Virtual Staff Meetings are a MUST this Year!
There is nothing I hate more than inefficient processes. I guess its my Type A personality, but I like to make the most of my time and productivity is a major mood booster in my world. The most inefficient use of time is a weekly staff meeting. People arrive late so the meeting doesn’t start…
Read Full PostCurrent Events Help Teach More than Just History
One of the best assignments I ever created for my kids was a weekly current event project. Our school had a subscription to Time for Kids and I would create daily assignments students had to complete and turn in by Friday morning. The articles in Time for Kids were age appropriate and enlightening to what…
Read Full PostRelationships Come First
Education is all about communication and relationships. If you can’t relate to people and communicate in a way that is productive, positive and professional then this is vocation is not for you. Since the start of my career in the fall of 2006, I realized that I could reach kids faster if I started connecting…
Read Full PostEvery Kid Should Know the Continent Song
Teaching my third graders about the 7 continents used to be such a drag. They didn’t understand the difference between a city, state, country, or continent. Insert sigh here! I began with the lack of background knowledge to help clear up the confusion between city, state, country and continent. Luckily, my kiddos’ brains understood my visual and…
Read Full PostHelping Students Set Goals
Graphics courtesy of Melonheadz [spp-tweet tweet=”You can’t get to where you are going, if you don’t know where you want to go.”] And if you don’t know where you want to go, how do you know where to start? At the ripe age of 9, my fourth grade teacher’s talent made me realize learning can…
Read Full PostBe a Star While Solving Math
Do your kiddos HATE Math? Do your kiddos LOVE being a star? Then I have something up my sleeve for you… My favorite part of being a TpT author is getting to create items for my friends’ classrooms. They are often in a crunch planning lessons, organizing their classrooms, communicating with parents, etc that…
Read Full Post#PatioPD is a Game-Changer in Education
International #patiopd Day July 14! Courtesy of #PersonalizedPD Recently I was introduced to a new phenomenon- #patioPD. I had no idea what it was but luckily my #personalizedPD voxer group hooked me up with the details and I was able to take advantage! What is #patioPD? Thanks to Jason Bretzmann for putting it all together…
Read Full PostEdcamp Voxer 2016
I am so excited to share with you how impactful the latest week-long Edcamp Voxer experience was because it continues to shape my growth as an educator. Let’s start with some basics first. [See previous post from Edcamp Voxer 2015 here.] Get in on the Action! Want to participate this year? Click here. Or check…
Read Full PostHow to be an Effective Educator While Taking a Day Off
Do you ever feel guilty when you need to take a day off? I did. It was more work to create sub plans than it was to muster up the energy to come in to teach when I was under the weather. Plus, when it came to planning for an absence, gathering materials and writing…
Read Full PostThe Teacher Emotional Cycle with Coaching
It is no secret that one year in the classroom brings about many emotions. The photo below by Ellen Moir of the New Teacher Center explains the researched emotional cycle a first year teacher will experience from August through June. [Click here to read more.] I can relate to this cycle. I was so excited…
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