Category: - Diamond Mom's Treasury

Back to School Ideas and Resources

8/2/2020

It's that time of year again. But it is also different this year. Normally teachers would be planning and creating in a renewed state, eager to start off a new year with new students and exciting activities. This year, there is a lot of uncertainty and stress as teachers fear going back to school and the difficulties it will bring.

Teachers need to support each other through these difficult circumstances. Self care becomes very important. I posted some ideas for self care in my last post. You can check it out here.

Self care is important to our health. Negativity causes stress. It is important to find ways to de-stress.

As teachers and students return to school, there will be some excitement, and apprehension as new protocols are put in place to deal with the ongoing pandemic. It will be important to help put children at ease as they adjust and learn to engage in a different way.

Start by doing activities that help your students get to know each other and and create relationships. Mixers, groups, and partner activities can still happen, but in a different way. Maintaining social distancing while doing these activities can be a challenge, but as creative teachers, we finds ways to make them happen. That is our super power.

Back to School Ice Breaker

Ways to use back to school ice breaker.

Ways to match up the pieces of the back to school ice breaker.

First week activities help students to ease back into learning and following routines. Here are some resources that might help.

Back to school activities for the first week.

Back to school first week activities for primary grades.

Back to school math and literacy ideas.

These are also available in a bundle that includes start up forms and a back to school kit. I also have several poster sets and theme kits in my Back to School category in my store.

Back to school bundle of 7 resources.

I wish you well as you begin this new year. Stay safe and try to enjoy your time with your students.

Back to school ideas and resources

Self Care Tips For Back To School

7/26/2020

Summer is here and this is usually the time for picnics, barbecues, family and friends gatherings. Because of the pandemic, things are definitely not the same. instead, we have to monitor who we visit, how we visit, and where we visit. Even the smallest group of people could be at risk if we don't take precautions.
This is enough to create a lot of uncertainty and anxiety. People are social creatures and it is difficult to isolate oneself and have minimal contact with others.

Self care tips for back to school. Stay connected while social distancing.

Here are some tips to help you take care of yourself as you prepare for Back to School.

Self care tips. Ways to take care of yourself as you prepare for back to school.

As we approach the end of July, some teachers are already making plans to head back into school. Others are still about 6 weeks away. The uncertainty this year is creating added stress for teachers, parents, and even children. No one knows what to expect.

Self care tips for back to school. Find ways to de-stress.Stress causes anxiety.

Self care is really important now. If we want to be able to help our students through this, we need to take care of ourselves first. Take time now to do things to relax and refresh your spirit. Go for walks, explore nature, read books, do a craft or hobby. Do something for yourself. You deserve it. Don't feel guilty about it either. If you don't take care of yourself and add some positive moments to your day, you will not be able to recharge and stay healthy.

Self care tips for back to school. Enjoy nature. Get outside.

Stop focusing on the news about the pandemic and all the worries of what it will be like when you go back to school. I know this is easy to say, but it is important to do. Negativity builds more negativity and this leads to worry and anxiety. Stress is bad for your health. We have so much negativity around us right now that it is easy to get caught up in it and sometimes it is difficult to get out. We need to protect ourselves from this.

Self care tips. Negative situations cause anxiety. Find ways to de-stress.

It may seem difficult at the moment, but try to focus on some positive things that are happening because of the pandemic. Many people are getting a chance to spend some time with their children or parents because they are home instead of running around trying to get through life.
As my husband and I go for walks each day, we notice many people taking time to work on their gardens, or do some renovations that have been on hold for awhile. People are keeping their distance, but still saying hello and waving as they pass others along the way. Many people are getting outdoors and enjoying the summer weather, but in a different way.

Self care tips for back to school. Happiness is...

Teachers, parents and children are stressed out from the online learning this spring, the uncertainty about school re-opening and what it will look like, and the worry surrounding the virus. It is so important that everyone do things to de-stress. For each person it will be different. Perhaps families should discuss what they think might help in their situations. Teachers can find support with their families or colleagues. Whatever it takes, find ways to enjoy life and de-stress.

Self care tips. Teachers, parents, and children are stressed. Find ways to de-stress.

We often feel guilty when we do things for ourselves. Taking care of yourself is not selfish. We need to take care of ourselves in order to give our best to others.

Self care tips. Self care isn't selfish.

I hope you find these tips helpful and that will have a happy and successful year with your students.
I would love to hear from you. If you have any things that you would like to share or add to this list, leave a comment below.

Calming strategies posters

I would love to be able to connect further with you through email and blog updates. If you are interested in joining my email list, I have a special gift for you. Click on the image to get your copy. This is a set of calming strategy posters that may be helpful when your students are stressed out. They will also work for adults!

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!0 Back to School Tips for a Successful Year

Back to School Insights

Getting To Know And Understand Your Students Better

9/1/2018

Going back to school can be exciting for many children, but it can also be a bit scary for some. Here are some tips for getting to know and understand your students better so that the transition will be a little easier.

Getting to know and understand your students.

Getting acquainted with your students and their families will make communication and understanding easier. Parents have a totally different perspective of their children and they feel included and heard if you give them opportunities to share this with you. They will appreciate you asking for information and getting to know and understand your students better.

Communication Is Key

Communication is key to gaining support as you progress throughout the year. Times may arise when difficult situations need to be shared and worked through. If you have open communication regularly about progress and successes or concerns, these difficult situations will be easier to work through.

Hopefully no difficult situations will come up, but being prepared helps just in case.

Getting to know and understand your students.

Get Acquainted

At the beginning of the year, I gather information to help with getting to know and understand students better. I only get to see a small part of who they are while they are at school. The Getting Acquainted form above is helpful for gathering more information about your students from their parents.

It is important that the parents know that this information is only for the teacher. It is for getting to know and understand your students, not meant to be shared with the class. Note: You can download this form for free by clicking the image.

Getting to know and understand your students.

Use Interest Profiles Or Activities

Doing an interest profile with the students is another way to get more information about them. When I begin writing activities with my class, I start with them filling out a heart of things that are important to them. Not only does this make early writing experiences easier, it also provides lot of insight into what they care about.

Getting to know and understand your students.

There are several different versions of this type available for use in the classroom. Doing an interest form or a "This is Me" type of form helps you gather more information for getting to know and understand your students and what is important to them.

These are just a few ideas. What kinds of things do you use for getting to know and understand your students? Let me know in the comments below.

Diamond Mom's Treasury

Related Posts

10 Back to school tips for a successful year.

Lining up tips for positive classroom management

back to school ice breaker activities

How To Engage Student Learning With Math Manipulatives

7/30/2018

Many students find math concepts abstract and difficult to understand. Math manipulatives help to make the ideas concrete and easier to visualize. Hands on math manipulatives also connect the thinking with psychomotor activities. These connections help students to remember the concepts or skills practiced. Not only do they learn better, they have fun while learning.

Engaging Student Learning With Math Manipulatives.

How do math manipulatives help student learning?

Math manipulatives capture the attention of the kids. They like to touch and move things around. They get excited when they get to play games. They don't realize that they are practicing skills when they are playing. They will stay engaged longer and practice more when using math manipulatives instead of just working with paper and pencil activities.

Hands on math manipulatives engage the senses. They allow kids to see how things go together and they are fun to touch. They develop concrete thinking and understanding of the concepts before moving on to more abstract concepts.

In the picture above, there are several different math manipulatives. All of these manipulatives were used to help kids represent numbers in different ways. I made up games and activities with a group of students that needed to practice number recognition using these materials. They had lots of fun and before long they were able to recognize different numbers by shape, order, pattern, etc.

Get creative and use whatever you have available to help engage the kids to learn more about math.

Engaging Student Learning With Math Manipulatives.

How can you use math manipulatives effectively in the classroom?

Math manipulatives can be used effectively in large group situations, in centers, as partner activities, and as aids for individual work. Sometimes it is the size of the math manipulatives that determines how they are used. For example, if you are working with a large group, you would want the manipulatives to be large so that they are easily visible to everyone. If students are to work in centers or with partners, the math manipulatives would be smaller so that they don't occupy too much space. For individual work, the manipulatives don't need to be very big. (The ten frames in the picture above were designed with this in mind.)

It is important to show the students how to use the math manipulatives before handing them out. If they are not correctly used, they are not as effective. Kids need time to practice using the manipulatives so that they use them correctly. They will be engaged and participate when they understand what to do.

Make sure that you have enough math manipulatives for the tasks given. If they are doing partner work, each pair will need a set of manipulatives. Create multiple activities or centers that use different math manipulatives if you don't have enough manipulatives for everyone.

Engaging Student Learning With Math Manipulatives.

How do you store math manipulatives?

Math manipulatives can take up a lot of space. Using small tubs or reusing empty containers can help with organizing them. I used an old wipes container for my base ten math manipulatives. It had room for a smaller container as well that held the units so they didn't get mixed up in the main container (see in the image above).
The small rollaway carts with multiple drawers work well for holding many different types of math manipulatives all in one place.
In our school we have big carts that hold several tubs. Each tub has a different math manipulative in it. This makes it easy for doing group work or centers. Just grab whatever tub you need and take it to the area you are working at.

As the new school year approaches, I hope these tips help with making your math lessons enjoyable and engaging for your students. I would love to hear how you use math manipulatives in your classroom.

It's Back to School Time

8/20/2017

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.

Back to School sale

Back to school sales are happening everywhere. Who doesn't want to have new pencils, felts, crayons, notebooks, backpacks and clothes?
Well, teachers love back to school sales too! Teachers Pay Teachers is having a special Back to School Ready Bonus sale just for teachers.

I am excited to be able to offer a $10 TPT gift card to one lucky person as well as a product valued up to $5.00 from my TPT store. In order to enter, comment below with the item that you would choose if you were the winner and your email contact. The winner will be chosen at random and contacted Tuesday. This will still allow you to use the gift card for the sale.

Gift card giveaway

I am excited to be able to share all of my products with you for an extra discount for one day only. Here are some of my favourites. Click on the images to see more about them.

This is a project that allows students to represent their learning in a variety of different ways.

Teaching about the solar system is always fun and this project involves the family in the learning as well. My favourite part of this is the variety of ways that children have available to share their learning and understanding.

Task cards for the popular I Have, Who Has game that feature a variety of measuring units in both metric and imperial measurement terms.

I have created several measurement activities and anchor charts that feature both metric and imperial measurement. Here is one of my favourites. It features the popular I Have, Who Has game. To see some of my other measurement activities, click here.

This unit involves creating a 3-D community as a culmination to planning and designing a community with the students.

If you want to do an inquiry project that culminates in a 3-D community, this one is for you. It is definitely one of my all time favourites. The kids learn so much about communities and how they are developed. The celebration day is very special.

This is a unit that teaches children about money and how to earn it, save it, and give it. It was a project created with my students.

This is a unit that teaches about money and how to earn it, save it, and give it. I created this with my class and it was awesome to see how they develop better money sense as a result. I have also created several money products that use Canadian and American currency. Check them out here.

This is a decor package that has everything you need to set up your classroom for the beginning of the year.

If you are looking for a fun way to decorate your classroom with materials that will be useful throughout the year, check out my rainbow themed back to school kit. It has everything you need to get the year started out right.

This is a guided reading study guide that helps to dig deeper into the story and develop better comprehension skills.

I love working with small groups and helping them to better understand and appreciate books. I have created many guided reading study outlines for books that are for beginning readers as well as advanced readers. Here is a sample of one of the book studies that I created.

Some of the bundles available in my TPT store.

This is a great time to get an extra discount on bundles.

French materials available in my TPT store.

I have just started creating French materials. Here are some of the items that I have made so far. Check them out in my French materials category.

A sampler of tips and freebies for the Canadian teacher.

Several of my Canadian teacher friends collaborated to put together a back to school e-book of tips and freebies just for you. Check it out here or by clicking on the image.

Teachers after the first week of school.

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.

I wish you a very happy and rewarding year.

The Building Blocks of B2S - Building Relationships

8/4/2017

This is an update to a previous blog post. I feel it is still relevant today so I am re-sharing it.

Building Relationships is one of the most important things we can do when we get our new students. We need to help them to understand that we are there for them, we care about them, and we want them to be successful. I feel that this is crucial for a successful year.

Team building and getting to know each other is essential. Everyone will do this in different ways depending on their personalities and interests, but that is okay. It helps with learning to accept uniqueness and diversity.

Building relationships and helping others to realize they are special just the way they are.

Getting to know your students is very important. Who better to ask than the parents. Every year I send home a form called "Getting Acquainted". It is a way for parents to share some insights about their child and the family. Since so many parents are now working, it is harder to have face to face conversations with them. They want to be involved in their child's learning, but sometimes we have to be more creative to make sure this happens.

It is important to keep the lines of communication open so that we can have the frank conversations when necessary. I believe that each day is a fresh start, so if I can focus on what is right in the classroom and help my students to do the same, this can be communicated to the family through notes, phone calls, or face to face conversations when possible.

Often parents will ask what they can do at home to help support the learning that is happening at school. I believe that the best way to help is to read with their child and give them lots of real life experiences that use the skills and concepts taught. I send home a paper that explains how to go about doing Home Reading so that it can be effectively done and a positive experience for everyone. It is amazing how stressful home reading can be in some homes otherwise.
Here are samples from my letters. These are also available in my Back to School Start Up Forms package.

Getting Aquainted

Home Reading

Maintaining a positive relationship with support staff is also very important. They can be great allies throughout the year. We need to help them to feel appreciated for all that they do. Sometimes they can feel like they are taken for granted and a smile or a friendly comment can make their day. A special note also makes them feel special.

Thank you for your helping hands

10 Back to School Tips For a Successful Year

7/31/2017

Heading back to school can be exciting, but it can also be stressful. Here are some tips to help the school year start of well.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year.

1. Make sure that you are mentally prepared and refreshed so that you will have the energy for the first few weeks. It is amazing how tired teachers can get the first few weeks of school. Take some time for yourself and allow yourself to be pampered. You are worth it and you will find that you have more energy and stamina if you go into the year refreshed and relaxed.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 1: Mentally prepare yourself and get refreshed.

2. Have a plan for organizing your classroom, but don't worry about it being just perfect. You can always tweak it later. The main thing is to have the basics in place so that you can welcome in your students and begin working with them. Perhaps they can help you to make the classroom their own by adding some of their own ideas and decor during the first few weeks.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 2: Organize your classroom for start up.

3. Change up your room a bit even if you plan on using the same decor. It has the same affect as doing spring cleaning and working around the yard tidying it up after the winter. Things are fresh again and organized. I found that this was great for the kids as well. In our schools we get the same students back for the first week or two as the new classes are organized. Sometimes with split grades, some of the students will also be in your class for a second year. Having a different arrangement of furniture or a change in the way things looks helps them to feel like they are moving on also.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 3: Change your classroom up a bit.

4. Begin the first few classes with a focus on class community, self esteem activities, and review or introduction of school and classroom routines. This will pay big time in the months to come. When kids know that you care about them, they will be more willing to engage and work for you. It isn't about making buddies with them, you are the teacher and they are the students, but rather it is gaining their respect by showing kindness and respect.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 4: Focus on classroom community and self esteem activities at first.

5. Share some of your life with your students. Let them know a bit about who you are outside of the classroom.
I loved to share stories about my family and my pets with my students. They would often refer to them throughout the year and want to know more. Little things can mean a lot. My students loved singing Happy Birthday to my mom or my kids. I would put them on speaker phone and they would sing. My mom still remembers those calls and how special they made her feel.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 5: Share some personal stories with your students.

6. Be consistent and follow through when you set routines and consequences. If you let up on these, the kids will push the boundaries and it will be tough to get them to believe what you say. They will test you to see if you mean what you say. When they realize that you mean it, they will stop pushing so hard.
If the routines and consequences make sense and they have been explained and accepted as part of the class rules, then it will be easier to enforce them as well.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 6: Be consistent and follow through on rules and consequences.

7. Have a schedule to follow and lessons prepared, but be willing to throw it out or postpone it for teachable moments. If something happens during the day that is relevant to your students, it deserves to be allowed to be discussed, explored, and experienced. Kids learn more from teachable moments than they do from a structured lesson that is presented at the wrong time. No matter how fabulous the lesson is, if it is taught at the wrong time, it won't have the same impact.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 7: Use a schedule but be willing to change it for teachable moments.

8. Differentiate when necessary. Every child comes to school with different needs and abilities. It doesn't work to try and teach exactly the same material to each one. Although it takes time and some extra planning, differentiating the subject will allow everyone to engage and experience some success. Sometimes this might be as simple as finding reading material of different levels on the same topic. Or maybe it might be reducing the number of questions to do on a written assignment, answering orally instead of writing things down, or showing learning in a different way. Varying teaching styles to reach the different types of learners might also work well.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 8: Differentiate when necessary.

9. Make sure that you have brain breaks or physical movement added to your day. Nobody works well without breaks. Think about what things you start to do when it is time to write report cards. If you are anything like me, you will write for a bit and then need to do something different before continuing. You want to avoid doing them so you look for reasons to take breaks as well. This feeling could be the same for your students. Not everyone enjoys doing seat work for long periods of time.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 9: Use brain breaks and physical activities.

10. Have fun with your students. If your students are happy they will enjoy learning. If you are happy, you will enjoy teaching more. Teaching can be hard enough nowadays with all the added pressures of assessment, social and political environments, and burnout. You need to do things to protect yourself from the stress these things cause. Laughing and enjoying your classroom experiences with your students is one way to do this.

10 Back to school tips for a successful year. Tip 10: Don't forget to have fun and laugh.

Well, there you have it. I hope these tips help. I wish you a happy and fulfilling new school year.
I would love to hear about some of the other tips you might have. Add them into the comments below.

If you are interested in checking out some of the materials that I use for starting up the school year, click here.
I have been adding a line of French products to my store lately. If you teach French Immersion or French as a Second Language, you can check these products out here.

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Getting ready for back to school

Getting Ready For Back To School

7/25/2016

Getting ready for back to school

One of my favorite things to do each year was to change up my classroom so that it looked different and inviting for my new students as well as any returning students. Although I didn't always change up the colors or main posters, I did reorganize furniture and add new labels, name plates, banners, and calendar accents.

Back to school kit

Rainbow themed back to school kit

This led me to creating some of my own materials. Here are some kits I created.

Photo alphabet posters

color posters with both the American and Canadian spelling options available

These are some of the posters I made. There are several others that focus on classroom routines and expectations as well as Whole Brain Teaching.
Check out my Back To School category to see more of the products that I created.

For more classroom decor ideas or for classroom management materials, click on the categories in my store. Many of them are free!

I even have some clipart available so that you can create your own posters.

I sometimes wish that I was going back to my own classroom, but now that I am retired, I can help my colleagues with materials for their classrooms and I can do what I love - teach without dealing with meetings, tests, or reports cards. I call that Win-Win!

I wish you all the best as you begin a new school year.

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Back to School Insights

7/18/2016

Yikes! Not already!

Summer is going by so quickly. It's hard to believe that we are already into the second half of July. Some people are preparing to return to school in a couple of weeks while others just began their holidays a couple of weeks ago.

Teachers may be taking a break from the classroom, but that doesn't mean that they are forgetting about school all together. In their daily travels, most teachers notice things that spark the thoughts of how they can use them in their classrooms. These might be items they see, places they visit, new ways of approaching ideas, or a variety of other things.

Beginning each year refreshed and with a new outlook is important for the mental health of teachers. Teaching is challenging nowadays and it is important to make sure that you take care of yourselves. If you don't, you risk burnout, sickness, and low energy which can lead to more challenges in the classroom. Remember to

Do More of What Makes You Happy!

Classroom management and organization will be key to helping you stay mentally in the game. If you ask anyone who has been teaching for a long time for tips, you will probably be told that it is important to spend time the first few weeks establishing routines and expectations, and getting to know your students.

This hung on my hallway bulletin board at the beginning of the year as a reminder that each person was special and important in our classroom. I later moved it into my classroom and put it on a board by the calendar.
Not only was it a daily reminder for my students, it was a daily reminder for me as well.

Kids like to feel that their teachers care about them. Doing things together and sharing stories can help with this. My students loved hearing stories about my family, my pets, and my childhood. They felt like I was more than just a teacher. They realized that I had a life outside of the classroom and I had included them in a part of it.

They knew that my power word was Believe.

When I retired, my husband and son spoke at my reception. Here is an excerpt of what my son had to say.

"For many people, work and family are very much separate entities. For my mom, I believe the two are inextricably linked.
I'm not saying that she always brings work home. Rather, I think family plays into her everyday work life. My mom is firm, yet fair, and she cares so much about the success and well being of her students, they become like extended family members.
Who else can say that, for a while, they thought their mom's first name was Mrs. Or who can say that they get an annual birthday serenade from a class of elementary students, who've been well briefed on your life by the way."

These are special posters that hung in my classroom to remind my students of how special and unique they were.

Building Relationships is one of the most important things we can do when we get our new students. We need to help them to understand that we are there for them, we care about them, and we want them to be successful. I feel that this is crucial for a successful year.

Team building and getting to know each other is essential. Everyone will do this in different ways depending on their personalities and interests, but that is okay. It helps with learning to accept uniqueness and diversity.

Getting to know your students is very important. Who better to ask than the parents. Every year I send home a form called "Getting Acquainted". (Get your own copy by clicking the image above.) It is a way for parents to share some insights about their child and the family. Since so many parents are now working, it is harder to have face to face conversations with them. They want to be involved in their child's learning, but sometimes we have to be more creative to make sure this happens.

It is important to keep the lines of communication open so that we can have the frank conversations when necessary. I believe that each day is a fresh start, so if I can focus on what is right in the classroom and help my students to do the same, this can be communicated to the family through notes, phone calls, or face to face conversations when possible.

Often parents will ask what they can do at home to help support the learning that is happening at school. I believe that the best way to help is to read with their child and give them lots of real life experiences that use the skills and concepts taught. I send home a paper that explains how to go about doing Home Reading so that it can be effectively done and a positive experience for everyone. It is amazing how stressful home reading can be in some homes otherwise.

Here are samples of my letters. These are also available in my Back to School Start Up Forms package.

Well, there you have it. I hope some of this insights help you and that you have an awesome new school year with many successes and celebrations.

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Walking In Hallways

6/26/2016

Walking quietly in the hallways can sometimes be a challenge. However, it is important to teach children how to do this so that they do not disturb others. Reminding them about being respectful and considerate of others will work with some children, but others sometimes need more specific details of the expectations.
Years ago, a principal of mine introduced us to T-charts for talking about expectations. On the left side of the chart was a heading Looks Like and on the right side of the chart was a heading Sounds Like.
Students were given an opportunity to develop the t-chart together and then it was posted as a reminder throughout the year of the expectations they had agreed upon.
Here is a sample of a chart my class created. You can get a copy by clicking the Lining Up Tips image below.

Lining up can also be a challenge. I remember when it was crazy as kids tried to get in line before we came up with some guidelines. Here are some examples of ways to line up. I have found them to be very helpful. My favorite way is boy/girl as it separates some of the buddies and this helps with quiet walking.

I hope these ideas help with making movement from place to place smoother.

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