I spent a lot of time today reading through school emails and blog posts. And as I did, I wrote down tips, strategies, and events that I want to keep track of or remember.

But I have yet to touch the list of things I would like to cross off my to-do list this weekend, which is about the things I like to do: reading blog posts and articles about teaching and learning.

But I’m taking a break for a while to take care of other things – food shopping, going to the library and then relaxing with a new series on Netflix.

One school task I did get to, one I created and not one I was told to do, was to read my students’ reflections about what they learned this week.

They also wrote down the goal that they had shared during our Talking Circle earlier in the day. Their goal could be about school, but it didn’t have to be. However, it had to be a short term goal, rather than a big goal like: I want to learn French. They set great goals for themselves: meaningful, personalized and doable.

As I walked around the classroom yesterday, reading their writing, I panicked. Some kids had written very little and a couple of them couldn’t remember anything they had learned. Red flag.

But as I read their reflections today most of them were very insightful even if they were short. Many of the kids drew pictures to add to their words.

I wrote back to them asking questions or commenting on what they wrote. On Monday, they will write back to me. I will keep these as evidence of student self-reflections about their learning.

And, starting on Monday students will write their learning reflections on a daily basis rather than doing it all on Fridays. I’m hoping this change will help those who can’t recall what happened at the beginning of the week. Honestly, I think that would be hard for me, too.

We will continue to set goals during our Talking Circle and to record that goal on Fridays as part of our learning reflection.

Ah! All in all, it has been a very productive Saturday and I feel energized about teaching.

Cross posted to the Two Writing Teachers March Slice of Life Story Challenge.