Lauren Lister

Looking Back….

As I reflect back on my experience doing these blog posts, I realized how much I have improved. Previously, I have never written a blog post before taking this course at Millersville. I also never realized the amount of effort one blog post takes. My first blog post was stressful to say the least. I wasn’t necessarily sure what direction to go in, but once I got more comfortable I have learned how impactful one blog post can be.  Also, as I became more comfortable I began to take more risks and started using different mediums in my blog posts by adding items such as pictures, links, and videos to make it more engaging.

 

Looking Ahead…

As I prepare for the future, I see blog posting being extremely useful in my classroom. It is a great platform that allows students to share their own thoughts and feelings about a particular item. I also think blogging would be a great place to keep parent’s informed about what’s going on in the classroom. Ultimately, communication between the teacher and parent is very important and using blog posts would be a sufficient way in doing that. I defiantly see myself utilizing everything I have learned and will continue to learn more in order to improve upon my blog posts!

 

 

Hello everybody and welcome back to my blog! This ones for all the educators out there that may be having some difficulty when it comes to transitioning to being online. Even though this may be a very difficult transition, taking care of yourself needs to be a top priority. Self-care is all about taking care of your health and making sure that you have everything you need to thrive as a teacher.  It’s hard for you to take care of your students, if you are not taking care of yourself first.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup. You need more to nourish your soul than work! Even if you love your job, you need other ways to fill your cup.”

With the stay at home order in place, now is the perfect time to find good ways to channel your stress through different activities.

Channel Your Inner Yogi

Yoga is a great way to help manage stress and anxiety. Yoga is a mind-body practice that combines physical poses, controlled breathing, and meditation or relaxation. It helps keep you relaxed while also helping to increase your flexibility, muscle strength and body tone.

Yoga For Anxiety and Stress

Yoga For Anxiety and Stress. Awaken The Force! Move from the darkness into the light! Yoga has your back! In this practice video Adriene guides you through breath and body practices that serve you when you feel bad. Learn breathing techniques and spinal work that will assist you in moments of stress.

 

Exercise

Nothing can beat regular exercise as a stress-busting technique. Exercise not only improves health and reduces stress, it also relaxes tense muscles and helps you to sleep. For example, getting sweaty with biking as a sport or as a simple recreational activity isn’t only for getting physically fit. This activity can also help you lower your stress and anxiety level. When you go biking, you tend to channel your sense of coordination and exploration as well. This will give you the opportunity to divert your thoughts and attention.

Write It Down

Journaling can be a great stress reducer through organizing one’s thoughts and clearing one’s mind. There are many benefits to keeping a journal. It forces you to focus on internal awareness of the present and process thoughts and emotions. I strongly encourage getting a journal in order for you to process and jot down your own thoughts and feelings.

Let Loose

Music is a powerful tool. It can be used to hype you up, calm you down and everything in between. Just by putting on some of your favorite tunes while you’re in the shower, driving to get groceries or practicing good social distancing from home can really help reduce stress. Dancing is another thing that’s proven to improve your mood and help relax some of that stress that has been building up. You can dance in the shower, in your room alone or even an empty parking lot. Wherever feels most comfortable for you is the perfect spot to let loose a bit.

You Are NOT Alone 

Lastly, remember you are NOT alone! We are all in this together and it’s important to take care of yourself first. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and these tips will help you manage your stress better!

 

 

Because of the Stay-At-Home order being issued around the U.S., parents are now responsible for their young ones through all hours of the day. With children unable to go to school, this may be a very difficult time for parents trying keep their children staying physically active. Encouraging physical activity throughout the day could be key to ensure your child’s success in development.

Although unexpected changes are hard to overcome, this stay at home order is to ensure the safety of individual’s in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. School is always a big portion of a child’s daily routine and has allowed children to engage in physical activity whether it be during recess or different educational lessons. Since schools are not open due to the virus, it is now time to encourage your children to stay physically active at home. Below are just some strategies as parents you can use that will encourage your child to be active when at home.

Make fitness a family affair

As parents you should join in on exercise time with your children. Instead of going to the movies, go for a hike or a bike ride instead by planning a set time to be active as a family. This will help your child stay in a routine as well. Doing activities such as a walk around the neighborhood after dinner or a tennis match every Saturday morning will help make it feel less like “exercise” and more like family fun.

Physical Education

For healthy lifestyles, children need both free play and specific instruction on physical skills. An easy way for kids to meet this goal is by participating in physical education. During this time since children are at home because school is cancelled, block off a certain time everyday for your kids to engage in physical activity, similar to what would be done in school. The best physical education is age appropriate and fun.

Organized activities 

Adults or kids can organize active play. There are active indoor games such as Simon says, and dozens of games to play outside. There are also games for the outdoors such as hopscotch, jump rope, dodge ball, badminton and volleyball. You want to include games that the children would have played at school just to help them feel more comfortable. Playing some of these games will require the child to set them up, which will encourage them to want to play even more.

 

Make screen time an active time

When going to play outside isn’t an option, your children can play interactive video games that require physical activity such as tennis, bowling or baseball. You also can use dance videos and active video games for some physically-active television time. There many resources that allow kids to stay active inside the home such as playing the Wii.

 

 

Today’s generation

Technology in education is the biggest change in teaching we will ever see. On one hand, technology allows you to experiment in pedagogy, democratize the classroom and better engage students. On the other hand, some argue technology in the classroom can be distracting and even foster cheating. It’s very rare these days that you will see people without a telephone or laptop in their hands. In the classroom, technology has been incorporated into the learning environment. Should this be the case though? While observing in my field placement, there are iPad’s available for students to use during their free time to either play games or watch educational videos regarding the learning content. Picture that you are trying to get the students attention and they are so fixated on the device that they don’t hear anything you are saying. Well this has happened numerous times with the students at my field placement. Is technology is the classroom a good tool to use, or does it take away from the actual learning being done in the classroom?

What do the experts say?

According to research, experts say that if used correctly, integrating technology in the classroom is an effective way to connect with students of all learning styles. It is clear that technology transforms the learning experience. Students have access to an incredible amount of new opportunities. Technology empowers students to be more creative and be more connected. Other experts argue that using technology in the classroom causes a distraction and may be difficult for teachers to monitor if the children are using the devices to enhance their learning. In addition, adding technology to the classroom is very costly. Upgrading equipment is often costly and schools may not have the manpower to handle the equipment.

Technology in the classroom | Ethan Dickens | TEDxPascoCountySchoolsED

Modern education is becoming more dynamic and engaging. Technology can play a huge role in the classroom. Ehtan is an 8th grade student at Dr. John Long Middle School in Pasco county Florida. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

 

Reflection

Technology has been praised, criticized, and feared in the classroom. The biggest discussion of comparing the pros to the cons is all the more evident in today’s new media. To this day, many instructors resist the incorporation of technology for a number of reasons. To some, the idea of new media in the classroom is frightening because it requires us to acquire new technical knowledge. Although there are both positives and negatives about using technology in the classroom,   as long as technology is being used for a specific purpose I see nothing wrong. Teachers must be aware that technology should be used when necessary and not all the time. What do you think?

Resources

Pitler, Howard, et al. Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works. Vol. 2nd ed, ASCD, 2012. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=479950&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Moore, Kenneth D., and Jacquelyn Rae Hansen. Effective Strategies for Teaching in K-8 Classrooms. SAGE Publications, Inc, 2012. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=467142&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

Hey everybody and welcome to my first blog post! This blog post will consist of me talking about why I chose to become an educator for young children.

It all started in elementary school when I began enjoying playing teacher in my living room. With my parents being the students and my little blackboard that I used to teach the material, I began to realize I loved it. Between grading made up assignments to standing up in front of the room and teaching something I previously learned in school, I fell in love. Even though this was just something I did in my free time I soon grew up to realize that my passion was teaching.

When looking back on the education I have had and remember all of the amazing teachers that I was able to receive an education from, one teacher stands out to me the most. This teacher was my 3rd grade teacher because of the relationships she was able to build with each and every student. It made learning easier from me because I wanted to listen to what she was saying. I also enjoyed this teacher the most because of how fun she made learning. From the start, I always struggled with math. By her introducing different learning strategies and incorporating hands on activities, it made learning that subject just that much easier.

A teacher is considered as one of the most significant contributors to society’s future by having to mold the younger generation into better individuals. Teachers have enormous responsibilities but in the end it is all worth seeing a child smile because they were able to achieve something they thought they couldn’t.

Thankfully I was able to learn a lot of new information that I can incorporate into my teaching to make it enjoyable for all. My goal ultimately is to provide an inclusive classroom, that kids feel eager to learn in. For example, one philosopher that I like is Vygotsky. His theory about the zone of proximal development is important because so many times, children are presented with material that is either way too challenging which causes them to get frustrated or way too easy and they lose interest. In either case, no real learning is taking place. Another pedagogy that shapes my path as a teacher is Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. In order to capture the full range of abilities and talents that people possess, teachers must have various teaching strategies and allow the use of many different mediums when having students do projects.

The people who speak the truth to me are my fellow peers and the educators here at Millersville. These people are able to share new insights with me as far as what they have observed or experienced. The educators at Millersville strive to teach us about new information regarding early childhood and are able to enlighten us on philosophies of teaching they have seen work or have used before. They are also teaching me about the why and how in the field of education. Without them I would not have the information needed to succeed in my career. My fellow peers provide different opinions of what they think and as a collective we are able to bounce ideas off each other that are helpful in the field of education.

As I continue this journey I will keep in mind that there is always more to be learned. The information in the field of education is always evolving and it is essential to my growth that I keep up. In my future classroom, I will only want the best for each one of my students and I will continue to strive to do everything I can in order to ensure their success in the classroom.

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