30 Days of Thankful 2016 Day 21

Today I am thankful for my students. As frustrating as children can be from time to time, my students are truly what my job as a teacher is all about. I have positive memories from all of my teaching experiences and I know that I have made a difference in the lives of my students. Some of these kids may not realize it as I have taught one and two year olds, but I can tell that I truly made a difference in their lives. When you walk into the classroom in the morning and a one year old walks over to you and hugs your leg or gives a wave or says, "Hi!" It's just so heartwarming! And this has happened in all of my classes. The older students may have just said, "Good morning!" or something equivalent but it still is heartwarming and you can tell that you make a difference in that child's life. I have had some of my older students tell me as such and parents of my younger students tell me as such. These are the things that make me want to continue teaching. You can be at rock bottom, ready to quit and a child will do something that makes you think, "This is why I went into teaching!" That will quickly turn your mood around and rejuvenate you in your teaching career! 

Bats, Cats, Spiders, and Owls Family Fun Ideas for Halloween Season

Ideas for Teaching about Bats, Cats, Spiders, and Owls to young children:

• Teach 1 year olds vocabulary recognition with pictures
• Teach 2 year olds basic ideas like a spider has 8 legs and owls and bats are awake at night
• Teach older children 3+ about the habitats and what the animals eat
• Teach all children old enough to understand how these animals can help us and appreciation for nature
• Have the children tell you what they know about these animals and go from there
• Find cute crafts on Pinterest and other sources with a simple internet search
• The older the child the more in depth you can go with your lessons
• I currently teach Kindergarten and we were able to talk about habitats and what the animals ate as well as the idea that bats and owls are nocturnal meaning they are awake at night and sleep during the day. We also talked about how bats are similar to humans and how they help humans. We discussed how Spiders are in their own bug family, the arachnids and are not insects. We learned the Spanish words for Owl, Spider, and Cat
• The fun thing about these lessons is to make it your own for the child or children you are working with. Doing a simple internet search will give you lots of resources and ideas! 

Video:

Fall Family Fun Activities

Acorns

• Talk about how acorns are seeds, food for animals
• Cut into an acorn and let the child (children) see what is inside
• Talk about how acorns come from Oak Trees
• Make cute acorn crafts

Leaves

• Compare leaves from various trees (size, shape, colors)
• Leaf identification to identify leaves from different trees
• Talk about why leaves change colors (lots of information on the internet about this one)
• Cute leaf crafts
• Leaf rubbings (put a leaf under a piece of paper and color over the paper to make a rubbing)
• Leaf Prints (Paint a leaf or put ink on it and press down to paper to make a print)
• Look at leaves through a magnifying glass

Apples

• Apple picking
• Apple tasting
• Apple recipes
• Talk about apple colors
• Talk about apple parts
• Paint with apples to make apple prints

Pumpkins

• Pumpkin Patch
• Cut into pumpkins and gourds to explore
• Pumpkin recipes
• Pumpkin life cycle and pumpkin parts
• Pumpkin seeds (count, roast, plant)
• Halloween fun

More Fall Fun

• Nature Walk
• Corn Mazes
• Talk about fruits and vegetables that can be harvested in the fall and harvest those that you planted to be harvested in the fall
• View the video below for more descriptions and things I have done with my students from Ages 2 and up

Teaching 101: Planning the First Days of School

Introduction

This article sets out six steps that you can do to plan your first days of school and make the most of them. This is simply written from my own experiences and knowledge and only meant to be a bit of guideline as well as some advice from someone who has teaching experience under their belts. There is also several very wonderful programs and books out there with information on planning the first days of school as well as most school systems and schools will give you some sort of training when you first start the job prior to your first day in the classroom. Below each paragraph will be a short video explanation that will give you a little more detail as to what I am meaning. Check back to see these videos once they are posted. :-)

Start by Picturing Your Ideal Classroom

The very first thing that you should do when preparing for a new school year or a new teaching job if you are in early childhood or a year round program is to picture your ideal classroom. How do you want the layout of the room to be? What management strategy or strategies do you plan to use? What would the ideal day in your classroom look like? What routines and procedures do you want to put into place? Etc. Write down what you want your ideal classroom to look like somewhere that you can refer back to it. It is important to have in mind your ideal classroom so that you know what things you will need to do leading up to the start of the year/your first day as well as the routines and procedures that you will need to put into place from day 1. I would then create a To Do list that you can check off tasks once they are done for things leading up to the first day of school, things you wish to accomplish on the first day with your students, and things that you wish to have established by the end of the first week.

Draft a Classroom Management Plan

The second thing that you should do is draft a classroom management plan. This can be as detailed as you like since it will most likely be for your eyes only unless your school requires that they see something. You want to have in mind that ideal classroom that you wrote about while writing your plan. What rules do you want for the students? Are you going to have the students help you draft the rules? What routines do you want in place such as how to walk in line in the hallway (for younger students) and what students should do upon arriving in your classroom (for all ages)? Also, this is where you think about your classroom arrangement and what the ideal arrangement would be for you keeping in mind you want to be able to see the students at all times and how you plan to run the classroom as far as individual and group work and also what type of classroom it is as far as what you are teaching. 

Arrange the classroom for efficiency

Once you have decided how you want to arrange your classroom, you want to go ahead and put that arrangement into place. In today's world many teachers have to share space so either work with the other teachers that will be sharing the space to arrange the room or figure out how to make the most of the permanent arrangement since you do not have the flexibility to move the furniture itself as the space is not your own. I recommend working with the other teachers if at all possible to reach a compromise that works for all of you. With classroom arrangements you want to think about what would make the classroom the most effective classroom for you and your students. There are several classroom arrangement ideas out there and a simple internet search will bring up several images to choose from if you are struggling to come up with something on your own.

Decorate your classroom walls

Once the arrangement is in place you need to decide what you would like on the walls of the classroom. It is proven that students of all ages do better in a room with some eye catching displays either on the wall itself or a bulletin board then a plain white space. You want to think about the ages of the students you will be working with and what your curriculum is as well as how you can incorporate student work and student information in your classroom. Some examples from early childhood and elementary include having a family picture area where you display pictures of the child's family or possibly a student of the week area where each student in the class will get a chance to share more about him or her self. You also may want to display student artwork or work on the wall. In early childhood most of our wall is covered with student artwork. With older students you may want a multiplication chart on the wall or some motivational posters. Really you are at liberty to decorate your walls however you wish within the guidelines of the school, but you also want to think about how you can incorporate the students since they will feel like it is more of a family atmosphere and that they are part of your classroom if they are included in some way. It also helps to have subject specific areas especially in an elementary classroom where you teach everything and have all of the science posters together, all of the math, all of the language arts, etc. 

Introduce yourself with a welcome letter

For younger students this letter will most likely be for the parents, but if your students are old enough to read it is nice to have a letter for them as well. It may be you write one letter and address it to both your students and their parents. As a teacher you are working in partnership with your students and their families and in some cases with other teachers. Teaching is all about team work. The most effective teachers are able to work with families to provide the most effective education for each child (student). Even if your students are adults you are still working with these adults to provide the best education for them. When I was in college, I worked with my professors to ensure I was getting what I needed from them. I was always the student that asked questions and participated in classroom discussions and gave my input and that's probably part of the reason I ended up graduating Magna Cum Laude and also had a perfect GPA in my original graduate work for my Masters in Teaching. I also established really great relationships with my teachers growing up as well as my college professors and it is because we worked as a team and when I was younger I know my parents took part in my education as well. Yes, some parents could appear to care less or are unsure of how to take part in their child's education and that is why as the teacher you need to make all efforts possible to work with them to provide the best education for their children. Your welcome letter is usually very brief introducing yourself such as your educational experience, your hobbies (if appropriate to share), your families, etc. You then should set out to explain a little about what is going to happen in your classroom. For older classes this "Letter" could even be part of your syllabus for the year or semester. Something great to include is classroom schedules, expectations, etc. If you are unsure of what to include most administration and teams of teachers will help you in drafting the perfect letter. 

First Day Tips

So the first day is here! Wow! You are probably nervous and that is okay because chances are your students are nervous too! The first day is usually about building relationships and establishing routines and less about curriculum although you definitely will probably start introducing your curriculum in some way before the day is over. On the first day you should start your day by sharing yourself with your students and getting to know them. A great way to do this is with an icebreaker game of some sort. Obviously with super young students in early childhood that are nonverbal or have limited speaking skills just welcoming them and their parents into your classroom with a smile and good morning makes a HUGE impact and first impression especially with the parents. This is where circle time comes into play as well. Even with one year old students I have a very brief circle time that lasts about three minutes but we start it with a little song where we say their names and good morning/wave hello to each other. Then, once the welcome portion is over with older students you want to establish some classroom rules (usually very basic, very brief rules). Any students old enough to understand there are some basic guidelines can have rules. Obviously older students would have more detailed rules then younger students but students as young as two can have classroom rules. Younger than two it is usually on the spot reminding them what is appropriate and what isn't appropriate and even with two and up through early elementary you will have to have these discussions from time to time about what is appropriate and what isn't appropriate in the classroom. When the students are able to have some sort of part in this rule creation that is great! Even a two year old can tell you in some form to be nice to each other when you ask the right questions while forming your rules. Then, once you have your welcome and rules out of the way it is important to start establishing procedures and routines. Show your students what is expected of them. Again with younger students it may be following the classroom schedule as best as you can while incorporating first day activities. With older students it may be showing them what is expected when they first walk in in the morning. With older, younger students it may be showing them how they are expected to walk in the hallway. You will know what sorts of things you want your students to know and practice and you want to start doing this from day 1 in the classroom. 

For more Teaching 101 Tips visit my page by CLICKING HERE

Teach Thursday: Teacher Appreciation Week and Teacher Gift Ideas

Last year I never got around to sharing my teacher appreciation haul and here it is that time of year again already. In this post I will share the gifts that I received and hopefully give you some ideas on how you can show appreciation to your teachers or your child's teachers. Usually, something small and inexpensive is the way to go and shows a great deal of appreciation. I know I enjoy the small things myself. 

Last year I received this flower with a ruler tucked inside with a note that said, "Thank you for helping <child's name> grow. It was super cute and a nice unique touch!

At my current school, we have a day where we receive a bouquet of flowers. The bouquet is formed by each child bringing in a flower or two of their choice and adding to an empty vase until the vase is full and there is a bouquet that the teacher gets to take home. 

On the left is my bouquet from last year and on the right is mine from this year. This year a student gave me a pipe cleaner flower that will last beyond the life of the real flowers and was a nice touch.

Something else my current school does is give the teachers gift cards. A gift card is always a nice touch and teachers usually appreciate them. Below is my gift card haul from last year.

This year we got two unique cute gifts. One of them was a bag of cookies with a cute message and the other was an adult coloring book with colored pencils and another cute message. The pictures are below.

We also were surprised with the parents decorating our classroom doors this year.

It truly is the small things that mean the most. Thanks for reading! 

Teach Thursday: Choosing the Right Teacher Education Program for You

Are you thinking of becoming a teacher? I have been teaching for three and a half years and I have a Masters degree in Early and Elementary Education. I wanted to share some tips on choosing the right teacher education program for you.

Summary of Points from the Video:

1. Look into requirements where you live. What is required to teach in your area?
2. What level do you want to teach? Early childhood, K-12, Elementary, etc.?
3. Do your research on teacher education programs you are looking at attending.
4. What do you want to teach and what is your major going to be? This one will depend on what requirements are needed to teach in your area.
5. For K-12 programs I recommend getting your Masters degree or higher. 

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 16 Thoughts on Education

The topic for Day 16 of the 30 Day Blog Challenge I found is "Thoughts on Education". Being a teacher myself, I have a few different views of this topic and I'm going to approach it in a couple of different ways. 

Let me start off with early childhood (pre-kindergarten) since that is where I am currently a teacher. It is so amazing what children learn from the time they are born to when they go to Kindergarten. Between my experience at church watching the nursery children (Infant-Two) and now my experience at work with children from Infants to Five (Primarily the Two-Three year olds) my eyes have truly been opened to how much impact early education has on a child. I know many two year old children that know all of their colors, some numbers, and some letters. Some of them even know the colors and numbers in Spanish. We have two year old children that know every letter A-Z and three year old children that can already count to 20. This is huge given that the goal for the end of Kindergarten (at least in my state of VA) is for students to know all of their letters and letter sounds and to be able to count to 100 by ones, fives, and tens. Think of it this way: If the student already knows how to count to 20 at age 3, give him two more years and he will count to 100 no problem by age 5. Then, in Kindergarten he can focus on learning how to count by 5s and 10s already knowing how to count by ones. 

There is a dramatic difference in children that have been educated either at home or at school prior to Kindergarten versus those who have not. During my schooling to be a teacher, I had a practicum experience in a Kindergarten class in September. There was a noticeable difference in the kids that had a knowledge base and the ones that did not. The best way for children to learn during these years leading to Kindergarten is through play as well as observation and definitely listening to books. Games and reading are the best way for kids to learn. They have to learn without necessarily knowing they are being taught. Get out a game of Candyland and use it to teach colors. Buy a counting book and read it to your child. 

Now jump to K-12 years. As a former fourth grade teacher, it is my belief that currently (at least in the public school system) there is too much of a focus on testing. I don't understand why we cannot go back to even the days when I was in school in the 90s and early 2000s when there was not so much focus on testing. We actually learned for the fun of it. Yes we had formal tests, but the scores did not matter as much and we were not forced into a formal test literally every week. School is no longer fun for students because they are forced into so much testing. It's stressful on the teachers, parents, and even more so the students. I know part of it is the reality, so we have to get used to it, but bottom line some major reform is needed in our education system. As a teacher, there is so much focus on these standardized tests that you cannot plan lessons just for the fun of it. I remember the days of myself being a student and learning was always fun for me, but I also remember that we did not have nearly as much testing. Nowadays, it is very difficult as the teacher to teach without feeling like you are teaching to the test and it is difficult for the children to learn because you are forced to push through content so fast that the students barely have time to take it in before they are taking a test on it. I'm not saying there shouldn't be standards because there should be some sort of guide for a teacher to use as far as the topics to teach and even goals for what the student should accomplish by the end of the school year, but it shouldn't all be based on the scores of a standardized test. 

I will admit that the impact this focus on testing has on our education system is not as much of an issue for K-2 students. However, even in K-2 classrooms teachers are forced to do testing for data collection purposes and sometimes that can be overwhelming as well. Especially in math and reading, teachers even for K-2 are forced to give test after test to see where the child is at. As soon as you think you are done getting data, you have to go and do it again. However, in my experience students in many K-2 classrooms still seem to enjoy school and the teachers usually have more freedoms at these grade levels depending on what school they are in and how that school operates.

Please note this is coming from my own teaching experiences and your own teaching experience or experience with your school system may be different. I hope that it is different.

Now to totally switch gears, everything above is for the most part talking about "Formal education" in the early years. Even if it is more informal than formal as in a parent reading to a child, I am still talking about what we usually think about when we think of education. Now I am going to take a turn to self-education. 

I am someone that has always enjoyed learning. I seek out learning and do a lot of things outside of the formal school setting. Even as a college student, much of my learning was on my own through reading, etc. As a network marketer, I have sought out education to do with my direct sales businesses and growing them. I follow many other network marketers, inspirational speakers, representatives in my main company, etc. I seek out training, good books to read, and enjoy learning. 

As a teacher, I have sought out additional books to read to make me a better teacher. Since getting my master's degree I have worked on getting my gifted education endorsement added to my degree and in the future I may go back to school to add another little something extra if I can afford to do so. I also seek out the advice of other teachers as well as enjoy in-service learning experiences where I can learn from others that have done it before me. 

It is my firm belief that it is important to self-educate yourself in addition to any formal education you may receive going to school before Kindergarten, your K-12 education, and any college or postgraduate experiences. 

Then of course there is the whole matter of we learn through life's experiences. This is true from the time we are born to the time we die. There are many many things that I have learned through my experiences these last 25 and a half years (almost 26). There are many more things that I will learn over the rest of my life as well. We never really stop learning and if we do, then we aren't doing something right. Learning is constant each and every day. 

Book Review of Tools for Teaching by Fred Jones

Hello. Is classroom management something you struggle with? Do you not struggle, but want to become a better classroom manager? Are you a new teacher? If you said "Yes" do any of these questions, then I recommend that you read this book by Fred Jones.

I came to know the book, because I took part in a professional development workshop in my county. Our workshop was six meetings long and allowed for us to watch videos you can get to supplement the book, as well as talk about the book and what Fred Jones meant and share our own stories, strategies, and advice. It was awesome doing it in this format. If your school system or school doesn't offer such a thing then after you read the book see if you can get something going.

Now onto the book. This book is great! It's a funny read and an easy read! I'm sure most teachers will definitely relate to what Fred Jones talks about in each chapter. The book gives great strategies and tips on how to setup a classroom, how to set expectations, and how to maintain classroom management in the classroom. I loved it! I'm even using some of the strategies in a Preschool classroom, so it's really for ALL teachers. I wish that my professor's had shared this book with me when I was a student. Now is the time to read it before the new school year begins! I WISH I had this at the beginning of my teaching career!

Amazon has more GREAT reviews for this book. Definitely a must read for ALL teachers!
http://www.amazon.com/Tools-Teaching-Discipline-Instruction-Motivation-Fred-Jones-ebook/dp/B00C1QOZD4/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405898021&sr=1-1&keywords=tools+for+teaching

Also, he has a companion website with some more great resources: http://www.fredjones.com/

Why did I become a teacher?

Lots of times in my teaching career, I've run across people that either asked me this question or they said something along the lines of, "Wow. I could never be a teacher." Let me tell you this, teaching is not for everybody. Teaching is a very difficult job. Even after five years of school, in the class experience, and receiving a Masters in Teaching, teaching is a difficult job. It can also be a rewarding profession. Sometimes you have to weigh the positives versus the negatives. Don't get me wrong, I love teaching or I wouldn't be doing it. It's more than a love of children though. You have to be able to adapt and learn continuously in order to be successful in this profession. I have continued my learning through reading books for teaching as well as talking to other teachers and being a part of the National Education Association which connected me with some useful information and people.

Now to answer the original question. I became a teacher because I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in second grade. I have always said that I would be a teacher someday and it's always been my dream. I chose to stick with younger kids because I have always enjoyed working with younger children versus middle school or high school students. I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. I felt that the way I could make a difference was to be an educator. When I see the light bulb go off in a student's eyes, I just get this feeling of joy and success. I know that being a teacher is what I am meant to be doing. I have enjoyed teaching my first couple years and look forward to what the future brings.