A Little Dancing Never Hurt Anyone

As I've started preparing for school my mind has drifted towards music, dancing, and recess! The last couple of years I've utilized Youtube. There are so many videos out there that can be used for help with instruction, brain breaks, and of course indoor recess. There are always those kids who are going to be leery of participating. This can be overcome with teacher participation. Nothing gets kids more pumped than their teacher jumping around acting crazy with them. I love music. I love to dance. My kids always learn this quickly!

While laying in bed, playing on Pinterest of course, I ran across a dance video. This sparked my interest to look for more videos to add to my school dance playlists on YouTube. One video undoubtedly turned into 10 videos. An hour and a half later, 10+ new videos, and countless songs stuck in my head, I was finally forced to head to sleep.

While this playlist is a work in progress, I know that I've got a great group of videos to start with. There are videos I can use to teach following directions and ones that are purely to get some exercise in.

Here's dancing, new ideas, and the internet!

P.S
Teachers: What's your go to for brain breaks and indoor recess?
Parents: How do your kids like to get their energy out?

A Prelude to Preparing for School

As summer camp starts winding down I've had more time to let my mind drift towards the upcoming school year. Usually this entails to-do lists, updates, and Pinterest. Let's be honest, how many of us don't have a Pinterest board dedicated to at least one aspect of school? For me, I have multiple. There's the one for reading resources, reading centers, math resources, math centers, general resources, fun videos, and more! Feel free to stop on by and check them out. I'm always finding more great projects to pin!

Pin, Pin, and Pin some more!

I always start by making a list of what needs to be done in my classroom. An organized room that looks put together helps me function better. Happy rooms = happy teachers! This time, however, I started by planning my parent events for the year. I am making parent involvement a huge priority. I am going to have a parent night each grading term, as well two parent-volunteer months. I'll be sure to post more information as the school year gets underway! A little preview to look forward to: Poetry Party, Art Auction, and a Science Showcase!

Another new addition to my classroom will be the use of Remind101 or Remind.com. This service lets you text/email parents without using your own personal number. I recently found out about this fabulous tool during a Wednesday #TeachChat session. These are hosted by Really Good Stuff and happen every other Wednesday on Twitter. Simply follow the hashtag to join.

I finished today by working on my family packet that is handed out at the beginning of school. Here I list all of the important classroom details parents will need. I detail topics such as morning procedures, curriculum, behavior expectations, birthdays, and more. It seems done now......I'm sure I'll find more to add.  :)

Here's to cool days, note pads full of ideas, and dreams!

P.S

Teachers: What kind of information do you make sure to send home at the beginning of school?

Parents: What information would be helpful to receive at the start of school?

Fairwell to the Uppers

This week I said fairwell to teaching our upper grades in the mornings. It's only been two days but I already miss seeing them tackle through their challenging projects. It definitely took many of them by surprise. Nevertheless they continued to work together and with the help of the wonderful Miss Katlen and Mrs. Ortiz they were able to finish their engineering projects. Below you will find their masterpieces.

Tomorrow they move on to new science experiments. While I've still got work to do with the camp I have now turned my "teaching brain" over to preparing for the up coming school year. If I can pull off even a fourth of my current list I know my kids and I will have a blast. 

Until next time, here's to field trips, lists, and pool-time fun!