This is the week! It’s getting real! I have spent the last few weeks prepping my students, their parents, and myself and now it’s time to actually do this virtual learning stuff! Tomorrow is the first official day of school, but it feels so different than it ever has. My school is actually doing a Drive Thru event for the first day, so I’m excited that I’ll get to see the kiddos on their first day and we can put off this virtual learning a little longer!
We are using Google Classroom for virtual learning and most of my families were not familiar with it at all. So, I did a Parent Orientation Meeting via Google Meet so they could try logging into their child’s account and joining a meeting. It was great for a technology trial run to see what kind of issues there might be. My parents were all rock stars and didn’t seem to have any technology issues! I was the one that had trouble, so it delayed the start of the meeting by a few minutes. But, I was glad it happened so that I could fix the issue and it shouldn’t happen anymore!
That face you make when your technology finally cooperates, you catch your breath, and can conduct your meeting! 😂 Also, don't mind my messy background--I didn't plan to host my meeting here, but I had to switch to my laptop at the last minute so that Google Meet would work.
During the meeting, one of the most common concerns I got was from parents asking what they can do to help their child be successful during virtual learning. I made a list of some things that we discussed during the parent meeting and decided to make a printable that I was able to put in their folders that I will send home with them tomorrow. You can download a copy of the freebie from my TPT store by clicking here.
This school year will definitely be one that goes down in history. There will be lots of hiccups along the way I’m sure, but I am anxious to get back to doing what I love the most—teaching!I pray that this all passes and we are back into the classroom soon!Good luck to everyone else having their first day this week and I'll be back to update you soon on my first few days!
It’s Fri-Yay people! These days, saying that doesn’t feel as exciting as it used to, but we are still going to get pumped—even if we are working from home and miss our school babies like crazy! I’ve officially survived my first week as a blogger and feel like I’ve gotten to know some of you a little better! It has been a great launch and I hope you have learned a little about me and I’ve shared some ideas that you will be able to use in your own classroom (and distance learning classrooms!). It’s amazing to connect with other teachers and educators from all over and I’m excited about some collaboration projects I have in mind for the future!
But anyway, we all love a good deal and we definitely love a good FREEBIE! So, today I am sharing some of my most favorite TPT freebies with you. These are files that I have downloaded and continue to use from year to year. Sometimes I add my own twist or change things up, but these all have some awesome content that I love using in my classroom!
1)Six Weeks Kindergarten Send Home Plans by The Kinder Life totally saved me on Distance Learning plans. I was able to slap on some standards, add my own vocabulary words and numbers, and send it as work for them to do at home. The kids have LOVED it! Fun, engaging, and minimal work for me.
2)2019-2021 Editable Calendar by Sarah Kirby—I use this calendar every year as she often updates it. You can edit right in the document to do a snack calendar, events, monthly programs, or whatever your need may be. The calendars are colorful and cutesy! So easy to use!
3)Name Activity Editable by Khrys Greco—This is great, especially for the beginning of the year. It’s totally free and you just have to type in the student’s name. It's an awesome resource!
4)Free Editable Homework Folder Covers by Kinder Inspiration—I LOVE these and use them every year. You can totally personalize this file, so I often change my fonts and wording. I slide it in a plastic sheet protector and it is the first thing that goes on the prongs of their homework/reading folder that goes home daily. It lasts all year, and if the folder gets lost, it makes it easy to be returned to my classroom.
5)Crayon Hat by Crayola Queen—During the first few weeks of school, we do one color each week. On Friday, we celebrate that color by wearing that color clothing and hat! So, I use this printable and copy it onto the coordinating color cardstock I need for that week! It makes an awesome hat and is also great to use with a costume, which I have done as well!
I hope these freebies are of some use to you in your classroom—whether it is now while we are all doing distance learning, or when we get back in the fall. I did try to select freebies that weren’t holiday themed that you might want to download and start using right away. If you think a download is awesome, please leave them a review! I have just started loading some of my own things to TPT and it means more than you will ever know to get a positive review and some excellent feedback!
UPDATED ON APRIL 30, 2020 WITH NEW MURAL COLLAGE ART PICTURE.
There are so many things swirling through my mind that I could post about today. But I think the biggest one at the forefront of our minds is this Pandemic and how it has affected not only us, but our students (aka “our kids”) as well.
Our official school closing began March 16th. It seemed sudden and nobody really had any idea what was coming. We hugged the kids as they left school Friday, March 13th. Told them we loved them. We will see you in a few weeks. They got on the bus, we waved goodbye, and the halls felt so empty! It was surreal. Everything felt out of place. It was empty like they left for the summer, but we knew it wasn’t time. So many things were left undone. So many projects left behind (my classroom is still full of leprechaun traps we didn’t get to “set” the following Monday). School supplies in their desk. It’s sooooo sad. 😢
We started Non-Traditional Instruction Days (NTI Days) on the following Monday, March 16th. We had no idea what was coming in the days and weeks ahead. I felt so lost and confused that first week. My NTI Days were already planned and scheduled to post on Google Classroom daily, so what was I to do with all that time?! Mostly I wandered around my house lost and confused and unsure of what to do with my extra time. I felt empty. Of course, I had to answer the occasional parent question about logging in and such, but for the most part, they knew what to do. I was so unsettled that I couldn’t even sit down and enjoy a good Netflix binge session! 😂
Luckily, I made it through that first week and got myself in gear. I made some personal goals for myself and that helped get me motivated. Then, I started thinking…..what else can I do for my class? If I’m feeling this way, I’m sure all the kids are feeling this way. How can I make this better for them? And teacher mode kicked in. I ordered a ring light from Amazon and started recording daily stories for them. Although I was staying in contact with the parents through phone and messaging, I wanted to actually reach out to my students. So, I started sending snail mail (such a lost art that they have thoroughly enjoyed these last few weeks!), video chats, Show and Tell on Zoom and Google Meet….anything to interact with them! My school staff even pulled together and made an awesome YouTube video for our students, which you can watch here if you are ready for some TikTok entertainment!
I do not have all the best answers during this trying time. Kentucky schools (that's where I am) are still "in session" and we are participating in Non-Traditional Instruction (NTI) Days, which is basically Distance Learning, until May 14th (for my school district). I have seen you guys doing so many amazing things out there and I commend you for that! Those of you who are still being required to teaching actual lessons to kindergarteners (and all other grades) on Zoom and being observed and try to do virtual assemblies—you are truly amazing and I’m thankful I’m not in your shoes! This hasn’t been easy on any of us.
On a positive note, I would like to share some of things that I have been doing that may help you out and give you some ideas to continue your student's learning. 1)The Kinder Life on TPT has saved me! I felt like the NTI (Non-Traditional Instruction) work I was assigning my students was becoming monotonous. I knew they had to be getting bored and restless of the same things everyday! I discovered this amazing FREEBIE from The Kinder Life-Amy McDonald on TPT and it changed everything. My students were actually doing work! It gave them some variety and fun activities to do with their families. They were staying engaged. I added a sheet of my own to give them some direction in the activities and some goals to work toward that would get them ready for 1st grade, but overall it made the NTI work a little more exciting and fun for them so they didn’t feel like they were being tortured at home. Here is a link to that FREEBIE so you can check it out and see how you can use it for your own class. I will also include an image of what I sent home with my students so you can see the work they actually did each day.
2)Everyone loves receiving mail, so I started coming up with some fun projects to include in SNAIL MAIL! I found some amazing mural art projects on Art Projects for Kids that could be divided into several pieces (like a puzzle) and printed them. I mailed one piece to each student, they colored it and mailed it back to me, and then I could piece together our masterpiece! I finally got the pieces back to update the picture, so here is what ours looks like! So far, I've gotten all positive feedback and it has been so much fun! Getting fun projects like this has my students so excited about getting mail that they are now writing letters and drawing pictures to each other! So, it's a bonus to have them work on those writing skills! Here is a link to the collage pictures so you can check them out. There are some FREEBIES on this site as well.
3)My most favorite project that I have sent home during this trying time is the Flat Teacher Project! I’m sure most of you have read “Flat Stanley” and maybe even participated in your own project with Flat Stanley. Well, I put a little spin on it and made a Flat Teacher that looks just like me! My students LOVED receiving it in the mail and doing activities at home “with me,” then sharing them on social media for the world to see! I created a FREEBIE on TPT if you’d like to try this super fun project with your class!
It's so exciting to see all the adventures that my students and their siblings took Flat Mrs. Cassady on!
I know today’s post was a long one and I have so much more I could say, but I'll save that for another day. If you want to share some of your ideas that you have been doing with your class during the Coronavirus Pandemic, please go check out my Facebook page and comment in the thread. It’s a great way for us to work together and share ideas! Stay in and stay healthy! We don’t want to spread the 'rona!
