EASTER  EGG  POPS

Since it is Spring Break what a nice activity to do with your children while they are home then to make candy pops in the shape of eggs and let them decorate them.  You can put them in Easter baskets or in flower pots with Easter grass around the house for decorations.  Then on Easter Day enjoy eating them along with all the other festive food that you will have.  

S P R I N G T I M E

Spring has sprung is usually the term you hear when Spring has arrived.  This year it arrived with the North getting a terrific snow storm and the south getting dipping temperatures that we hardly had all winter.  So springing of our Spring will just have to be a little delayed this year.  We still will have plenty of beautiful flowers to surround us before you know it.  

SPREAD  HAPPINESS !!!

Put a smile on your face and spread that happiness feeling everywhere you go.  I love to smile at everyone of my students as they enter my classroom making them feel so welcome that we are here to enjoy this day together. Put them at ease and this makes it easier for them to learn. 

HAPPY  ST.  PATRICK'S  DAY !!!

May you have THE LUCKIEST of St.

Patrick's Day you ever did have ye

lads and lassies.  Beware of any leprechauns lurking in your "neck of the woods" if by chance you do meet up with a "little green fellow" make sure that you are quick and don't get outsmarted by the leprechaun's scheme(s).  Good Luck and it is best to wear the color of green.

INSPIRING   YOUR    STUDENTS ! ! !

Your students have been so use to the same type of speeches from their Teachers each day in terms of getting ready for each subject.  So why not "shake" things up a bit and put some "zap" into what you are saying for your student's minds.  Instead of, "Here are the steps," why don't you say, "How are we going to solve these problems???"  Instead of "This is what you have to use," "What do you think we need to use to solve this problem????"  Make the questions more interesting and not directed exactly pinpointing what they are suppose to do.  Let their minds wonder and help become apart of that learning curve and excite a spark of curiosity of being more apart of deciding how the outcome of a problem is going to be solved.  

ACHIEVE  YOUR  GOALS

Everyone can set their own goals (sometimes with the younger students with Teacher assistance) and plan on meeting them.  Some can be short term and others can be long term.  For our younger students it is easier for them to set short term goals because the concept of a shorter length of time is easier for them to see the outcome faster.  It is fun for them also if they have something to look at when they are reaching the goal.  It can be a chart they fill in that when it is complete the goal is finished.  This way they can watch their progress and know how much more they have to go to attain the goal.  They might have a path that they have to follow and they fill it with stickers and when they get to the end of the path they have reached their goal.  Whatever you, as the Teacher, can put in place to motivate your students to reaching their goals will help initiate that spark for learning and make it a fun journey for them.

EMPATHY

An integral part of Teaching is making sure that each student feels that they are important and treated fairly by everyone in the classroom.  Too often you overhear a student say well I am not going to do that because my Teacher doesn't like me or she picks on me.  NO TEACHER ever wants to reflect that kind of attitude on to one of her students.  She needs to address that conversation with the student and assure the student that everyone in the classroom is very important to her. Another scene we hear in a classroom many times in the upper elementary grades is students complaining about other students not getting along with each other.  One week they are included in such and such a group and the next they are not.   All of these topics need to be addressed within the classroom.  As a class the students need to realize that student's feelings are hurt and suggestions need to be made as a class to prevent them from happening again.  By talking to the whole class about them, not finger pointing, coming up with suggestions to prevent them from happening again the students become more aware of of how hurtful these actions can be to their fellow students.  The discussion might have to be addressed later on to refresh the students if the behavior continues later in the year.  Of course recognize and praise them for getting along so well and recognizing each other's feelings.

I  AM  A  TEACHER

When I was a 5th grader I knew I wanted to be an Elementary School Teacher.  I had the privilege of having that 5th grade teacher that had such an impression on me and made my 5th grade school year so special for me.  Plus I always have had a true love of children. They are a blank canvas waiting to be painted with all kinds of knowledge and experiences. You can truly spark their imagination in so many different ways. Each day brings a different canvas to work with and it is a privilege to be able to touch so many different  minds and truly make a difference in their lives.