Musings from Mrs. Galvan

So tomorrow is the first day of school. I am at the point in my to do list when it is time for me to let some things go - I can't do everything  I'd like to on day 1. I did make a presentation to explain Standards Based Grading. Inspired by Bowman , This prezi gives a basic overview of what SBG is, why I use it and how it will work for my students. Apparently in my post grad school haze I completely missed the TMC15 inspired month of blogging ( Blaugust ). I also missed discussion on all the awesome things people learned at TMC15, including using my favorite read of 2014 - Make It Stick  both to structure class and as a teaching tool.  Julie R . blogged about how she plans to teach her classes strategies from the book and even shared resources for doing so (which I plan on stealing and using). I also missed several Global Math Department webinars including this one on suggestions for the first day of school . So now that I am catching up on what I missed, my...

Yesterday I saw Sam's tweet: I thought, yes I want to improve my questioning skills. I just so happen to be reading some good questions in Ritchhart's Creating Cultures of Thinking , so this evening  I wrote this . Check it out over on the collaborative BetterQs Blog .

I have been home for two weeks. It has been a quick transition to reality, both in regard to family and school. Today is my last day as summertime stay at home mom so I don't want to take up too much time writing a long, thoughtful post. Instead I will share my to do list: Finish interleaving algebra problem sets Watch Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast with the kiddos everyday Make posters for both of the classrooms I will be teaching in this year Write PD grants for conferences that I want to attend Finish presentations for back to school workshops Decisively answer continual requests to watch a show or to have snacks Swim everyday with kiddos Host casual dance parties to the music from Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast Finish writing learning targets for Geometry and make the course more fun Buy fancy shades for windows Renew passport Sign kids up for soccer Make family photo book for 2014 Clean the house (lol) Plan a trip to Lego Land Plan play-dates for...