Heather's EDU 614 blog

Dear  Parents, I want to warmly welcome you to our kindergarten classroom. I am looking forward to a year of creativity, learning, and connection. I hope your child is as excited as I am about the upcoming school year!  This is an exciting time for you and your student. This is the beginning of their journey into becoming a life-long learner. During the year, your child will become an early reader and writer, learn various science and social studies topics, and build fundamental math skills. Aside from academic skills, we will be fostering important social skills like how to work in groups, treat each other with respect, and care for our school community. Our main source of communication will be a plastic two-pocket folder. This will carry notes and completed work back and forth between school and home. Place any notes you have for the office or me inside the folder. Please check and empty out your child’s folder every day. I am also available to email at heather.jones@sps.edu

I recently got a job as a kindergarten paraprofessional in Salem. We have thee students in the class who the teacher classifies as “high needs.” Because it’s only November referrals are only just now being made for testing and IEPs and 504s. However, I’d like to focus on one student we have and the ways we support him throughout the day, and how I might support a similar student in my future classroom.  Derek (not his real name) seems to have had trauma in his background. I don’t know the specifics, but have heard that his family has some challenges. While I don’t know the specifics of what has happened (or is happening) in his life, it’s clear that he is dealing with complex trauma and is bringing it into the classroom. Children who suffer from complex trauma have many challenges. It can cause “social, psychological, cognitive, and biological issues, including difficulty regulating their emotions, paying attention, and forming good relationships—all of which make it very difficul

It’s easy to assume that as an early childhood educator, you will be “off the hook” for having to have your students create computer-based presentations. However, I’ve discovered that there are actually age-appropriate programs that students can use to create fun and engaging presentations to enhance their learning, and to share with their classmates! Shadow Puppet Edu Shadow Puppet Edu is an app available on iPods and iPads. There are tons of ways to use Shadow Puppet, but for an early childhood classroom, it’s simple: have students take photo(s) (or use the stock photos), and record their voices over the presentation of the photo(s). For example, I can imagine using Shadow Puppet in class in the following ways: Asking students to go on a “shape scavenger hunt.” Have them go around the room taking photos of, for example, five circles they see, and then record the students discussing where they found them. Students write a story, take photos of their illustration, and read the story o

In another course I took, we read the book Teaching With Poverty in Mind by Eric Jensen. I recall one of Jensen’s top factors for school success was gathering high-quality, hard data. Jensen believes that rather than just using state and district tests as a measure of success, high-performing schools “generate their own high-quality, useful data on an ongoing basis and provide immediate feedback to both students and teachers” (2009, p. 73). I remember this vividly because it confirmed something I believe in - that formative assessments are crucial and should be done frequently. Formative assessments give real-time feedback on ways to improve student performance by showing gaps in learning. The data that is received through formative assessments give teachers information that is current and useful and helps them make changes as necessary. As a kindergarten teacher, assessment overall is critical. Kindergarten teachers are starting at the base of learning, and it is imperative that teac

Wireless Printer Won’t Pick-Up Wi-fi? Try connecting to the printer with a cable.   This allows you to see whether the WiFi signal is the issue. If your printer works via a USB cable, then you know you need to move it. Find a new spot for the printer.   Ideally, one that's not too far from the router. Though the WiFi signals that deliver data to our devices may be invisible, you'll find that the impediments to those signals are often in plain view. If the printer is under a desk or inside a closet, move it. If it sits in a room with a thick wooden door, open that door before you try to print. That’s one less barrier to impede the signal. Check the printer queue.  A print job with an error may be holding up the line, in which case, you simply need to cancel it. Reboot the printer.  Unplug the device, wait a minute, and plug it back in. Often that's enough to fix the problem. Make sure the firmware is up-to-date.   Confirm that your mobile device is on the right

Since I was a young girl, I wanted to be a teacher. I distinctly recall setting up my stuffed animals as my “students” and enjoying having my own audience of captivated learners. I have always loved learning, and admired the teachers in my life who gave me the gift of knowledge and the confidence to be curious. However, there have been huge changes in our world since I was a student. I didn't even see a computer until I was maybe 12 years old. The students I will be with do not know a world without vast technology. With our society increasingly connected technologically, some may think we are also becoming disconnected face-to-face. Suicide, anxiety, and depression have risen in students. Cyberbullying is a terrible scourge, fear of missing out as students see their classmates doing things on social media can be upsetting, and increasing narcissism as kids focus on their online presence...all of these can contribute to declining mental health of students. Additionall

When I was in elementary school, I always wanted a pen pal. It never happened for me, but I’m determined to make those connections happen for my students. With technology, it is easier than ever to do that. We talked at length in class about how essential it is for students to be “global citizens.” Not only for their future careers but more importantly, to develop into well-rounded, empathetic individuals. While it is indeed easier than ever to connect with people from across the globe, it is also easier than ever to be self-involved, especially for students. Technology can be used to reach out, but it is also being used to focus inward through Instagram, Facebook (though I hear the “kids these days” don’t even use facebook anymore), Snapchat, etc. In addition, there is so much vile and hateful political discourse coming out of Washington right now that creates an “us vs. them” mentality and positions anyone who is not a white American citizen as an “other,” which is (as we know) i