Teacher help: We all need a little help from time to time. Maybe it’s reminders of strategies or concepts you already knew. Maybe you’ve tried everything with a student you can think of and now you are looking for new ideas or a different perspective. Maybe you are simply feeling stressed or reaching burnout, and are looking for an empathetic ear. Here is a supportive network to help make teaching a more sustainable career.
Thank you for a great second year! I began sharing a blog with my classroom families about 8 years ago. I went back and looked, the first blog was posted January 9, 2013. It was about a Research Project on Earth’s Aquatic Ecosystems. This past August, I was asked to find a new format for my classroom blog posts. This is when I started in earnest to write weekly blog posts on the grumbleservices.com website.
Imaginative Learning is necessary to child development. Seemingly meaningless activities like picking up a stick and using it as a knight’s sword or imagining a simple stone to be a powerful race car. Imagination is what gives us the creativity and problem-solving abilities we need as adults.
Art therapy involves the use of creative techniques to help individuals express themselves artistically.
Through drawing, painting, coloring, collage or sculpting, psychological undertones in the art is looked at more critically.
Public Pioneer: Saying goodbye to a true trailblazer. Mr. Mark helped bring Public Montessori to Milwaukee.
Music Therapy: More and more scientific research seems to be pointing to the same conclusion. Music is good for you.
Music imprints itself on our brains deeper than any other human experience. It brings back feelings of life when nothing else can. It’s powerful mind-altering effect can change one’s experience of time, space, body and relationship.
ADHD is one of the first things suspected when a child’s behavior becomes problematic. But these behaviors can also be a result of other factors.
This is why it’s important to understand what ADHD truly looks like in the classroom. Observing children carefully is especially important when trying to find an accurate diagnosis for struggling students.
Too much testing? Standardized testing plays a momentous role in our Nation’s education. The goal is to provide a measure to evaluate student performance across state, national and even global standards.
However, does our far-reaching focus on standardized test scores actually meet this lofty educational goal? This modern educational practice has ignited a national debate about the effectiveness of testing and how well they truly measure student achievement.
Montessori work cycle, also known as the work period, is an uninterrupted block of time. During this time children are able to explore the prepared environment and engage with materials of their own choosing. The time is intended to develop basic life skills while enjoying the work they love.
The length of a Montessori work cycle fluctuates depending upon the child’s age. But typically, classrooms have a three-hour work period most mornings. However, this might vary at some schools.
Active listening is the process of listening attentively while someone else speaks. It keeps us engaged in a positive way. This includes paraphrasing and reflecting back what is said, and withholding judgment and advice.
Active Listening is becoming more and more of a lost art. Why?
Montessori’s Three Period Lesson is an example of the learning strategy called scaffolding. Scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques used to move students progressively toward stronger understanding. Ultimately, the child is guided to independence in the learning process.
The Three Period Lesson grants a slower, easier absorption process. This strategy isolates concepts and allows for reinforcement of each step as needed. Scaffolding is in our wheelhouse. It’s embedded in every Montessori material and in every lesson.