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Talking about differences
I know that many of you will be talking to your students about physical characteristics and differences this week. Some of these conversations may be unplanned, between Martin Luther King Jr. day on Monday and the inauguration on Friday, children are certain to be hearing things that they don’t understand or need help processing. I wanted to tak a minute to pass along an article that I read a couple of weeks ago that offers great advice for handling these touch topics. Take a minute to head over to Edutopia and read Teaching Young Children about Bias, Diversity, and Social Justice.
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Books for Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of those holidays that I always plan to introduce to my students, and then the closer the day get the more I struggle to find the right way to discuss it. In some ways, they understand, and in other ways, it is way over their heads. In my experience preschoolers have a hard time comprehending why people would be treated differently because of the way they look – which is one thing that I love about them. So, I’ve rounded up some books that have been really helpful for me, here are my favorites (all links are Amazon affiliates): My First Biography: Martin…
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Friday Freebie – Life Skills
Happy Friday! I hope that some of you are going to get to enjoy a nice long weekend! I’ve spent a lot of time this week talking about responsibility and planning ahead, and these life skills posters from Amy Marshall Are the perfect way to introduce some of these concepts to your students. These would be a great way to introduce social studies vocabulary and start a discussion about each character trait. Go download your set and have a great weekend!
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Books about responsibility
I’ve been sharing more of my favorite children’s books lately, and these posts have been something that I’ve really enjoyed putting together. I’m planning on continuing these posts throughout this year, and I can’t wait to round them all up at the end of 2017 and look at all the great books we’ve talked about! All links are Amazon affiliates. Since I shared an idea for classroom jobs yesterday, I thought I’d put together some books about responsibility, here are some of my favorites: Do I have to? By Nancy Loewen Just a Mess by Mercer Mayer Don’t Forget! By Anastasia Suen I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff Not…
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Classroom Responsibilities
On Monday I shared some of my favorite tools for getting all of my routines and procedures back in place after the holidays. I look at this time of year as a perfect opportunity for starting fresh. In addition to getting back to routines that may have gotten a little relaxed over the last month or so, I also like to introduce some new responsibilities. At this point of the year I’ve built relationships with the children, they know my rules and they’re getting back into the regular routines. Because the children have worked through all of this already, I take this opportunity to add more of a challenge. One…
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Personal Goals
I know that I posted last week about my one word resolution, which is prepare, but that was pretty much a general thought for both my personal and professional life. I wanted to take some time and share some of my more specific goals for this year. I refuse to call them resolutions, because I think that term brings to mind something that is a little too big and probably unrealistic. These are goals, things that I know can be done, and in most cases they will help me feel less stressed and less rushed! Make sure that I’m ready for the next day before I go to bed –…
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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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Friday Freebie – New Year Organization
Happy Friday! If you had to go back to work this week like I did, then congratulations! we made it to the weekend! Today’s freebie is for those of you who’s New Year’s Resolution is to get organized! These classroom labels are one of my most popular freebies, and for good reason. They’re cute, and large enough to read from a pretty good distance. Go download your set and enjoy your weekend!
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Children’s books about New Year
There are children’s books about every single subject imaginable – and thank goodness for that! I use books to introduce new subjects and to help children reflect on their own experiences, so books about New Year are especially helpful because I don’t always see my students right before or right after we celebrate the New Year. Here are some of my favorites to include in the classroom library (links are Amazon affiliates): The Night Before New Year’s Happy New Year Around the World It’s New Year’s Day! New Year’s Day (Celebrations in my World) Some holidays are harder to find books for than others. New Year happens to be one…
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Fun Stuff for a New Year Celebration
I know that New Year’s Eve has come and gone, but I love to welcome the children back to school after the holidays with a small New Year celebration. It’s hard to come back to school after a break, especially since the last week of school before we left was all about celebrating the holidays. Coming back to the regular routine can be a little boring. This is my way of helping make that transition a little more fun. Here are some of the things that I’ve come up with over the years to put out for the first week to ensure that we have something new to explore while…
