#ShadowAStudent 2017

Last year I learned about the Shadow a Student Challenge. School staff members are challenged to experience a day in the life of a student by following them from the first to last bell, participating in the student's day. My administrator supported several of us to participate last year (blog post HERE). This year, as I am no longer a classroom teacher, I felt it even more necessary to participate. I want to stay connected to classroom cultures, teachers, and students and I feel this is a nice opportunity to do so. The opportunity to shadow a student at another elementary school was my goal. After working at the same school for 16 years, I am learning how much of a bubble I was in (even while participating in collaborative meetings, conferences, and having grown a strong PLN). A few weeks ago I learned I had the opportunity to shadow a first grader at an elementary school I am fortunate to work with often. I shared with the teachers and parents what the #ShadowAStudent Challenge is plus the campus leadership shared the project with the staff so they would have some understanding of the reason I was walking down the hall in line with 7-year-olds.

The day began in a teacher's room because I was shadowing a teacher's child. It was fun to be one of the first students in the classroom. The teachers smiled and welcomed me, showing me where to leave my lunchbox. The students in class were very confused and giggling when I brought in my backpack and asked where I could hang it up. My shadow student knows me and he quickly helped me out. The students asked me several questions but followed procedures and were prepared for the day to begin. One of my favorite things was how the day began with pleasant music. The morning announcements had not yet begun but there was music playing that made me feel happy and welcome. The students on the morning show announced that I was there and explained why, which made me feel special and happy (and hoping that I wouldn't be a distraction). After announcements, the teacher allowed me to introduce myself and explain my project, then each student introduced themselves as we had Circle Up. Circle Up is such a wonderful way to begin the day. Everyone gets their voice heard in the room and connects, which is warm and inviting and builds a positive classroom culture.

First, we had Math. We did so many fun things!! We sang, danced, read a story, did a formative assessment activity, had a quick assessment, then played partner games. It was busy but with a nice balance - sit & listen, dance, sit & listen, move, sit & listen, work, sit & listen, play. Before I knew it, it was time for Writing! We took a bathroom break as a class and it felt good to leave the room for a different space to fill for a few minutes. We went to another teacher's class for writing, which was research about dolphins. Our group worked together to search books and a site for facts the teacher referred to as 'treasures', which made me smile and miss teaching first grade. Plus, it made research feel like an adventure since we were searching for TREASURES! A single word made a difference that transformed our activity to an experience.

Next, we returned to our classroom for read aloud and an optional bathroom break. Our teachers were great partners and the two classes moved seamlessly through the day as a group. We worked on some activities while students worked with the teacher on Student Led Conferences prep work (Student Led Conferences were the next day). I had a conversation with the students at my table about the conferences. They enjoy sharing their growth and learning with their parents, which falls in line with our district Portrait of a Graduate. The students and their words made me smile.

Before I knew it, it was time for lunch and recess. I was so glad because all this movement and fun made me hungry! If you have never joined first graders for lunch, you must! The conversations are informative and entertaining and I had a great time. I knew what to do all the time because I could understand the expectations from students' actions or their words to help me. Procedures are clearly defined and executed in this school, which made my stress and anxiety for doing 'the right thing' at ease. Recess was great - it was a beautiful, sunny day! I mostly walked around to stretch my legs and arms, but also snagged a swing for a little bit. : ) It made me aware that even though we moved and had flexible options for seating, I needed to have big movement (gross motor movement) time. This had never occurred to me before as a teacher. Providing movement is important but this time to really move, stretch, run, and feel the sunshine is super important, too.

The afternoon was a buzy blur of Personalized Learning Time and science, which was a combination of books, paper, games, songs, and more. The day wrapped up with Specials. I went to Music then PE (yes, I wore my tennis shoes). In Music, I had so much fun but was really comforted by the clear expectations in place. With such a short period of time in which to experience this art, the teacher was prepared and ready for each step seamlessly. We sang, danced, and use an app called Quiver to practice music knowledge and skills to secure. Next, we went to PE. Y'all. I'm a spectator. Despite my boys and their gifts in athletics, I am NOT an athlete and quite clumsy. I was nervous. However, the PE teacher quickly led us to a fun game and I had a great time (pretty sure I got my steps in!) The children were encouraging and we smiled, laughed, and had fun moving and playing (reinforcing important skills of sharing, taking turns, postive teamwork, etc).

The end of the day was there before I knew it. I had a Student Council Meeting on campus afterwards so I had no time to process or rest until later (thus this post sitting in DRAFT for almost a year...) however, it was a most amazing experience. Some of my take-aways were how much fun our students are. Just sitting and listening and getting on their level was so uplifting and eye-opening. Another was how music was such a happy way to start my day. It promoted an even more postive and uplifting atmosphere in the classroom. Procedures and calm, caring teachers helped me feel so comfortable, safe, and confident throughout the day. Lastly, movement - moving in the classroom felt different than moving outside in the sunshine and fresh air as well as different than playing a structured game in PE. Movement, music, and many smiling faces helped me get through my day. Had the supportive teachers and encouraging students not been there to build me up, I'm certain my confidence would have dipped... which led me to believe had I needed to secure any knowledge or skills, I would have struggled had it not been for the pieces put in place by these dedicated educators.

What a fun day! I'm so thankful to the teachers that opened their doors to me, for the teacher friend who allowed me to shadow her child all day, for the energetic, sweet first graders who were my new best friends for eight hours, and most of all that I am surrounded by these forward-thinking educators and allowed to have this opportunity to push on and continue to learn and grow.