resources for teachers
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Great autumn activities for centers
Autumn is a great season to explore in the classroom because there are so many natural materials the you can bring into your environment. This also means that it is really important to have other materials in your centers that are related to those natural materials. Here are some of my favorite autumn centers; Autumn vocabulary cards– These are great for reinforcing the new vocabulary words that students are learning. This set includes the words acorn, apple, leaf, corn, leaves, pumpkin, tree, orchard, squirrel, and turkey and are wonderful for a writing center. Acorn matching set – This set includes letter matching, number matching, and color matching, making it easy for…
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Systems for tracking anecdotal notes
Anecdotal notes are incredibly helpful, they provide evidence that shows which skills children have mastered, and which skills need additional practice. They also give teachers the opportunity to write down direct quotes from children, which can be insightful, hilarious, and adorable. Being able to access all of this information when it comes times for conferences is invaluable, and parents love to hear what their children have been up to. The main issues with anecdotal notes are; storing and organizing all of those random little notes remembering to write them in the first place When it comes to remembering to write them down, I’ve found that it works best if you…
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When Educators believe in each other
Have you seen the TED talk by the amazing Ms. Rita Pierson. It is powerful. She puts into words every single reason that most of us became teachers in the first place. This quote from her talk hits me to the core every single time that I read it; I fully believe that every child needs a person in their corner. A person who tells them they’re worth it, they can be great, and do amazing things. A self-fulfilling prophecy can be a powerful thing, when you tell someone that they are incredible enough times, they start to believe you. I will give that to any child in a heartbeat.…
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Sharing Positive Messages with Families
Kids do great things during the day - they share, they tell funny stories, they help without being asked, they melt our hearts with their sweet comments. In an effort to share these great moment with parents I created Happy Notes, which you can download for free! I really need to be better about sharing great stories with parents, so the idea behind Happy Notes is that you can write down something great right when it happens, then share the note with the child, and they can take it home and share it with mom and dad. These are a great way to reinforce positive behavior, and a perfect way to let…
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Back to School Products for the Preschool Classroom
It’s the end of July, I know, how did that happen?! I swear summer gets shorter every year! Many of you are preparing to head back to school (and if you haven’t started prepping, you’ve probably started thinking about it) so I thought I would share some of the things that I’ve created that might help you out this year – make sure to read the entire post because there are freebies throughout! Inspire Emergent Curriculum: This standards-based curriculum is perfect for programs that implement the Reggio Philosophy or the Project Approach. Circle Time Mega Pack: Start the year off right by implementing successful, developmentally appropriate circle time from…
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Making Circle Time Easier (and Developmentally Appropriate!)
I am all about setting up systems to make everyday classroom activities easier – especially when it means that I won’t have to spend as much time planning! I wanted to share my circle time system with you. It is designed to make sure that circle time is enjoyable for everyone, which means that I am able to get through the content I want to get through, the children are able to move around a little, and the whole thing is over in ten minutes or less so we can dig into our centers. The first set of printables are for calendar. I don’t spend a ton of time focused…
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Conversations with Preschoolers about Current Events
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Circle Time Idea Round-Up
Circle Time. You either love it or you hate it. To be honest, it’s not my favorite part of the day, but it is a lot easier to manage (and much more beneficial for the children) if it’s well planned and follows a consistent routine. I’ve developed some great tips and tricks over the years, you can check them out here, but I’ve also learned a lot from some other amazing preschool teachers and bloggers. I’ve rounded up everyone’s favorite circle time strategies for you, the links below will take you to each blog’s circle time posts so that you can learn from them and compile your favorite tips, tricks,…
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Conversations with Preschoolers about Current Events
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Friday Freebie – E-Resources for Teachers
Happy Friday! This week has been all about ideas and resources for teachers, if you haven’t already seen them, go check out all of these great posts; Intro to Teachers Pay Teachers Custom T-shirts for school My Favorite Blogs for Teachers Stores that offer teacher discounts Today’s freebie is another great resource for teachers, this E-book is full links to different sites that are perfect for teachers. There are sites to use with children in the classroom, sites that are perfect for communicating with parents, sites that can help with lesson planning, and sites that are ideal for online storage and file sharing. Download your copy and take some time…
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My Favorite Blogs for Teachers
I get to spend some time with some of my favorite bloggers this week, and as I was thinking about hanging out with all of them, I realized that I haven’t shared a list of my favorite preschool and teaching blogs in a really long time. I have a pretty wide range of teaching interests, so I’ve tried to organize my favorite blogs into categories that will help you find the blogs that cover topics you are most interested in; Preschool Blogs Elissa is a former elementary school teacher who is now a Mama, guiding her two little ones through preschool – Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station Jamie Runs an amazing…
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Custom School Shirts
I’m attending the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference in Las Vegas later this week and I am psyched to wear my Preschool Ponderings T-shirt! The Shirt was printed by A+ Images and I cannot say enough good things about this company. I’ve ordered T-shirts online from other companies and it has been an expensive headache. A+ Images is AWESOME! Their design tool was easy to use and I was able to make my shirt look exactly like I wanted it to. If you are in the market for staff shirts, school spirit shirts, or field trip shirts, please be sure to check out A+ Images!
