designed by dorte mandrup arkitekter, this timber-clad kindergarten boasts a distinctive typology that references the surrounding coastal landscape.
Your free printable is on its way to your inbox now! Find help here if you need it. While you’re waiting, read below for even more resources to supplement your teaching. More Teaching Resources You’ll Love Teaching is HARD work, I know! But these fully-developed, done-for-you preschool resources are sure to be a huge help. ClickKeep Reading
Free Hands-On Math Printables for learning symmetry! Students LOVE these symmetry pattern block printables, great for preschool math learning centers.
Explore the wonders of the ocean with these math and literacy activities that provide hands-on learning through play for our preschoolers!
The science center in my classroom is always a busy place. Students can observe, experiment, create, construct, classify, compare, and question. Students are natural-born scientists. They are curious and eager to explore the world and everything in it! As teachers, it is our job to nurture their scientific spirit and help students form questions, investigations, collect data, and share their conclusions. Make your science center amazing to enhance their experiences! Plus, I have a few freebies for your center too!
Transform your preschool day with effective transitions. Explore how music, chants, and stories can engage and guide children through different activities.
Create a kids command center with visual reminders to help them navigate each day - includes printables!
It's 3 weeks into school and your principal wants to do your formal observation. Really? We can barely transition from reading to math without someone bursting into tears and you want to see a REAL lesson? No fear, you've got this, put on best smile and say, "Sure! When would you like to come in?" Whether it's August or April observations always make me nervous. ALWAYS! I've been teaching 13 years, you would think they get easier but they just don't. It's probably because I'm a perfectionist (not) and I want everything to be perfect (not really) but it just makes me feel like I am under a microscope. Here are my top 5 ways to stop stressing and ROCK your next observation. #1 Prepare! Really, don't put this off to the last minute. Think about what skills and procedures you want to highlight in your classroom. What works really well for you? Showcase that! My students are really good at turn and talk by the 3rd week of school so I made sure to include that. Is it a required lesson? Put your own spin on it. I taught a curriculum piece (sight words) from Reading Street but taught my own lesson to go with it. I spent A LOT OF TIME thinking about it before hand to make sure I was planning something I was comfortable with and that we could be successful with. #2 Have what you need at your fingertips I am the WORST about this in real life. I need sticky notes? Oops, they are sitting on my desk all the way across the room. In real life I walk across the room and grab those sticky notes and just keep on going. Don't let that happen during an observation because it will make you even more nervous! Make sure the night before you have everything you need wherever you are going to teach the lesson. This year I needed our class big book, sticky notes, prepared anchor chart, and a marker. I put them all behind my easel so I wouldn't have to do the dreaded "search" right in the middle of my lesson. (PS....this should probably happen every day, but we all know it doesn't!) #3 Plan an ENGAGING LESSON! I attempt to make every single lesson engaging. I teach Kindergarten so if it's not engaging you can just throw everything else right out of the window. When planning for an observation lesson though I make sure that I include whole group, partner work (turn and talk), small group, and independent practice. It's a MUST that we state our objective (throughout the lesson) in our district so I am sure to include that right on my anchor chart so that I don't forget. Let's face it, if you are nervous you forget things! I also start the lesson with an engaging activity and refer back to lessons we have already had (to show that we have some background knowledge). Of course these are all best practices and if they are not part of your normal routine it will looked forced or fake. Be sure you are including things your students have experienced before! #4 DON'T tell your kids you are being observed. Really, it's not necessary. I honestly don't make a big deal about it. Our principal is in and out of our classroom on a regular basis so it is not unusual to see her there. I had a teaching partner a few years ago that would tell the kids they were being observed.....please no. They don't need any added pressure either! If you have your routines and procedures in place it shouldn't matter if the President of the United States is at the back of the room watching you. #5 Relax! Really. Most principals are not out to "ding" you on your evaluation. Just be yourself and show how much you enjoy teaching. Your rapport with the students will shine through if you let it. If you have prepared before hand you don't have anything to be nervous about. A couple of teachers and I had a conversation in the lunch room (yes....I eat there sometimes) about observations and how that ONE kid will always raise their hand and give a totally off topic response. That's OK....that's real life too. It happens daily in the Kindergarten classroom and you just nod and smile and keep going in real life right? Here is the outline for my latest observation. It went pretty well and I'm thankful I did the extra thinking and planning to make sure I included all the elements I needed. The lesson went so well I've included it in our weekly routine (for now) because the kiddos seriously won't stop talking about it. I'm going to run out of sticky notes soon! You can see where I have added "a" and "to" to our anchor chart for this week's lesson. You can click on the lesson plan to download it! Now I am curious. What is your favorite "off topic" question/comment that happened during a formal observation. My favorite......I was looking for an answer about sounding out words (or something like that) I get, "Tomorrow we are having donuts for breakfast!" No...I wasn't serving donuts for breakfast the next day. I have no idea what she was talking about! Share your favorite in the comments, I'd love to hear them! Want to save this post for inspiration for your next observation? Pin it here!
Find out how to create a toy that seems to defy gravity-- a cool balance trick and neat science experiment.
Your off the beaten path guide to Gouda, the city, with a free self-guided walking tour of Gouda's beautiful city center with the best things to do in Gouda
Understanding the 11 emotional energy centers of the body can help you realize how your emotions and repressed feelings affect your mind and body.
Hi Everyone! I wanted to share a really awesome lesson and activity that I did with my 8th graders. Our entire English Language Arts theme for my 8th graders is empathy. Our main novels and literature (To Kill a Mockingbird, “Flowers for Algernon”, and The Diary of Anne Frank) are all linked to the theme […]
Estonia's capital Tallinn is one of Europe's best historic city centers, & a great day trip from Helsinki...here are the best things to do in Tallinn!
If you teach multiple children, independent activities are a MUST! Download this free independent activities choice board, great for young children.
Hi everyone, Lots of you, on Facebook and Instagram, have asked me about my centers. Today, I'm here to show you my daily center routine. I should tell you
The colder weather has finally moved in and the fall season is officially in full swing! Last time on the blog, we introduced you to the seasonal approach of nutrition through Ayurveda. We learned that Ayurveda focuses on reaching balance through the mind, body, and spirit. This
One day in Assisi itinerary plus an Assisi walking tour of the historic city center, with map, things to do, photo spots and restaurants.
This is a great activity that teaches how to build classroom community and mindfulness in the classroom. It's perfect for a variety of ages.
We have provided a list of comebacks for a lot of the annoying kind of behaviour you will probably encounter in your day to day life. Whether it's the friend who doesn't text you back, the rude stranger at the grocery store or your self-centered Aunt Bertha who won't shut up about herself. We've got you covered with our comebacks for annoying people
Looking for Kindergarten career activities for your elementary school counseling lessons? You'll love these hands-on center activities!
ALL ABOUT EARTH Get ready for a month filled with so many fun activities to teach your kiddos all about our planet Earth . I teach this unit in April so it coincides with Earth Day. I’ve loaded up this blog post post with read aloud book ideas, free videos you can share with your students,
A simple way to teach your students classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year
Are you planning a visit to Avignon France? This is the ultimate itinerary for one day in Avignon. This guide covers the top attractions and best things to see and do in the city, including its stunning architecture, UNESCO-listed palace, charming historic center, and trendy eateries.
Our Reiki practice is not what we do, but rather how we show up. It represents a state of mind and heart with which we move through our day and interact with the world.
What's the first thing you do when you wake up? Do you reach for your phone? There's a better way! Let me share my morning routine as a reiki master...
LEARN TO WRITE YOUR NAME It is so exciting when children become curious about how to write their name. I believe teaching them to write their name should be the first word they learn how to spell . It is personal, concrete and helps them realize that putting letters together in writing has me
Valentine's Day Escape Room
How can we make our work days more effective? The specific details will like vary depending on your industry and responsibilities, but there are still
This ultimate guide to things to do in Óbidos, Portugal covers ALL the sights and attractions, including ones most tourists don't know about!
Classroom/behavior management is one of the most important things to master in your classroom. Having solid behavior management helps maintain a positive classroom environment, while enabling teachers and students to accomplish LEARNING! Here are TEN tips and tricks for behavior management I use in my classroom: Greeting Students at the Door The way you start
Start living your adventure with hard-sided all-season yurt-cabins from Freedom Yurt-Cabins. Browse our selection of wooden yurts online today.
"I can’t do it." "This is too hard." "I’m just not good at math." We are sure you’ve probably heard your students (and other adults) say these things. Perhaps you can even recall saying something similar to yourself at one point in time.
Fantastic dot activities to go along with the book "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds. STEAM inspired projects perfect for young kids.
Math games are always a class favorite! They're great for centers, homework practice, and small groups. This set of games includes five monkey-themed math games that your kids will love! They might even go bananas for it (tehehe)! Doubles, place value, addition, and more. Each game comes in color and black & white. You can grab them HERE. I hope your kids love them!
Making inferences is an important skill that learners need to have as they comprehend text. Making inferences takes comprehension to a deeper level than just the surface. Find more comprehension strategies paired with picture books in our Comprehension Reading Strategies series. *This post contains affiliate links. Why Making Inferences Can be Tricky Now, making ... Read More about Making Inferences using “My Lucky Day”
These eight different editable name coloring pages are so much fun for kids and adults alike! They're also printable and free!
Are you looking for the best things to do in Samarkand? No need to look any further cause this Samarkand travel blog covers all of the best places to visit in this remarkable city!
