Tag: 21st century

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Beat Spring Fever: Bring the Outdoors Inside

Spring fever is hitting hard in our town, school is out in three weeks and everyone is ready for summer vacation. One of my favorite ways to combat spring fever is to bring the outdoors inside. Flowers are blooming and the weather is nice, so naturally we gravitate toward the growth. Instead of suppressing this, why not embrace it? Here are a few ways to bring the outdoors in: 

Photo by RDNE Stock project: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-classroom-without-student-8500643/

Plant something: Have each student plant their own vegetables or flowers to grow in the classroom, or have several classroom plants that students help care for. Our kindergarten planted six different plants in cardboard egg cartons. Once they started popping through the soil, they were sent home to be planted. These individual sections can be cut apart from each other and planted directly into the ground for continued growth. 

Open the windows: This may or may not work in your particular classroom. But if you’re able, slide open the curtains, open up the windows, and let the sunshine and fresh air fill your room! 

Add potted plants: Large, potted plants that grow in your home or classroom year-round can be pulled from the corners and brought out to more loved places in the classroom. Near your reading nook would be a great place! 

Photo by Madison Inouye: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-potted-houseplants-2894950/

Create a rock garden: Are children just predisposed to collect rocks like it’s their full-time job? Or just my kids? Put that skill to use! Find an area in your classroom to create a rock garden. Paint rocks for the rock garden if the time and space allow you to! 

Hatch a Butterfly: There are different programs and companies you can go through online to order a butterfly hatching kit. How exciting is it for students to watch the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly right before their eyes?! 

Create bug habitats: Research the best habitat for a specific bug and work together to create an ideal habitat for them to live in your classroom. 

Paint bug rocks: Another way to utilize those never-ending rocks is to paint them to look like bugs and add these rock pets to your classroom. 

Make a dirt sensory bin: If sensory bins are a part of your classroom, consider adding a sensory bin full of dirt, rocks, and small shovels. Sand can also work as well. 

What have you done in your classroom to bring the outdoors inside? 

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Parents Tips For Parent-Teacher Conference Season

Parent Teacher Conference season is quickly approaching along with the end of the school year, for some schools. If this doesn’t apply to you, give this article a read and then save it for next fall when you’ll inevitably want to read it again.

My first piece of advice for you is to identify if your school does Parent Teacher Conferences or if they do Student-Led Conferences. These two different types of conferences can sometimes look vastly different, so knowing what to expect going in is helpful.

An article that is helpful for Parent Teacher Conferences:

Questions To Ask At Parent-Teacher Conferences

Articles that are helpful for Student Led Conferences:

5 Signs of 21st Century Teaching to Watch For During Conferences #TeacherMom
23 Guiding Questions to Make Student-Led Conferences More Informative
Student-Led Conferences: Practical Guide & Resources
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Dear Future Teacher Me

Dear Future Teacher Me, 

I know it’s been a few years since you graduated with your teaching degree and received your teaching license (OKAY it’s been more than a few.) But someday you’ll find yourself back in the classroom teaching again when it feels suitable for your family. Someday you will walk through those doors to set up your own classroom instead of walking your own to theirs. 

And someday when that day comes, there are things you need to remember to carry with you that you learned during your time as a parent in the school setting instead of a teacher. 

Remember that all you ever want is what’s best for your kids. So when it feels like a parent won’t get off your back about something, remember that really all they want is what’s best for their child. 

Remember that you’re doing the best you can to support your children’s teachers, but sometimes it’s hard to be as supportive as possible because your life is busy and there’s a lot going on. So someday when you feel like you’re not getting enough support in your classroom, remember that these parents have multiple children and jobs and responsibilities. Their time to volunteer may not be right now. 

Remember that every day you send your children to school and worry immensely about their safety, but also place a lot of trust in the teachers and staff of the school to do everything they can to keep them safe. Remember this, because someday parents will be sending their kids to you and expecting the same. 

Remember that you think so highly of your kid’s teachers and are constantly impressed by what they are able to create and do in their classrooms and that someday, parents will think the same of you. 

Remember that you often forget to convey your gratitude and appreciation for your kid’s teachers and that parents will forget just the same. But that doesn’t mean the gratitude and appreciation aren’t there. 

Most of all, remember that you love your own kids, but you’ll also love your students like they are your own kids, too. Someday, you’ll make a great teacher. You may not have been teaching in a classroom for the last several years, but you’ve done your fair share of teaching with the children in your home, and that experience will carry over to your classroom someday, too. 

You’ve got this. 

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More Thoughts on a 4-Day School Week

A while back I wrote a post about schools transitioning to a four-day school week. I tried to stay very neutral and simply line out the pros and cons of both 5 and 4-day school weeks. However, at the time I wrote the post, it wasn’t something even on my radar to worry about! It was purely just information I had researched. Our schools were doing the more typical 5-day school weeks. Then we moved to Idaho and everything changed. The school my oldest attends, as well as most schools in the state of Idaho, have transitioned to a 4-day school week. Now that we’ve experienced both, I have more opinionated thoughts and feelings on the pros and cons. 

If you’re looking for me to choose one side or the other- either 4-day school weeks or 5 days, then you’ve come to the wrong place. After experiencing both, I honestly cannot choose between the two. Both of them come with benefits and downsides. 

One concern I have with a four-day school week is the longer school days. Elementary school starts at 7:45 am and doesn’t get out until 3:45 pm. An 8-hour school day is long for those littles! Districts are required to meet a minimum requirement of school hours in a school year, so to make up for those missed hours by not going to school one day of the week, the school days and sometimes the school calendar year become longer and more stretched out to make up for those hours. 

This can be concerning for two big reasons I’ve personally found. First, meals. With school starting early in the morning, breakfast is naturally around 6:45- 7 am for us. My daughter (in kindergarten) then eats lunch at 10:45 am. Technically, the school is not expected to provide any other food besides optional breakfast for kids that need it, and lunch. So if they are not fed again, these kids go from 10:45 am until 3:45 pm without food. Yes, I know, food is a very privileged thing in a perpetual time of food scarcity. However, when little brains are working so hard on learning and growing, they need more. Luckily, most teachers in our school allow an afternoon snack, provided by the parents on an alternating schedule. But what about those schools or classrooms that aren’t providing extra food for those hours between lunch and going home? 

The next concern is for the older grades when it comes to after-school activities. If school is getting out close to 4 pm, then sports and arts and other extracurriculars start their practices after school is out. Our local high school has track practice from 4-6 pm. Once track practice is over, the kids go home and eat, work on homework, and accomplish any other household tasks they may have. Then they need a good night’s rest so they can be up around 6:30 am for school the next day. It makes for such long days when extra activities are considered! This isn’t even bringing in the factor that many high school students have part-time jobs, too!

However, when schools are on a 4-day school week schedule, they have one full day off of school and any extracurriculars can take up the space of that day. This is typically Fridays for most 4-day week schools. That means extra-long practices, tournaments, games, events and more can happen on Fridays when students are out of school, instead of cramming it all in on Friday evening/ Saturday. 

There’s also the bonus that even if students aren’t in additional school activities, there is space and time for family events and trips with an extra long weekend. We’ve enjoyed trips to the zoo and many local state parks because we don’t have to worry about attending school on Fridays. 

And in the same breath, there are also parents that have the burden of worrying about childcare on Fridays because they are still working parents and need a safe space for their kids to go to when they are out of school but the parents are still working. 

There are so many more thoughts and pros and cons I could add to this post, but it’s getting long-winded and I’m not here to bore you. When asked to choose between 4 or 5-day school weeks, I truly could not give you a straight answer. It’s such a double-edged sword! In some ways, I think either is the best and only way to do school! And in other ways, I think both are the wrong answer and make it harder than it’s worth. 

What are your thoughts? What other pros and cons have you seen from a 4 or 5-day school week? What are your kids on, and what would your preference be? 

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A Slice of History in Hiroshima, Japan

We recently visited the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Yes, Hiroshima as in, the city the Americans dropped the atomic bomb on during WWII. The city of Hiroshima which was considered unlivable for at least 70 years after the bomb was dropped because of the radioactive dangers surrounding the area. The city of Hiroshima was alive and well and thriving. 

It was incredible to step foot where so much history was present. Our first stop was the Peace Memorial park, a vast area dedicated to the atomic bombing. 

The A-Bomb building was absolutely haunting and humbling to see. It was the only standing building after the bomb went off and is currently maintained by the city so that it will be standing forever. It’s as if the city of Hiroshima is saying, “You tried to take everything from us, but this one last thing that did survive is ours and you’re not taking it too.” 

Where we ended up spending the majority of our time was the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. It was humbling. I had a heavy feeling in my heart from start to finish as I walked through each exhibit. 

Many parents donated their children’s items and stories to the children’s room within the museum. Many kids were on their way to school when the bomb hit and their bodies could be identified by name tags on their uniforms or by the lunch pails they were carrying. Just thinking about sending my kids to school only to have an atomic bomb drop on our city was overwhelming enough for me, I could not imagine the heartache those parents went through mourning their losses. 

It made me wonder why we have museums and memorials for heartbreaking moments in history such as the atomic bomb in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Or WWII and Holocaust museums. Why are we spending time and resources to build these museums, and then our time and resources to walk through them? 

Because history is meant to be learned from. There’s a reason history in various forms and time periods is required in most schools! If we’re always looking back on history and satisfied with how everything played out, then we’re not studying it the right way. We do better with what we know and have learned from. 

And possibly the most important reason is that these individuals’ stories are meant to be told. They suffered and mourned and lived through important turning points in history, and for that, they should not have to be silenced. They deserve to have everyone hear them loud and clear as they tell their stories giving us the slightest glimpse of their lives during these times. This goes for every survivor at any point in time. 

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was incredible and rich with information to learn and hear. It will forever be a life-changing moment for me. 

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8 Different Sensory Inputs in our Bodies

I learned in school when I was younger that there are five senses. When I realized my son was a sensory seeker, these five senses were what I had in mind when I realized I needed to give him more sensory input in his day. After more research, I realized there were actually eight sensory inputs our bodies have! 

There are professionals all over our world going to school and working in this field of study that know this information, and then mere uneducated individuals like me that are just now realizing that there’s more to our bodies than the five senses I learned in kindergarten! Wild! 

So just in case there are more of you out there like me that are new to this 8 senses game, I’m going to break down what each of the senses is in terms I understand, and hopefully you can too. 

Sight

Taste

Touch

Hearing

Smell

And then the three we don’t know as much about. 

Proprioceptive: This one is the “hard work” one in my mind. This sensory function utilizes muscles and ligaments in our bodies to move us through space. It also tells us where we are in space and in relation to other objects. Sensory seekers for this area are going to be pulling and pushing objects, carrying heavy things, or running, doing all of these things with as much force as possible. Sensory avoiders will be using their limbs and muscles the least amount possible. Things like lifting or pushing can feel very overwhelming to them. 

Vestibular: When I think of vestibular, I try to remember the “inner ear” because that’s the key point to vestibular sensory input. It’s spinning, swinging, and hanging upside down. Those that avoid vestibular input want their world to stay put. Anything that makes them dizzy or feels out of control is a no-go for this sensory input. Those that seek vestibular input are doing everything they can to throw their inner ear off balance- spinning, swinging, rolling, hanging upside down. 

Interoceptive: This is the feelings and senses that we have within ourselves. It’s within our brain letting us know how our body is doing and what we are feeling. And not just emotionally, but physically as well. This can be a headache from dehydration, it can be pain in your arm when it’s burned, or even just the feelings of a sad, broken heart. This sense can be incredibly strong for some and dull for others, meaning we all feel pain and emotion at different levels.  

I hope this mostly simplified version of the three new senses helps you understand them a little more. 

Do you have a sensory seeker or avoider in your home or your classroom?

Photo by Ameruverse Digital Marketing Media

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“Where’s The Mom?”

We live across the street from our local post office. It’s amazing. 

My oldest child (5 years old) is the type of kid that absolutely needs her independence. She thrives when given opportunities to do things by herself. 

Recently I’ve had several packages to ship off to friends and family, and getting to the post office with three kids in tow can be extremely challenging, even if it’s right across the street! 

So I let my 5-year-old take another independent leap by sending her on the errand for me, by herself. 

With the package addressed and ready to ship, she walks across the street alone, $5 tucked safely in her purse to pay the shipping fees.

She’s been on enough errands with me that she knows what to do. She knows how to wait in line and ask for help at the counter when it’s her turn. She’s pretty good at exchanging money and keeping receipts safe for the travels back home. 

The first time I sent her I watched out of our family room window for the entirety of her visit, just to make sure everything was okay. But as time went on, I trusted her more and more with her abilities and didn’t pace by the window waiting to watch her walk back home. 

One day after coming home from her post office errand, she told me the lady working at the counter asked her where her mom was. I asked my daughter what her response was and she said, “I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything.”

It got me thinking, what would the correct response be? 

Her mom was right next door. 

Her mom was observing from afar.

Her mom was teaching valuable life lessons. 

Her mom was providing an opportunity for independence. 

Her mom was showing a high level of trust not only for her daughter but also for the postal workers and other patrons in the building. 

I don’t think the worker meant any malice when asking the question. I’m certain after assessing the situation, she realized my daughter was there to run an errand for me and was in no way distressed or neglected. It takes a village to raise a child and our sweet postal worker was only making sure my daughter was okay. 

But we’ve also transitioned into a more stressed and scared society, causing us to be wearier of letting our young kids do things for themselves. 50 years ago no one would have thought to even question her. This pushes me to allocate opportunities for my children to find independence throughout their young lives so that they can grow up to be contributing members of our society. 

By sending them on errands by themselves, within a reasonable distance from our home.

By letting them go into the library alone to return and check out books while I wait outside. 

By picking out and buying their own ingredients and supplies at the grocery store for the cupcakes they’ve been wanting to make. 

“Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest, and in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength, and the perfecting on one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil.”  

-Maria Montessori

Photo by Matheus Bertelli