People Like Candy, Right?

So, I wrote this post last Sunday….but this is the first time I have sat down since then, so I’m posting it today.

I have just completed my first week of being a Schoolwide Project Coordinator. aka. Literacy Leader.

It was kind of cool. At first I was very, very lonely. My room was exceedingly quiet and I was a little depressed. I turned on my ipod dock and listened to some music as I worked to keep my ears busy. You know your ears are always busy in the classroom, and this was sad and silent. It helped a little. I had a lot to do, but I didn’t feel very useful. In the classroom, there is always some little person in your face who needs you right now! But this was different. I was preparing things for much later and I felt not very helpful.

But then teachers started to schedule meetings to plan with me and I set up a daily schedule for myself. I said things like, “Sure, I think I’m available on Wednesday at 1:45” and “I can put that together for you – no problem!” and “I have some sample anchor charts up in my room if you’d like to check them out,” and I feel useful again.

Tomorrow is my first official planning day with teachers. They have a modified schedule every Tuesday to allow for a 90-minute planning period instead of their usual 45-minute-scramble. And I’m the one who’s supposed to help them plan!

I’m excited and nervous at the same time. I hope I’m helpful enough. Because I’ve had a lot of my time wasted by people who intended to be helpful to us during planning……. but not so much. I’m trying to be very well prepared by breaking down our curriculum and having a planning document ready. I’ll share those with you in the next couple days.

More important than all my instructional preparation, though, is the candy. I think candy is a pretty essential component of a successful planning meeting. I mean, it doesn’t always have to be candy. It can be a variety of other sweet or salty snacks, but in my opinion, the tastier, the better.

I mean, people like candy, right? So I’ll be like, “Here’s some candy! See? I’m nice!” and I’ll make through friends through the subtle art of coercion. I’m not above it.

A while back, I saw this absolutely precious idea on pinterest and it has really stuck in my mind. 

TIP: Buy rollos that are in rolls. I went the cheap(er) way out and had to glue my rollos together first. About a third of the way through, I remember thinking, “Whose stupid idea was this?!” and I was not happy with whoever that was. I also considered just giving people tubes of glued-together rollos and kisses instead of making them into pencils, bt I thought that might be weird.

Finally, upon nearing the home stretch, 

I was proud and happy.

P.S. – after the fact – they were a hit. People DO like candy.

You can get the directions at Simply J Studio and then you’ll be suckered just like me. Have fun gluing and making new friends. Grab the cute labels below if you’re on a roll with some sweet people too.