Balancing our Springtime Roots & Shoots
Early Education Design and Planning (PreK, TK, K-3)
Early Spring is the time of year every educator, administrator, leader, coach, facilitator, and fiscal manager has to lean into the complexity of BOTH completing the school year we are in and planning for the one coming up.
In many ways, the design of our spring calendaring and planning mimics the current season of the natural world – where plants and trees are reaching into the deeper energy reserves of their roots and pushing up shoots of life that will be used to produce new growth for the following year.
Much like the ecosystems around us bursting into new life, so too must we as educators reach deep to find reserve strength and energy to push ourselves through the rest of this year and onto the next.
RESOURCES: Questions to use for yourself and to facilitate a collaborative group discussion - Download Here >
Balancing Doing and Planning
Balancing all of this can feel incredibly overwhelming at times – even for the most seasoned and experienced of us. Many educators this time of year find themselves saying: WAIT (Why Am I Teaching?).
A feeling of pressure comes around every spring when we are having to time-walk between both present and future. But instead of educators feeling the pressures of WAIT, we want educators to see the power in the WISH (Where I See Hope).
The Power of WISH
In our book: Design In Mind™, author Miriam Beloglovsky and I wrote about the importance of educators and designers (or EDesigners) to cultivate their WISHes and develop an ability to “dream into the future” without getting stuck or overwhelmed in the process.
Through our collaborative writing journey, we developed an acronym for the ability to hold present and future planning at the same time. If you are struggling with making decisions for the upcoming future, the following design protocol can help you create a concrete road map to bridge between today (roots) and tomorrow (shoots).
DREAM Protocols for Educational Planning
The DREAM protocol stands for: Designs that Reflect Endless Aspects of Magic. In this protocol, educators use a form of design-thinking that allows them to dream of a future where the work is completed and successful. The twist is walking back in time to define what specific steps would have needed to have been taken to get there. Using the template below, teachers and teams can work individually or collaboratively to define and design both their hopes and dreams for the present and the future.
Growth Opportunities
I3’s professional learning opportunities for educators and leaders support growth in educational planning and design.
Resources:
DiM™ worksheet to help facilitate planning - resources.
About the Author:
Michelle Grant-Groves is the executive director and founder of the i3 Institute and Center of Gravity early education school. In her leadership role at the Center of Gravity, she guides teaching teams to reflect on their accomplishments and opportunities ahead. Read Bio
Co-Author, Design in Mind™
A Framework for Sparking Ideas, Collaboration, & Innovation