teacher tips
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Re-Thinking Transitions
I’ve been all about routines this week, probably because I’ve been super-conscious of my own personal routines for whatever reason. I can’t talk about routines in the preschool room without devoting some time to transitions. Transitions, that’s one of those buzz words that we use a lot in early childhood. Do you ever stop and really think about that word? To transition means to change from one thing to the next, when we use the word transition in the context of early childhood education we are usually talking about helping children move from one activity to the next. Some transitions are very natural, like singing a clean up song when…
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Routines to help your day run smoother
Have you ever noticed how quickly three day weekends go by? I always feel like I need a weekend to recuperate from my three day weekend. I was thinking about all of this as I got ready for work this morning. I was totally on autopilot, just going through the motions without really thinking about them and appreciating the fact that I had picked out an outfit and packed my lunch the night before. These evening routines were making my morning so much easier, which in turn made the rest of my day much less stressful! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have end…
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Teaching when you’re sick
I would get sick in the middle of May – it never fails, whenever I happen to be busiest, Mother Nature gets me. It doesn’t help that the weather has taken a sudden turn back to winter and it is cold cold cold. All I want to do is curl up under a blanket and spend the day on the couch. Luckily, I’ve come up with some pretty good strategies for teaching when I’m not feeling my best. Those can be the longest days! Of course, if you’re really really sick – and contagious – stay home! But if you’re just uncomfortable, here are somethings that will help you out:…
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Make your summer goals… and keep them!
This time of year is all about finishing up all of those end of the year projects, and I’m not sure if it’s the weather or just knowing that other projects are winding down, but it seems to be the time that I started dreaming big dreams of everything that I’m going to accomplish over the summer. Those dreams are usually lofty, and then all of a sudden it’s September and nothing got done. So this year I’m going to do what I do best, make a list. I’m planning on writing down all of my goals, so that I can really determine which ones are realist and which ones…
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How to keep from getting sick when you’re a teacher
Yuck! There is a really nasty bug going around, I can’t tell you how many adults and kids I know who have the flue right now. This is always my least favorite thing about spending the day with little ones, you just can’t avoid the germs. When things get really bad there are a few strategies I turn to; Clorox wipes. If you just can’t go around spraying everything with bleach all day, then these are the next best thing. I love how easy they are to use, and they give me so much peace of mind. Don’t forget to wipe down the door knobs, light switches, faucet handles, and…
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January Celebrations for Preschool
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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…
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Preschool activity materials at your fingertips
I love to lesson plan (it’s one of those weird teacher obsessions), but for some reason, lesson planning never actually made me feel more organized. Then I realized that just because I had a plan in my head, it didn’t necessarily mean that I was prepared for the activity. The most stressful time of my day was always running around trying to find the supplies and materials that I needed to implement activities. The solution was so easy that I can’t believe it took me so long to figure it out – Every Friday afternoon I would gather all of the materials that I needed for the next week’s activities,…
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Conference Prep – What I’m taking
I’ve been to quite a few conferences, and they’re all a bit different, but my experience has given me a list of things that are necessities for every conference. Here’s what I take with me; An extra tote bag – you never know when one of your sessions will have freebies or giveaways, and the expo hall is always full of fun samples and there’s never an easy way to carry all of it. This tote from Ikea is perfect because it folds into a little pouch so I can throw it into my purse until I need it. A water bottle – I’m cheap, there, I said it. I…
