Going Back To School

Here in Canada, summer vacation is nearing an end and teachers are preparing their classrooms for a new year. In other places, some teachers are already back at school. It is always exciting to freshen up a classroom, prepare for the new students, and just begin a new adventure. However, this year is a different start up because of the pandemic and it will be filled with excitement and trepidation. The uncertainties can be stressful, but together, we will get through it.

With the possibility of a hybrid model or more online teaching, the resources will be somewhat different than in the past. More digital materials are required and ideas for engaging students from a distance are important.

 Here are some samples of some bundles and resources. Click on the images to see more about them. Check out the categories in my store for more ideas.

Back to school activities help children get back into learning mode. Here are some ideas for the first few days that will help engage them and get them started.
Decorating up the room makes it feel inviting and fresh. Here is a rainbow themed kit that might work. It is available in French as well.

Taking care of your students' well being is important right now. Positive encouragement and recognition of feelings are key. This self esteem kit can help. When it comes time to report on how things are going, student-led conferences empower the children as they share their learning with their parents. This format has worked well for me for over 20 years of conferences.

Working with measurements is fun for children because it involves concrete activities and it can be directly related to real world situations.
Money is sometimes confusing for children. I created this Money Lessons for Children unit with my grade 3 class a few years ago. It was amazing how much we covered as we learned together.

I love doing projects with my students. It give them hands on experience and also allows for sharing knowledge in different ways. This 3D community unit evolves with each class as the background knowledge and the types of communities chosen can be different to fit the group of children involved.
With the solar system project I am always amazed at the different ways children come up with sharing their understanding.

Even after retiring, I still continue to go into the school to volunteer with guided reading groups. I have created several guided reading study guides and supplements as well as emergent readers and other literacy materials for use with the class and small groups. Here are a few examples.

When I retired, I began tutoring in French. I found that it was easier to make my materials so I could customize them for my students. The cool thing was, that I made them in French first and then discovered that they would work well for my students in English so I created English versions as well.

Distance learning is sure to be happening in many places. I have been working hard to create some digital activities that work for online instruction. Here are the ones I have done so far. Most of them are Boom cards, but I am slowly working on adding some activities for use with Google Slides and Google Classroom.
I am also working at using the Digital Overlay Tool from TpT to make some of my regular products usable for distance learning as well.

Enjoy your time with your new students and returning ones too. Don't forget to get lots of rest also. I always forget just how tired a teacher can get the first few weeks of school. Stay safe.

I wish you a very happy and rewarding year.