Well its getting to be that time of year again… What did I promise to deliver this year, what do we need […]
Start the year off with this fun goal sheet. This is a fun and simple way for your students to document goals they may have for the new year. Looking for a fun craft to go along with this freebie? Check out this new year goal party horn. *This has been updated, it now includes the following years: 2024 and 2023 ♥Renee The Teacher Bag Be the first to know about my new discounts, freebies and product launches: ★Look for the star next to my store logo and click it to become a follower. You will now receive email updates about this store. ------------------------------------------------------------------- ♥Follow me on Instagram ♥Follow my blog ♥Sign up for my newsletter and receive exclusive freebies!
Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism
The list of ways a teacher can improve is a mile long. Since you can't do it all at once, here are eight paths you might take toward professional growth.
After years of neglect and abuse from her husband, this queen raised an army and took over England for herself.
A new school year always brings about new ideas and hopeful ambition for teachers. However, it's almost 2015. Gone are the days when we can use the excuse tha
I am officially on Spring break! Two whole weeks off to rest and get ready for the home stretch of this school year! :-) I am so excited to catch up... on chores, seeing friends I haven't seen since Christmas, blog stalking, and so much more! Here is one of my very favorite art/writing projects we do all year!!! They always turn out adorable and they never fail to get some laughs from the adults! I got the idea from Patty at Deep Space Sparkle. If you haven't checked out her blog, you SHOULD! It is full of amazing (and doable) art ideas for your classroom (even if you aren't very artistic like me!) She even has them organized by grade level! So...the kids first did their writing about what they would be in 20 years. Here's the template we used: You can get this {HERE}! Here's a completed one: "In 20 years I will be 28 years old. I will live in a college dorm. I will be a police officer and I will take bad guys to jail. I will still love my family and I will still love meat loaf. I still won't want to eat spinach. And most importantly, I will be happy." The writing always turns out absolutely adorable! Then they drew what they would be in 20 years. They used an example I purchased from Deep Space Sparkle (from the "Fun with Self Portraits" pack!) Then they colored it in with markers and outlined their self portraits with a black marker. We painted the backgrounds, and a parent volunteer mounted them on construction paper and attached their writing. We had: Police officers (love the handcuffs!) Race car drivers (love the 'stache! And the braces!!!) Marines (so grouchy!) Ballerinas (adorable!) Artists (too cute!) And football players (not just football players- quarterbacks!) among many other things! Like I said, these are always a hit, you can keep them up as long as you want (i.e. until the end of the year because you're too lazy to change your bulletin boards LIKE ME!) because they're not holiday-ish (??? not a word! I know) and the kids love creating them! Check back soon...I'm thinking give away in celebration of Spring break! :-)
October 12, 2013 In second grade classes we have started a Native American Indian music and dance unit. This week, students had the opp...
You've made your plans for the upcoming school year. Now it's your students' turn! They can use this goal setting printable to prioritize their most important goals for the year. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: For ideas to help you build strong partnerships with parents, check out these other Parent Connection resources. Thank you so much for visiting my store! I would love to get to know you better. Feel free to contact me with questions, product ideas, or just to say hi. :) You can also find me here: www.erinwing.com, www.homeliteracyblueprint.com, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Copyright: All rights reserved. This product is bound by copyright laws. Redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part thereof) on the Internet are all strictly prohibited without first gaining permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact the author if you wish to be granted special permissions.
It starts with a desire to chase what moves you most—and after that, it's about figuring out what you're great at, what it takes to keep you moving forward, and exactly what you need to succeed. Grab a pen and get ready to rediscover yourself.
When my kids came back from spring break this week, they were greeted with shampooed carpets, new collaboration desk clusters, fully stocked common desks, rotated book titles, and one less fish. I forgot to bring back Skittles, our classroom fish, who was still sitting on the entertainment center at home. It was very much a fresh start for everyone after the winter grind that brought long streaks of indoor recess, multiple rounds of state and district testing, and a consistent escalation of what my kids call "drama." I call it meanness. For the two weeks or so before spring break, there was a noticeable increase in student counseling , calls from concerned parents, and tears in the 6th grade. Student factions were constantly shifting their allegiances, leaving what were once friends, literally and figuratively standing out in the cold. The evidence and impact of rumor mongering, which causes emotional pain and hurt feelings, had increased. To me, the meanness was starting to erode away some of the classroom community that we had worked so hard to build together over the last eight months. Monday, as the kids began sleepily doing their morning work and listening to welcome back announcements, I started to clean the main whiteboard. The task got their attention, because it is something that they have never seen me do before. Tasks like those don't take place when kids are supposed to be learning. I removed all of the 'stuff' from what is normally our main board for instruction. All the magnets, signs, attendance sticks, etc were taken away or placed on the auxiliary board. I used the 'special' overpriced whiteboard spray and some rags to achieve a perfectly white surface. Nothing. Just before lunch I showed the kids a short video on how to subtly stand up for someone who is being treated mean or bullied. I tried to not sound old while offering them suggestions on how to verbalize a "stop it" message to someone choosing to be mean. The following morning I had written, just one word on the board. mean. I then shared some more videos on how bullying happens and how it continues. The lessons were short, focused and sometimes intense. I didn't want to lecture, I wanted to inform. I wanted the kids to make the connection between the words and actions they choose and how those choices impact others. Wednesday morning, as the kids entered the room, they immediately noticed that the big board was filled with meanness. Mean words, actions, and descriptors filled the space. I choose to write the words in black and blue, to symbolically represent the physical harm that meanness can rise too. After answering the most frequently asked question of "how long did that take you?", they began to notice the breadth of the words. Many of the words the kids didn't know, like avarice, scorn, and nefarious. However, when placed alongside more familiar words like mean, taunt, and pain, the variety of words helped them understand that there is more than one way to describe unkindness. On Thursday, even-though it took me over an hour to put the words up just the day before, I erased a bunch of them and created a space to write 'How do you want to be remembered?' smack dab in the middle of all the meanness. I shared my personal story of some events and people from my childhood that I still remembered. Life events that still bring me pain when I recall them. It was difficult at times to tell the stories, but I think my emotions helped land the message that the pain caused by others can last. Friday we were visiting the middle school that my 6th graders will be attending next year, and with it, a glimpse of another new start. Before we left we watched a powerful video of a young boy who was changing schools and was afraid that he would continue to be bullied and called names. The video message ends with him making a decision to keep fighting for who he is and a recognition that he matters. Once the video was complete, I silently walked to the board filled with mean words and characteristics, erased one of them, and replaced it with Love. I wanted to give them an opportunity to define themselves, while at the same time realize that they were in charge of their choices and legacy. I handed my marker to one of my students and asked them to help me erase meanness and replace it with a word of kindness or a word that they wanted to be remembered by. Over the next few minutes, as the rainbow of dry erase markers were passed around, the words on the board began to represent their aspirations. I was so proud of these young people and the respect that they were giving the process. They sat quietly and watched their classmates slowly transform the black and blue board into one of color and hope. It was an amazing and touching experience. We then headed off to their new school for a morning of tours and lunch. We had a blast seeing all of the resources and activities that will be part of of their academic lives in 7th and 8th grade. When we returned I shared the activity with my science and math sections. Powerful moments were created each time. We began to see how we can change the world with just a little kindness. Our world prism widened as we began to realize what we could become. During dismissal procedures, when my kids returned to gather their things and head home, they noticed that all of the harmful words weren't gone. Still visible were words such as envy and detest, but then a powerful observation was made. Yes there was meanness still present. Sadly, we can never get rid of it all, but kindness and caring can overwhelm the unkind. When we looked at the colored words of kindness that now represented our 6th grade, you barely noticed the words of pain. We literally "Erased Meanness" and replaced it with kindness. Update May 2013 : The reply I gave to a reader's request. Thanks for reading, I appreciate it. And yes it was an amazingly powerful lesson and one that I hope they never forget. I've never included the specific videos that I used in this post, because I picked them out specifically for my kids to address some of the things that I was seeing in my classroom. I guess I didn't want the lesson to be copied verbatim if another educator wanted to use the idea. I would rather have them tailor it to their classroom. I see know that that may have been shortsighted. I used a variety of sources and clips and have included them in my October Post "Charles Adler Show" here The word list I use to create the whiteboard is available here in this Google Doc Update August 23, 2014 - Launch of EraseMeanness.org ! I started a non-profit organization to spread the lesson of Erasing Meanness beyond this post. Kids really respond to this lesson and it is something that they remember. I like that. Join us by visiting our site. EraseMeanness.org Follow us on Twitter or https://twitter.com/EraseMeanness and Pinterest Update August 13th, 2015 - New materials for 2015's Worldwide Erase Meanness Day posted at http://www.erasemeanness.org/join-the-movement.html Join us and kids around the world as we try and make the world a kinder place. Follow me on Twitter @YourKidsTeacher
If you want to support what I’m doing with this blog, just follow any of the product links and order whatever you want off of Amazon at no additional cost to you. That’s it and I’ll get a little bonus. Thanks so much for clicking! This is part eight in my series on Nonviolent Communication. You can find parts one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven here. Today we'll be finishing up this series by focusing on anger & gratitude. Anger It's important to learn how to fully express anger (and not in superficial ways like hitting or blaming). Anger functions like an alarm clock; it signals needs we have that aren't being met so we can do a better job of focusing on them. Even "righteous" anger should be handled this way. Anger takes a tremendous amount of energy and instead of focusing this energy dwelling on horrible things like murder, we should look at the root - what needs aren't being met - in order to understand what led to the action. This is not excusing such atrocities, but attempting to enhance life. 3 Things to Remember When You're Feeling Angry Realize that what people do isn't the cause, but the stimulus, of your anger. What is the cause? Choosing to blame or sit in judgement (even if not conscious of it) instead of focusing on which needs aren't being met Focus on your own feelings and needs so that connections can be made with others Focus on the other person's feelings and needs, which allows us to share in common humanity and follow what's going on in the heart instead of what's going on in the head Steps for Dealing with Anger Stop and stay quiet for a moment, then: Identify the thoughts that are making you angry (what action set you off - like the fact that when someone arrived at a business party, they spoke to all the men first) Look for the need behind whatever judgement jumps to mind (that person must be sexist since he talked to men first & I have a need to feel valued equally as a woman) Share what needs haven't been met by this action, which can require lots of courage *You might first need to empathize with the other person so they'll be able to reciprocate to you After you share your need, stop and ask the other person to state,what they heard Take your time doing all of this (sometimes using a card as a cheat sheet, like the graphic below, can help walk you through this process until it becomes automatic) If you often find yourself angry at others, then it might be helpful to practice these skills. Try this exercise: Make an "I don't like people who are ______" list. Then ask what your needs are when you make those judgements. Gratitude Nonviolent Communication is not just about dealing with difficult issues. At its core, it's about celebrating life, so this means also expressing gratitude with yourself and others. As with everything we've discussed in this series so far, our intentions behind our actions are vitally important. This means we have to scrutinize our praise and compliments. Although these forms of communication seem positive, they can still come from a place of judgement, making them helpful tools only on a short-term basis. This is because their effect wears off once people realize they are being manipulated in this way. Remember that labeling others is always a judgement. This is true even with positive labels. "You're such a good boy" might seem like a helpful thing to share with your son, but it creates impossible standards for him to live up to (the need to always be good and perfect, as well as a tie in his mind to his behavior and your love/approval). In order to use NVC to express gratitude, you need to celebrate the way your life has been enriched by others and not hand out praise just to get something. Keep in mind also that if you are giving a compliment in order to help another person's self-esteem, then you're really promoting an addiction to relying on others for their feeling of worth. Steps for Expressing Gratitude Identify actions that were a stimulus Share what needs were fulfilled Share what pleasurable feelings you had that came from the fulfilled need Just as we want to show ourselves and others empathy in difficult situations, we must always receive gratitude with empathy, too. (Often this is done from a place of egotism or false humility) Well, we've made it through the series. Whew! I know these posts have been a bit heavy at times, but NVC is such a helpful tool for relationships that its principles had to be shared. I hope you use (or at least consider) implementing some of these relationship strategies in your life. Download a printable version of the cheat sheet here What do you think of the strategies and steps of NVC? Do they sound like something you might use? Do you think you might investigate this topic further, or just use the information I presented to help improve your communication skills with those around you? I'd love to hear - leave a comment or email me at lisahealy (at) outlook (dot) com. Linked up with Thrifty Thursday Yes Works for Me Kitchen Fun & Crafty Friday Frivolity
Let’s talk teaching reading comprehension remotely. Can we just pause for a second. Okay… I know online teaching is very overwhelming…but teaching is so much more than just pushing out activity after activity for our students to do at home. Yes….they can do activities on their own…BUT…. only if they have been taught first. Now ... Read More about Teaching Reading Comprehension Remotely
Today, I challenge you to get quiet with yourself and fully reflect on this year, to pull out the highlights from this blur of a year to help bring you into 2017 with light and love. Here are a few questions to help you kick-start your review:
It’s every family historian’s dream to devote all of our waking hours to genealogy. Unfortunately, many of us don’t have the luxury of unlimited time - work, family, school, and other obligations often leave little room for hobbies.
2017 New Years Resolution Ideas Have you thought about a New Year’s Resolution? Here are some great ideas if you are thinking of making a clean and fresh start this year! This post contains affiliate links Terms of Use, Privacy...Read more
Looking to get healthier this year? Add these healthy New year's resolutions to set realistic goals for yourself.
Out of inspiration for your new year's goals? Here are 20 New Year's Resolution Ideas for Students, perfect for the new year.
Need inspiration for 24 goals for 2024? Find ideas for self care, mental health, finances, creative goals, and more!
New Year Goals List Ideas 1) Start No Phone Mornings 2) Attend 3 Networking Events 3) Cold Showers 4) Save $5 Everyday 5) Weekly Money Dates
The best new year's resolutions for students for this year! Amazing new year's resolutions for college students to add to your list.
As the year comes to an end it is time to embrace a new year and have a fresh start to life to make it better and happier. The best way to do this is
Looking for new year resolution ideas, but tired of the same old? Here are 91 powerful (but simple to follow) new year resolution ideas.
Make this the best year ever with 100 inspiring and achievable New Year's goal ideas to set to kickstart a successful year ahead.
Find your purpose in 2024 with the new year's resolution ideas and goal sheet in this blog post. Take action of your goals.
Learn amazing personal goals examples for any area in your life. Then find out how to set and achieve these goals now.
We're going to dive into some unique and exciting New Year's resolution ideas to become the best version of yourself, step by step.
Get 70 resolution ideas that you can actually achieve • Write a letter to a friend once a month • Set aside 15 minutes every day to learn...
Ready to plan for a new year? Here are 10 questions to help you plan for a successful new year and be your best self!
Looking for new year resolution ideas, but tired of the same old? Here are 91 powerful (but simple to follow) new year resolution ideas.
Here are 50 new year's resolution ideas for the new year. Scroll through the list and pick a few (or a lot!) that resonate with you.
Why is it that some people make a New Years resolution and achieve it whereas others have exactly the same goal but it seems like a distant memory by February? Here's a simple way to start your resolution and keep on track. #newyear #newyears #resolution
The best new year resolution ideas are the ones you can actually keep. Check out these 70 small, meaningful, and (most importantly) doable goals.
It's almost the end of 2021! Get started with these 12 steps to plan your most successful and inspiring year yet in 2022.
As the year comes to an end it is time to embrace a new year and have a fresh start to life to make it better and happier. The best way to do this is
Need inspiration for 24 goals for 2024? Find ideas for self care, mental health, finances, creative goals, and more!
Here you will find 84 new year resolution ideas for a successful year that you can add to your list of resolutions and have your best year
