Helping Hands

Since I have such a small class (running total of 12 at the moment) I decided not to have a jobs chart. Instead we have helping hands. Each students name is printed onto a helping hand which I keep all together with a curtain ring and a hook on the wall. Each morning we flip over the hand to see who the helper of the day is. The helper has a list of jobs including: marking everyones names on the IWB, being the line leader, marking the weather on the weather chart, handing out books and doing any other jobs that pop up in the day. Changing the hand daily means that all students get a turn on a fairly regular basis. Flipping over the hand has become a very exciting part of our morning routine!

To create my hands I just used a stock image from google images however next term I plan to have students make their own handprint which I will laminate and use instead.

Beck

Back To School Letter

For most of us teachers in Australia it is a time to return to work after a well earned summer break. Although this is my second year of teaching this will be my first year of teaching the same class, from start to finish. And as daunting as it is, my excitement far outweighs my nerves!
With this in mind, I have a mental to do list thats longer than Santa's nice list. High up on my list is a letter of introduction to parents. Within this letter it is my aim to lay the ground work for a more collaborative relationship between myself and the parents and guardians of students. I did a little bit of research and spoke with some professional peers to come up with the following pointers:

• The most obvious one: introduce yourself! Give your name, a little bit of work history and maybe where you studied (if you're a newbie like me).  Include something about your excited for the year ahead. 
• Outline your basic classroom procedures. I used the following headings to guide my letter: homework, supplies, sport, fruit break, lunch and hats. 
• Include a list of any classroom materials that you may need students to bring in. I included a list of donations that would be appreciated (boxes of tissues, hand soap and paper towel). 
• At the end of my note I included a slip for parents to sign to confirm that the received the note. Each child who returned their slip received a Class Dojo point. I did this to ensure that every note made its way home! 

In the future I plan to use vista print to condense general classroom info into a pamphlet style with a magnet on the back (printed on the cheap via Vistprint). This means parents can pop the info straight onto their fridge. 

Beck

Hello and Welcome

Hello!
Welcome to The Continuos Classroom I've created this blog as a way of staying connected with the ever growing online community of educators.

This blog was inspired by a university lecturer who constantly reminded us that we did not have to reinvent the wheel. I often remind myself of this as a sit at my computer in the afternoon, frustrated that I can't find/create/think of the resources or materials needed to teach a particular concept. As I'm deep in concentration (or sometimes frustration) I remind myself of those wise words. I then stand up and walk down the hall to a co workers room and share my problem with them. Nine times out of ten someone else has just the idea needed to solve my lesson planning writers block.

To me teaching is not about being locked alone in your classroom to do as your please, only to resurface when the 3 o'clock bell rings. Rather, teaching is (amongst many other things) a communicative, collaborative process. In order to give my student the best possible education I have to be open to new technologies, theories and practices. I have to be willing to try new things and experiment with new ideas. And that is one of the things I hope this blog will make me do!

So thank you for stopping by, I hope that you are able to find something that might inspire you or help you in the classroom.

Thanks,
Beck