The past few years I have become so much more conscientious about not only teaching basic money skills to my second graders, but also teaching the concept of money and saving. I have noticed that these concepts don’t seem to be taught much at home anymore. Sure it’s easy for me to implement a token […]
Kindergarten
Posted inTeacher Leaders
Fostering Responsibility
My class still works off of a weekly job chart. I have always tried to incorporate community responsibility into our classroom lives. We have the basics listed as jobs, such as computer helper, line leader and light helper. But I also have not-so-standard jobs listed as well, jobs like trash helper, a vacuum-er and a […]
Posted inChild Development
Connecting Motor Skills And Academic Achievement
We know how important it is to allow young children time to just play and be kids. We want them to run, be active and engage in group games that will help hone gross motor and social skills. Play is an integral part of learning for children, and believe it or not there is an […]
Posted inElementary School
Classroom Organization: When “Q” was the Only Beautiful Thing in the Room
It is summer, and most elementary classroom walls have been laid bare for repainting or for cleaning. Their empty exposure reminds me of a classroom from an earlier age, from my own elementary school. At the risk of dating myself, from grade 3 on up I could count on one singular decorative element….the cursive alphabet that hung over the […]
Posted inKindergarten
Kindergarten Readiness: 10 MORE Things Your Child Should Know
Last week, I explored the academic side of Kindergarten readiness. But school readiness is not all about regurgitating facts because some things just cannot be measured. One child’s brain development differs from another’s, but there are many things that teachers look for that have nothing to do with intelligence. Here are 10 more things to […]
Posted inKindergarten
Kindergarten Readiness: 10 Things Your Child Should Know
It’s almost Kindergarten readiness screening time for my school, and it is exciting to see the new faces that will walk through our doors come September. But it can also be a very frustrating time for Kindergarten teachers because it seems that our little angels with their shining eyes enter with an ever-shrinking knowledge base. […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Common Core, Elementary School, English Language Learners, ESOL, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Literacy, Special Education, Technology
5 Ways to Use Emojis in the Classroom
I realized almost immediately that I wasn’t getting through to my Kindergartners… again. I asked a class full of 5-year-olds to identify feeling words, and I got the same generic responses – happy, sad, mad. Year after year, I struggle with how to teach my primary students, especially my English Language Learners, to use precise […]
Posted inChild Development, Current Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, From the Front Lines, High School, Instructional Strategies, Kindergarten, Middle School, New Teacher Bootcamp, School Improvement, Teacher Burnout
The Final Days of School
Charles Swindoll said, “Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, money, circumstances, than failures and success, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, ability or skill. It will make or break a business, a home, a friendship, an organization. The […]