No English?!

Let's face it, one day you'll have a new student...who doesn't speak any English.  That was me a few years ago...we won't mention how many.  To this day I remember how I cried..and cried...and cried the first few days.  However, I won't forget how my teacher calmed down my anxiety with....

PICTURES!  

That's right!  First of all, I had no idea what was going on, so my teacher made a schedule for me with illustrations so I always knew what in the world was going on!  I don't know...might not work for all crying, anxious little ones, but it sure helped me!

Just Thinking...

I really wish I knew what grade I was teaching in the future so I could be more specific with my blog, but I guess it's nice to have a variety of activities.  Plus, they can sometime be adapted to each grade.  So hopefully, you guys find these useful and even inspiring!  If anyone has cool ideas, send me an email at martyxa91@gmail.com or post a comment on this post.  I looove to hear new ideas!  The more the merrier as they say!!

My little family :)

Children's Meseum

As a kid, a lot of what I remember from school are field trips!  Kids always enjoy field trips, that's for sure.  One place you should go find is your local children's museum.  I found ours downtown in Harrisonburg, VA.  You can find out more at Discovery Museum.  It's an interactive museum and what can be better than that?!  I'll definitely want to take my kids there! 

If you don't have a children's museum in your area, then that's ok...there's plenty of other places your children can visit.  Or just find the nearest one.  I'm sure it will be worth it! :)

Dreaming About Preschool

Today there's no activity, but I just want to say I can't wait to find out where I'll be student teaching!!  Hopefully, I can get my request which is at the Blue Ridge Christian School.  I've never been to a private Christian school so I really want to see how it is.  Maybe I'll even be able to get a job there.  If not, I'll have to open up my Christian preschool.  That's my ultimate dream.  Yes, I even have a name for it already! :)

So Mariam Rossoshanskiy, I'm waiting for you to come here to Virginia and we can start it together!!

ABCs Everywhere

The English language has 26 letters in it.  I knew you already knew that, but that's 26 different things your students can write about in their ABC book.  Whatever the subject may be, an ABC book is easy and fun to do. 

In 4th grade, we did an ABC book for Virginian history.  This idea can transcend into so many other subjects.  Just pick one and have your student write an item for each letter, describe it, and for visual memory, add a picture for each word!

Yummy Books

If your class reads a book that is related to food, then make the food together as a class!  It's fun and tasty, and the kids will remember it for awhile! 

In 5th grade we made doughnuts after we read Homer Price.  Is your class reading a book about Mexican culture?  Make Mexican food!  Ancient Greece?  Have some Greek food!  Whatever it is, don't forget the sense of taste in your lessons once in awhile!!

SSR With a Spin

Not everyone agrees on SSR (Sustained Silent Reading) because you can't hear your students reading so it's not very useful...blah blah blah...but if your school/class practices SSR, then why not give it a little twist?

If it's a nice, warm day outside, take your kids to a quiet (and scenic) place and have SSR under the pretty blue sky and green grass (or picnic tables)!  Of course, the playground should probably be avoided due to noise.

Scrapbooking

As I start this summer, I look forward to a lot of scrapbooking.  So I thought...is there a way to incorporate scrapbooking in the classroom?

Sure!  Why not?!  Let it be a creative writing project for the whole class!  Each student can decorate a page about themselves and putting all the pages together will create a nice masterpiece for the class by the class!

Ideas for the kids to include in their pages:

Ask for a funny story about them, a favorite quote, an embarrassing moment, who's their hero, who they want to be when they grow up, their favorite vacation, etc, etc.  Let the kids choose from a variety of questions to include in their page!  They can come up with their own ideas as well!!

Also, ask for the kids to bring in pictures if possible!  And provide materials as well such as magazines to cut out pictures, stickers, markers, pretty paper, you name it!