Reflection

Looking Back…

As a former blogger, I was excited when one our assignments was to write a blog. However, in my former blogging days I usually gave up after a blog post or two. With this, I was required to make more than one post, and in doing so I became more comfortable and confident in my work. I learned so many ways on how to strengthen my reader engagement and how to make my posts more aesthetically pleasing.

As I Look Forward…

I want to continue blogging my future teaching experiences. It is a great resource for other educators to find comfort or ideas for their own classrooms, or for parents to know about their child’s classroom. It is also something I can continue to look back on and see my growth as an educator. Blogs require a lot of thought and are frustrating when writer’s blocks hit, however, the end product is always rewarding!

 

Take Care Teachers

Forty video takes, endless Zoom meetings, and a pounding headache…it’s time for a break! As teachers we know how vital it is to schedule break times in for our students. Without them our days would be a disaster, but why do we never schedule time for our own breaks?

With Covid-19 coming in like a wrecking ball, we are all struggling to stay above water as we navigate through our new normal. Before we could easily separate work life from home life. Now we are living the work from home life, making it harder to separate the two. Here is how we can focus on taking care of well-being during this challenging time.

  1. Exercise

30-Minute No-Equipment Cardio & HIIT Workout

Get ready to torch calories with Le Sweat founder Charlee Atkins! This no-equipment workout includes three circuits that are going to get your heart rate up …

YouTube contains thousands of different workouts to get you sweating. My personal favorite is following along to cardio workout routine videos. They’re an interactive way to get you moving while also promoting fun.

Workout videos not your thing? No worries. Exercise comes in many different formats.

            • Take a nature walk
            • Kick a ball
            • Have a dance party
            • Just move!

2. Phone A Friend

Social distancing only means staying physically away from one another. We need to check in on each other regularly. Venting our frustrations to someone or playing a game allows us to relieve our pent up stress and makes our time feel a lot less lonely.

3. Watch A Show and Eat That Chocolate!

Or whatever your guilty pleasure snack may be. This is a perfect way to relax at the end of the day. Dr. Priscilla J S Selvaraj has found several different benefits on why watching TV can be good for you. With nowhere to go but our couches, why not indulge on that show we’ve always wanted to start? Television promotes inspiration, bonding, and keeping us actively aware of the world we live in.

 

Lastly, you are not alone! This period has been a challenge for all, but we will all get through this together.

3 Ways to Become Fun Quarantine Teachers

No one ever thought 2020 would be the year parents turn into teachers. Covid-19 has brought out many emotions and changes into our daily lives. The last worry you need on your plate is entertaining your preschooler.  Here are 3 fun and engaging activities to keep your children entertained and you sane.

  1. Hand Washing Sensory Bin

Teaching children about the importance of cleanliness and hygiene is very vital for their safety and well-being. However, teaching children how to wash their hands with a sink and a nursery rhyme can become very repetitive and disengaging. With a hand washing sensory bin, children have the opportunity to learn and experiment on how to wash hands with a quick and inexpensive activity!

2. GoNoodle

Clean Up – Moose Tube | GoNoodle

Clean up, clean up – everybody, everywhere! Clean up, clean up – sing this new clean up song with FLARE! Create a free account on GoNoodle.com now and find h…

GoNoodle is a free website full of interactive videos that are sure to get your children up and moving. Videos on this site range from teaching children 15 different languages to having them dance along with their favorite cartoon characters. This is a perfect activity for to get children active on those cold, rainy days or for those moments where you need them to be indoors.

3. Restaurant 

Yeah, yeah, we’ve all played the game with our children where they mix a bunch of plastic food into a bowl and tell you to eat it. When you do (and hide the toys so they think that its really gone) they then laugh and tell you that they put hot sauce or some other funny “substance” in there. But what if we brought their restaurant alive without having hot sauce in our food? We can with these 5 easy steps!

  1. Create a theme
  2. Create a Menu
  3. Create the food
  4. Dress up to match the theme
  5. Eat!

This is a fun way to go to those favorite restaurants that are currently closed or to bring some entertainment to dinner. Children are working on their writing and artistic abilities by creating a menu. They are being taught life skills, math, and science as they turn different foods into a meal, and parents are able to get dinner out at a reasonable time!

One can only hope that this quarantine ends sooner rather than later, but with these 3 new activities are bound to help you and your child through these long days.

 

Should Morning Circles Be a Requirement?

20 five-year-olds, 2 teachers, and 1 bunny make for an interesting classroom experience. By 8:15 the children are shuffling on the carpet for morning circle, except there isn’t much morning circle time. After a bilingual good morning song, the question of a day, and a short story it’s time to wrap up and head into breakfast. Seeing this made me wonder…how important are morning circles and what should be included in them?

Morning circle routines vary between classrooms throughout the world. They are commonly found within in early childhood education centers and elementary schools. It is the time in the morning for a class as a whole to talk about classroom business, expectations, and the overall theme of the day. Morning circles are actually very beneficial for the class.

Benefits

  • Socialization Skills
  • Builds Friendships
  • Routine Practice
  • Solves Problems
  • Sense of Belonging
  • And more!

Morning circles can vary from classroom to classroom, but they still hold a lot of the same core ideas.

Ideas

  • Classroom Hello
  • Calendar
  • Songs
  • Weather
  • Rules Chant
  • And more!

Ariel Villano, a preschool teacher, has found the idea of adding  I have  mindfulness into her routine. In return it has helped her students start the day out calm and refocused.

Overall, morning circles are a valuable piece of the classroom schedule. They give children the opportunity to get focused on the day and know what to expect. Classrooms are a community and needed to be treated as such.

Villano, A. (2020). Mindful Morning Meetings. Teaching Young Children, 13(3), 12–13.

My Educational Gurus

It’s safe to say we have all experienced that one teacher who has motivated us into the fields we are currently in. I have had my fair share of teachers throughout my life who have shaped me into becoming the teacher I am. Some good. Some bad.

Truthfully, I never wanted to become a teacher. My experiences in school were more bad than good. Mainly due to my boredom. I was always a quiet child and only talked when spoken to. Anytime the teacher called on me I would freeze up and it would make them view me as a child who needed more assistance. This has only hurt me because I would finish the work easily and sit there bored until the next activity.

I was put into the major by accident. There was a slip up during my transfer process, but I am really glad I stayed. My first professor, Jennifer Burke, increased my loved for the field. She introduced me to two of my favorite theorist; Maria Montessori and Lev Vygotsky.

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development is what I needed as a child. I have begun implementing it during my field placements and have noticed a major change in the students within a month. I not only observe their formal assessments, but how they interact and deal with the material informally. It keeps the children locked in and engaged.  My second theorist is Maria Montessori. Her focus on self-directed activities and hands-on-learning is how we get children to focus. I am a big believer in process over product.

 

Aside from theorists and professors, the two main influencers are my old co-workers, Lianette and Sharlene. They have since left for different Pre-K Count classrooms but have and still are instilling many resources and lessons to enhance my classroom experience.

Lianette has taught me to use my voice. I have learned to find an equal balance of loudness, sternness, and lovingness so students not only know you mean business, but that they know you are still their friend. With that, she has showed me how to control my classroom so not only can learning take place , but I can make fun activities happen without the room becoming a disaster.

Sharlene has taught me organization. I am that person who never writes anything down while she writes everything down. She has introduced me to a system that has really been beneficial. Also, she has showed me how to set up my classroom to make it organized, functional, and bright for my students, parents, and myself.

Overall, the main lesson they have taught me is to have fun. I am excited to use all these resources and ideas into my own classroom. Who knows, maybe one day I am become someone’s educational guru.