It's Been Awhile!

Hello again!  Wow...it's been awhile...a LONG while!  If you're still sticking around...I THANK YOU!

Why have I been MIA, you ask?  Well...since my last post 10 months ago, I bought a house in England, visited family & friends in CA, one of my dogs passed away, friends came to visit, and the most exciting and educationally-related change is...

...I'm back in special education, as both a resource specialist and special education chairperson for my school!  It's been a good 2 years in general education and as much as I loved being a first & second grade teacher, my heart and passion continues to be in special education.  So when the opportunity presented itself...I grabbed it!  It's another change and learning curve for sure.  My previous sped experience have ranged from mild/moderate to moderate severe pre-k & kinder students.  Now...I'm working with fourth & fifth grade students with mild to moderate special needs in the general education population.  My awesome students come to me in the resource room and we work on their individual needs.  On top of that...I'm also the special education chairperson for my school.  Nothing like leading a team to jump right back into sped.  Another experience to add to my repertoire! Learning curve?  Yeah...just a little.  Stressful at the beginning, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

So...I'm back!  I have my forever friend, Michelle Strazzeri, owner of www.queenofartspaint.com in Orange County, CA and www.michellepartyof5.blogspot.com to thank for being an inspiration. 

How's your school year going?  I'd love to hear it!

Stay tuned!  

Cheers!

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Write.

To write your mind is to create your story.

One of my New Year Resolutions is to write more...create.

I often tell my students that writing is simply putting down what you are thinking on paper. Writing can be about anything that is in your mind.  Writing can be recreating your day's story or creating a fantasy.  Writing is beautiful.

My students used to often say to me, "I can't write."  I tell them, "There is no I can't. What you think in your head, you can write.  Just say the word slowly to try to hear all the sounds in the word.  You can do it."  (By the way, I don't tell my students to just sound out the word, I find "say the word slowly to try to hear all the sounds in the word" is more directive and effective.)  

I love to see my students write their thoughts onto paper.  I love seeing them grow in their fine motor skills, spelling, sentence structure, grammar, and thinking.  The more my students practice their writing, the more confident they become in creating, dreaming, and sharing their stories, which is the goal.

However, the more I think about my writing, I've also realized that writing is difficult.  As an educator, I want to write to inform and inspire my readers, as opposed to writing (or "blogging") just to fill in space.  I want to create something that is worth reading because in today's world I know how valuable our time is in this infinite chaotic space that is the WWW.  

Being more selective and thoughtful in my writing is for me.  Writing for my young students is a completely different story.  

My first grade students this year, they write something every day.  They have writing journals that they write in every morning during morning work.  The writing prompts can range from what they did over the weekend, their reflection on a topic we learned, their thoughts on an event that happened, etc.  Beyond the daily writing journals we also create class books for our classroom library, which they love to read from.  

Like I said, writing is creating a story.  I'd like my students and their parents to look back in their writing journals at the end of the year and see the amazing growth they've made.  We started school in late August and the difference in their writing from beginning to present day amazes me.  Some of my students came to me with the emergent stage of writing (stringing random letters together to represent words) and within 4 months, they've past the transitional stage of writing (spelling words correctly by recognizing patterns) to the fluency stage of writing (writing in sentences resembling adult writing).  

I appreciate your time.  How do you get your reluctant students to write?  Please share your thoughts.  Thanks for stopping by.  

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Motivation (Intrinsic & Extrinsic)

During my undergraduate years, I remember taking a psychology course and within this course, I still remember learning about the differences between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.  The topic still intrigues me and I'm always drawn to articles related.  

Motivation.  According to Psychology Today, "Motivation is literally the desire to do things."

There are two types of motivation:
1: Intrinsic Motivation.  It is that inner desire or drive that makes you do something because you want to because you enjoy it or are interested in it.  You doing something for the sake of doing it and not for anything or anyone else, but doing something for you. 

and

2: Extrinsic Motivation.  Doing something for an external or tangible reason, ie helping another person out because s/he asked, working to earn money, or acting on something for a praise or encouragement.  Extrinsic motivation is doing something and seeking something in return.  
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Now, yes, we all act for both intrinsic and extrinsic reasons, but today I came across another article regarding praise.  Praise is an extrinsic motivation that educators use daily.  There is a right and wrong way to praise as an extrinsic motivator.

As a teacher, I'm all about intrinsic motivation within students.  How?  Strangely enough, encourage students extrinsically (to a certain degree) in hopes to achieve the intrinsic motivation within themselves.  To feel proud of their work and act on their own without always searching for a tangible or verbal reward from others.  When I praise my students, it's about acknowledging a specific effort, as opposed to just a "Good job."  Good job to what?  Be specific.  If a child reads 10 books, state the fact that the child read TEN books!  If a child drew a beautiful picture, comment on what you like about the picture.

I prefer praise to be specific, but I also prefer praise to be minimal and/or random and unexpected.  Sometimes I reward my students with ClassDojo (see the ClassDojo post) positive points or other external rewards (lunch with teacher, bring a stuff animal to class, etc.) for doing good, other times I don't, even if they did something good (hence the "to a certain degree" comment).  I often tell them "Sometimes you get rewarded, sometimes you don't; do you feel good about what you did?"  They always respond with, "Yes."  I smile and simply say, "Okay." 

I often hear them tell each other, "It's okay, sometimes you get rewarded, sometimes you don't."  

I like to keep them on their toes.  Will intrinsic motivation grow and resonate with them?  I will be biased and brag and say that my students are the kindest and will do things for others on their own.  Intrinsically motivated?  I hope so.  :)

What do you think?  What's your take on motivation these days?  How do you motivate your students?

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Ms. Lulu Teaches' 2014 New Years Resolutions

Yikes!  

It's almost 2014 and as I've sat here for the past 2 hours, I've perused the net (as I usually do) and looked back at what I've written and shared with the WWW (hehehe).  

Now, I don't normally do new years resolutions, let alone share it...but I've seen results in writing things down.  It's an accountability thing, as well as affirmative statements turn to successes-type of action here.

Ms. Lulu Teaches' 2014 New Years Resolutions

1. Write more...Create.  Whether it is in a journal, blogging, tweeting, or creating classroom materials.  Ideas as an educator.  Diary life.  Those in-the-moment epiphanies.  
• Goal: Write at least 4 times a week.
2. Read more.  Whether it is news & research articles on education or daily news in general.  Fiction.  Non-fiction.  Best sellers.  Classics.  Firing up that Kindle.  
• Goal: Read daily for both pleasure and education-related thoughts.
3. Exercise consistently.  I exercise throughout the year.  I get into Beachbody programs, like P90X, Insanity, and currently with Focus T25.  
• Goal: Exercise 5 days/week & be consistent.

So, there you have it.  Keeping it short & simple.  Keep me accountable?  :)

HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYONE!

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My Mini-Me

Lately, I've been looking around for some site or someone to create a cartoon of me and I happily came across The Library Fox aka Crystal on TeachersPayTeachers!

She did an amazing job on my mini-me...as you can see!  I highly recommend her as she listens well to your requests and is detailed and creative!  I made my 3 revisions since I'm indecisive at times, and she nailed it!

Check out her store on TeachersPayTeachers!  She has a blog, too!
Thanks, Crystal!  You are awesome!!!

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I'm back...in international teaching territory!

Wow...it's been almost a year, since I've last blogged.  
What a year it's been!  
I'm still a teacher and more passionate than ever...just now with a worldwide flair!  
Yup, in August 2012 I flew out of my comfort zone in sunny Southern California and into international teaching territory!  

Last year, I was in Belgium.  I taught general ed. second grade.  Seemingly ho-hum, you say?  Never!  Not when you have students from Turkey, Spain, Hungary, Russia, Albania, Romania, Guam, Korea, Japan, and of course, the good ol' U.S.A!  It was truly an amazing class!  What an experience it was for me as a teacher.  The languages I learned to distinguish!  :)

This year...England!  Just as exciting!  More on this later. 

Like I said..."What a year!"

So now, I'm back.  It was a year...a stressful year, hence the hiatus.  My goal is to keep blogging and updating daily.  Okay...3-5 times a week.  That's more reasonable.  Thank you for your continuous support!

So, please stay tuned!  Check out my Pinterest boards, too!

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Ms. Lulu's Daily Schedule

I love a classroom routine with a help of a Daily Schedule.  
Afterall, it's a must in any class!  
Once you have a consistent routine down and the students become familiar with it, then the class can practically run itself!  
The basics are the time blocks and the different activities.  You can change the activities around only AFTER the students know the expectations and routines of the class!  
I change up my daily schedule around throughout the school year!  
Hope my Daily Schedule works for you!  
Feel free to adjust it to your class and liking!  
If you do download and use it, I kindly ask that you leave a comment for me.  Thank you!
Enjoy!

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6 Classroom Mgmt Tips Every Teacher Can Use

6 Classroom Management Tips Every Teacher Can Use from NEA (National Educational Association) is pretty much on point.  

1. Take Charge of Your Class: This is a must for every class before you can start your day!  Anything that can get their attention is a step to learning something.  The fun part for teachers is figuring out what fun attention getters to use!  
2. Focus on the Disruptive Students:  This is as easy as just walking towards them to snap the students back to the task at hand.  Nonverbal cues are definitely effective.  But of course, calling out their name and asking them a question works too!  
3. Let Students Choose Their Seats: Most teachers do not like to do this.  I like to at the beginning of the year, just so you can figure out which students are buddies and give them the opportunity to act responsibly...but if they get chatty, change seats! 
4. Give Incentives to Do Their Best on Assignments: A little incentive can be good.  But ultimately, I am a teacher that likes to promote intrinsic motivation (more on this another time).  But I do like the idea of randomly picking that one student to determine further assignments for the whole class.
5. Keep an Eye on Your Students:  This is a another must!  No matter where you are in the classroom, you must always have an eye on your class, even when you are helping one student at a time.  This helps in maintaining behaviors, too.  
6. Establish Consequences for Misbehaviors: Students are going to act out at one point.  Although I like to focus more on students' positive behaviors, sometimes you do need consequences to misbehaviors.  In regards to behaviors though, I like to create the rules & consequences with my class at the beginning of the school year!  

Enjoy!

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Fantastic Writing Advice From C.S. Lewis

The following was written by author, C.S. Lewis, to a young fan.  Taken from A Collection of Brilliant and Inspiring Letters From Famous Authors to Their Young Fans:

What really matters is:–

1. Always try to use the language so as to make quite clear what you mean and make sure your sentence couldn’t mean anything else.

2. Always prefer the plain direct word to the long, vague one. Don’timplement promises, but keep them.

3. Never use abstract nouns when concrete ones will do. If you mean “More people died” don’t say “Mortality rose.”

4. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was “terrible,” describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, “Please will you do my job for me.”

5. Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say “infinitely” when you mean “very”; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.

Thanks for the photos. You and Aslan both look v. well. I hope you’ll like your new home.

With love
yours
C.S. Lewis

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Check out Flavorwire for more fantastic general advice from famous authors.  

Many of the advice can be posted in your own classroom as inspiration & motivation for your students!  :)

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NeverSeconds

Martha Payne is an inspiration. 
She is a young girl, age 9, living in the UK with a food blog, NeverSeconds, about the cafeteria meals at her school with photographs.  She is witty! Her blog has caused quite the controversy.  Her school stopped her from taking photographs of the cafeteria meals!  But the ban was quickly lifted!  Phew!
Follow her!  She has got quite the following, so much so that students all over the world send her pictures of their cafeteria meals!
Google her name and you will get the most up-to-date info on her current blogging status.  


I love that she has a niche with a cause!  
Like I said, Martha Payne, aka Veg, you are an inspiration!

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Kids Say The Darndest Things...

Kids say the darndest things, especially about their parents!  Scholastic just posted a site on some quotes kids say.  Get ready to laugh!

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Student Loan Payment & Forgiveness Programs

In regards to Student Loans after receiving my Masters from NYU, "Yikes!"  BUT, let me tell you that finding these two programs, seriously saved me.


One program is called Income-Based Repayment (IBR), which "is a repayment option for federal student loans that has been available since 2009. It can help borrowers keep their loan payments affordable with payment caps based on their income and family size. For most eligible borrowers, IBR loan payments will be less than 10% of their income - and even smaller for borrowers with low earnings. IBR will also forgive remaining debt, if any, after 25 years of qualifying payments." Read on to get more detailed information.

The second program is called Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), which is "for federal student loan borrowers who work in certain kinds of jobs. It will forgive remaining debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying loan payments. (During those 10 years, the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan can help keep your loan payments affordable.)" Read about it for further details.


Here's a lil video for your viewing pleasure.  :)

In summary, if you qualify for the IBR program for 10 years of eligible public service employment, then you will have your remaining debt forgiven!  How awesome is that!  


I know there are other programs out there, too.  This one seems to work out best for me.  :) 

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Was On Vacation

Dearest Dedicated Readers,


I apologize for being a lil M.I.A. this past week.  I was on vacation in beautiful Hawaii and I must say, it was beautiful, physically and culturally.  The people whom I met, whether they were born and raised in Hawaii or moved there from the mainland, were so gracious and respectful towards the people, culture, and land.  This is something to be valued, especially in the midst of a hustle & bustle type city.  The Hawaiians I met really do take the time to appreciate all that surrounds them.  Like I said...beautiful.

Thanks for checking back and staying tuned!  I'm back to posting and I hope you keep reading and sharing!  


Thanks, again!


~Ms. Lulu

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WELCOME!

Welcome to my newly revamped site, where everything I blog now will be ALL ABOUT TEACHING! 


I'm excited to share all the resources I have made myself, as well as the great articles & tips I find perusing through the internet on anything related to my passion, Early Childhood Special Education, & in teaching, in general! 


Please follow me on Pinterest & Twitter!  And stay tuned!

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Beginning of a New Venture...

Enthusiastic!

I've thought about doing this for awhile.  

Procrastination?  

No, just didn't know where to start!

#1 Goal:

To share my thoughts & ideas as an educator.

Because as a general & special education teacher, I have things to say.

Things aka "Stuff"...

...on lesson plans (great & to-be-edited), classroom management, organizational tips, basically, anything teacher-related.

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