February 2012
37 posts
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Siri
Mike: "Call my honey."
Siri: "Which one?"
Anonymous asked: Kelsey, darling. This is once again your buddy. I hope your card has reached you now. A special package should be with you soon. In case you're still waiting (the postal service in my town is NOTORIOUS for losing mail/being slow/sucking in general), I just wanted to send you some e-love just in case. Congratulations on the award your school recently received. I was so happy for you when I...
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My teacher counts me off for using the Oxford comma.
The 28 most tried and true writing prompts
writingprompts:
Five Reasons I don't Assign Homework →
world-shaker:
A short, but provocative article. This one may be the most incendiary thing on the list:
3 — Homework impinges upon a student’s time with family and on other, more valuable, activities — like play. As Alfie Kohn states in The Homework Myth, why should children be asked to work a second shift? It’s unconscionable to send children to work for nearly eight hours a day, then have...
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Student Teaching for Double Majors
As a double major, I will be student teaching at the elementary level for the entire fall semester and half a semester at the early childhood level in the spring. I found out today that I am expected to split my elementary student teaching into eight weeks in kindergarten and eight in a first-third grade classroom. I do not understand why I cannot be placed in one classroom for the 16 weeks of...
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I received this note last week.
Mrs. Scholtes is the classroom teacher. I think the student just got that from the word wall and figured it’d be my name too. Resourceful. I approve.
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Use a paper towel holder, page protectors, and...
Oh, Pinterest. There are so many good uses for this!
Source
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If you are looking for some strangers to donate...
Pat and his family want to fly to Iowa to meet a little girl named Lia…see her story here. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like she will live much longer.
They are good people, and they can use all the help they can get! Donate here!
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Tomorrow! Tomorrow! Chicago! Tomorrow!
P.S. I was singing the song, but it’s punny cause the kindergartener I tutor really does put an exclamation point after every word. Can’t fault a girl for being excited (just kidding, don’t worry I do correct her).
Headaches are not usually a sign of impending doom (i.e. illness) for me, but I’ve had a few massive headaches between yesterday and today.
I will pay you like three hugs to bring me some aspirin at work…think about it.
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Technology in School
Today, I visited a school where every student from kindergarten to 5th grade has his/her own iPad! The kindergarten room I spent the most time in used them a ton.
The middle and high school classes in that school didn’t receive iPads (they were bought with a grant), and they were super disappointed that all the got to use were Macbooks.
Hello, everyone! I am sorry that I haven’t been able to post in a few days. This has been the most stressful week of the semester if not year. Tonight, I am heading home to northwest Indiana with a few friends (classmates from last semester) so we can attend the AACTE conference in Chicago tomorrow to accept an award for “exemplary culturally responsive teacher education”.
My...
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So I don't like to play the "broken family" card,
but this reflection on my family’s involvement in my education is getting to me.
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If Lifetime movies are wrong, I don't wanna be...
But, seriously, is there a better way to unwind after a slightly strenuous Monday?
Anonymous asked: Kelsey, this is your teacher buddy speaking. I feel like a TERRIBLE person. I wrote your address wrong on the card I originally sent you, and I just got it back today... Please know that I'm sending love your way, and hopefully your card another special thing will be with you soon.
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I received my early childhood student teaching...
And, it is at the same childcare center where I completed my last practicum. Mixed feelings.
Pros:
I am comfortable in the school and the community where it is located.
The demographics of the center are diverse.
Cons:
Although my classroom teachers had good intentions, they did not have teaching degrees nor exemplary teaching abilities.
I would like to get experience in several different...
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I hope my teaching buddy knows that I exist.
It’d be a bummer if he/she didn’t.
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"Indiana among states getting waivers from No... →
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“Is Michael Jackson alive?”
– -Student.
I’m telling you, kindergarteners do not miss a thing these days.
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I got an interview for student teaching!!
..at an open concept school. Ah! Something I’ve never experienced before? Yes, please!
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Not to brag, but...
By “Ball State” they mean my immersive program from last semester!
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LA Center #6: Rhyming Words
First, I read Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas aloud.
In the book, Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob are rhyming dust bunnies…except Bob has a little trouble rhyming. After reading the book, I attached a photo of Ed, Ned, Ted, and Bob to the board. I drew speech bubbles above them and wrote a word in Ed’s bubble. Of my three students, two wrote rhyming words (one in each Ned’s and...
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LA Center #5: Mega Block Sentences
Activity and photo found here!
For this activity, I taped words onto Mega Blocks ($15 for 80 pieces at Walmart). I used all the students’ sight words and names along with other common words. I printed out sentences for the students to build and then let them loose to create their own sentences.
The students did very well building the sentences from the sentence strips (especially when...
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To Do Today:
Coffee
Breakfast
Laundry
Brush teeth
Make materials for lesson tomorrow
Plan and make materials for centers this week
Plan reading tutoring sessions for this week
Write a reflection on a textbook chapter for my independent study
Find and print 10 science experiment ideas for mixtures and solutions
Create my week 1 science buddy plan
Type other science stuff
Listen to some good tunes
...
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Is it wrong that...
…my idea of a perfect night includes the movie “Transformers”? And why are movies so much better when they are on TV? I have it on DVD, but it is so much more exciting to see it on TV.
P.S. Hi new followers! Glad to have you here :)
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Putting on my Patient Pants.
I made an ADORABLE gift for my teaching buddy. I wish I could post a picture! In the spirit of remaining anonymous, I will take a picture, put my patient pants on, and save it to post after my identity is revealed to my buddy.
EEEEEEeeeeeEEEEEeeeee
That’s what the fire alarm that woke me up 40 minutes ago sounds like. AND IT WON’T STOP. Please, firemen, turn it off.
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January 2012
35 posts
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Just ordered a few things for my teaching buddy!
It’s about time!
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LA Center #4: Sight Word Punch Prints
This is one of my favorite activities to do with sight words, and the kids love it too! I got several “I wish I were in your group today, Ms. H!”s.
Activity (including these photos with the fabulous descriptions) found here!
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“If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all of my life.”
– Oscar Wilde
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LA Center #3: Sight Word Tic-Tac-Toe
Lesson inspired by this one!
For my third center, I created a tic-tac-toe board by taping together nine Ziploc sandwich bags. I wrote sight words on 4x6 notecards and placed them inside the bags. I cut out Xs and Os using the die cut machine.
Because I had three students, I chose to have one of them be Xs, one be Os, and the third was my judge. One of the players had to point to a sight word,...
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Opting out of Grading →
girlwithalessonplan:
iamlittlei:
world-shaker:
As an educator who abolished grading in 2004 and initiated a Grading Moratorium, I have an acute understanding for how grading sabotages learning. Because of this, I have drafted this letter for my daughter’s future teachers.
Dear teacher,
Kayley loves to learn and is very excited to start school this year.
Because the case against grades...
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There is something about seeing 24 five and...
And that is something I could not experience if I were taking the usual classes on campus instead of this immersive semester.
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LA Center #2: Forming Simple Words
Yesterday, I conducted my second kindergarten language arts center of the semester. I found the idea for this activity on Pinterest..you can find the activity here. This picture is from the linked site as well.
I wrote -at and -it on the paint strips with the square windows and letters to create both real and nonsense words on the long strips. I matched the long and short strips by color. Based...
“Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s...”
– Obama (via kateoplis)
THIS.
(via ohmuffins)
“So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition...”
– President Obama, SOTU (via girlwithalessonplan)
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