One of the most important relationships a teacher can build during the year is the parent-teacher relationship. It’s important to remember that although both you (the teacher) and the parent may have the same concerns for a child, you’re both coming from completely different directions. Try to refrain from making judgements or jumping to conclusions. …
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The Swinging Pendulum
Once upon a time children went to school and learned to read, write and do arithmetic with nothing more than a black board, books, paper and pencils. How times have changed. Or have they? Or perhaps the question to be asked is, should they? I have been in education for about 20 years and what…
Redshirting
Redshirting (verb): The act of holding children back from kindergarten. There is a new verb in town and it’s called redshirting. Well, it may not be new, but it is becoming more mainstream. Redshirting was recently addressed in an article from CBSNews/60 Minutes. http://tinyurl.com/78l22wq If you are a teacher or if you are a parent…
Books, books, and more books.
I’m not sure about you, but I have a ton of books in my classroom. I got a lot of them through points from student book orders, as well as garage sales, donations from parents, and library book sales. If you also have a lot of books for your room, make sure that you haven’t…
Quick and Easy Bulletin Boards Ideas
As a first year teacher you may be tempted to spend a lot of time making your classroom look perfect. Just don’t spend too much time, because there’s a lot more to be done than just bulletin boards. I often set up one of two bulletin boards with just paper and border and then filled…
TIP for new students.
At the beginning of the school year the students get a lot of information and a lot of paperwork goes home to parents. Some of this paper work the office will take care of, but some might be for your classroom. So, make a few extra copies of everything a new student will need so…
Starting the new year off right!
It’s hard to believe that it’s that time of year again. Time to start thinking about getting back to school and planning out your classroom. It’s never to early (or late) to think about how you’re going to make your classroom a warm and inviting place for your students, and for yourself. After all, you’re…
Homework! Need I say more?
Homework! Need I say more? Right up there with the debate over standardized testing is the debate over homework. Every year children and parents dread it and, if they are truthful, most teachers don’t have a particular love affair with homework either. After all, it’s just one more thing they need to keep track of,…
The End of Summer?
Lazy days of swimming, running through the sprinklers, lemonade stands, popsicle sticks, chasing fire flies, math, science, and WAIT! For most of us, we remember our childhood summers as being something wonderful, something you looked forward to, fun and freedom. There are many who argue that summer is a necessity for kids, a chance to…
Making children lifelong readers.
Great article on getting children to read - http://tinyurl.com/3ug6qpn Pam Allyn’s article, Best Books for Boys, doesn’t just cover boys, it gives straight forward practical advice on getting children interested in reading whether it be in the classroom or at home. Following the acronym READ she lays out the steps for instilling a lifelong love…