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back to school

Back to School: Free (or nearly free) Resources for the Exhausted Teacher

August 17, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Today is a day of mixed emotions for me.

On this day, for the last twelve years, I welcomed students back to school. Before I was a high school teacher, I was a substitute teacher and also worked as a paraprofessional. Having worn several hats as I worked my way to becoming a teacher, I also worked as a campus supervisor and attendance secretary.

While I miss seeing the faces of many of the kids and my teacher friends this morning, I’m excited to have the freedom to be a creative entrepreneur and use my journalism skills elsewhere.

What exactly is a creative entrepreneur? For me, it is someone who uses their talents to monetize an online business while collaborating with others. My vision for this site is to help others bring more delight into their lives. Today’s post is dedicated to the many teachers who returned to their classroom this week to welcome your child back to school.

Educators work extremely hard all year. Today, I want to showcase a number of recent products I’ve posted that serve as quick use resources for the classroom. A teacher’s most valuable commodity is time, which they never have enough of, and they are not paid well. So, if you know of a teacher who would benefit from free, helpful resources please share this post with them via social media. They deserve a little help now and then. They’re exhausted.

My most recent resource aide is an exit slip for teachers to use with their students at the end of the class. It allows the student to reflect on their comprehension of the day’s lesson and gives the teacher to chance to gauge their students’ progress.

Exit Ticket ODL

To the thousands of teachers who worked all summer on lesson plans and professional development, I salute you. Have a super school year!

Signature ODL 170x70px

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: back to school, classroom, end of summer, exhausted, exit slip, free, printables, resources, teacher, teachers, teachers pay teachers, video

Back to School Teacher Survival Kit: A List of Must-Have Items

August 8, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

When you’re a new educator, veteran teachers will tell you “don’t smile until Christmas.” That’s just crazy talk.

Some days a smile will come naturally as you greet your students as they enter your classroom door. Some days you force a smile when you don’t feel like it so your students don’t think you’ve boarded the crazy train. And other days you won’t smile hardly or at all. The Back To School Teacher Survival Kit is a list of must-have items that you must pack before your first in-service day back. I’m not talking about stashing away bits of chocolate somewhere in your desk. (Oh, you’re going to appreciate those too, which is why chocolate made the list.) I’m talking about items you will need to get you through school days that seem to last forever that include parent-teacher conferences and IEP meetings scheduled during your planning period.

Clearly, there is a reason why I think I need to write this post. When I was a new high school teacher I didn’t realize I needed a Back to School Teacher Survival Kit. After teaching seven years in public school, I can assure you that you need to stock up on the following list items to arm yourself for school so that you don’t want to quit before Christmas. Print this list and start hoarding away these items now.

  1. Cough drops. These babies come in handy when you’re talking all day, every day. Yes, some of your lessons allow you to take a minor break from talking but overall your throat is going to feel scratchy and raw. Warning: Don’t pass cough drops out to ailing students even when they beg for them. It’s considered a “medicine” by important school authority people.
  2. Tea bags. Why? See reasons noted in #1. You can make tea in hurry during your passing period, a much faster option than coffee, if you run down to the break room. Passing period time is precious so use these minutes wisely.
  3. Gum. Remember that teacher from your school days who leaned in to help you at your desk with atrocious breath? Don’t be that teacher. Plus, chewing gum is proven to help your productivity.
  4. Deodorant. It’s embarrassing to teach with pit stains just because the school’s air conditioning isn’t working or you’re just having a stressful day. Kids will talk about your pit stains. If you’re a choir teacher or the kind of teacher who speaks using their hands, this item is an essential one.
  5. Coffee. If you don’t drink coffee, think of some other caffeinated drink you prefer because you’re going to need a pick me up after the lunch hour when you, like your students, start to feel like a nap. Plug in a Keurig or another coffeemaker with a self-starting brew timer. Set it to start up just before your planning period. The kids might say the room smells like coffee. Well, at least it doesn’t smell like freshmen body odor, right? Truth.
  6. Snacks. Granola bars, apples, boxes of raisins, bananas, applesauce cups are snacks that can be eaten in a rush between classes. If you don’t care about your diet, stash snack size chocolate bars in your desk cubby or drawer. No one likes to learn from a hangry teacher. (These snacks are also smart to have on hand when a student admits that they didn’t eat anything for breakfast or lunch. Sometimes they won’t admit it. It’s just obvious they’re hungry.)
  7. A second pair of comfortable shoes. Coaching after school? Wearing brand new dress shoes the first day back after summer? You’re going to want a comfortable backup pair hidden under your desk.
  8. Room deodorizing spray or a wax melt burner. When your class comes back from recess or gym class, you’ll thank me. (Note: I never sprayed room-deodorizing spray in front of my class because it is distracting and the kids begin commenting it. Just spray a bit before they enter when you hear the bell ring.)
  9. Paper plates and plastic cutlery. If you pack your lunch and forget your fork or your yearbook class is hosting a deadline work night with food after school, you’ve got what you need on hand.
  10. Jacket. The air conditioning and heater at your school is just there to torment you. It is hardly ever set on a comfortable temperature. In fact, you might just dress yourself in layers. Did you know most classroom thermostats are just placebos? Adjusting them doesn’t make a bit of difference. You also may need an umbrella on the days it’s your turn to monitor recess.
  11. Chapstick. Remember how I said you’re going to talk a lot?
  12. Hand sanitizer. Go to Sam’s or another big box store and buy the super tall mega size sanitizer with a pump. Every surface of your room is covered in germs including all those student papers.
  13. Hand lotion. Sanitizer is drying. Washing your hands is drying. It’s hard to pass out papers when your fingers can’t grip the papers’ corners.
  14. Ibuprofen or anti-headache medicine. Teaching one hour, let alone the entire day, with a headache is agony. Besides, you’ll be another teacher’s hero when you respond to their all-school email in need of headache medicine.
  15. Band-Aids. Educators suffer from massive paper cuts. The kind of slices to the finger that should require surgery so stock up on Band-Aids. Plus, a student will ask you to go to the office for a Band-Aid at some point in the year. No pass, no go! You’ll have Band-Aids in your desk drawer.
  16. Another dress shirt. Spill coffee on yourself when Billy ran into you at the door? Hosting parent-teacher conferences in your room until late at night? Changing your shirt may just be what you need to feel refreshed.
  17. Cell phone charger. It’s important to not show this item on display to students or they will bug you relentlessly to use it. Hide it in your desk drawer and break it out when your phone is about to die because you forgot to charge it last night. You’ll want a fully charged phone for those slow moments in the basketball game’s ticket booth or between appointments during parent-teacher conferences.
  18. Framed family photo. Looking at those warm smiles staring back at you while you eat your lunch at your desk in fifteen minutes recharges your energy. It’s like a virtual hug.
  19. Emergency sub plans. Stop telling yourself you can teach while you’re sick. Don’t be a hero. Go home! These plans are also important to have on hand in case your family needs you away from school.

You’re going to have amazing, joyful moments as a teacher. But there will be days when you feel like you’re barely holding on and you’ll be glad you prepped your survival kit before school was in session. Don’t forget to restock these items as you need them or at semester break.

And about those teachers who will tell you “don’t smile until Christmas,” they’re the grouchy ones that students admit they don’t like. S-M-I-L-E.

Get yourself SUPER prepared for the school year by setting yourself up for success by clicking on my Teacher Resources tab. Need ideas for grab and go breakfast recipes? Try my recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Honey Overnight Oats that includes an info graphic of mix-in options.

Veteran Teachers: What did I forget from this survival kit list? I’m sure I forgot something. Add your must-have items in the comment section below. I’m sure there is something I left off the list. (Dang! I should’ve included bringing a radio to school for your classroom. A backdrop of music is key when you’re grading papers at your desk during your planning period or after school.)

Back To School Survival Kit Items For Your Classroom

Signature ODL 170x70px

Since it’s back to school time, I’m offering 10% off my photo course Fundamentals of Photo Composition. It expires August 18 so reserve your seat in this class to learn how to take your photos from basic to beautiful.

USE COUPON CODE: BACKTOSCHOOL at checkout. Pay by credit card or PayPal.

e-course enroll image 1

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: back to school, education, high school, public school, teacher survival kit, teaching

Aurasma Activity: Student Profiles Using Augmented Reality in the Classroom

August 7, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Teachers are sometimes fearful to try new things especially if it incorporates technology into a lesson. I understand the fear.

As a visual arts high school teacher, I enjoyed watching students navigate multimedia platforms to make interactive projects but sometimes I still felt anxious. You worry that your students will get too loud, out of control, and/or frustrated with the tool. How will you monitor these students? Wouldn’t another sit-down worksheet just be easier? I understand these worries.

If I can do it, you can do it.

I’m really proud of this activity I created last year for my Digital Media class. It uses technology in the classroom and allows students time to get to know one another better. This activity is ideal for the first week of school or during the first week in a new semester elective class. It’s a hands-on activity that allows students to think critically, write, use speaking and listening skills, and incorporates technology. (You know your principal wants you trying to use more technology in the classroom. *Sigh.) You don’t have to teach a media class to use it as part of your lesson plan and not every student needs a iPad or smart phone. Bonus: Aurasma Activity: Student Profiles Using Augmented Reality works best for grade levels 6-12 and in all subject areas.

Aurasma is a free app that allows your students to see and interact with the world. Your students can create and share their own augmented reality experiences! Students will take a picture of another student in class, interview them using prepared questions while video recording the interview. Later, they post a printed picture of this student on the wall of the classroom. Then, students walk around with the Aurasma app open and hover it over each displayed student photo. When everyone is finished students can tour the classroom with their iPad or smart phone devices and play back each interview using the Aurasma app to learn about one another.

This printable activity comes with a cover page, teacher directions including the CTE A/V benchmark and standard, and the student’s assignment page featuring seven steps to creating the project. It only take one class period. I graded this assignment as a participation grade. You can download it from the ODL Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Students will need access to a classroom iPad or their smart phone. You can partner students, if necessary.
Students will need access to a classroom iPad or their smart phone. You can partner students, if necessary.

You’re going to have a blast watching your students enjoy listening back to each video within their phone. If you don’t want a loud classroom, students can plug in ear buds to their device. I thought it was fun to debrief with the class and ask them what they learned about one another once everyone was finished with the gallery walk.

The Aurasma app can also be used as a classroom tool for you. Think of the possibilities! You could use it as a teacher orientation photo outside of your classroom or on a bulletin board the first week of school, during parent-teacher conferences at a nearby station while parents wait to talk to you, as a coaching tool to demonstrate fundamentals of your sport, and the list goes on. Try it! Fear of technology only limits your students’ creativity.

Have a smart idea for using technology in the classroom? Share it in the comments section below. Have a great school year!

Signature ODL 170x70px

Since it’s back to school time, I’m offering 10% off my photo course Fundamentals of Photo Composition. It expires August 18 so reserve your seat in this class to learn how to take your photos from basic to beautiful.

USE COUPON CODE: BACKTOSCHOOL at checkout. Pay by credit card or PayPal.

e-course enroll image 1

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Aurasma, back to school, classroom, CTE, technology, TPT

Summer Bucket List Printable

August 3, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Dear Parents,

I know that feeling that you’re experiencing right now. It’s the “oh my gosh it is time to shop for back to school stuff” feeling. I worked in schools for over a decade and the last thing any teacher wants to see at the local grocery store is a display for school supplies. Yes, even teachers who love their students dislike the end of summer. Don’t suffer from Where Did My Summer Go syndrome one more moment.

With one, maybe two weeks left of summer…it’s time to print out my Summer Bucket List for your family’s refrigerator. List ten must-do activities for the family using this handy-dandy template. You know, those activities you told yourself you’d take the kids to do but life got in the way. I’ll even give you an idea to write down! Go to the pool and then come home with the kiddos to gobble up my recipe for Chewy Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches. 

Click on the picture below and print it off before it’s too late and the school bell rings. Have a blast!

Always,

Signature ODL 170x70px

summer-bucket-list

Filed Under: DIY, Lifestyle Tagged With: back to school, bucket list, summer, summer fun

30 Creative Writing Prompts

August 1, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Hey Teacher Friends!

These creative writing prompts are perfect for the student who says “I don’t know what to write about” or to use a bell ringer writing activity. They are written for middle school or high school students. Get ready for the school year!

creative-writing-prompts-ODL-preview-page-001

BONUS! It’s on available at the One Delightful Life Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

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Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Homeschooler - TeachersPayTeachers.com

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: back to school, creative writing, sale, teachers pay teachers, writing, writing prompts

Back to School Brain Breaks

July 28, 2016 by Vanessa Leave a Comment

Let me wear my superhero cape for a moment. Teacher to the rescue!

I put together this helpful brain breaks resource just  in time for Back to School. (I can hear teachers groaning right now.) So, start the new school year armed with a treasure trove of brain breaks to use when your students, and you for that matter, need to take a mental break for studying and just have fun.

There is proof that they work. I’ve led each one of these activities with high school students and they worked! Teenagers can sometimes be your toughest critique and these activities were so fun that my students often requested to play them. Yes, they requested them! Past students still recount how much they enjoyed these short breaks in my class. Students actually performed better in class because they were rejuvenated.

Sometimes your students know when the class needs a break even when you don’t realize it. We get so busy advancing the pace of required curriculum that we often forget to cut loose and enjoy our time with students. Three pages of Brain Breaks can be yours for $1 at the One Delightful Life Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

Please leave a rating for my TPT account if you purchase it.

Have a great school year teacher friends!

 

Give yourself and your students a mental break with these tried and approved brain break activities.
Give yourself and your students a mental break with these tried and approved brain break activities.

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Want more awesome classroom resources you can use all year long? Sign up for the One Delightful Life Newsletter!

(Spam is gross. No worries. You can unsubscribe at any time.)

 

Since it’s back to school time, I’m offering 10% off my photo course Fundamentals of Photo Composition. It expires August 18 so reserve your seat in this class to learn how to take your photos from basic to beautiful.

USE COUPON CODE: BACKTOSCHOOL at checkout. Pay by credit card or PayPal.

e-course enroll image 1

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: back to school, brain breaks, mental break, school, student activities, teachers pay teachers

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Ammar
Hello! I'm Vanessa. Welcome to One Delightful Life, a blog created to add more delight to your life with delicious recipes, travel destinations, and lifestyle improvement ideas. Thanks for exploring my blog!

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