You’ve heard it said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” I would propose this addition: “Except in teaching!” Of course, we know the first moments of the first day of school are critical to establishing a tone for the year ahead, and we put a lot of energy into those first moments. It’s always fun to prepare our classrooms for the new school year because we are full of renewed hopes and dreams.
We’ve all had kids in the classroom who push limits, can’t manage their feelings, constantly demand attention. Believe it or not, they are sending you a message. When kids misbehave, they are operating based on mistaken learning. With time, patience, and planning you can help them relearn! If you reframe your thinking about children’s behavior and recognize that misbehavior is usually based on mistaken learning, you are well on your way to helping your kids.
Education is certainly my calling. When choosing my path as a teacher, the Montessori philosophy captivated me more than most. It was peaceful, harmonious, respectful to the child, reflexive, and intentional.
A language-rich environment is vital to children’s early learning and social-emotional development. A language-rich environment isn’t just a room with books and a variety of print; it’s a room where children hear and participate in talking, singing, and reading.
When I first heard that I was going to have to be observed and coached for my job, I was not thrilled by any means. I immediately thought, Great, someone is going to watch me and tell me how terrible I am. I sincerely thought it was going to be nothing but a negative experience.
Back in July, Mary-Margaret Gardiner and Sarah Hadden presented a webinar with Kaplan about how teachers can use classroom setups to create teachable moments. If you missed it the first time around, I'd recommend giving the webinar a watch. It provides classroom organization tips that are helpful all year round.
In this vlog, you'll hear an overview of Teacher Sensitivity and Facilitated Exploration at the Infant level. Mary-Margaret introduces Responsive Caregiving and how to improve interactions by looking at an infant's cues that the child may be trying to communicate a need as well as ways to support an infant's exploration.
As a teacher, sometimes you learn the most from the teacher across the hall. You share materials, discuss ways to handle that tricky student, come up with new lessons together, analyze data, or just commiserate about a hard day.
I have seen so many articles, pins on Pinterest, and Instagram posts with suggestions on must do behavior management strategies for the first month of school. Yes, behavior management is a key part of having a successful school year. But before we start focusing only on behavior management implementation, we need to talk about what is going to help you become a successful teacher in the classroom—developing authentic and genuine relationships with your students. Here are five things you can start with on day one to help build positive interactions.
Now that school has been in session for a couple of months, you might be wondering how you can connect with your students in the classroom and during lessons. The answer? Open-ended questions!
