lesson planning
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Ways to make lesson planning easier!
I’m one of those weird teachers – you know, the ones who love lesson planning. I love every part of it – analyzing what my student needs, finding new ideas, writing the plans, prepping materials – I love it! I’ve also come up with a number of ways to make lesson planning easier. Since many of you have probably begin to think about your first few weeks of the school year, and the rest of you are probably preparing to do things a little differently in the fall, I want to share some of the things that have been most helpful for me. The one thing that has been the…
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Re-establishing Classroom Routines after the Holidays
I may have gone back to work last week, but last week was all about survival. This week, on the other hand, is about getting back into routine and evaluating those routines as I think about the rest of the year. That means making sure that I’m planning ahead, following the schedule, and setting up systems that are helpful – not ones that create more work for myself! If you’re thinking about some of those same goals, here are some of my favorite tools for re-establishing routines and organizing all of my plans: Picture schedule cards are perfect for this time of year. They help the entire class get back…
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A little reflection
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, I know I’m taking some much needed time to relax (and do lots of shopping)! The end of the year is the perfect time to think about what went well this year, and goals that we have going forward. If you’re thinking about the rest of the year in your classroom and what it might look like I want to share some inspiration that might be helpful. Here are the top five posts from Preschool Ponderings this year: 1. Make your lesson plans work for you – This post has quickly become one of my most popular of all time because it includes…
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Friday Freebie – Planning Pages
Happy Friday! This week flew by, and I’m not complaining about that but I would definitely love for summer to slow down just a little! Of course, this next freebie is sure to get you in back-to-school planning mode, so I suggest downloading these free Preschool Teacher Planning pages, storing them somewhere safe, and walking away from the computer before they suck you in. Enjoy your summer weekend and come back to them another day, like maybe when it’s raining!
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Finding the motivating factor
I just came home from the dentist, I had to get three cavities filled. Yuck. To be honest, the actual procedure doesn’t bother me, I’ve had enough dental work done in my life that I’m used to the noise and the numbness, it’s the price tag that really hurts. I’ve been told for the last 20 years that I need to be flossing every day, and I finally learned the lesson – because I finally figured out my motivation. The cavities don’t motivate me, but the money definitely does. So what does this have to do with preschool… I promise, it actually flows quite well! This is why it is…
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Lesson planning tips and tricks
This week has been all about lesson plans, because going back to school after winter break is hard enough without putting this particular task off any longer! Here are some other great Preschool Ponderings posts about lesson plans: Using a web to lesson plan Lesson plans for the first week of preschool Free planning pages E-Resources to use when you’re planning If you’re looking for more inspiration make sure to check out the other planning posts from this week; Thoughts for lesson planning when you use an emergent curriculum Ideas for organizing the materials you need for lesson activities Free lesson plan templates
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Lesson planning with an emergent curriculum
Earlier this week I posted free lesson plan templates. One of the questions that I used to ask the most was “How are you supposed to plan ahead when you are implementing an emergent curriculum?!” I like to think of my lesson plan as a flexible outline. When I sit down to write my lesson plan, I start with the activities that I know the children want to explore – these are the experiences that support what I’ve been observing in the classroom. They’re related to the conversations I’ve heard and the questions that the children have been asking. They may use materials that the children have shown a particular…
