4 Classroom Organization Tips
Need to tackle some clutter in the classroom or office? Keeping up with classroom organization is part of classroom management. Often we ignore a cluttered space because we do not feel we have time or energy to tackle a whole project. Part of my master strategy in Clean the Chaos: At Home involves sweeping out a space, sorting, and storing the items in a tidier or more useful way. This same strategy is useful in the office or classroom organization; bringing order to some chaos. Here are 4 classroom organization tips to help you tackle clutter in the classroom today. First, choose a drawer, cabinet, or corner and begin to clean the chaos in the classroom. Start small with classroom organization Ten minutes gives just enough time to empty a drawer, wipe it out, sort/toss/recycle/relocate/store the items back into the drawer in a more useful and neater way. Once you do a drawer or two, your motivation will build and you will find more pockets of time to continue the project. And the more you clean the chaos, the more useful the space becomes. Keep reading for ways to maintain your space once you have cleaned the clutter. This will…
4 Classroom Management Tips
How consistent are you in your classroom management? Classroom management is hard to learn from a textbook, even if you have read Harry Wong’s First Days of School. Until you are actually in a classroom, it is hard to know exactly how you will respond and react to certain situations no matter how prepared you are. Here are 4 classroom management tips to point you in the right direction to calm the chaos: in the classroom. Develop Your Classroom Management Learning classroom management is an essential skill for teachers and substitutes and will help calm the chaos in the classroom before it gets out of control. In college, I learned great ideas and tips for classroom management, but nothing truly prepares you for those first few minutes and days like actually being in the classroom. You do need to have some basic ideas of how you want your classroom or tutoring sessions to run, but also be flexible as you hone this skill. You will continue to hone your classroom management system over the years and in different settings. So many of my good ideas are a bit outside the box and came out of situations that needed a bit…
Thanksgiving Logic Puzzle
What activities have you planned for Thanksgiving day? Around the kitchen table or classroom, this Thanksgiving logic puzzle will whet your appetite for food and fun during the holiday. Grid puzzles require critical thinking skills to determine the relationship between people, places, and things based on the clues given. This “print and go” PDF contains two versions of the same puzzle (easy and medium), a completion celebration sign, and an answer key. Work individually or in teams against the clock. This Thanksgiving logic puzzle is ideal for ages 10-100. Download and print a few copies of pages 3 and 4 for your classroom, your dinner table, or your Thanksgiving celebration. Take a photo and tag me on social media. @tailorjoy #tailorjoylogicpuzzles How to solve logic puzzles If you have never solved a logic grid puzzle and you need a visual explanation, here’s a simple video. The same concept is used to solve bigger puzzles. Typically you have a set of clues to read through and a grid with categories to mark your answers on. Use the clues and logical deduction to solve the puzzle. It may take a few times through for the clues to be useful so keep reading…
Book Review: Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child
What do you wish you knew about parenting a disabled child? Parenting a disabled child is a daunting task, and author and advocate Kelly Coleman turned her experience into a disability resource book so that other parents and caregivers would have access to explanations and resources that make navigating the systems a bit smoother. This newly published book Everything No One Tells You About Parenting a Disabled Child – Your Guide to the Essential Systems, Services, and Supports is an incredible resource for parents and caregivers. Schools, medical offices, and therapy clinics should have a copy of this in the lobby. Not only is it helpful to parents, but it gives others insight into the struggle and loneliness families feel when navigating systems and services. No parent ever thinks they will be there, but if you are, you are not alone in the journey. No matter where you are in your journey, this book is a roadmap and a comfort to find you are not alone. As a teacher and tutor, this book gave me talking points to use with clients as I help them understand what an IEP meeting looks like and how to advocate for their child at…
Overcoming Learning Challenges: 4 Strategies for Parents and Tutors
Is it better to avoid distractions or learn to deal with them? Not seeing joy in your child’s education because of learning challenges, grumpy attitudes, and lack of confidence? Here are 4 strategies for parents and tutors to help children with overcoming learning challenges. Much of the application of these strategies comes from talking over the changes, context, and benefits of the strategies instead of just giving a list of rules. For the younger years, parents should take the lead in setting up expectations for learning. For the middle years, parents and students should talk about options and expectations. For the launching years, students should take the lead if they have shown the maturity and self-discipline to complete tasks. If not, parents and students should discuss expectations and problem-solve learning challenges together. Establish study routines Whether your child does homework right away or not until after dinner, establish study routines. Talk about options for locations. Is the kitchen table a good fit or too distracting? Is the bedroom desk a good fit or too removed for accountability? Talk about establishing time routines to work on homework, do daily reading, organize papers, and study over notes taken in class. Talk about…
3 Easy Tips For Reading Picture Books With Children
What picture book could be enjoyed by all ages? I love a good picture book discussion with little kids, big kids, and grandkids! Megan Dowd Lambert, in her book Reading Picture Books with Children: How to Shake up Storytime and Get Kids Talking About What They See, explains The Whole Book Approach to reading picture books with children through examples, tips, and stories of her own journey. It’s a phenomenal resource for parents, teachers, tutors, speech therapists, artists, and librarians that will turn your storytime into a picture book playground. I happened upon this book while browsing the “new book” section at the library. Surprisingly it is not a new publication, but I have been delighted with the find and immediately added it to my educational resource list for my tutoring business. I also knew I would write about it in my newsletter. It’s fine to read a book cover to cover and enjoy the story, but it’s a much richer experience to read and discuss the text, the art, and the book layout. Along with teaching the reader about all the parts of a book, from the jackets to gutters to endpapers, Lambert addresses the importance and steadfastness of…
5 Reasons to Hire a Private Tutor
What is the best benefit when you hire a private tutor? Tired of the lack of harmony at home when it comes to homework time? Hire a private tutor! Not seeing joy in your child’s educational experience? Hire a private tutor. Private tutors do more than just help a child who is failing a course. Tutors help students improve grades, manage workload, strengthen academic and critical thinking skills, reduce stress, and cultivate a healthy attitude about education. All of these help a student to gain confidence at school and at home, ensuring they are prepared for the next grade and beyond. One-on-one personalized educational attention is the primary reason to hire a private tutor. There are big companies like Huntington Learning Centers that provide tutoring or private tutors running small businesses like mine in Apex, NC. Some of us are retired certified teachers who love what we do and want to keep on helping students! Sometimes, a child needs tutoring for a semester and sometimes for their whole academic career. Those who see the value in tutoring become adept at telling me what they need help with. I love hearing stories about how they later use free campus tutoring in…
6 Summer Learning Activities
How can you encourage learning activies, promote problem-solving, and boost confidence in a fun way during summer breaks? Whether you are a parent or a tutor, bridging the summer gap with summer learning activities for kids is probably something you have wondered about. Where do you find summer learning activities that are more fun than a big workbook? How do you engage students in practical activities that are meaningful and fun? How do you avoid the “summer learning slide” and the “I’m bored” complaints? Look no further! Here are 6 educational summer learning activities to help parents and tutors offer educational enrichment in addition to plenty of time to read books. 6 Summer Learning Activities Real World Projects (project-based learning – design a pet-sitting business or ice cream shop or a mini golf course or social media for national parks) https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Shelly-Rees/Category/127822-PBL-Project-Based-Learning-352924 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Digital-Divide-And-Conquer Digital Escape Rooms/Scavenger Hunts https://www.tailorjoy.com/digital-escape-rooms/ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Lindsay-Bowden-Secondary-Math/Category/Scavenger-Hunts-384810 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Digiline-Co/Category/-TREASURE-HUNT-CARDS-658675 Reading Contests/Book Clubs https://www.tailorjoy.com/backyard-book-clubs/ https://www.tailorjoy.com/summer-reading-log-printable https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/browse/free?search=summer%20reading%20challenge Visit your public library Field Trips (virtual or in-person) https://freedomhomeschooling.com/virtual-field-trips/ Life Skills (cooking, laundry, car care, grocery shopping, etc.) https://www.tailorjoy.com/10-life-skills-for-the-launching-years/ Start a family business (sports lessons, tutoring, kids cooking, yard work, car detailing, etc.) https://www.tailorjoy.com/business-basics/ There are so many…
Summer Reading Log Printable
Where will your reading adventures take you? Grab a summer reading log printable and head into the world of imagination and practical life. Where will you go first? Narnia? Wonderland? The local international restaurant? The treehouse store? Your first summer job? Real-world reading involves fiction, classics, nonfiction, maps, menus, training material, pamphlets, owner manuals, and more. Having a summer reading log printable lets you record your adventures – no matter your age! Why THIS summer reading log printable? Lots of great book logs exist all over the internet, however, I couldn’t find one that had less than a hundred books or art that could be used for multiple ages. That led me to create a summer reading log sheet with just over 20 slots for recording book titles and promoting reading fiction and nonfiction. I encourage my readers and tutoring clients to try real-world reading. I ask them to record the book title and give it a 5-star rating. Coloring is optional. This reading log can be used in the summer or any vacation break. It can be used for individuals, for homeschool readers, for reading groups, for ESL adults, for moms groups, for elementary readers or even high schoolers.…
Teachers Pay Teachers Review
What quality educational resource do you wish you could add to your teacher or tutor toolkit? Teachers Pay Teachers, an online marketplace, is a powerful educational resource for teachers, tutors, and parents powered by educators. Instead of a few supplemental activities that only go with one particular curriculum, imagine the whole teacher supply store, your favorite teacher’s file cabinet, data-driven best practices resources, creative ideas, pretty things, suggestions for every topic under the sun, and the homeschool curriculum conference all in one place! That is Teachers Pay Teachers in a nutshell. What is TPT? I discovered this online resource while teaching elementary school and it became even more useful when I started my tutoring business. I knew how to teach the topics, but I was willing to purchase some fun original educational resources or extension activities for my summer school lessons. With over 9 million resources, this is a treasure trove for buyers and sellers of original educational resources. Teachers may need to fill gaps in the curriculum, post anchor charts, or create warm-up material. There are lesson plans, games, flashcards, room decorations, speech therapy activities, assessments, special education resources, seasonal themes, worksheets, projects, foreign languages, ESL, task cards, classroom…