get for my teacher planner.
• Day Free. Just like the Cousin, but blank pages instead of dailies.

Here’s a shot of my set of a5 Cousin Avec books (ignore the fact that they’re from two different years.)

The Weeks

The Weeks is the narrow and thin wallet-sized planner. It comes in two styles — the regular Weeks and the Weeks Mega, which is twice as thick because it has a bunch of blank paper at the back.

I bought one this year, thinking it would be good to have something to carry around with me, but I quit using it months ago.

How I Use My Hobonichi Cousin Avec

Okay, so right off the bat I will say that I would MUCH rather have my entire year in one book. This is my BIGGEST compromise when it comes to using the Hobonichi. Hobonichi started splitting the year for people who were filling their journals with artwork and decorations that made the book super-thick by the end of the year. I don’t use it that way, so that’s not my issue. But I don’t want to have a book that has half of third grade and half of fourth grade.

But, Hobonichi does not make a planner that works with the US academic year. The closest they get is the April start, for the Japanese calendar, but those daily pages end on March 31. That just won’t work for me.

So, my workaround is to get the Cousin. Because the split is July 1, it means that this year 3rd grade went into the January-June 2020 book, and 4th grade will go into the July-December 2020 book. It works out. The books for the next calendar year are released in September, so this means that right now as I’m planning 4th grade, I don’t have the book for the second half of the year yet.

It’s terribly inconvenient. But I make it work. I’ll get the 2021 books sometime around the middle of September.

Here are some photos of my third grade Hobonichi so you can see how I use it.

Yearly Spread

I usually use a highlighter to map out my block schedule on this yearly page. I guess I never got around to it this year. (I also make a digital document with my block rotation.)

Another Yearly Spread

This is another yearly layout. I have sometimes used this like an index. If I took notes on a daily page that I want to find later, I’ll the topic on that date here. But, again, you can see that I don’t use it that much.

The Monthly Spread

I use this quite a bit. I usually have a sticky note flag or bookmark on the current monthly page and it’s probably the easiest place to flip open to and write something down quickly.

The Weekly Spread

In this book, all of the monthly spreads are together, followed by all of the weekly spreads. Again, I usually have some sort of marker so I can find the current week easily. But this page gets the most action on Sundays when I map out the week ahead. I generally ignore the time stamps so I can fit in my full schedule.

I usually write a few words about main lesson content — noting the review, new content and bookwork — along with the rest of the class schedule and any current themes. (Oh, and don’t forget the football games.)

The Daily Spread

This is where the magic happens. I write out my main lesson, mostly with bullet points. I’ll often include more notes about the review portion of the lesson, but I usually just write the title of the story I’m telling. Though there is a lot of room on the page, there is not enough room for me to write out my notes for storytelling.

So, I have another book that I use sort of like a bullet journal where I write out notes for the stories, or anything else that won’t fit in my planner.

For this, I use the Hobonichi Notebook.

I have a little canvas cover that holds the current planner and notebook and that’s what I carry to and from school every day (well, back when we were going to school every day.)

I used that notebook all through third grade — writing all kinds of notes and random thoughts, in addition to my daily story — and I still didn’t use every page. I had decided to use up some of the other notebooks I have this year and not purchase another notebook, but now that I take another look at it, I’m not so sure!

What I Don’t Love About the Hobonichi

Now, I’ll preface this section by saying how much I LOVE my Hobonichi. The planning experience is SO pleasant that it makes me want to pull out my planner all the time. It’s made Sunday morning planning one of my favorite times of the week.

But, life is full of compromise, and here’s what I’m sacrificing by staying so devoted to my Hobonichi.

No roster pages. Most teacher planners have a bunch of lined pages at the back where you can write all your students’ names along the side and track grades, attendance, skills, etc. along the grid. I’ve switched to a digital solution for this stuff.

No academic calendar. As described above, they don’t make a planner with dates that perfectly match what I need. My makeshift solution works, but it means that I don’t have the planner for the second half of the year during my summer planning. It also means that I’m only carrying around half of the year with me. The upside is that it means less to carry. The downside is that if it’s October I need to write down something that’s going to happen in March, I won’t have that book with me. (But this almost never happens, so it works out.)

No fancy teacher-specific pages. That Plum Paper Planner I used to use had all kinds of fun teacher pages — sub plans, school contacts, parent communication logs, seating charts — useful stuff. But, you know, even though it was fun to fill those out at the beginning of the year, I hardly ever used them.

In the end, the pleasant writing experience of the Hobonichi has made me a convert. If you’re a paper and pen nerd like me, you might want to give it a try.

But don’t blame me if you find yourself coming up with a purpose for three planners every year. (And don’t join the Facebook group if you don’t want to be tempted.)

The post Hobonichi for Teachers: The Little Planner That Will Make Your Heart Happy. appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Yeah. Mine too.

It’s enough to make a person a minimalist!

Okay, well, I won’t contribute to the madness too much. But if you’re looking to give a gift and want to avoid excess consumerism, I’ve found two things to be good go-to gifts.

1. Books
2. Art supplies.

A few years ago I put together a couple of gift guide posts to help with those decisions. You can check them out below. (Most of the links are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little bit of a kickback, at no cost to you.)

Waldorf Gift Guide — Art Supplies

Waldorf Gift Guide — Books

I’m all about giving purposeful, useful gifts, as well. Sometimes the holidays are a perfect time for a new lunchbox or a cute water bottle. And yes, your kids will appreciate them.

I’m home this week, preparing for a Thanksgiving holiday with the family, and getting caught up on some of my school administrative tasks. It seems like there just isn’t enough time for emails and record-keeping. If you ask me, it’s the perfect way to spend a couple of rainy days at home.

On the Friday before the break, my students and I had a great “finish-up” period. I put a list of tasks on the board and everyone got to work. There was a lot of productivity going on in that lesson!

In December we’ll be using these project/finish-up times to work on a calendar project. I discovered a really great book called The 13 Moons on Turtle’s Back by Joseph Bruchac and I’m using it as inspiration for our calendar project. The nature-based illustrations will make beautiful monthly drawings and we’ll fill in the calendar days with significant dates and events.

I hope you’re enjoying a quiet, reflective week like I am. Just perfect for this season of gratitude.

The post Waldorf Holiday Gift Guides appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Aren’t those end of summer reunions wonderful?!

I just love it when all of the anticipation of the summer prep is over and we finally have our first day back at school.

Don’t get me wrong — it was exhausting. Developing new rhythms and routines takes a lot of energy. And I somehow forgot how many reminders they need about even the old familiar classroom habits. But the energy is well-spent and I’m sure that we’ll be plugging along without a hitch in no time.

As the summer was ending and I was putting the finishing touches on my classroom, I kept remarking to my colleagues about how pleased I am with my classroom this year! Last year’s room was pretty tight for the 29 of us and we didn’t have a lot of extra space for storage, so this year feels like a dream!

Here are a few of my favorite things about my Waldorf 3rd grade classroom.

Countertop

I used to teach at a school where every classroom had a countertop and a sink. At my current school, there is just one room with this luxury — the 3rd grade. It’s just the best! Today we’re painting and I actually feel like I have room to spread out and set up!

I’m also well-aware that this area could end up being the dump zone, so I plan to stay on top of it and I’ve assigned it as a student chore, as well.

Standing Table

Our front office went through some reorganization this summer and as a result they had a couple of standing tables to get rid of. I quickly grabbed one of them when I found it in the hallway and it has quickly become one of my favorite things about my classroom.

I always like to have a table at the front of the room where I can put handouts, as well as my own supplies and resources. And for the past few years I have used a rickety old music stand to hold my lesson book. Now my plan is to put all of those supplies on this tall table. It’s super-accessible and the perfect height for me to write while standing (which, let’s be honest, I’m standing MOST of the time.)

Tall Chair

I got this chair years ago in the as-is section at my local Ikea and it has been my favorite ever since (you can see it in the photo above next to my standing table). Because it is so convenient (and comfy) at the front of the room, I don’t need to force myself to remember to sit down. The subject teachers also compliment me on this chair. I think every classroom should have one.

It’s getting a little rickety and I’ve repaired it several times since I bought it, so I keep checking the as-is section anytime I’m at Ikea these days. You can bet I’ll buy another one when this one bites the dust!

New Desks

The thing I am perhaps MOST grateful for in my new room is the new set of desks that my school purchased. Desks is an annual discussion in our faculty and we are constantly finding that we don’t have the right arrangement for one reason or another. Most recently it has been because our first grade teachers have the freedom to choose whether they want to work with the movable classroom or not. If not, they need a set of tables and chairs.

So this year, we found that we were short a set of desks for the 3rd grade. Last year’s 3rd grade switched to some tall, flip-top desks when the 1st grade transitioned away from movable classroom in January, but it was clear that those desks were just too large for even my tallest students.

So, I asked the faculty to consider purchasing another set, we scrounged around to find money in various leftover budgets, and made it happen.

They are absolutely beautiful and they make the biggest difference for my students. They are heavier than they are used to (last year we worked with really lightweight tables) but definitely lighter than the big flip-top desks and they fit in them perfectly. If you’re interested, these come from Community Playthings. I highly recommend!

Even better, the arrangement (two students per desk) makes the most of our long classroom and we’re LOVING that the students have a little storage cubby of their own (for the very first time!) It’s turning out that this little cubby is providing us with another opportunity for learning. A new rule: supplies stay in the desk and hands stay on top.

New Crayons

I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to taking care of supplies, so this fantastic group of students made the most of their crayons and used them through 1st and 2nd grade. This year, though, I bought brand new sets!

I knew that I wanted to give each child their own crayon roll, with their own name on it, so they could take care of them and be the one responsible for the condition of their own crayons. In previous years we had a set of crayon rolls and students just got whichever one was handed to them. It worked fine, for the most part, but towards the end of 2nd grade they started to complain if they got the “bad” set of crayons.

Well, yesterday they got their crayon roll with their brand new crayons and, I tell you, it was like Christmas! I heard them say, “I don’t even want to use them, they’re so beautiful!”

There’s nothing I love more than seeing students gush over their supplies. Yay! Tools for learning!

Wondering what supplies to provide your students throughout the grades? Check out this great art supplies list. Just enter your email address and I’ll send it your way.

Supply Organization Shelves

One of the things I’ve found to be really successful with organizing student supplies is having one shelf at the end of the room for each row. You can see in this photo that the students’ crayon rolls, main lesson books, writing folders and each row’s crafty bins stay neatly on the shelf, ready for them to retrieve when necessary.

I love that this means that their lovely supplies are not getting crunched up in their disorganized desks. It also means that I can check their work easily, whenever I want. I’ve been keeping my students’ supplies organized this way for the past two years and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

I hope you’re having a great start to the school year. If you’re looking for a little extra support, you might want to check out my curriculum guides. I’ve got many throughout the grades, including a Basics package that gives you the basic lay of the land for each grade. Lots of people have found them helpful.

Finally, if you’re reading this at the time it’s published, I’m offering a free classroom management workshop. If you want to know the 3 Classroom Management Strategies Every Waldorf Teacher Needs to Know, sign up for this free course. It goes live September 10 and you have to be on the list to get the info. Sign up by following this link.

The post What I love about my classroom | Waldorf Grade 3 appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

Okay, on to the topic.

Record-keeping is another one of those topics that wasn’t fully addressed in my Waldorf teacher training.

I mean, yes, there was a lot to cover. And I got a FULL dose of the importance of imagination and activating the feeling life of my students. And truly, this is the MOST important aspect of my work. So thank you Nettie and Betsy!

But, beyond this, I firmly believe that what Waldorf teachers need to do to become more appreciated and respected in the mainstream world is to provide more documentation and feedback.

All it took for me to be convinced of this idea was my first IEP meeting collaborating with the local public school. They asked which “research-based” curriculum I had tried and what records I had regarding the student, indicating more evidence was necessary before they would consider him eligible for services.

Yikes. Clearly my insight and intuitive connection with the student wasn’t enough to convince them he needed extra help.

So, based on experiences like these, here are the top 4 documents I think every Waldorf teacher should be maintaining to track student progress.

Main Lesson Book Tracking

Are your students completing their main lesson pages? In the upper grades you should collect them and give feedback. At this age students themselves need feedback to encourage them to improve. If you’re curious about what this feedback might look like, take a look at my Record-Keeping and Feedback Guide.

In the lower grades, you probably won’t share your observations with students, but you should definitely have a sense for who is completing pages and who needs extra time. This will go a long way towards preparing them for middle school.

Developmental Movement Tracker

In the early grades, I tracked my students’ movement skills with an eye towards how I could help them along.

I created a chart with every student’s name listed and all the skills I was watching for. If you put your email address below you’ll get the chart I used for first grade, but it’s easily adjusted for your grade level.

Student Observations

However it works best for you, make sure you develop a system for tracking your student observations.

I can’t tell you how many times I wish I’d written down thoughts I’d had about a student. Even those insights that seem inconsequential at the time, can be really important when you’re meeting with parents and wanting to impress the importance of providing extra support at home.

Come up with a system that works for you and start keeping those records, even if you’re in first grade.

Extra Support Log

We all have those students who we suspect will need extra support to fully realize their potential. Often, we give them the support they need without really recognizing it.

Do you have a student who you ALWAYS give extra support right after an instruction is given?

Is there a child you KNOW would not succeed without a little extra encouragement from classmates and teachers?

Document this. At the end of every lesson, write down the students you worked with individually. Later, go back and look through your notes for trends. Are there students who wouldn’t have been successful without your support?

Ultimately, this is fine. Providing extra support is part of our work. But make sure you communicate with parents about it. You don’t want them thinking their child is a self-directed, independent learner, when they actually rely on you for a lot of support.

If you’re interested in finding ways you can support your students in the classroom, I am offering a free workshop all about the 3 classroom management strategies every Waldorf teacher needs to have. Registration for the workshop is open now and it will go live on September 10. Make sure you register so you don’t miss it.

I’m all about giving Waldorf teachers the tools they need to give their students all that they can, and this workshop will really help. I hope you’ll sign up.

The post 4 Record-Keeping Documents Every Waldorf Teacher Should Have in Their Binder appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.

It is the end of August, if you’re listening to this episode when it is released and teachers everywhere are in the throes of organizing their classrooms. Things get so busy as the year goes on, it’s important to start out with systems for keeping supplies and resources organized. You’re going to be spending a lot of time in that classroom, so start thinking about it as a little home away from home and you’ll be much happier throughout the school year.

This episode is being brought to you by my Fall Productivity Course. My Summer Productivity Course is winding down and I’m getting ready to lead a new group through a whole new set of topics all about the tasks Waldorf teachers need to think about in the fall. Topics for my Fall Productivity Course include:

• Rhythms and Routines
• Classroom Management, part 1 — engagement
• Classroom Management, part 2 — discipline
• Imagination in the Classroom
• Working with Parents
• Working with Students

The course begins October 6 and you can get more information by going to http://www.awaldorfjourney.com/fallcourse.

Photos of my classroom in the blog post that goes with this episode. And if you’ve got classroom photos to share, I hope you’ll join the Facebook group and post your photos there. It’s a nice little community of teachers, parents and homeschoolers who would love to see how you set up your classroom.

Pinterest board of Waldorf classroom decor

The post AWJ 44 | Waldorf Classroom Organization appeared first on A Waldorf Journey.