Maddie’s Blogs

“We do not learn from experience… we learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey

Overall

As a result of this blogging experience I have learned many things. I enjoy blogging and I think it is a fantastic way to communicate with others. I feel as though I have learned how to write wonderful blogs that the audience can not only enjoy and gain information from, but relate to because of similar experiences. I learned how to incorporate images and videos into my blogs as references or items to add to the blog, not to distract or take away from them. I think personally it is easy for me to talk through text comfortably and communicate my message to the audience. The education blogging community is close knit and supports each other.

In the future

In future blog posts I will continue to learn from peers, other bloggers, and from myself as well from previous mistakes or improvements so that I can continue to become the best blogger I can be. I think there is always room for improvement. With that being said, even though I have come a long way from my first blog to now, I will always have room to grow and strive for that growth.

Things to work on

Some things I know I need to work still would be separating my information so that it is not all clumped together. I could improve on adding more personal experiences into my blogs. I could add more resources to help provide further information for the audience. I could even try to create videos blogs in the future instead of just writing out my blogs.

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To wrap things up, this journey has been beneficial in that it taught me how to blog, but most importantly it taught me how to connect with peers and other teachers. It showed me that we can all learn from each other and grow together.

 

When educating young children, you might sometimes forget to care for yourself. However, in this time of a pandemic everything is crazy, your home all the time now, teaching remotely all of a sudden, dealing with children of your own perhaps, doing laundry, cooking food, doing dishes, and suddenly self-care goes right out the window...



Some of you may think that you do not have time for self-care or that you would rather care for your family members and students first. You can't take care of others if you do not take care of yourself. Teacher stress can lead to burnout and contribute to the high turnover rate in education. "This means that self-care isn’t just a good personal habit, but it’s in your students’ and colleagues’ best interest, too."

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“An empty lantern provides no light. Self-care is the fuel that allows your light to shine brightly.” -Unknown

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5 minutes a day helps keep stress away

Now that you know how important self-care is, especially now more than ever, here are some easy and short activities to help you get started…

1. Write a thank you note… to yourself.Come up with at least 3 things you are thankful that you did.
2. Organize a cluttered space.Have that one draw in your kitchen that everything and anything gets thrown in to? Take a few minutes from your day to organize it.
3. Make a playlist.Create a playlist of songs that make you happy or relaxed. It will brighten your mood.
4. Meditate.Some people think that meditating means sitting criss cross apple sauce on the floor while making humming noises. Although that is one way to meditate, meditation can also be as simple as focusing on one particular object, thought, or activity, such as breathing. Focus on just simply breathing for one minute.
5. Laugh!Take a few minutes to watch funny youtube videos or listen to funny jokes being told.
6. Take a bubble bath.This one is my favorite. Pretty self explanatory, just relax in the tub for awhile and listen to the sounds of the popping bubbles.
7. Post a positive note to yourself.Write a positive note on a sticky note and place it somewhere you will look at it often throughout the day.
8. Try a new hobby.It is never too late to start something new. Has there been something on your mind that you have been wanting to try? Whether it be a new recipe, new craft, new workout, or if it is something completely new like painting which is not something you normally do, try it out.
9. Connect with an old friend.Is there someone you have not spoken to in awhile? Call them, catch up, and reconnect with them.
10. Take a leisurely walk.It might be tempting to worry and think about all the things you have to do for the day, but try really hard during your walk to take in your surroundings and truly enjoy mother nature.

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Although this list only has ten things to do, there are so many more ways you can take care of yourself. Below will be a few resources you can check out. Remember to love yourself because you can not take care of others if you do not take care of yourself. I hope you are all doing well amidst the crisis.

Resources

151 self-care ideas

Taking care of yourself

Practice what we preach

Books related to self-care

Are you having trouble getting your child to wash their hands? Here are some tips and tricks to help make hand washing fun and excited for young ones!

ABC’s and Happy Birthday

Every child loves singing and dancing. Use songs to encourage kids to wash their hands long enough. Plus, it makes it more fun! Sing the ABC’s slowly, or sing happy birthday twice. If you are really creative you can even make up your own song to a familiar tune! As long as your kiddo is scrubbing for about 20 seconds, you are good to go.

Explore plenty of other videos and songs that others have created as well.

No Title

This animated video, sung to the tune of Happy Birthday, encourages kids to wash their hands to keep germs away. The song is sung twice through, the recommended length of time to wash hands. Download the song at http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=770473, or send it as an e-card at http://www2c.cdc.gov/ecards/message/message.asp?cardid=462.

Get a Whiff of This!

Make soap even more enjoyable for youngsters by getting scented soaps. If you want a fun activity to do with your child or children, become scientists and create your own fun smelling soaps! Then your child will be proud of what they created, and it might even make them wash their hands more often.

 

We get it kids, being clean isn’t your top priority. But as parents, we want our children to stay healthy and germ free, especially in this time of pandemic. So, with these few tips and tricks, your child might want to wash his/her hands every second they can.

Additional Resources

CDC hand washing science

Hand washing posters and coloring pages

Hand washing activities, songs, and lessons

Letter of the Week Curriculum

Have you ever heard of the letter of the week curriculum? Could this be how you were taught the alphabet? In my pre-k counts program for my current field placement, my two co-op teachers work together to create a fun and intriguing morning lesson using a new letter of the alphabet each week. The teachers associate themes and holidays surrounding each chosen letter. For example, the students just learned about the letter V on Valentines Day. They create sentences and repeat the sound of this letter throughout their lesson as well. Makes sense right? Focus on one letter each week for 26 weeks and BAM! The children know their alphabet. And lets be honest, the activities for each letter are so cute! But, how beneficial is it to introduce a new letter of the week for pre-kindergartners?

Should we stay or should we stray?

In theory the process sounds great, but is it enough? Is this really the most beneficial way we should be teaching our children the alphabet? I thought so. I thought it was a great idea, however, when I furthered my exploration I found something interesting and shocking... 

According to Vanessa Levin “young children learn through repeated exposure, and those exposures must take place over a long period of time. This means kids don’t learn in a linear pattern, from A-Z. They learn at their own pace, as letters become meaningful to them.” By teaching children a letter each week we are actually making it harder for them and creating high standards that don’t meet where the children are at. The article also stated that “Research has proven that children learn letters and retain letter names much more quickly when the letters are not taught in isolation.” 

Another source, Angela, goes on to say that “Some letters have multiple sounds, are harder to recognize or learn to write and need more time on it. Most kids can recognize O, B, X, and A, but when it comes to lowercase letters b and d, it’s more challenging. There shouldn’t be just one week per letter.”

Want to learn more?

If you want to learn more about how you can replace your letter of the week curriculum use the links below. These sources go on to give you ideas and lessons to put in place of the letter of the week curriculum and how you can make learning the alphabet more engaging and beneficial to each of your students. So, if you are currently using the letter of the week curriculum do not fret! Use these resources to help guide you in a different direction.

Resources

Why Letter of the Week Curriculum Isn’t Effective

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links to Amazon. For more information, please see my disclosure. Do you use Letter of the Week curriculum? I’ve used it in the past and while it does have some benefits, it’s not my first choice. The concept is great…children will learn a letter every week and then at the end…

Letter of the Week

Traditional Letter of the Week is a 26 week curriculum of letter learning intended to prepare your students for kindergarten.

 

This is a blog post about my story of becoming an early childhood educator. From childhood I knew I wanted to be a teacher. When I was younger I played school with my brother. He called it me being bossy but, he was just one of my students who loved giving me a hard time. He never did his homework which was not my fault because I definitely wasn’t giving him homework assignments based on things I was doing in my grade. My brother is three years younger than me by the way. Anyways, the point is I have wanted to be a teacher ever since I was little.

Thankfully my teaching understandings have changed drastically from when I was little. I now know that there is something called developmentally appropriate practice and something called scaffolding.

Even though I have had this dream of educating children for quite a few years now, I sometimes wonder if I will be good enough. When there is any doubt in my mind about being able to fulfill the job of being a teacher, my family and friends reassure me. They tell me how I am going to be a wonderful teacher and list qualities I have to support this.

However, I feel like it is myself that truly reassures my own doubt. I always think about how this job is very self fulfilling. I am not becoming a teacher for the money, as I am sure you all would assume considering you’re becoming teachers as well. Even though I am a perfectionist, I will make mistakes. I have to accept this fact because I am human an we all make mistakes but, what is important is what I will do after. Will I pretend nothing happened and move on? No. I will learn from my mistakes and change them and try new things to make it better.

Theorists that have shaped my path and are continuing to shape my path is Piaget, Maslow, and Gardner. I strongly agree with Piaget about the nature versus nurture debate. I am more on the side of nature, which leads me to Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. If children are hungry, tired, or scared, they will not learn. One of my goals as a teacher is to carry snacks, washcloths and soap, and those sort of items in my desk for the students who need them. Another goal would be to make sure I teach to all different intelligences. Gardners multiple intelligences help me to create assignments and lessons in various ways such as giving the option to do a paper, write a song or a poem or a dance, create a video or a poster, etc.

Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be. – Rita Pierson

This is one of my favorite quotes. I have watched Rita Pierson’s TED Talk so many times but, it never gets old. She has definitely played a part in shaping my path. I agree with a lot of what she has to say. The link to her TED Talk will be posted down below.

My professors at Millersville are teaching me about the why and how of early childhood. I have received field experience in the past two years of my educational journey at Millersville but, this year is more beneficial because I feel like I am learning more strategies in class that I can practice in the field.

I rely on my peers a lot as well. Bouncing ideas off of each other is always helpful and beneficial. Being able to have a strong relationship with other teachers is a life savor. We have all been in the position where you are simply stuck and you don’t know how to make an assignment more interesting and engaging for the children and Jimmy is doodling instead of doing the fraction paper. This is where peers and coworkers come into play. You bounce a few ideas off each other and BAM! You have ideas for a fun math class and more ways on how to help Jimmy understand fractions.

As I continue my journey becoming an early childhood educator, I will continue to grow and shape my teaching philosophies. We are lifelong learners, heroes, friends, caretakers, innovators, leaders, nurturers, creators. We are educators.

Rita Pierson TED talk:  https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion/transcript?language=en