Primary Chalkboard

Encouraging Parent Involvement

Hi everyone! Happy (almost) fall! This was my first official week back to school with kids... but I spent it in bed. Yep. Sick the first week of school. Not fun.

Today my post is all about parents, specifically parents participating in their children's education. More and more I'm seeing the iPads or iPhones as babysitters. Ouch. There, I said it. I'm being harsh and definitely over exaggerating, but there is a little truth in it. However, there are still TONS of parents who want to work with their kids and are so eager for ideas of how to do this. So for this post, I've pulled some of my favorite posts and pins that involve kids at home learning and exploring with parents.

At the end of this post, there is a page filled with QR codes that lead to some of these great posts. The goal is to encourage those iPad parents to interact more with their kids and to give those eager parents the resources they want/need. :)

I love this post about fun science experiments to do at home! What a great way to bond with your kids while getting them thinking and exploring.

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523209390604/

This is a great post filled with tons of fun, interactive suggestions for at-home reading.

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523207418397/

I love this post from my friend Valerie from All Students Can Shine about reading at home. This is a great resource for parents!

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523207354094/

My friend Lisa from Growing Firsties also has an wonderful resource for parents. This is such a helpful resource for parents. Often they are reading with their kids or listening to them read, but they aren't sure how to make the best of it.

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523209396193/

This post is full of activities to practice math skills. Math can be so fun and it starts with our attitudes toward math. Making math come alive can do wonders for kids!

Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/9218374213319517/

This idea is adorable for introducing subtraction to the younger kids:

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/156359418290166401/

This post is packed with fun ideas, games, and tools to make math enjoyable for your kids. Love this post!

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/358599189055217482/

Last year I posted ideas for practicing the alphabet at home. Here is a link to that post:

One of the questions I get most from parents is how to help their kids master those sight words. I'm hoping this resource can help! Earlier in the summer I also posted some ideas for practicing sight words in the summer. Since summer is pretty much ending, I thought I'd share this resource I made for the parents at my school a couple of years ago.

Pin: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247979523209396283/

(If you scroll down to the bottom of the summer post, you will see this sight word parent resource to download for free.)

I wanted to find a way to share these resources with parents. I put some of these blog posts together on a page with QR codes so parents could easily access them. I also made a bookmark version. Head on over to my blog if you'd like a copy of this. :)

Come by my blog to pick up this freebie!

Don't forget to check out all of these other wonderful Chalkie posts this month!

Class Newsletters (Freebie Included!)

Hello teacher friends! Naomi from Read Like a Rock Star here! I hope your new school year has had a great start!

How do you keep your students' parents in the loop? I know that some educators use their blogs or classroom websites to update their parents. I tried that one year and just couldn't keep up with it. Kudos to those that do!

Something that I found easy to utilize all year long was a classroom newsletter.

Choosing to send home a weekly, biweekly, or monthly newsletter is up to you. Do what will be helpful, but do only what you can handle.

Because our school had a new reading skills focus that teachers had to implement each week, I chose to send home weekly newsletters so I could keep parents informed about the new reading skill we were focusing on.

It wasn't overwhelming to keep up with at all and my students' parents really appreciated it. It helped them target that skill at home as well, and we all know that teamwork makes the dream work!

The students' parents were more informed and involved with their student's classroom work and my expectations.

I always included the math/reading/writing/s.s./science skills we were working on. You could even include the homework assignments. Sometimes I would include strategies, games, or just any information I thought they might find helpful.

Class newsletters are a great way to remind parents about upcoming school events like picture day, birthdays, assemblies, and tests.

I think it's important to think about what you truly want the parents to know and read. Don't just fill your newsletter with fluff.

Here is an example of the newsletter that I used all year with my second grade class.

If it's useful to you, you're welcome to try it for free!

Click here to download this freebie!

Fall Art Activity

Hi everyone! It's Valerie from All Students Can SHINE.

Are you always looking for fresh ideas for your art class?

If you need a fun art activity for Fall, head over to this blog post for instructions.

My students did a great job on this project last year and I am looking forward to doing it with my new class this year :)

Have a great day,

Valerie

Back to School Night

Hi Friends! It's Nicole from Mrs. Rios Teaches here to share some ideas and tips for making Back to School Night enjoyable for both parents, and yourself!

My most popular post EVER on my blog, just happens to be on this topic! Click on the image below to take you there. (P.S. I just added a new Back to School FREEBIE to that post!)

Nicole

Tips for Using Interactive Notebooks with Primary Kids

Hey everyone! It's Karen from Mrs. Jones's Class.

Raise your hand if you are using Interactive Notebooks this year!

If you're a primary teacher (although, some of the tips would work with any grade), then head over and check out this post! I'm sharing lots of helpful tips and tricks that will help you seamlessly implement INB's into your classroom this year!

9/11 in the Classroom

Hi Friends! This is Autumn from The Primary Techie. I am always happy to write for The Primary Chalkboard, but today I have a serious topic; September 11th. Where were you when you heard the news? I am sure all of us remember that moment, but our students were not even born when the towers fell. I think for many kids, history seems irrelevant to their lives today. It is so important to acknowledge this tragedy and teach our students about this event that rocked our nation. Here are some of the things on my lesson plan for next week.

Background Video
I don't know how much my kids know about 9/11 so I want to introduce it in a way that is not too frightening for my little guys. I watched MANY YouTube videos and this one is the best kid-friendly explanation I found. It is just text on the screen with music in the background, so you will need to read it to younger kids. I plan on pausing the video to discuss things with my kids as this plays.

Watch, Think, Color
My class does two Watch, Think, Color activities every week (one on Monday while I make homework packets and one on Wednesday when I reteach small groups). This week, we will use the 9/11 design. I love this one because after we finish, I talk to my class about keeping this date in your heart and never forgetting. We need to remember history so that we can learn from it. I offer this in my store as a freebie this week only. I have it available for number sense, expanded notation, reading number words, and multiplication. Click here to download. To read more about Watch, Think, Color games, click here to visit my blog.

The Star Spangled Banner
Many kids don't know the Star Spangled Banner. My class will show our patriotism by singing it together every morning this week. This video has lyrics so students can read along.

Thank a Firefighter
Make cards and take them to your local fire department. It will mean a lot to the firefighters to know they are in your thoughts.

The Pledge of Allegiance
What is the pledge and why do we say it everyday? I always teach this at the beginning of the year with I Pledge Allegiance by Bill Martin Jr. I love this book because it breaks down the meaning of each part of the pledge. We will definitely revisit this book this week.

Celebration Crowns
I am OBSESSED with sending my kids home in hats. I just think they look so darn cute and their parents can SEE what we spent the day doing. I love making these hats because they use just one piece of paper per student. They are also so easy to assemble. I made some special crowns to celebrate America. I can't wait to see my class wearing some red, white, and blue! Click here to download your copy of my patriotic hat!

Looking for more patriotic ideas? Check out my Pinterest board by clicking here!

How do you recognize September 11th in your classroom? Please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below. Thank you for reading!

Until next time,

MVP - Most Valuable Partnership

Hi, friends! It's Blair from One Lesson at a Time, here with an easy little strategy I use to make the most of student partnerships!

I think building a strong classroom community is just about the most important thing you can invest your time in during the school year. Obviously, the ability to work well with others is not only a critical skill in the classroom, but in life. I use TONS of grouping and partnership strategies to help my students maximize their learning potential.

I think partner work is particularly powerful because each student has an equal opportunity to contribute to the team. Everybody brings certain skills and strengths to the table, and I love seeing students working together in ways that complement one another.

Here's my TOTALLY blog-worthy partner work display. I KNOW. Contain yourselves. It's PRETTY FANCY.

#reallife

I write each student's name on a piece of colored card stock and slap it on a business card magnet. (Side note: If you have not yet discovered the beauty of business card magnets, allow me to introduce you to your new best friend. They are the jam.)

I love using the business card magnets because it allows me to easily change up partnerships often. Knowing how often to change 'em up is probably a whole different blog post in and of itself, but I like to give students opportunities to work with different partners as much as possible. Again, life skills and all that.

At the top of that BEAUTIFUL picture (again, I apologize for how stunningly amazing my half-erased, crooked lettering is - I know it must be pretty intimidating to try to recreate such a fab-o setup), you can see I have a little spot for "Today's MVP".

In this case, MVP stands for "Most Valuable Partnership". Each day, I am on the lookout for two students who really demonstrate WHY collaborative work can be so powerful. I am looking for more than just the students who are quietly working, behaving, etc. I am looking for partners who contribute equally, listen intently, and push each other to achieve at a higher level than each individual could reach on his or her own.

Being the MVP means....

• Speaking respectfully

• Listening critically

• Sharing work equally

• Staying on task

• Being responsible to one another

• Valuing each other's perspective

I LOVE this system for a bunch of different reasons. For one thing, it is so, so easy on my end. It's a great way to recognize and reward students in a meaningful way. It encourages teamwork and allows students to share their success with one another. And it's an easy way to recognize each student in due time. I've found that it is very motivating for ALL my students...even the ones who may not always *love* working with a partner. I've seen students who normally butt heads really making an effort to work well together because they are more tuned in to what the expectations are.

Some years, all I did was move the MVP magnets into the "special" spot on the board. For some groups, that was all the recognition they needed. For other classes, I printed out some simple MVP awards to distribute each day.

If you want to download the awards to use with your own students, you can grab them for free by clicking {HERE}. I've included several different versions in both color and black and white because making choices is not my strong suit. :D

For more ideas, here's where you can find me:

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Blair Turner