Adult Coloring Book Craze

As a child did you spend hours with your box of Crayolas(the kind with the built in crayon sharpener) contentedly coloring away in your coloring book?  Fast forward a few decades later and do you now as an adult still love to color in coloring books?  Adult coloring books are being sold everywhere you look.  Coloring has become a popular way for many adults to relax and refocus as way take a trip back to the comfort of childhood.

Coloring books have taken the top 10 spots on the New York Times best sellers list of games and activities for the month of January.  Why are so many joining the ranks of coloring adults?
Has coloring become a form of art therapy? Are people taking a journey back to their childhood memories? 

Coloring adults have a wide variety of reasons for pulling out their colored pencils, markers, and crayons to color.
Coloring has even become a form of socializing as coloring groups are springing up nationally.  Coloring adults meet in libraries, coffee shops and homes to color, share and compare.
Adults armed with colored pencils in a range of colors that no rainbow ever dreamed of are finding pleasure in coloring.  Coloring is such a simple engaging activity.  Its rhythmic repetition results in a finished product where colors are arranged at the whim of the artist.   You might not be able to draw a simple tree but a coloring book gives you the opportunity to create a picture to be proud of and feel like an accomplished artist.  In the process of coloring and creating you start to feel more focused and anxiety decreases.

The therapeutic qualities of art have long been recognized.  Carl Jung, a famed Swiss psychologist prescribed coloring mandalas to his patients.  He based this coloring activity on his belief that the Eastern mandala was a symbol that represented the whole personality.  Jung began experimenting with coloring mandalas from 1916 to 1920.  He created a series of colored mandalas during that time period that he felt represented where he was in his life.  In the coloring process he developed the theory that coloring mandalas allowed for an espression of the inner self. Jung is quoted as saying the mandala is, "the psychological expression of the totality of the self.”

 So back to our original question:  Did you color in coloring books as a child?  Do you color now that you are an adult? 

I struggle with this because I never enjoyed coloring books that much as a child.  I found it stressful to keep inside the line as I colored.  I would watch my sister merrily coloring away in her coloring book as I halfheartedly colored beside her. I preferred my crayons and a blank piece of paper that allowed me to draw lines where ever I wanted.    I dreaded going to a certain friend's house that always wanted to spend the afternoon coloring in coloring books.

As an adult I find that attitude has changed.  I actually find it relaxing now to mindlessly color in spaces.  I still prefer a blank piece of paper to make my own drawing however that type of drawing has become a serious endeavor.  My drawings are fulfilling in a different way than coloring.  Coloring is not as intense as drawing for me and so it becomes a method of simple relaxation.

Relaxation...something we all need in our lives.  Relaxation is important for a balanced life.  I think of my career as a teacher and realize the opportunity to relax during the day doesn't exist.  Teaching is demanding on many levels.  When you add your own personal life to your career demands you find you have very little time or energy left.  It is hard to carve out some guilt free time for you. 



Take time to color, sing, dance, or whatever it is that you enjoy. 

Taking care of you will keep you healthy enough to take care of others.   You work hard and you should not feel guilty about taking time to enjoy life. 

 Relax and Happy Coloring!

Adult Coloring Book for Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Coloring-Book-for-Teachers-2349507

"Technology Gone Wrong" in the Classroom

Has Your Classroom Become the Victim of Student Technology Pranks? 

I think the use of technology in the classroom has created an infinity of possibilities for teachers in their daily instruction as well as enabling students to embrace and engineer their quest to learn.  It can be an amazing source of information and differentiation in the classroom.

However....lately I have witnessed several instances of "technology gone wrong" in the classroom.  Students have very creatively found ways to use technology to create mischief in class.  I am not talking about students who attempt to sneak on inappropriate websites on their Chromebooks.  In 2016 students have taken their pranks to a new level with technology. 

Historically there have always been student pranksters in the classroom.  Dating back to the 1800's when Tom Sawyer was dipping the end of Becky's braids in the inkwell students have used their creativity to cause mischief in the classroom.  Spitballs have become vintage pranks as students now use assistive technology to create havoc in the classroom.

The first occurrence of a new high tech prank occurred in one our 8th grade classes.   I was walking to the classroom to pull out a student for small group  intervention when I noticed a student crying. The teacher was in the classroom doorway attempting to comfort her.  As soon as Ms. T spotted me she frantically exclaimed, "I don' t know what is going on!  I know I am not imagining it!"   Intrigued I asked her to explain. Ms. T. stressfully revealed that sudden loud rap music was randomly blasting out inappropriate lyrics from the back of her classroom.  Despite a search of the area by school security no explanation could be found.  Following the search the music stopped for about an hour but now it was back with a vengeance. The random outbursts of loud inappropriate music had continued throughout her math class.  Every time the music burst forth students were jumping up and dancing.  The entire math lesson had turned into utter chaos from the mystery music.

The confusion was further combined by the now crying student who had only been in America for a year and was totally baffled by the randomn music.  She had  strong cultural beliefs related to spirits and she actually was scared that some type of evil spirit was the cause of the mystery musical outbursts.  There was no calming her down and she continued crying.  I walked in the classroom which was currently quiet.  Within in minutes extremely inappropriate music blurt out of the back of the room and then stopped.  I searched through the entire bookcase in the back pulling out book after book out and yet found nothing!  At that point I felt it was more important to console the crying student so I took her back to the quiet of my classroom and requested that the school counselor make a visit to help comfort her fears.

Once the counselor began to work with the student to help bring her anxiety down.  I went back to the classroom with our school security aide.  We began an intense search of the room as the teacher valiantly went on with her math lesson.  After checking every crack and corner we both looked at each other and shook our heads in defeat....nothing suspicious was found! 

We stood in the back of the room observing the students when the security assistant noticed a female student stuffing something into the waist band of her sweatpants.  Being that this young lady was a frequent visitor to the office on incident referrals suspicions were aroused and the security aide walked up to her.  He asked her what she was hiding and after several requests she pulled out a round device.  At first he could not figure out what the technology he was holding was however after closely examining it we discovered in was a portable wireless speaker.  This was a wireless speaker that could be controlled remotely by a cell phone!

Ah Ha! Mystery Solved!

 Yes, I am really out of the technology loop on that one because I did not even know such a device existed!

The guilty student was escorted to the office where the accomplices in the prank would be revealed.  A short time later an administrator was in the classroom setting down strict guidelines and warnings to the students regarding the use of technology in classroom pranks.

Thinking that technology pranks had been nipped in the bud school continued on with the usual classroom issues, none of them related to technology.  The week before Christmas break it happened again.  All classrooms are equipped with a TV mounted in the front of the room above the white boards.  Since the introduction of Smart Boards the TVs have become an obsolete tool that just silently hangs down unnoticed.  Every second period the two 8th grade classrooms switch for math and language arts.  When the new group of students entered the room escorted by the teacher they found the TV was on blaring out a local morning talk show.  The teacher assumed that a student influenced by the excitement of the upcoming holiday break had impulsively turned the TV on as they left the room. She quietly reached up and turned the TV off and began her lesson. 

 Meanwhile in the other classroom where her home base students resided for ELA the ghostly presence of a technology prankster was at work.  The TV in that room was randomly turning off and on.  The first time had the teacher puzzled. As the TV repeatedly turned off and on several times she realized technology was at the root of the mystery.  She asked the classroom culprit to step forward only to greeted by a room of blank faced students that looked like they had forgotten their own names.  She called for assistance and the principal quickly appeared.  In her no nonsense fashion the principal instructed the students to take out a piece of paper and write down all they knew about the prank.  She further announced that if the situation was not settled in the next 10 minutes their field trip for the following day would be cancelled.  Pencils remained frozen in students' hands as they all strongly adhered to the misguided philosophy that "Snitches get stitches". 

As the minutes nervously ticked by one student in the front stepped forward and admitted he was responsible.  He had downloaded an app on his cell phone that he had somehow hooked up to turn on the TV from his phone. Upon the student's confession his fellow accomplice admitted his role and the two were promptly escorted to the office. 

I have to admit I rather admire their technology talents.  I wonder if teachers need to be more mindful of the fact that we  have students that are extremely bored in the classroom and need different challenges than what we are offering. 

Are we failing to find ways to challenge and engage all students and consequently they channel their creativity in a mischievous direction?  Perhaps using technology for misdeeds is a sign of the times and it will continue to become a classroom problem.  Personally I think it means we need to offer our student more opportunities to express their creative side by providing instruction in coding and other more advanced computer skills. 

 Has your school experienced the technology prankster? 

 

 If so, please comment below,  I am very interested in what may be a growing trend in the classroom.

 

Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

The first snow is always so beautiful and I enjoy observing its soft white covering transforming everyday objects into pristine sparkling marshmallows.

 By the end of January this same snow fall will have lost its charm and I will be seriously considering a move to Florida. 
As I pull myself back from the window I refocus to school challenges.  Our district has mandated that 45 minutes of the school day is spent on math and reading  intervention.  Students are divided in small groups and rotate between centers where one center is teacher led.


This allows all children to have small group contact time with the teacher during intervention. 
My challenge has been developing centers with independent work and practice on the skills students have not yet mastered.  After searching and failing to find what I needed for a current math skill I had to roll up my sleeves and start creating!

We have finished "order of operations" and I still have a small group that needs to strengthen their skills on use of this strategy. 

I channeled my inner Aunt Sally to inspire me.



Yes, I know she looks like the old maid from the Old Maid card game!





I then started working on pre-assessments and a recording sheet to find out where my students were struggling.

My assessment checks on student understanding of exponents as well as order of operations.  Student assessment data is recorded to indicate where remediation was needed.

I have found interactive notebooks to be a very successful tool.  I introduced a variety of interactive notebook templates to review the strategies in order of operations with students in small group during intervention time.



After guided practice in interactive notebooks students worked in centers on task cards.   These strategies have been successful with my struggling students and I am observing improvement on "Order of Operations" I will be using the post-assessment to document students' progress and success.

Next, I think I better work on improving my Aunt Sally drawing... but that will be after I am done sledding with my 8 year old!

If you are interested in this math intervention tool check it out at:  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Order-of-Operations-Interactive-Journal-and-Task-Cards-2160136

 

Grape Jelly Postponed!

 

This was supposed to be “making grape jelly weekend”.  The grapes are deep purple and definitely ripe.  Standing next to the heavy vines it smells like a big glass of grape juice, they are very ready.  Letting them go another week may result in over ripe grapes and opportunity lost.  Saturday had me running every minute but I did think by Sunday I could steal some time to pick grapes and engage in the process of making grape jelly.  I make refrigerator jelly so I don’t go through the elaborate process of canning, boiling, and who knows what else, to make my jelly.  I just cook and refrigerate it.  It is a once a year treat and I look forward to it as my personal rite of passage into autumn.

Sunday morning I woke up with a sore throat and the start of a sinus thing.  Yes, I am definitely sick and from the way I feel right now I will be spending the better part of this day on the couch sneezing, coughing and generally feeling miserable.  I will not be standing over the stove cooking and stirring my grapes as they convert to jelly.  Can the grapes wait or will they be wrinkled raisins on the vine by next weekend?  Disappointed and sick I am grabbing my Kleenex box and heading for the couch. 

How did I get sick already?  The influx of coughing germ infused children in our school has already begun but it still is early in the school year for random viruses.   I have not been mindful of getting enough rest and taking time to distress.  I have definitely been burning the candle at both ends.  That balance between work and self has been lopsided and I think it is a contribution to becoming easy prey for a floating virus.  In addition to school demands I have been helping an ill family member while I juggle my own family’s needs.  Yup, I have not been doing what I should to slow down a bit and think about self-care.

How do you balance the demands in your life to allot time for relaxation and rest?  Do you promise yourself that you will take time out tomorrow only to postpone it for the next day, and then the next day and so on? Nature has stepped in and now I am forced to take a time out …to be sick.  I should have slowed down and got more rest.  Now I regret my bag of potato chips lunch and other embarrassingly unhealthy eating choices as I worked through my lunch hour.  I replay all the unhealthy things I had been doing in my mind.  I haven’t even walked the dog in a week and in addition to that activity being great exercise it is an excellent stress reliever. 

How did this happen?  Only 3 weeks into the school year and I have already allowed myself to get caught up on this insane merry-go-round of nonstop activity.  I am not happy to be sick but I needed this eye opener.  I realize I need to slow down, breathe, and walk the dog.  Maybe it is going to take better time management but I definitely have to schedule some “me” time.

 How do you balance work, family life, and personal time?

 

Fall Mindset for Learning

The scent of fall is riding in silently on the chill of the morning air, slowly closing the door to summer.  I love summer and feel some what cheated because I was too busy with summer school and juggling family stuff to take the time to appreciate summer as fully as I usually do.  Such is the life of a working mother and I know a lot of people reading this can relate.  There never is enough time in the day to complete all the plans and projects on my list.  Now that I am back in school full time again the list is even longer and the time is consumed even faster.

I have been looking into new strategies to motivate my reading and math intervention groups.  Based on every teachers' favorite tool "data" (do I sound some what sarcastic? ... good) we group students and spend 45 minutes daily on intervention in small groups.  I work with a mixed group of special education students and students who struggle with proficient mastery of skills at grade level.  One of the biggest road blocks to move these students on is motivation.  They have simply given up and and therefore they are highly unmotivated.  I have been reading and researching about  Growth Mindset and I believe this needs to be a starting point for my intervention group.
A lot of struggling students lose their confidence in their ability to master a skill and by the time they reach adolescence the damage is done.  They have decided they are never going to be good at math, reading, or both due to repeated failures at attempts to master concepts. 
Even as an adult how many times are you willing to attempt to do something that you fail miserabely at? Once? Twice?  Do you tell yourself on the third attempt,"I am not good at this and I don't think I will be able to do it".  Then do you avoid any opportunities that involve attempting that failed attempt again?  We have all had those thoughts and our students do to when it comes to many areas of school curriculum. 

My students start each intervention period working on confidence and motivation.  Our first intervention time was spent talking about failure and viewing it as a learning experience.  We made personal motivation posters which are hanging in the room.

Introduction to intervention has evolved into a kind of a short  "pep rally" to help students approach our work with motivation and a willingness to engage in difficult tasks.  I am in the process of researching further activites to start out my intervention time that will be motivating and help them think about failure in different terms.

I will also be taking time to enjoy the approaching autumn and the beautiful sights, smells, and activities that come with it. 

 Yikes!  It seems like my Concord grapes were green just last week and now look at them, purple and very ripe.  I guess I will be setting time aside this weekend to make refrigerator grape jelly.

 

A Little Piece of Italy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

The weekend consisted of rushing around doing errands, cleaning, shopping, and lesson planning.  It was back to back and by Sunday the manical pace of playing catch up from the week was making my head spin.  The weather was beautiful and by noon realizing I had not taken any time to just sit back and appreciate the day I knew I had to force myself to step off this tread mill to nowhere.  I grabbed my 8 year old and told him we were going out to lunch.  We headed towards Lake Michigan and ended up on Brady street,  the "east" side.  We decided to go Italian and stopped at Glorioso's, ordered a mini pizza, and headed outside to dine "el fresco".  

 It was absolutely lovely.  A little piece of Italy right here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I finally could relax and put all my school ideas, plans, and hopes out of my mind for the moment.  I enjoyed my child's conversation and did a little people watching as we finished eating the cheesy flavorful pizza in the sun.  All too soon we would leave and it would be back to reality.

Week #2 It's About to Get Real-Update

The first week of school was filled with smiles, excitement, new school supplies and dreams.  However by Friday issues were starting to rear their heads and the middle school drama was beginning to emerge,  Facebook drama, stressed out kids and hot tired teachers were the theme of the day.  The week had been very hot and humid and this 100 year old building becomes a brick oven under those conditions.  Everyone was thankful for the 3 day weekend and hopefully a cooling off in the weather would begin.

Now we are back for week 2 of school and the kids are quiet and a bit sleepy.  It is still hot and humid and that affects energy levels.

I am energized and excited to implement a variety of new strategies this year.  After reading about and researching growth mindset I feel like it would be an excellent strategy for my math intervention group.  There is a lot of research supporting growth mindset and data showing increased motivation, improved behavior, and increases in math and verbal achievement test scores.  Growth mindset originates from three decades of work by Carol Dweck. I am currently reading her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

I see so many students that are only in 7th or 8th grade yet they have totally given up and decided that they will never be good at math or even school in general.  It is so disheartening to see 12 and 13 year olds decide at their young age to quit and not put forth effort because they truly believe they will never be successful at the math curriculum for their grade level.

I have read a few negatives regarding growth mindset however the positive seems to out weigh the "nay" sayers.  I will be continuing my research and planning on implementing this strategy with my intervention math group.  I will report back as I use these techniques and we will see how it impacts my students' motivation and ability to stay focused when they fail.  I hope to see them continue to work on challenging skills until they have mastery.

Have you used growth mindset in your classroom?  I would appreciate any comments(positive or negative) regarding your use of growth mindset in the classroom. Thanks!

 

Update:

 

The students began learning about growth mindset by analyzing how they feel when school work is difficult or challenging.  We discussed the differences between fixed mindset and a growth mindset.  After a lively discussion they designed their own motivating poster.