My Educational Soapbox

So I knew that there was a blog a month hashtag on twitter and have been using it to spread the word of my blog, only to realize this month, that there is a specific #blogamonth challenge!  Now, that I am aware of this, I will not only continue to blog on my own, but am excited to have a topic handed to me to help me keep writing.

For my "educational soapbox" challenge I would like to talk about morning work in the elementary school classrooms.  Each morning students arrive in their classrooms and complete "morning work". What does this mean?  What are they doing?  Is this work only to be completed in the morning? What about when there is a dual curriculum and students show up mid-day?  Is it now "afternoon work".  And why is it almost always in worksheet form?  

When I was a classroom teacher for grades 2 and 5, each afternoon before I left for the day, I set up my classroom for students to know what they could do when they came in the next day.  Each day I had brainteasers on the board, along with other word/mind puzzles like rebuses and what I called plexers.  The kids were always excited to come in and see if they could figure them out and then before we began the scheduled day we would go over the answers and have a quick discussion.  This was their "morning work".  Looking back on it, I don't know if I ever put out worksheets to complete, and if I did they were fun (if there's such a thing).  I remember giving them more "chore like" things to do around the classroom that got them moving around - not seated quietly writing on a sheet.  Or maybe they would be reading, or finishing up something from the day before.  

I get it, kids are walking in to school at different times so there needs to be something for those early arrivers to do and it needs to be something that the late ones aren't "missing" anything important.  So, my rant goes like this - instead of having these kids fill out useless worksheets (more commonly known as busy work because this is all it is), get them into the habit of entering the classroom ready to really think!  Why not engage kids from the very start of their day?? Put out STEM challenges, brain puzzles, snap circuit kits, games to play.  Whatever you have on hand that is easy and quick - but most importantly it should be engaging.  If you set up your classroom to be exciting very first thing in the morning, it's possible those kids who usually come later, might actually want to get to school on time!!!

This is my experience  with Marvelous Mornings in the Media Center where students who arrive to school early get to do all the things I am talking about in this blog.  Usually, I few students each day lingering and loitering, and definitely NOT running to get to their classroom.  If their classrooms were set up where they were presented with activities to use their brains going first thing, they may change their minds.  I am often told that Marvelous Mornings is their favorite part of the school day and the parents are coaxed into getting kids to school early just so they can attend - well let's bring some of that to the classrooms!!  

This concept of getting students excited about school is not new, nor original.  Then why do so many teachers still give out worksheets each morning (and the same one to each kid no matter what their learning style or academic achievment is).  It is time that classroom teachers change their mindset to see that engaging children from the very beginning of their school day will result in more enthusiastic and excited learners.  I feel I have always had a sense of this, and it is reminds me that I am truly a future ready teacher from the past!