Monday Moanin Thoughts #156 Welcome To May 2015, Time To #finishstrong

Wow we did it. We made it to the first Monday Moanin of May 2015. For many of us educators,  the month of May signals the school year will be ending soon. With that comes many invitations to focus more on management issues and end of the year activities than to focus on good teaching and learning. As a young teacher, my principal always reminded our staff  be well planned and intentional for the final weeks of school.His message was simple, finish strong. Whether you teach an AP class or  kindergarten, these weeks can be full of learning opportunities and quality experiences for all learners. This first week in May is a great time to begin the planning to make the final weeks exciting and a full of  meaningful learning opportunities for all students. Rick Wormeli says it best:

“Don’t waste the last few weeks of school on fluff  and babysitting experiences. It’s not only boring to students, it’s unethical. Choose a day very soon to begin planning for one of the highlights of the year: the experiences of those last few weeks.”

Over the upcoming weeks,  join me in using the hashtag #finishstrong on twitter. Please share some examples of strategies that are working and helping you finish strong.  Use the hashtag and maybe this could be a powerful and effective way to  collaborate and grow.  Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff. 

Don’t forget to celebrate teachers during National Teacher Appreciation week May 6-10 2015. The best gift that we can give teachers is… Respect.

Have a great week and keep finding the good stuff. #finishstrong