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Homeschooling never appealed to me. Don't get me wrong-- I loved my kids; I loved my profession. I just didn't see the two of them meshing into a successful relationship for me. FRANKLY, studying their spelling words each week about drove me around the bend. I taught in an elementary classrooms for ten years. I taught teachers at Georgia College from 1986 until 2004. I loved it both experiences....and I think I can help those of you new to this profession feel great about this endeavor.
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I remember my Georgia College early childhood education students observing a brilliant second grade teacher in the Bibb County Schools. She was marvelous. I loved watching her, too. She made every moment count with her class.
"She makes it look so easy." That was the universal comment from anyone who watched her teach.
Yep, those twenty years of experience helped that teacher construct her "bag of tricks" for the orderly instruction of her students and flow of the day. She knew the pitfalls that her students COULD fall in and she headed them off at the pass before they were in the ditch. In other words, she set her kids up for success and answered the questions they "might" have in her instruction. Remember, she had been doing this job a mighty long time. Teaching is not for the faint at heart! Practice will make you better.
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You are on a journey. Enjoy the journey. Sometimes you are on the Interstate. Sometimes you are on a back road. Sometimes you just run out of gas. Sometimes you go in the ditch. Sometime the students get where they are supposed to go and you have no idea how in the heck they read the map. Jesus take the wheel!
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I have a few tips for those of you treading into these muddy waters -- TEACHING YOUR OWN CHILDREN.
There are four domains that embedded throughout your teaching day-- you will see all of these each day:
1. Social (Learning to get along with others, take turns, help, listen, respect of themselves and others), ex: "Betty, could you please pass out paper to your brothers? Thank you."
2. Emotional (reacting in an appropriate way to challenges, opportunities, and experiences), ex: "Johnny, Your time on the iPad is finished. Thank you for closing your program and handing it to your sister, Jasmine."
3. Intellectual (Learning-- this goes from the known to the unknown....the concrete to the abstract. Think about handing a child a rock to reading the word rock, ex: Any of the instruction is the reading, writing, math, science, social studies, art, music, etc.
4. Physical (play, movement, exercise, activities). ex: Any type of physical activity-- large muscles, small muscles, sports, games, climbing, jumping, exercises. (Do you remember teachers saying, "Go outside and run off that energy?" It is true and remains true today. )
THESE FOUR DOMAINS ARE IMBEDDED IN THE ACTIVITIES THAT YOUR CHILDREN DO.
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One fall weekend back in 1973, I spent an inordinate amount of time creating a wonderful interactive lesson for my sixth grade Language Arts students at Milford Township School in the Nevada, Iowa Community. It was superb. The hour lesson was a masterpiece. I was a first year teacher and I wanted those kids to excel.
The entire HOUR lesson took about 7 minutes for those first block of 28 children to learn and master. That was one of the days that I learned a lot about myself and those smart boys and girls. I had five sections of Language Arts students that day....by the fifth section that day, I was doing better, asking better questions and the kids were actively engaged in their own learning. I am still scraping that egg off my face 47 years later. They might not have learned much that day but I sure did.
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1. Plan your work and work your plan. (This is your lesson plan so that your day goes by and you actually get something done.) Read over the materials or the instructions your school has given you for your child. Your schools have communicated their plans...use them. You can always elaborate.
2. Read what your kids are reading (if you can).
3. Reading/listening for pleasure is fun. There are lots of books for free on-line.
4. Have frequent breaks for the kids and yourself.
5. Monitor what your students are doing.
6. Check their work periodically for accuracy or that they are actually doing some work.
7. Children are like adults. They have different learning styles. Some kids like to listen, some like to talk, some want a quiet environment, some like to discuss what they are doing. Respect that there are different ways to do a task.
8. Children are like adults. They waste time. They visit. They go to the bathroom and play with the water in the sink (well, maybe that's only me! :-). KIDS ALSO LIKE TO HEAR WHAT THEY ARE DOING CORRECTLY. "I love how you get right to work, (child's name). Thank you!" Remember, you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
9. When in doubt, do what my granddaughter, Sally at age 4 taught me, "YouTuber, Nana." That was Sally's response for almost anything, and frankly, it works. God Bless You Tube.
10. Enjoy the time with your kids. Don't sweat the small stuff. Do your best. This is uncharted territory for all of us....take care of yourselves and know that I care about all of you.
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This might have made me laugh a little too much.
