I apologize for being somewhat distant from this blog for a few days. I try to post as regularly as I can, usually Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week. People like consistency!
Lately I’ve been processing so many different situations and emotions.
How I personally can change my home and my community to support Black lives matter. Here are a few books we added to our home that was a small step in the right direction.
My feelings on opening schools this fall considering the COVID-19 pandemic, and worrying about my kids’ colds they’ve been fighting. Something that didn’t cross my mind as worrisome until a pandemic brought added anxiety into everything.
Keeping all of my teacher and administrator friends in mind as new rules, regulations, processes, information, etc., come out regarding the next school year, and finding ways I can support them.
Considering whether or not it’s a good idea for me to go back to substitute teaching considering the risks.
How well positive reinforcement is working for my daughter’s behavior right now, and how much my own attitude, anxiety, and feelings rub off on my kids. An important thing to remember during such a roller coaster of a year.
Processing the information being shared on child trafficking and deciding how and where I have the ability to help.
It’s not secret that in the education world and our children’s lives are surrounded with uncertainty and scary situations. Teacher’s across the nation and the globe are up at night thinking, planning, worrying, and more. Parents are doing the same.
But deep breaths everyone, WE CAN DO THIS!
Where are your thoughts and feelings in all of this? What are your feelings on going back to work and sending your kids back to school? What are you doing to cope with the uncertain times?
Welcome to Feature Friday! Where we showcase a new teacher each week in an interview. For past Feature Friday interviews, go here.
Today’s Feature Friday is highlighting Kimberly Andersen. Kim has plenty of experience when it comes to education. Here is a rundown of everything she’s taught and for how long.
“I have taught Kindergarten (1.5 years), 3rd grade (0.5 years), 2nd grade (4 years), 5th grade (2 years), Special Education – Both HS and ES Mild/Moderate and Severe (4 years), and I have been an administrator for 6 years. I have done some of these things overlapping each other because of my unique experiences at my current school, so my total years as a licensed educator are 13 years.”
She has endorsements in Elementary Education, Early Childhood Education, Literacy, Special Education, and Administration. She is also in the process of completing her Instructional Coaching endorsement. Here’s what Kimberly has for us today!
What is one of your favorite ways to utilize technology in the classroom?
“I think technology has a place in the classroom, especially when paired with intentional instruction. I think young children should know how to use technology in a way that provides them with access and connection. I especially like using a variety of resources for presentation models.”
If you could recommend one children’s book, what would it be and why?
“I absolutely adore children’s books so it is really difficult for me to choose only one. Right now I love “The Snurtch” by Sean Ferrell because it provides an opportunity for conversations about empathy, disabilities, social-emotional learning, compassion, and self-regulation.”
How have books helped you in your teaching?
“Books are such an easy way to engage students in a narrative, a concept, or an experience. I love using books as a way to provide access and expansion of ideas, but I also love using books as a way to help children connect with their feelings and the experiences of others near them. When we connect ourselves with a good book, we find belonging. I also believe that books help children understand how to talk about things that they might not know how to talk about otherwise. A good book opens discussions and pathways for new thinking.”
What do you wish someone would have told you in your first year teaching?
“I wish someone would have told me that teaching is hard and that the difficulty I was facing was normal. I would have loved validation that I was in the fight of my life doing the very best anyone could have done. I would have loved for someone to validate the hours I was putting in, and the thought I was developing, and the difficulties I was facing. I would have loved for someone to tell me that it was all going well and that I wasn’t causing any damage to my students through my own learning.”
How have you seen education change in the years you’ve taught?
“I have seen education change a lot over the last 13 years. I think the most poignant change for me has been the changes in how children engage in ideas and learning. I have seen a need to change the presentation of concepts in ways that tap into the vivid, quick engagement students are exposed to in their lives (TV, video games, tablets, phones, streaming, etc.). There is a lot more exposure to instant gratification than when I first started teaching and so we have to not only incorporate some of those strategies, but also teach strategies for waiting, listening, self-regulating, slowing down, and being patient.”
What are the benefits you’ve seen in collaborating with other teachers, both as a teacher and as an administrator?
“Collaboration is such a key part of teaching effectively in this day and age. I believe that two (or three, or four, or five…) heads are better than one in most cases, as a teacher and as an administrator. One of my favorite ways to collaborate as an administrator is by planning and implementing room transformations with some of my teachers in their classrooms. I get the opportunity to model strategies and concepts I teach about (engagement, rigor, effective planning, hands-on learning, inquiry), while also connecting with students through being in a classroom again, and regaining empathy for the work of being a teacher on the daily. I have seen this create positive culture and climate in my building as well as increase the level of instructional effectiveness amongst my faculty.”
How do you use student voice in your classroom and what outcomes have you seen from it?
“I am a big believer in student committees, class meetings, and inquiry-based teaching. I believe that when students have a voice and choice in their learning they are more engaged, retain more, and learn authentic methods for life-long learning.”
If you could give one tip to special education teachers, what would it be?
“You are not alone! The most effective special education teachers work intentionally with other educators, community members, and parents to provide the best services for students. There are others who can help you and guide you, but you are also capable of more than you think you are! You are a valuable part of a collaboration to help others know they are not alone in this work as well.”
What are your favorite resources that help you support your teachers as an administrator?
“I love Audible for learning about current educational ideas and practices. I love to recommend that teachers spend time listening to books (that way they can multi-task!) when they want to grow or develop in new ideas. I am constantly finding new books to listen to and new ideas to try from good books!”
“I also love to direct teachers to research-based sources that support new ideas. I believe it is important to access valid educational research for creating intentional change in a school. I use a lot of research from the ERIC database, What Works Clearinghouse, and Evidence for ESSA.”
Thank you Kimberly for your insight! Come back to Feature Friday next week to hear from Hannah Giles, an Idaho teacher.
Who is ready for a good, long summer break after that school year? Is anyone else filled with worries about your students after such a rough spring? Maybe miss them because you weren’t able to say your goodbye’s before you left? Scenarios of next year play out in your head about your past students and how they will do advancing to the next grade, as well as your future students and how you will handle the lapse in the curriculum.
*deep breath*
I know it’s worrisome, but we did it. We all made it through. Now, it’s time to relax. I know, it can be hard, but here’s some ideas of how you can (somewhat) take your mind off of school for a time and enjoy your summer break.
Read a book! No, not your math curriculum book. A book of your choosing that is fun. If you want an easy, fast read with some juicy drama, try The Selection Series by Kiera Cass. It’ll give you a few days of distraction because you’ll be so sucked in it’ll be all you can think about!
Visit the beach, the lake, the pool, and get in the water! Swim with your kids, your nieces, and nephews, your grandkids, whomever it may be!
Go hiking, or go for walks around your neighborhood.
Check-in on other teacher friends. Laugh about the fun times you had with your students, both in the classroom and on Zoom!
Pick up some new (or old) hobbies like sewing, crafting, biking, sailing, or building.
Start or work on your Twitter or Instagram, or any other social media!
Take a stroll on a local scooter or bike share, but bring the Clorox wipes!!
Summer can make or break teachers. We can think and plan, never giving ourselves a break, hoping to make next year less stressful, but it can also do the opposite by not giving us the time we need to check out. This summer especially, given the current circumstances.
Take a breather. Take some time. Enjoy your summer! Stay safe and wash your hands!
Digital learning is no stranger to any teacher across the globe. COVID-19 has overtaken so many aspects of our lives, and schools have taken a hard hit as well.
Google Classrooms
Zoom
Google Drive with sheets, docs, and more
Prezi
More Zoom.
Emails on emails on emails.
And Zoom.
All things that majority of teachers are all too familiar with.
Someday, our lives will go back to normal. Someday, far in the future, we won’t have to wear masks, apply hand sanitizer every three minutes, or tremble in fear when we accidentally cough at the grocery store. Instead of hearing coronavirus in the present tense, it will all be past tense. Someday we will be reading about the toilet paper shortages in history books and recalling memories of quarantine to our kids and grandkids that were too young to remember.
But when it’s all over, will our schools go back? Will we continue to have our standardized learning that took place before COVID? A teacher using technology as a resource in the classroom. Or, will this pandemic change our teaching? Will Zoom still continue to be a meeting place for teachers, administration, and students? If we didn’t have to spend the gas and time driving to a common location but instead meet from the comfort of our own homes, will we? Or is there an added value of face-to-face communication?
I’m eager to see how our world changes and adapts to this new-normal, even when the pandemic is over. What are your thoughts? Will everything go back to how it used to be, or are we adapting and changing?
Welcome to Feature Friday! Where we showcase a new teacher each week in an interview. For past Feature Friday interviews, go here.
Today’s Feature Friday is highlighting Haley Trauntvein, a 4th-grade teacher in the small town of Tremonton, Utah. Haley loves teaching 4th-grade because she loves seeing how independent the students are becoming at this age and it’s fun for her to see them develop their personalities and sense of humor. Haley received her teaching degree from Utah State University. Go Aggies!
What made you want to go into teaching?
“Growing up, my father was a high school teacher, and one of my closest aunts was an elementary teacher, so it was always on my mind, but what really got me into it was when I actually did my high school senior project of tutoring in a middle school math class. This class was specifically for eighth-grade students who tested well below the benchmark, to the point where they were on a second or third-grade level. Over the semester, I went in every morning and provided one-on-one tutoring and small group lessons with the supervision of an awesome teacher. After that semester, my life was changed forever. I let myself get scared out of it for a while and tried out my hand in cosmetology, which I still love a lot. Once I moved to Logan, Utah a few years later, I became a teacher’s aide in a third-grade classroom, I finally got myself to start taking classes, and now I’ve been graduated for a little over a year, and still loving it.”
What is one of your favorite ways to utilize technology in the classroom?
“My school purchased iPads for all the teachers this year, as well as software to project the screen up onto the smartboard. Being able to have students interact with it has been so much fun. I also love the mobility of the iPad. Being tied down to standing at the document camera makes it really hard to reach your more challenging students, so having the ability to walk around and be right with them has been amazing.”
How have you integrated the arts into your core curriculum?
“One of my favorite ways that we have integrated art into the curriculum was by doing character sketches of the book Holes. Groups of students were assigned to work together to sketch what the character might look like and to use their personality and other character traits to fill in the background. I definitely had some kids take more artistic license with their characters… but it was still very fun and whenever we pass their posters out in the hall, they beam with pride.”
If you could recommend one children’s book, what would it be and why?
“I honestly love the book Holes, maybe it’s because I got to read it when I was a kid myself and loved it then, but being able to teach about it and get my students to really think about the overarching theme of luck, destiny, and chance, has been so fun and each student has had such unique perspectives to contribute to the discussion.”
What are your best tips for avoiding burnout?
“It’s probably not the healthiest, but after a hard day, I reward myself by going to the local soda shop (shoutout to Soda Fixx!) and get a pop and one (or two) of their delectable stuffed rice crispy treats to eat on my commute home. If that doesn’t work, I call my dad and make him listen to my complaints.”
Who influenced you most to choose a career in education?
“All of the kids I’ve been so lucky to meet and teach are my biggest inspirations. At one of the schools I worked at, I was shown Rita Pierson’s TEDTalk, “Every Kid Needs a Champion,” and I really took that to heart. I get so much from these kids, and they deserve to have someone looking out for them and their needs. I’m not calling myself a “champion” by any means, but I’ll fight for these kids’ rights any day.”
Thanks, Haley for the great tips and insight you had for us today. I think we all should consider a soda after a hard day of teaching, we deserve it! Come back next week for our next Feature Friday where we are privileged to hear from Kim Anderson, an educator, and administrator.
While it’s easy to focus on learning letters during this age of a child’s life, it’s not the end goal. Here’s what I wrote:
“Learning letters and numbers isn’t the goal of preschool. Playing is the purpose of preschool, and throwing in the letters and numbers is just an added bonus. I was reminding myself often that just because my daughter still didn’t know that R says rrrrrr by the end of two weeks, it doesn’t mean the two weeks was a fail. We played, we sang, recited poems and painted. So much paint! The purpose of the R unit wasn’t to engrain the letter or sound into her mind, it was to expose her to a new letter, maybe recognize it, and most important- to play.”
Today I wanted to make a list of activities to do with your kids beside teach letters (that can still promote letter awareness and learning).
Paint. We are BIG advocates for paint over here at our house! Super washable Crayola paint is our go-to. Paint on paper, paint on windows, paint in the bathtub, paint outside. PAINT! Paint flowers, letters, silly faces, rainbows, animals, numbers, and more.
Other artistic outlets such as coloring, cutting and gluing, paper folding, etc.
Sensory bin activities with different fillers. I’d list them all out for you, but I’ve already made a post for that!
Play outside. Discover the world, and talk about it. Talk about the green grass, the blue sky. Wonder why dandelions grow in your yard but not the neighbors? (This was an actual conversation I had with my daughter. Maybe a sign that we need a little more weed killer??)
Build with blocks, build forts, build with safe items from the pantry. Talk about bigger and smaller towers and the letters on the packaging or the colors you are using.
Go on a walk. Discover new places, see new people, and have different experiences outside of your home.
Keep letters around your home to be involved in play.
I’ve said it multiple times in multiple posts, but never forget the fundamentals:
Talk
Sing
Read
Write
Play
These five incredibly important points create readers. And not just a child that can read, but a child that loves to read. Let’s stop the pressure of children learning letters at a young age, and start creating reading lovers.
I’ve been teaching my daughter and her little neighbor friend preschool since mid-April. At first, it was very consistent and every day, but now we’ve tapered off since the world is (somewhat) opening up again and we can leave our homes again. We have been using Busy Toddler’s Playing Preschool curriculum and love it! You can read more about my review here.
Today I want to share a few little nuggets of wisdom I’ve learned from teaching on a preschool level. This age and curriculum are somewhat out of my realm, my dream teaching job would be 3rd-4th grade, but I’ve learned a lot teaching this age and learned to adapt to this different age range.
More play. Less instruction. I knew this before, I live by the phrase “play is a child’s work.” However, sometimes when we put the label “teacher” out there, it’s easy to fall into teacher instruction mode. I found that the less I was involved and the more play that took place, the more learning that came.
Sing. Sing all of the songs. I’m not a singer!! I know a lot of people say this, but I’m REALLY not a good singer. Guess what? They didn’t care. They just wanted songs. They craved the repetition and beat and learning a new tune. Sing the songs, and sing them loud and silly.
Consistency is important for them at such a young age. We had our schedule that we did every day (laid out by Playing Preschool), and the days we strayed from it, left something out, or switched it up slightly, the whole lesson was hard for them. Be consistent.
Not all kids grow up with a #teachermom and do activities like poke toothpicks in an apple, and that’s okay! Our cute neighbor boy that joins us for preschool was doing the apple poke activity. It promotes counting, spacial awareness, and fine motor skills. After he had put two or three toothpicks into the apple he looked at me and asked, “Why am I doing this?” while my daughter sat next to him happily poking her toothpicks because an activity like this is fairly normal in our household! Gave me a good laugh!
Learning letters and numbers isn’t the goal of preschool. Playing is the purpose of preschool, and throwing in the letters and numbers is just an added bonus. I was reminding myself often that just because my daughter still didn’t know that R says rrrrrr by the end of two weeks, it doesn’t mean the two weeks was a fail. We played, we sang, recited poems and painted. So much paint! The purpose of the R unit wasn’t to engrain the letter or sound into her mind, it was to expose her to a new letter, maybe recognize it, and most importantly- to play.
I think doing this preschool program with my daughter has opened my eyes to what playing for a child truly is. I knew it was important and I knew that’s how they can learn, however, now I realize that it’s not just how they CAN learn, it IS how they learn. It is crucial!
To you preschool teachers out there, what other tips do you have, or what else can you add to this list?
