conferences
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Preschool Conferences and Assessments
On Wednesday I shared a video that shows my early childhood assessments and how to use them. As you consider these and prepare to complete your own assessments I wanted to make sure that you had all of my resources in one easy place! Here are all of the posts that I’ve shared on assessments and portfolios over the years: Using assessment results to inform lesson planning Explaining assessments to families Sharing assessment results with families My favorite assessment products What does assessment evidence look like in preschool? Assessment strategies for preschool Collecting assessment evidence Google drive student portfolios Anecdotal Notes Please reach out if there is anything that I…
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Preschool Assessments and Portfolios
It’s almost spring (I’m trying to be optimistic here…), and in many places that means that it’s time to think about finishing up assessments and portfolios for the end of the school year. If you’re about to jump into that, let me help! I’ve got another video for you today that walks through why I created my own assessments, and how you can take advantage of this for your program – they really do make life so much easier! If you want to read more about these assessments and some of the different ways they can be used, then this post is exactly what you’re looking for!
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Preparing for Conference Conversations
Some people have a real skill for making challenging conversations feel comfortable and productive – I am not one of those people. I will worry about these kinds of conversations for weeks and avoid them at all costs, but I have found a few tricks for making them feel more natural and truly helpful. Here’s what works for me: Shifting mindset. I really work to look at these types of conversations as an opportunity to HELP. It’s my job to support children’s development. If I don’t share what I’m observing and offer resources, interventions, and support then I’m not doing my job. I’m not trying to make families lives more…
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Preschool Conference Resources
It’s conference time – can you believe it?! I’ve been a part of parent/teacher conferences as both a teacher and a parent, and I can confidently say that I don’t particularly enjoy it from either role. Conferences can be so tricky, the conversations themselves can be intimidating – especially if you don’t know the families well at this point in the school year. There are also opportunities for really positive conversations! The number one tip that I have when having heading into conference season is to take the time to be prepared. Here are all of the resources that I use to help make sure that I’m prepared before sitting…
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Google Drive Student Portfolios
I originally shared this post a couple of years ago, and it has been the most popular post that I’ve ever written. I can understand why – we all want easy solutions to conferences and documentation, but no one wants to pay for the expensive platforms that curriculum companies have available. This system is my DIY version of that kind of system. Since most parents are a lot more comfortable with google drive and PDF documents it’s been the best way to share information! Here’s the rest of that original post: I’ve always used three-ring binders to compile my students’ portfolios, but this year my classroom did not have the…
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Ideas for making conferences more meaningful
Have you started thinking about spring conferences yet? They tend to sneak up on us, we’re celebrating the new year and then we blink and it’s time for conferences and the end of the school year. Spring conferences are my favorite because by this point in the year, I knew my students and their families really well. I felt comfortable with them, but that often means that I didn’t prepare for conferences as much as I probably should have. Here are some ideas that can make conferences more helpful and meaningful for everyone: Be prepared to share easy activities that parents can do at home. Every child has something that…
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Amazing Conferences for Early Childhood Educators
I’ve mentioned before that I consider myself a professional development nerd. There is just something about a room full of teachers learning new things that I can’t resist. One of my favorite things to do is attend a great conference, and if you’ve followed this blog for a while you’ve certainly seen my posts from the NAEYC conference. Right now is the perfect time to start researching upcoming conferences and planning for those that you’d like to attend. Many local AEYC conferences happen in the spring, there are all kinds of specialty conferences throughout the summer, and the big one – NAEYC is in the fall. If you start planning…
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Google Drive Student Portfolios
I originally shared this post a couple of years ago, and it has been the most popular post that I’ve ever written. It was time to give it a face lift, so I’ve updated the photos, but all of the text is the same! I’ve always used three-ring binders to compile my students’ portfolios, but this year my classroom did not have the extra space to store all of them – 1 binder per student takes up a lot of precious space! I decided to do digital portfolios, and using Google drive to store them has been an absolute lifesaver. Having all of the portfolios on Google Drive meant that…
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3 Things that have changed the way I teach preschool
After teaching toddlers and preschoolers for nearly 10 years, I finally took the time to put all of the things I had learned into 3 different products. These products incorporate all that I have learned from great mentors, as well as lessons that I had to learn myself. Teaching is a journey, and all of us who’ve experienced it have something to share. That’s why it was so important for me to share my insights with all of you. Here are the three products that have given my teaching purpose and direction: Preschool Portfolio Pack: I’ve used similar portfolios and checklists for years, but they’ve never been designed to work…
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Collecting Assessment Evidence
I’ve been doing a lot of work with assessments lately, and one of the most important aspects of assessment is collecting evidence to support any assessment scores and decisions. Personally, I think the most difficult thing about collecting all of this evidence if finding a way to organize it all and track what I’ve gathered and what I still need. To help myself keep all of that information organized, so I have it when I need it, I put together a evidence collection binder for each student. I bound 8 file folders – one for each domain that I collect evidence on, then I taped the bottom of each folder…
