teaching tips

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • Banish boredom with a rainy day box

    One of the best things that I’ve done for my classroom is to put together a rainy day box.  This is a fairly large tub of games, activities, and art supplies that only come out on rainy days.  Now, when I say rainy days, I don’t necessarily mean days that are literally rainy (although sometimes I do bring it out when it’s raining – are you confused yet?), this box is for those days that everyone is just grumpy, or days when the activities I have planned just aren’t working out, sometimes I use it on days when I’m feeling crummy – just to lighten the mood in the classroom.…

  • Practicing Professionalism

    How many times have you heard “Oh, your job is so fun, you get to play with little kids all day!”  Yeah, and can you still manage to keep from rolling your eyes?  I’ve found that the more professionally I behave, the more that my job, and the challenges it presents, are taken seriously. I’ve always worked at lab schools (with ECE students from local colleges and universities), and I’ve often had students who don’t take my work seriously because I am young, and in some cases, younger than they are.  So over the years I’ve come up with some tried and true methods for being taken seriously, which has…

  • Preschool Stains

    It is impossible (seriously IMPOSSIBLE) to go a single day in a preschool classroom without getting a stain on something.  It could be the carpet, a child’s clothing, the teacher’s clothing, dress-up clothes, a nap blanket, or a lunchbox.  If it’s in a preschool room, it has the potential to get a little messy.  This is for two reasons; Small children do not comprehend the word “careful”.  No matter how hard they try, they are not completely steady on their feet, and with a lack of balance comes a general unsteadiness that makes carrying things incredibly difficult. This being said, children need to have these experiences.  In my classroom, students…

  • Must haves for the preschool classroom

    I’ve taught toddlers and preschoolers for 6 years, at three different schools, in 4 different classrooms.  Through each of these moves I’ve come up with a list of items that are must haves for the classroom.  Whether you teach preschool, elementary school, or even home school, the vast majority of items on this list will be helpful for your classroom.  Some of the items on my list may be things that you use every day, but I’m sure that there are a few items that will surprise you, or make you think.  If you know a teacher, any of these items are always appreciated, send some in with your child…

  • Tried & True Teaching Tips

    I’m linking up with the Teaching Tribune today for their summer blogging series.  Today’s theme is tried and true teaching tips and strategies.  When I thought about teaching strategies that I can count on to work, the one that came to mind was the way that I reward positive behaviors. When my students are having a really great day, I like to recognize it.  It lets them know that I see how hard they are working, and how cooperative they are being, and I really appreciate it.  I rarely recognize great days the same way – but my favorite way to show my students that I think they are awesome…