Conversations from the Classroom: April 2017

3-5

Tips for staying organized as you write IEPs

No comments

Apr 29, 2017 by Lauren

#endofyear

Math Games for MAY!

1 comments

Apr 27, 2017 by Tracy Smith

#CFTC

5 Things You Can do Now to Prepare Your Preschool Classroom for Next Year

Preschool classroom set-up ideas and classroom management tools.

The beginning of the school year can be hectic. It doesn't matter if you have taught 20 years or 2 years, we all struggle to stay organized and focused with the millions of tasks we need to complete. Preschool and kindergarten teachers not only have recreate their rooms each year, they have to have them up and running prior to the school year starting due to open house and orientation. This can leave teachers frazzled and overwhelmed. However, there are things that you can do now that are simple and won't interfere with your already crazy schedule.

1. Laminate Nameplates and Cut-outs you Plan to use the Following Year.
After teaching 8 years in a district based 4K, I have learned that if you don't start prepping before the end of the school year-you may be paying out of pocket costs. Most schools have employees in charge of making copies and laminating and many of these positions start a few days before school and by then, you have already had open house. So I always have nameplates, name tags and bus labels laminated by the end of the year. When class lists are posted in August, I label everything using a permanent marker.

2. Prepare Child Folders

As a part of our program hours we have a preschool orientation and open house. At the open house each family gets a folder for their child to use throughout the school year. When school starts and there is no one to make copies, I end up making a stop at a copier store and foot the bill. Prepping folders prior to the end of the year saves time and money.

What I include in the folder:

Welcome to Preshool (Overview of the Year with contact Info)
Preschool Schedule
Contact Information (a personal one for myself)
Bus Rider/First Week of School Label
Meet the Teacher Letter
Newsletter Sample
Media Release Form
School Background check
Volunteer Form
Business Card

I make sure that each page is a certain color. That way when I discuss the pages at orientation I can refer to the color in case they are out of order. District forms that change each year, I place in piles on a table near the entrance. While parents wait for their child's folder, they can grab the needed forms.

3. Classroom Week by Week Calendar

Items that are used on a daily basis like the calendar, alphabet, weather chart and job charts receive a lot of wear and tear throughout the year. If there is damage to the items I will reprint and laminate or replace. I place the items in a tub labeled "calendar," which I can easily find at the beginning of the year. The calendar is the focal point of the classroom and can be very time consuming to set up, so having all of the pieces fresh and ready to go will help with set up time.

Week by week calendar available (here).

4. Classroom Behavior and Routine Charts
One of my behavior management tools that I use is a play center rotation chart. This board takes a lot of wear and tear throughout the year as well. To save time my assistant or myself update this activity during our last few days of school by replacing the ripped library and center cards. I store this board in a poster box and it is easy to pull out and have attached to the wall prior to orientation.

5. Arrival Routine and Folder Box

Another activity that I like to prepare ahead of time is our arrival board and folder label. Each day the boys and girls place their owl on the board and their folder in the folder box before heading to the carpet. Get a copy of the folder label and "Who's here today? sign (here).

Most of the items that I like to have prepped and ready are things that will make the room presentable for open house/orientation. I want the parents and children to have an idea of how our daily routines work and I like to make reference to these important routines throughout orientation.

Also, the summer is a precious time to myself and family. I want to spend as much time at home as I can prior to returning, so the more prepared I am the less time I have to spend in my hot classroom:)

No comments

Apr 26, 2017 by Katie Ellingson~Kindergarten Rocks

#Conversationsfromtheclassroom

Donors Choose - A Teacher's Best Friend

Who doesn't love this song?!?

Unlike a girl, a teacher's best friend is not diamonds (although I really, really wish they were). A teacher's best friend is Donors Choose. For those of you who don't know what DC is, get ready to have your mind blown. It's a website where teachers write proposals for materials, trips, visitors they want for their classes, etc. People donate money and you get your stuff. (It's only for public school teachers in the USA, sorry everyone else!)

It really is that easy. I have been a member since 2005. In that time I've had over 200 projects funded. The average project was about $200. That's $40,000 worth of materials I've gotten for my kids!!!!!!! What have I asked for? It's more like what haven't I asked for. I've gotten dozens of class sets of book (When You Reach Me, Cinder, Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Lost Hero, Oogy), hundreds of individual books for my classroom library, 30 Chromebooks, markers, pens, paper, field trips, you name it. My biggest project was definitely the 30 Chromebooks, but many of my projects are $100-$300.

Kids on Chromebooks on Grammaropolis.com. (both funded by DC)

Need a book? DC has that covered.

Every kids gets their own copy of When You Reach Me.

Another DC Double. Colored paper for Interactive Notebooks and The Lost Hero books.

When a proposal is funded, you have a few expectations to meet. First you confirm that you still need and want the materials by writing a quick thank you note and choosing a date to have the final thank yous done. Then when the kids get the materials, you need to take photos of them using the materials (make sure you have permission), write a more detailed thank you note from yourself, and sometimes the kids have to write thank yous too. I like this part the best. Some donors want them, others don't.

Who wouldn't want to get this in the mail?

Does every proposal get funded? Of course not. One of my proposals for Kore Active Stools just expired because it didn't get fully funded. Bummer, but not the end of the world. The donated money goes back to the donor and you can always repost. I recommend starting small, a $100-$150 proposal. DC works on a point system. Each project is worth so many points. You get points for completing steps and the more you have, the bigger projects you can post.

On the serious side, Donors Choose does an amazing job especially for schools hit hard by natural disasters. The tornado that went through Moore, OK, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, even the Flint water crisis have all affected schools in those areas. And DC was there every time to help rebuild. They have also started specialty proposals for Life Essentials. These include healthy food and snacks, clothes and back packs. There's a match offer on right now for eyeglasses for your kid, as well.

Since the school year is winding down, it's time to start planning for next year. Get onto Donors Choose immediately, open an account and start writing proposals for the classroom of your dreams.

No comments

Apr 25, 2017 by Unknown

#CFTC

Bring Spring into your Classroom!

No comments

Apr 24, 2017 by 2 Scoops of Kindergarten

#CFTC

Why We MUST Inservice Ourselves

I can remember the day it happened. I was sitting across the media center from a group of seasoned teachers, listening to them bash the inservice we had just received, saying they got nothing from it. It was in that moment that I decided that I would NEVER be that teacher. I knew deep down inside that there was always something to learn, always something new to get, even from a "new" inservice that was, in essence, an old inservice. And then, it happened to me...

This year, I was sitting through and inservice, thinking, "I know all this, why do I have to go through it again!" My radars went off, my mind quickly switched back to that moment so many years ago, and I reminded myself NOT to be those teachers. Yes, I did glean some new information, yes, many parts of it were the same, but the point is, I never gave in to that feeling, that thought. Instead, I reminded myself over and over, "I MUST INSERVICE MYSELF!"

There are two types of teachers. The type that I described in the first paragraph, willing to let knowledge about their field of excellence disappear into the abyss of past learning, and those that stay up-to-date, willing to put in time and effort into learning the deeper meaning of their field. I decided to stick with being this type of teacher. So, here are some ways to Inservice Yourself:

1. Find like-minded teachers/administrators to work with.

Many teachers will have this environment naturally at their work location simply because their administrator has a philosophy of learning more about the profession. I have not had the greatest of experiences with this. When I did, I skyrocketed my knowledge level in many areas. Yet it was the constant challenge of one of my Intern Level Teachers and now one of my best friends who has been the constant push to inservice myself. We frequently will decide on book studies that we complete, together, to further our knowledge collectively. This way we can talk, plan, design, implement whatever we have learned, even while in different grade levels. Find that friend, and inservice yourselves together!

2. Sign-up for Company Newsletters

Heineman and Stenhouse both offer free newsletters where you can preview books and hear from the experts in the field. Then browse every one of them that comes into your inbox. Click and browse the books, listen to podcasts, discover where they are going, sometimes for free! This is a great, easy way to stay on top of what is on top of the field right now! Then note what you are extra excited about!

3. Pay attention to what is on your teacher evaluation.

On mine, we must say what we want to improve upon-BINGO! There it is, your next great inservice idea! And, you can use it on the next year's evaluation in area 4 of Danielson! What a great way to instantly bump yourself up within that system and improve yourself and your classroom along the way!

4. Go to Amazon

Yes, this is an easy way to find what you may be looking for. Type in the specific topic you are looking for (such as deeper comprehension) and you will find many ideas. Click one and then check out what "others are buying". This just may show you what you were looking for!

5. Join online communities of learners just like you!

I am in a number of communities that provide a valuable service to me. If they don't, leave that community! Plus, during the school year, I will frequently find blog posts about topics where teachers have shared a book study on their blog! Sometimes that's enough to either move me along to find the book and purchase it, or enough to really understand the topic and then apply it. There is a wealth of information out there, you just have to be willing to INSERVICE YOURSELF!

So, with that being said, I am proud to announce a couple of opportunities I am involved in this summer!

1. Right here on Conversations From The Classroom we will be doing a book study on Fearless Learners! This text is written by real teachers in real classrooms examining what a Student Led Classroom looks like! It's a simple read and is interactive! If this interests you, plan to join along with us! We will be sharing our learning on this blog and within our personal blogs as well.

2. Join my over at The Best Days to follow my journey in learning about improving classroom discussions in the Student Led Classroom with the book study, Talk About Understanding. I will probably throw in a few more ideas from other texts that I will be looking at!

I'm super excited about both of these topics and that you will be joining along! I'd love to hear any tips or ideas you have for Inservicing Yourself too! So, leave a comment and let's get a good discussion going!

1 comments

Apr 23, 2017 by Julie from The Best Days Classroom

#CFTC #kindnesscounts

Math on the Move...Sports and Games for Active Kids!

Let's start off with a quick exercise. Ready? Okay. Clear your mind and focus on one word: Mathematics. What are you envisioning? Numbers, surely, but what else? In your mind, how are you using those numbers?

If you're like many people, the word "mathematics" probably conjures up images of paper, calculators, pencils, and scrap paper. Right? Well, I guess it makes sense since years ago, that's basically what math class entailed. But with time, more teachers are realizing that math doesn't have to be that way, and we sure don't have to teach it that way.

No more boring worksheets of the past. Find out how to spice things up with hands-on multisensory math games and activities for active learning!

Although mathematics itself has not changed, the way we teach it has. A lot.

Peek into a math class today and you'll likely find students building, interacting with manipulatives, and doing way more than boring old workbook pages. With more hands- on activities, multi- sensory lessons, and flexible seating, I think everyone's starting to realize one thing...Kids like to move.

But we already knew that, right? Why make kids be still (and quiet) at a desk all day when all they want to do is go? Let them go. But wait, not yet! Let's harness that energy in a way that can be both productive and educational. Instead of a worksheet with 20 math problems, why not play a game that requires student to practice those same math skills 20 times? Due to increased interest and motivation, students may even complete a game faster than a worksheet, potentially practicing the skill more than they would have on paper.

Let's not discount the fact that kids love games. Who doesn't? So if students are motivated to complete a task, won’t they probably get more out of it than if they just complete it because they "have to"? If you said yes, you give yourself a sticker. Research shows that motivation leads to increased effort and persistence with better performance (Paris & Turner, 1994; Rueda & Moll, 1994).

This game allows children to create a human number line to solve fact family riddles.

If you're currently teaching math, odds are you're already using hands-on materials. But I want to go a step further than popsicle sticks and counter chips for this post. What if you were to combine gym class with your math class? Crazy, right? No, trust me, it's wonderful!

Think of a sport or game you'd like to play with your class (Tag, football, basketball, etc). Now think of which math skills you could incorporate into that sport. It could be as simple as a game of Tag where the players count up by five each time someone gets tagged. Or maybe you want to get a little more involved (like those in my ACTIVE Learning Math Games resource). Whatever it is, keep them practicing your targeted math skill while moving.

You can use games and sports to teach math skills, as brain breaks, review games, and more. They can be a refreshing break from the textbooks! Many children learn better when they use more than just their eyes and ears during math lessons. Hands- on activities encourage students to become more involved with the material and allow them to experience it first-hand. Research shows that children with special needs benefit greatly from multi-sensory activities in the classroom.

I’m a special education teacher so I have lots of experience with students with sensory issues, behavior problems, and trouble sitting still. I’ve found that instead of forcing them to fight the urge to move, it is better to just get them up and direct that energy in a fun, positive, and educational path. They just want to go, so I let them go. But we don’t just run around without purpose. They practice skill sets, problem solve, and develop social skills, all while I assess their progress. This doesn’t necessarily always need to take place sitting at a desk.

Recently I created a new resource that features a collection of math games, currently available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, Exceptional Thinkers. I've used these games in my classroom for years and it is my pleasure to now share them with you. If you love the idea of using sports and games in your math class, but don't have the time to plan them out and create the materials, you've come to the right place.

Like the idea, but not sure if you want to actually buy it? I totally get it! You can try my FREEBIE Shuffleboard Addition Game then.

My ACTIVE Learning Math resource targets early elementary math skills such as adding, subtracting, using place value, estimating, and measuring. It features 6 games at the moment (but likely to increase with time), including Steal the Flag, Subtraction Bowling, Making Tracks, Shuffleboard Addition, STEM Tower Challenge, and Pitch Your Estimate. Some of these games are available individually in my store while others are unique to this resource.

Okay, sales pitch over, back to teacher talk. What do you think about using sports and games to teach math? Share your thoughts in the comments below! Here's what I think:

Whole body learning is:

1) Motivating for students who are uninterested in traditional classroom lessons.

2) Beneficial to kinesthetic learners.

3) Allows students to experience material or skill first-hand.

Oh, and it's fun! So now that the weather is starting to warm up, it’s the perfect time to get the kids outside, throw a ball around…and learn! And maybe you'll get a tan in the process! No complaints there. Now go enjoy your math lessons!

Visit my blog at https://teachingexceptionalthinkers.com/ for more fun teaching ideas!

Follow Exceptional Thinkers on TPT for freebies, discounts, and new products!