I think I can assume I'm not alone in the shock and exhaustion that ensued from the end of the 2019-2020 school year. What started as a two-day closing for cleaning, turned into a never-ending and ever-changing school closure. To say I felt unprepared is an understatement. "How am I supposed to hold a Zoom call with a class of 8-year-olds, while my 2 year-old is picking up dog poop in the backyard with his bare hands?" Questions like this clouded my brain for three months. I was terrified of not preparing my students for fourth grade, leaving their parents with no help, while also not being present as a mother. After watching the number of Covid-19 cases in my state climb over the summer, I decided to arm myself with tools and resources that will help my future class succeed whether they are home with little-to-no guidance, or in class spaced 6 feet apart from their friends. In our most recent school meeting, we were told that students should take home their materials every night in case of another shut-down. Picturing the amount of materials that would be lost, broken, and never seen again gave me some anxiety. Instead, I created this resource to show my students and parents that learning materials are all around our home. In the first part of my math choice board series, I included various activities with material suggestions. I practiced them at home myself, without buying a single material. The first activity involves making number lines. The possibilities are endless with this one! From chalk, to noodles, you can't go wrong with a number line. I chose to use play doe, because who doesn't love getting messy? In the next activity, I challenge my students to find objects around their home that they can use to model equal groups. I used markers, because my son has a ton of them. Other options I picture include rocks, dried pasta, and leaves. After creating their model, students write an equation to match their equal groups. The picture below would show 2 x 5 = 10. My absolute favorite is the Distribute Your Food activity. Why? Because it involves food! Students choose any food they have around to make an array. Then, they split it to model the distributive property. I used cheerios, but they could also use dried beans, french fries, baby carrots, or any other small food. Last, but not least, I cannot wait for my students to try out BOOM learning cards. If you've never heard of them, you need to go to www.boomlearning.com RIGHT NOW! They are life-changing, self-correcting task cards. Not only does it provide instant feedback, but it gathers data on your students. To use it with a class, there is a small fee. However, I will pay insane amounts of money if it means I don't have to grade papers. If you'd like to join to me and prepare for any and all possibilities next year, click the picture below to check out my Multiplication Choice Board for hands-on learning at home. Lots of love,
This product contains 10 different designs (different apple designs and borders) of editable letters for parents and 10 editable letters for students. The letters for parents say "Dear parent," and "Truly yours,". The letters for students say "Dear ___________", so they can be used for families with...
I’ve shared quite a few resources at The Best Advice On Teaching K-12 Online (If We Have To Because Of The Coronavirus) – Please Make More Suggestions! However, there is nothing better…
The coronavirus pandemic forced a near-total shutdown of school buildings in the spring of 2020. See where schools closed and when.
Use this blog post full of distance learning ideas and resources to help navigate virtual teaching. We have a long list of apps, websites, programs, and more to help teachers keep doing what they do best..teaching kids and being there for them!
Everything has happened so fast! One day we were teaching and preparing for standardized testing and the next we were at home trying to figure out how to work Google Classroom and teach remotely. You might be feeling a little overwhelmed and uncertain about what you should be doing now that you are home every
Our students THRIVE on visuals. Whether they are following a visual schedule (free one here) with picture supports or a written schedule… when there are cancellations and they need to spend a day at home, or spend an extended period doing at home learning like during the coronavirus outbreak, having visual supports is key. Keep […]
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These graduates still deserve fanfare.
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The balayage technique is renowned for the strategically selected colors, elaborate placement, and natural, leaved-in look. See the best balayage ideas you can easily fall in love with!
I know there is some confusion about what to do next in the midst of this unprecedented time of a pandemic, school closures, and widespread social disruption. As a primary care physician and public…
Where I live, the weather is a daily question mark. Even during each season when you expect the weather to be hot or cold, it often surprises everyone. And while…
Planets in Space ! I used this lesson as an introductory lesson to teaching students some key components of creating the illusion of form on...
Free downloads for the elementary computer lab teacher or classroom teacher who does a lot of technology integration
Ever since the schools closed, I started looking for valuable resources to help us get through this period easier. I was very happy to discover several big lists of ideas, but then I quickly got
Everything students need to maintain their literacy skills so they can return to school without missing a beat while working from home.
Give her a place to write down thoughts for the day, to do lists, or take notes. This lined journal has 80 pages for her to fill. The journal has a gold elastic closure so it's sure to stay shut as she goes about her day. The cover features her name (up to 12 characters) in a fun gold foil script placed at an angle. Use for graduation gifts, bridesmaid gifts, teacher gifts and so much more!
Michaele Sommerville's reflections, resources and the occasional rant of all things kindergarten.
Are you looking for free online educational resources to use with your kids during school closures? Then you'll love these 11 educational websites.
Disclosure: This post was written right when the world shut down due to Covid in 2020. The free packet below was put together to provide resources for teachers and parents during the school closures. Many
During this unprecedented time of school closures, Google Classroom has become a go-to platform to communicate and distribute remote learning assignments. This post will give you specific tips to help maximize your effectiveness in using Google Classroom during remote learning. 10 Google Classroom Tips for Remote Learning!
The coronavirus pandemic forced a near-total shutdown of school buildings in the spring of 2020. See where schools closed and when.
Many schools across the United States will be celebrating Read Across America the first week of March. Whether you've been strongly encouraged to do so by your administration or just want to join in the festivities, this is a great time to pull out some books to tie into music lessons! Today I want to share some of my favorite ways to bring Read Across America into the elementary music room. This post contains affiliate links, which do not affect the buying experience or the opinions expressed in this article, but do support this blog. First let me make sure everyone is on the same page: Dr. Seuss is not featured in my RAA celebration, and he shouldn't be in yours either. The NEA has already completely removed Cat in the Hat, and Dr. Seuss, from their logo and theme (visit their site linked above to see their new resources), but many teachers haven't gotten the memo yet. Besides the author's overtly racist political cartoons and propaganda, a large portion of his book characters and content (including the Cat in the Hat) are demeaning and exoticising of non-white people and non-Western cultures. If this is news to you, I know it can be hard to process at first, but I encourage you to set aside your childhood memories for a moment and read this article (click here to download for free) and do a little research- there are plenty of other articles to look at to find out for yourself. OK. Now that we've addressed that, let's talk about alternatives! Because there are so many, and actually they're way better. Conveniently enough, March is also Music In Our Schools Month® (MIOSM®)! So my favorite way to bring literature into my music lessons during Read Across America week is with books about music. The theme in 2019 was "All Music. All People.", and for that theme I used the book My Family Plays Music to explore different musical genres while having students play along with recordings on classroom instruments. See all the recordings I used and the full lesson plan in this post: The 2020 theme for Music In Our Schools Month is "Music Changes Lives", and I am going to be incorporating this year's theme with the beautiful book Because. I've been trying to think of a way to bring this book into my lessons in a meaningful way ever since I found it last year, so I can't wait! To see the lesson and activities I am planning to go with this book, read this post: For any other music teachers who, like me, used to teach "My Many Colored Days" by Dr. Seuss, I found a great alternative that my students actually like better and understand more readily: here is the lesson I do with the book Allie All Along: There are so many great ways to use books in the elementary music classroom- these are just a few examples! I especially love using them with my younger students (K-2). They love listening to stories, and their imaginations light up when we use those stories as springboards for creative musical expression. You'll find complete lesson plans for 13 more books (and counting!) that I use throughout the school year in this post: I know there are many more great books and lesson ideas to use them! If you don't see your favorite here, please share them in the comments below! I hope you enjoy reading with your students and discovering new books to use in your classroom.
Ideas from leaders for distanced welcome back nights that will inspire your school community.
Organized Chaos: helping music teachers embrace the chaos of creativity through purposeful organization and simple ideas!
In this free download, you will get two PDF cheat sheets: (1) The Google Classroom Cheat Sheet for Teachers, a 40-page guide to help teachers make the most of this robust online learning tool.( 2) The Google Classroom Cheat Sheet for Students, a 14-page reference guide to help students understand the platform.
Satisfy your kindergartener's fascination of different sounds with this easy science project, where they'll use their ears instead of their eyes to identify sounds!
Are you not sure what to do now that your school has moved to distance learning? These distance learning ideas for school counseling will help you continue to support and connect with your students during this time. The tips included in this post are organized by the amount of access your students h
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Clarksville, TN - This morning, after discussions among the Clarksville Academy Administrative team, and in compliance with the wishes of Tennessee’s
The beer tents in Munich have these enormous, ribbon-draped wreaths hanging from their ceilings. Create a pair of Oktoberfest hanging wreaths for your party.
