Scientific studies have shown that kindness has a great number of physical and emotional benefits. So what can we do at home and school to promote kindness? Remember, for kids to learn it’s a combination of what we say and do. Sometimes for kids to learn they just need a few simple words to promote an action. Quotes about Kindness give students “the words”. Kindness is best learned by feeling the emotion of caring for someone else and feeling cared for by others.
On Opening Day, each year, I gave each staff member an inspirational poem about being a teacher. The poems were typed on decorative paper with a small trinket (hear, shell) attached. Often I would see it in the classrooms, and that made all the printing and gluing worth the effort.
So, as we end our semester together, I want to share with you my Opening Day poem from 2010-2011. How many of the 13 items below sound like you this past semester?
I hope you enjoyed your student teaching experience. It’s time to go out and find the teaching job that is right for you! Enjoy the journey friends. You’ve got this.
Real teachers grade papers in the car, during commercials, in faculty meeting at times in the bathroom.
Real teachers cheer when they hear April 1st or Halloween does not fall on a school day.
Real teachers can’t walk past a crowd of kids without straightening up the line (or at least thinking about it).
Real teachers have disjointed necks from writing on boards or turning their backs on the class.
Real teachers are written-up in medical journals for the size and elasticity of kidneys and bladders.
Real teachers have been timed gulping down a full lunch in 2 minutes.
Real teachers can predict exactly which parents will show up at Open House.
Real teachers are solely responsible for the destruction of the rain forest.
Real teachers have their best conferences in the parking lot.
Real teachers have never heard an original excuse.
Real teachers buy Tylenol and Advil at Costco.
Real teachers will eat anything that is put in the Faculty Room.
Real teachers know secretaries and custodians run the school.
Real teachers hear the heartbeats of crisis; always have time to listen; know they teach students, not subjects; and are non-expendable.
THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING A CAREER THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN KIDS LIVES.
November: Creativity, Expression and Knowledge = Education
Eleven months down in 2019, how are you doing on those New Years Resolutions? If you are still working on catching up on professional development, take a look at this month’s newsletter. All 12 November posts are below, as well as ALL the posts since I started the blog in September 2018. My New Year’s Resolution to get the Threeringsconnections’ newsletter out on a timely, consistent schedule is accomplished: 11 down and 1 more to go! Have a great month!
I choose my favorites each month for different reasons. Sometimes it’s timeliness, a hot education topic, student teacher needs or as a family and friends resource. Sometimes, it’s just, BECAUSE. Enjoy!
My local friends the closest location is Danbury, Ct. (Approximately 40 mins. from Fishkill area.
Scholastic Books Warehouse offers for a limited a limited time only deep discounts on books. This holiday you can purchase “Buy One, Get One Box” from hundreds of books, gifts, and school supplies. There is even a Build a Box opportunity! Refresh your school, home, and classroom libraries, and stock up on gifts for everyone.
For every item you buy, choose an item of equal or lesser value for FREE
Shop from a large assortment of already reduced items
No limits on how many items you can buy
Build-a-Box is included with the BOGO offer (yes, Danbury has it)
Perfect way to maximize school purchase orders, grants, and Title 1 funds
Coupon is $10.00 off a purchase of $100.00. OR $25.00 off a purchase of $100.00 using Scholastic Dollars.
Danbury, CT Warehouse Sale:
Weekday Hours: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm Saturday Hours: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm Closed Sundays
The Danbury location is a Build-a-Box event. As many books as you can fit in a box for less than $29.95.
Motivating kids to learn? Here’s what I learned a long time ago. Kids don’t always do what you want them to do. I’m hearing parents all over the world saying “that’s certainly true”. Yes, folks and you might experience it from birth to adulthood!
So, getting kids motivated to learn is sometimes a combination of timing, strategies and luck. Check out some of the strategies below that might get them motivated to learn. They may even think it’s their idea!
Show a Love of Learning – Be enthusiastic about learning by showing interest in your child’s interests and learning new things.
Make a Game Out of It – Kids love games, so why not learn something in a game format. You can sing it, dance it out or just play a game. Add a bit of whimsy will make you both smile.
Learn Something New Every Day – Try to teach your child at least one thing new every day. It doesn’t have to be big, just something. That’s at least 365 things!
Give up control (sort of) – Power struggles can start at an early age so try giving your child choices of what they want and how they want to learn it. Remember, you goal is to get them to learn, why not guide them some choice? You’ve already limited their choices, so it becomes a win-win!
Encourage learning styles – Kids have different preferences and styles of how they like to learn. Knowing your child’s preferences can help engage them in learning. For young kids it’s good to give them experiences in all the different learning styles. There are 7 basic learning styles
Kinesthetic/Physical – Learning through movement
Verbal – Learning through language activities
Auditory – Learn best through listening
Solitary – Learn best alone
Social – Learn best in a group
Visual – Learn best through seeing things
Mathematical/Logical – Problem solving using hands on items.
Learning becomes fun when kids are interested in learning. It doesn’t really matter if it’s dinosaurs, trucks or skyscrapers. If kids are reading, talking and asking questions they are building background knowledge and learning. Getting them to want to learn is the trick.
Thanksgiving jokes can add some fun to your celebration.
Why not add some Thanksgiving jokes to your Thanksgiving celebration this year?
Teaching kids to appreciate jokes is a great opportunity to laugh together as a family. Why not take some time to be silly this Thanksgiving and enjoy a laugh (or eye roll). Happy Thanksgiving!
Used Bookstore at Poughkeepsie Library: Boardman Road branch
Great opportunity to fill your bookshelves at home or in your classroom. The book store has a selection of over 20,000 high-quality used books, cds, dvds and audiobooks. Books are organized and sorted to make shopping a breeze.
Entrance to the Friends’ Book Store is on the south side of the building – just look for the blue awning.
Store hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 10 am to 4 pm.
Telephone: 845-485-3445 x 3423
Cash, checks (with valid ID) and MasterCard, Visa, and
Discover cards are accepted.
Follow them on Facebook too to check out special sales and events:
Thinking is the hardest work any one can do – Henry Ford
Ten months down in 2019, how are you doing on those New Years Resolutions? If you are still working on catching up on professional development, take a look at this month’s newsletter. All 12 October posts are below, as well as ALL the posts since I started the blog in September 2018. My New Year’s Resolution to get the Threeringsconnections’ newsletter out on a timely, consistent schedule is accomplished: 10 down and 2 more to go! Have a great month!
As regular readers know, at the end of each month I share the three most popular posts from the last month. I thought people might find it interesting to see what everyone else was looking at. Enjoy!
I choose my favorites each month for different reasons. Sometimes it’s timeliness, a hot education topic, student teacher needs or as a family and friends resource. Sometimes, it’s just, BECAUSE. Enjoy!
The Concepts of Print (COP) assessment was created by Marie Clay (1993), The assessment includes items to assess a child’s knowledge of both print and written language skills. These two skills work together to help children learn to read and write.
Many students entering kindergarten understand that a book tells a story (the print has meaning). However, very few understand “how print works”. Concepts of Print (COP) skills involves kids knowing parts of a book (using the correct terms) and understanding the letter/writing concepts included. Since many parents and teachers read to children daily; why not add a few of the COP skills.
Concepts of Print (COP) in Daily Reading
Point to the Following Parts of the Book
Front and back of the book.
Binding.
Top and bottom of a picture.
Title Page.
Author’s Name (define that the author writes the book).
Illustrator’s name (define that the illustrator draws the pictures).
Show How to Read a Book
A sentence is read from left to right.
Pages are read from left to right.
Point to each word while you read.
Read pages from left to right.
A story has a beginning and end.
Words and Writing in Books: Basics
A capital letter is at the beginning of a sentence.
Words and sentences have capital letters and lower case letters.
Point out 1 word in a sentence, Point out 2 words.
Point out that a word is made up of a group of letters.
A comma explains to the reader that it tells the reader to pause or slowdown.
There are punctuation marks at the end of a sentences (period, question mark, exclamation mark) Explain that the marks tell the reader how to read.
Research: Clay, M. M. (1993). An observation survey of early literacy achievement. Heinemann, 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, NH 03801-3912.
A movement to introduce students to the basics of computer science.
I’ve heard about it. I’ve supported the teachers in my school to try it. Now… it’s time for me to sit down for an “Hour of Code”. OK friends, maybe longer than an hour!
The Hour of Code movement is a grassroots movement that has already introduced over 100 million students worldwide to the basics of computer science. The program was started to give every student an opportunity to try computer science for one hour. In an hour anybody can learn the basics of “code” by participating in computer science activities. Computer science helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. All skills that are important to pursue a 21st century career path. Our elementary school first participated in an Hour of Code in 2015 during Computer Science Education Week (held in early December each year).
Today, Hour of Code activities are available year-round (tutorials and activities). The one-hour tutorials are available in over 45 languages. The tutorials are self-guided, and all materials are free of charge. Planning guides are easy to read and available for every age and experience-level, from kindergarten and up. Schools can enroll their class and enjoy the fun. The tutorials work on all devices and browsers and there are also unplugged activities for groups that can’t accommodate the tutorials! Code.org is the ultimate resource if you are learning about an Hour of Code or you are already working on it with your kids.
Hour of Code: One Hour Later….
Well, it was longer than an hour but……I worked on an activity to code my characters to dance! See Dance Party. No experience necessary, easy to do and fun! Can’t wait to have my grandkids try it!
Thinking about giving it a try? Computer Science Education Week 2019 will be held December 9-15. Be part of the largest learning event in history. Certainly, worth a look. However, it you can’t wait until December, try some of the links. Have fun!
STEAM aims to spark an interest and life- long love of the arts and sciences in children starting at an early age
We all know the importance of marketing in selling things. It’s all around us every day! A great marketing campaign that has entered the school doors is the STEAM movement. Yes, it may be the catchy name but kids, parents and teachers now think STEAM is cool! Some of us have known all along about the cool factor of science but now the word is out. Now, we are all “living and loving” science. And, that’s OK!
What’s STEAM All About?
The rebranding of Science and Math is a result of the need to better prepare students for higher education. Students in the 21st century workforce need to have the skills and knowledge to be innovators. The acronym was first introduced as Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and is now often referred to as STEAM with the inclusion of an A for Arts. STEAM lessons include the following:
Makes connections between standards, learning objectives and assessments.
Focuses on real world problems
An integrated approach to learning
Crosses all 5 disciplines (science, technology, engineering, arts, math)
Teaches kids how to ask questions, experiment and be creative.
STEAM projects aim to spark an interest and life- long love of the arts and sciences in children starting at an early age. Lessons are designed to teach skills to be good learners, therefore, the skills can be translated into almost any career. Teaching kids to think critically and solve problems will help them to thrive in the 21st century.
Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela
Nine months down in 2019, how are you doing on those New Years Resolutions? If you are still working on catching up on professional development, take a look at this month’s newsletter. All 13 September posts are below, as well as ALL the posts since I started the blog in September 2018. My New Year’s Resolution to get the Threeringsconnections’ newsletter out on a timely, consistent schedule is accomplished: 9 down and 3 more to go! Have a great month!
Learning to read is not easy and takes time. Many parents wonder on the best ways to help their kids learn to read. With 8 grandkids under 9, we have various levels of reading going on in our family. Ranging in age from 7 months to “newly 9” we have readers of all sizes and abilities.
I created the following list to make it a little easier for my adult children to have a few “reading ideas” to help their kiddos. Reading is very comprehensive and therefore, there is a wide range of activities at each level. The important thing to remember is reading builds on foundational skills. Therefore, each level is important for reading success. Don’t worry if your more advanced reader wants to do a lower level. Even advanced readers can continue to learn and grow from some of the Preschool Reader activities. Last week we started with our series with Very Early Readers (Birth – 2 years). This week we continue with Preschool Readers (2 – 5yrs).
Preschool Readers (2 to 5 years)
Discuss what’s happening, point out things on the page, ask your child questions
When looking at a book together, point out how we read from left to right and how words are separated by spaces.
Talk about print everywhere. Talk about written words you see in the world around you and respond with interest to your child’s questions about words.
Ask your child to find a new word every time you go on an outing.
Watch My Lips – Encourage your child to watch your lips and mouth while you make certain sounds. Have your child think about how his/her own lips and tongue move. You can say something like, “Can you feel how your mouth moves the same way at the beginning of the words sun, snake, and sour? Watch my mouth while I say them.” Exaggerate the letter s when saying the words.
Play sound games— Give your child practice blending individual sounds into words. For example, ask “Do you know what the word is? m-o-p?” Say the sound each letter makes rather than the name of the letter. Hold each sound longer than you normally would. This will help your child recognize the different letter sounds.
Trace and say letters while saying the letter’s sound at the same time. Use a pan filled with rice, sugar or beans to involve touch, sight and speech.
Play word games — Use a dry erase board to play word games with your child. First, write out a word like mat. Then change the initial sound. Have your child sound out the word when it becomes fat and then when it becomes sat. Next change the final sound, so the word changes from sat to sag to sap. Then change the middle sound, so the word changes from sap to sip.
Punctuate your reading.?! -. Discuss how punctuation on a page represents ways of speaking. You can say, for example, “When we talk, we usually pause a little bit at the end of a sentence. The way we show this pause in writing is to use a period.”
Dig deeper into the story — Ask your child about the story you’ve just read together. Try questions that require your child to draw conclusions. Say something like, “Why do you think Clifford did that?” A child’s involvement in retelling a story or answering questions goes a long way toward developing his or her comprehension skills.
Tell family tales — Children love to hear stories about their family. Tell your child what it was like when you or your parents were growing up or talk about a funny thing that happened when you were young.
Storytelling on the go — Take turns adding to a story the two of you make up while riding in the car. Either one of you could start. Start with a beginning middle and end and work up to a longer story. A fun activity that stretches the imagination!
Every minute counts in becoming a good reader. Why not set a goal to try to do at least one activity a day? Be prepared to have days when it doesn’t get done. It’s only a goal. Most of all, enjoy the special time with your child.
Learning to read is not easy and takes time. Many parents wonder on the best ways to help their kids learn to read. With 8 grandkids under 9, we have various levels of reading going on in our family. Ranging in age from 7 months to “newly 9” we have very early readers to advanced readers.
I created the following list to make it a little easier for my adult children to have a few “reading ideas” to help their kiddos. Reading is very comprehensive and therefore, there is a wide range of activities at each level. The important thing to remember is reading builds on foundational skills. Therefore, each level is important for reading success. Don’t worry if your more advanced reader wants to do a lower level. Even advanced readers can continue to learn and grow from some of the Very Early Reader list activities. This week we start with our very early readers.
Very Early Readers (Birth to 2 yrs.)
Read together every day. Uninterrupted 2 minutes of time is time well spent.
Keep a book or magazine with you all the time to read with your child. Every minute counts.
Re-read a favorite – Kids love to hear books again. Repeated reading helps kids read more quickly and accurately. It helps promote their reading confidence. Research shows that repeated reading builds language skills.
Read with fun in your voice. Why not use different voices for different characters. A little acting can go a long way!
Let your child choose —Give your child the chance to pick his/her own books. Letting children choose their own books nurtures independence and their own interests.
Read it and Experience it — Help your child make the connection between what he/she reads in books and what happens in life. If you’re reading a book about animals, for example, relate it to last month’s trip to the zoo.
Make books and reading into something special by taking your kids to the library, helping them get their own library card, reading with them, and buying them books as gifts.
Have a favorite place for books in your home, or even better, put books everywhere!
Talk about what you see and do together.
Talking about everyday activities helps your child’s background knowledge, which is crucial to listening and reading comprehension
You can play games that involve naming or pointing to objects.
Say silly tongue twisters—Sing sings and read rhyming books. These help kids become sensitive to the sounds in words.
When you read aloud, read with expression.
Coming Next Week: Preschool Readers (2 to 5 years)
Coming in 2 Weeks: School Age Readers and Writers (5 to 9 years)
Overdrive is a database to access free books for adults and kids.
I’ve written a post about Overdrive as a database to access free books for adults and kids. However, I was not aware that they also have collections of books on different subjects. One of the listed subjects is Education. The collection includes books for both teachers, parents and students. Books are in both digital and audio files.
Using your library card you can borrow up to 10 ebooks or audiobooks from your local library. Just use your library card for your one time registration and you’re ready to go. Books can be borrowed from 7 to 21 days.
Sample: Overdrive PD Teacher Books
Building A+ Better Teacher Green 2015
How Children Succeed Tough 2013
Mathematical Mindsets Boaler/Dweck 2015
Montessori From the Start Lillard and Jessen 2004
Secrets of the Teenage Brain Feinstein/Jensen 2013
Teach Like a Pirate Burgess 2012
The Coddling of the American Mind Lukianoff/Haidt 2019
Over the years I’ve collected a collection of education books. Take a look at the list below and let me know if there are any books that you may find helpful in your placements. I can bring them to your placement on our next observation. Access to your very own professional lending library!
Brainstorm Siegel 2012
Bright From The Start Stamm 2008
Classroom Instruction That Works Marzano & Pickering 2001
Including Historical Dates in lessons gives relevance to learning.
For kids in school, knowing historical dates helps them relate to history and builds their general
knowledge. Knowing these dates
can help teachers engage students in conversations and students may even be
impressed by their teachers historical knowledge!
Knowing historical dates provides opportunities for students to learn history and build their general knowledge. Take a look and impress your students!
Eight months down in 2019, how are you doing on those New Years Resolutions? If you are still working on catching up on professional development, take a look at this month’s newsletter. All 10 August posts are below, as well as ALL the posts since I started the blog in September 2018. My New Year’s Resolution to get the Threeringsconnections’ newsletter out on a timely, consistent schedule is accomplished: 8 down and 4 more to go! Have a great month!
I’ve reached an age that I realize I definitly need transition time to make a change. Perhaps I have always needed transitions but I only NOW realize that I need them. Maybe, it’s because I see some upcoming life changes. Whatever the reason, transitions seem to make my life easier lately. As a parent and teacher I know the importance of transitions to make life run smoothly. More than once I experienced my lack of planning causing disruptions. Those tantrums and unhappy faces could very well have been avoided with some good transition strategies.
Strategies to promoted self-regulation are necessary for a calm home and classroom. So, recently I dug into my toolkit of strategies to ward off grandchild disappointment and keep everyone smiling.
Transitions Made Easy
Give Extra Time– Allow extra time to move to the next activity. Less rushing helps keep you remember the importance of transition.
Set the Clock – Give time warnings of how much longer until we have to leave. I’ve found that using the timer on my phone is a great visual for kids. Seeing the countdown helps them have ownership to plan their final activities. Also, allowing kids to start the timer ensures that they are indeed listening to you. Be sure to include a few extra minutes of buffer time.
Be An Accurate Timekeeper – Telling them 2 minutes more but giving them 10 minutes more, because they were quiet, teaches kids that 2 minutes is REALLY long. That is until the next time when you REALLY mean 2 minutes. IF you are ok with an extended time, try giving them a “few minutes more”. Only give them a specific time when YOU are ready. This simple tip will help them learn to self regulate their activities.
Look Ahead – Think of possible transition bumps to minimize unplanned “great ideas”. IF you think they are going to ask for more time to play or a particular toy, prepare an answer before they ask.
Share Next Steps – Share the next steps in your schedule and try to make it sound fun.
Say It With Pictures – Especially for younger kids, show them a picture of the next steps. Draw your simple pictures on post its. Kids will love to play with them and they can be reused in the future.
Give Choices – IF you have multiple things to do and the order can be varied, give them a choice of what they want to do first. Best to keep their choices simple, maybe 2 or 3 choices.
Kids LIKE Schedules – They may say they don’t, but they do! Let them know in advance any planned activities to help them become more aware.
Distract, Distract, Distract – Plan a list of things to do to distract BEFORE your child has an issue (e.g. a favorite toy, box of crayons). Sing, count, tell stories, whatever will keep their mind busy. You may also allow them to hold a special item. As a K-2 principal, I often allowed new kindergarten students to hold my “very special book” or “wear my Principal necklace”. Prior to the book or necklace idea, I had once used my keys to distract a nervous 5 year old. Two hours later, the kindergarten teacher was finally able to distract the child long enough to unclench his fingers from around my keys. It worked, but certainly, not my best idea. A little planning would have been helpful!
Not 100% guaranteed ideas but certainly worth a try.
Special Education vocabulary will help understand the process.
The world of special education can by scary for parents navigating the process for the first time. The following list contains special education terms, definitions and acronyms that are commonly used by schools during the IEP process .
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE): Special education and related series are provided free of charge so that every child has the appropriate education for his or her unique needs. It’s entitled under IDEA.
Due Process: Refers to the process where parents may disagree with the program recommendations. Notice must be given in writing within 30 days.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): The law (2004) guarantees that all students with disabilities received a Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE). It makes it illegal for school district to refuse to educate a student based on his or her disability.
Parent Consent: Term used by IDEA that describes that a parent has been fully informed (in native language) of changes to their child’s IEP. This informed consent must be obtained before a district assesses, makes a major revision to a child’s program, continues or stops services for a child’s disability. You will be asked to confirm that you understand and agree to the change in writing.
Early Intervention (EI): Services for developmentally delayed children from birth to their third birthdays. The programs are designed to help prevent problems as the child matures. It’s mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Students must be educated in a classroom setting that is close to the general education setting as possible (IDEA mandated).
The IEP Process
Assessment or Evaluation: Term used to describe the testing and diagnostic processes that identifies strengths, weaknesses and progress. An assessment plan is written to describe the results along with the determination and types of special education services recommended for student success. IDEA gives only 60 days to complete the evaluation from the time a parent gives permission.
Annual Review: A yearly meeting is held of all IEP team members to review progress towards goals and update services if needed.
Individualized Education Team: A committee of parents, teachers, administrators and school personnel that provide services to the students. The team will review assessment results and determine goals, objectives and program placement.
The IEP Document
Individualized Education Plan (IEP): The written document that states the child’s goals, objectives and services of special education services.
Developmental and Social History: A developmental and social history is a common element of an assessment plan. The history is created by input from parents, teachers, pediatricians and service providers.
Observational Records: Information about a child’s academic performance provided by anyone who works with a child. The records are part of the assessment plan.
Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP): A written plan of the early intervention services a child (age 0-3 receives). The plan is developed based on family-based needs and reviewed periodically.
Triennial Review: An IEP meeting that takes place every three years. Testing is updated and a discussion on the continuation of special education services. The meeting is often combined with the annual review.
Observational Records: Information about a child’s academic performance provided by anyone who works with a child. The records are part of the assessment plan.
Assessments or Evaluations: Tests designed to provide an overview of a child’s academic performance, basic cognitive functioning, and current strengths and weaknesses. May also contain hearing and vision test results.
Present Levels: Part of the IEP that defines a student’s strengths and weaknesses, current levels of academic achievement and current levels of academic functional performance.
Student Baseline: A starting point of student’s ability level that is used throughout the year to measure a student’s skills.
Performance-Based Tests: An evaluation test that is used to determine eligibility for special education services. Common evaluations can include Woodcock Johnson or the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT).
Services
Occupational Therapists: A professional that provides consultation and support to staff to improve a student’s educational performance in the areas of fine motor, gross motor and sensory integration development.
Speech-Language Pathologist (specialist): A professional who assesses possible delayed speech and language skills and provides direct services.
Physical Therapist: A professional who provides consultation and support staff on a student’s education performance related to gross motor development. May provide direct services.
School Psychologist: Provides consultation and support to families and staff. Often involved in the student assessments. May also be the chairperson of the IEP committee.
