School is about to start where we live, and all teachers know that the beginning of the school year is all about teaching routines and expectations. Doing a good job with this, in the beginning, will help set up your classroom for success. When I first started teaching, I remember another teacher telling me she doesn't smile or laugh/joke around with the kids until around Thanksgiving. (Keep in mind this was 4th grade.) I never was able to do that, but I tried to be firm and set the … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Use a Timer for Classroom Management
Disclosure: I am a blog ambassador for Lakeshore Learning and am compensated for my work. I received the product free of charge, but all thoughts and opinions are 100% mine. It's not a secret that teaching is hard work. One of the most challenging components of teaching is classroom management...especially for new teachers! Teaching kids to read and write is the fun part, but when you don't have classroom management under control, your day can derail quickly. Do you know what my favorite … [Read more...]
5 Tips for a Successful Circle Time
As teachers, we love to teach our kids and we come up with some awesome games and activities. As we excitedly enter the classroom that morning with our plan, we hope that the kids enjoy the activities as much as we did planning them. As fun as the preschool days are, teaching large groups can be stressful. What if all the kids don’t pay attention? What if little Sally wanders around the room and won’t sit down? Do these questions run through your mind as you get closer to large group … [Read more...]