I’m moving into my 20th year of teaching. Two decades. I feel effective. I feel like I can pinpoint character traits, learning styles, academic issues and self-esteem challenges within minutes of meeting a child. I feel like my students love school, demonstrate learning and retain material within a high margin, and if you go off […]
elementary
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Elementary School, Featured, Kindergarten, The Student Teacher Diaries
Student Teaching Diaries: Through the Teacher’s Eyes
Teaching is the greatest job on the earth. It is not the most respected or highest paying and it does not bring you power, wealth or fame, but it is the toughest job that has the most impact on our future. Each year teachers enter the classrooms and meet students with stories. We make a connection. […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy
Creating 'Published' Student Writers
I love to teach writing. Being able to open up the minds of kids and introduce them to the ability they have to create anything they can dream about and put it down on paper is so rewarding to both the student and the teacher. We write about everything and I have clipboards hanging in […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
The Power Of A Teacher
I ran into my first grade teacher the other day while shopping. I knew that she had gone on to be a counselor, then retired a few years ago, after 30+ years of service. I would love to be able to say I told her what an amazing impact she has had on my teaching, […]
Posted inCurrent Events in Education, Featured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Opinion
Encouraging Success In Our Students
Success was always important when I was growing up. I’m an only child, so the pressure was palpable from my parents. They were always pushing me to do better, wanting me to ‘amount’ to something worthwhile. Unfortunately their worthwhile careers were those of a doctor, attorney or highly paid businessperson. Not that of a […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, From the Front Lines, Opinion
Setting Up a Cooperative Learning Classroom
At recess yesterday I began sketching my classroom layout for next year. Crazy, I know. I am the teacher who likes to do trial runs on pretty much everything. Owning my own school gives me the ability to do that. I use the beginning of each quarter to lay out goals and expectations for my […]
Posted inClassroom Management, Featured, Opinion
Birth-Order In Our Classrooms: How It Affects Our Students
The other day I ran across a post on social media that read: “First-born: I made the rules. Second-born: I’m the reason there are rules. Third-born: What rules?” I had to laugh because as a mom with three under five years apart, my husband and I always joke about birth order, especially since we are […]
Posted inFeatured, From the Front Lines, Instruction & Curriculum, Literacy, Opinion
Creative Writing Strategies For Elementary Students – Outside Of The Classroom
Writing is a huge component in my second and third grade classroom. Next to speaking properly, communicating through the written word is an important life skill that needs to be developed which will follow children throughout their lives. The sooner the basics of writing are introduced and honed, the easier this skill will become as […]