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Apr 25 2023

Writing Standards with Fun Activities (Part 4)

Writing Standards with Fun Activities (Part 4)

Each year I am challenged in how I can adequately increase the writing competencies of my students in project-based learning activities. When I partnered with another teacher, we created a checklist of what we had to complete by the end of the school year to meet all writing competencies. These activities included:

  1. Writing teachers must understand the rules for grade level writing standards.
  2. The teachers must consider various activities that will fully engage and inspire diverse learners.
  3. Writing activities must be fun while meeting a wide range of reading and writing abilities within a class. This ensures differentiated instruction that is equitable and successful for all students.
  4. Writing teachers must research and collect resources that will support an engaging writing activity in the classroom.

[Read more…]

Danielle Gentry

Danielle’s first step in education did not begin with education at all. It began with her first love for science. She received a B.S. in Biological Science, with a concentration in Molecular Biology. Her five years of experience as a chemist in the biotech industry at SYVA and Dade Behring Diagnostics include both areas of quality control and research and development. Her contributions were qualifying products for release to sell to the diagnostic market as well as developing new diagnostic technology for immunoassay detection. Danielle’s subtle transition to discovering her passion for education was through the birth of her daughter. She became a stay at home mom. Her uber volunteerism at her daughter’s elementary school gained her access to her path of education. She now holds a multiple subject teaching credential and M.A. in Education from National University. She has over ten years of experience at Sakamoto Elementary School as an educator in kindergarten, sixth grade, second grade, and a 2/3 combination class. Her teaching is rooted in a constructivist model while fostering independence and accountability in the classroom.

Written by Danielle Gentry · Categorized: Elementary School Parenting, stuggling students, Teaching successful students, Uncategorized · Tagged: #struggling students, Academic needs, academic success, Common Core, Educating children, elementary education, elementary writing, homeschool, kids writing, kids writing strategies, parenting elementary kids, parents as teachers, teaching writing

Dec 27 2022

Being a Mom and Homeschool Teacher

Being a Mom and Homeschool Teacher

One of the beautiful benefits of homeschooling is how well I know my “students” before the school year even begins. I know their interests and aversions, their academic strengths and gaps, and their personality traits and quirks. I can adapt the curriculum and our days accordingly. I often know before the school day begins if they got a good night’s sleep, argued with a family member that morning, felt a little under the weather the night before, or have recently experienced the emotional loss of a family member. I also can anticipate that they might have trouble concentrating if something exciting is approaching, like a family road trip or a friend’s birthday extravaganza.

Understanding Our Children’s Learning Needs

Because I wear the hats of both mom and teacher, I have this information ahead of time. I can adapt the lesson, be an empathetic listener, take the time to teach them coping skills and process what is happening. As I homeschool my own children, I am grateful that I have the knowledge and flexibility to help them through the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence during the school day.

Being Objective as the Teacher

However, there is a flip side to doing life and school together with my children. Sometimes, the lines between school and home get blurred. Most of the time, we are traveling through life experiences together. If my child is hurting, struggling, or grieving, I often am experiencing those emotions as well.

Balancing Mom Responsibilities with Teaching

As a classroom teacher, it was easier for me to compartmentalize my life inside and outside of school and not bring my personal worries and distractions into the classroom. As the mom and teacher, it takes a concentrated effort during hard or stressful seasons of life to not let my personal life seep into our school day. Children are so intuitive. They can sense and often reflect the emotional state that we project. I can get sidetracked by the growing pile of laundry, the upsetting doctor’s call that came right before the school day, or the worries that interrupted my sleep the night before. If I do not set these distractions aside to focus on our school day, those emotions will transfer to my kids, interrupting their education.

Blending Home and School Needs

It takes intention to know when to blend home and school, when to process life together during the day, and when to set it aside until later. The close proximity of school and home can be a blessing and a burden. Recognizing this duality is the easy part. Finding a healthy balance takes awareness and commitment.

 

Jo Baldwin

Jo Baldwin first considered teaching as a career in seventh grade after helping a cousin survive summer school homework.  Jo’s high school English teacher also inspired her love of teaching and continues to be one of her mentors to this day.  After graduating with a B.A. in English and a secondary teaching credential from Northern Illinois University, she moved to California and taught in a private secondary school and then a public middle school.  Jo now spends her time homeschooling two of her children, chasing animals on her hobby farm, and writing children’s literature.  She loves to travel and explore wherever life takes her, wander through used bookstores, drink strong coffee with plenty of cream, and use newly sharpened pencils.  She agrees with William Butler Yeats’ viewpoint on learning: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

www.GenParenting.com

Written by Jo Baldwin · Categorized: Academic Support and Play Activities, Elementary School Parenting, Parenting Adolescents, Teaching successful students · Tagged: academic success, Educating children, Family, family values, homeschool, homeschooling, parents as teachers, Problem-Solving

Nov 15 2022

Homeschool Time Management

Homeschool Time Management

Homeschool budgeting sometimes has nothing to do with math and money, but with time. Planning for the school day and year is crucial for the success and sanity of both teacher and students. At least for most of us. I have friends who are very unstructured in their homeschooling and their children seem to thrive. While I applaud them, I need a plan!

When I started homeschooling, my planning consisted of choosing curriculum and following the scope and sequence. I planned for the week and tried my best to get it done. If I didn’t, I felt like a failure.  Throughout the year, I got distracted by all the bright, shiny opportunities available. Weekly homeschool choir and drama? Ultimate frisbee? Cool field trip tomorrow? Sign the kids up and we’ll make it all work!!! [Read more…]

Jo Baldwin

Jo Baldwin first considered teaching as a career in seventh grade after helping a cousin survive summer school homework.  Jo’s high school English teacher also inspired her love of teaching and continues to be one of her mentors to this day.  After graduating with a B.A. in English and a secondary teaching credential from Northern Illinois University, she moved to California and taught in a private secondary school and then a public middle school.  Jo now spends her time homeschooling two of her children, chasing animals on her hobby farm, and writing children’s literature.  She loves to travel and explore wherever life takes her, wander through used bookstores, drink strong coffee with plenty of cream, and use newly sharpened pencils.  She agrees with William Butler Yeats’ viewpoint on learning: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

www.GenParenting.com

Written by Jo Baldwin · Categorized: Elementary School Parenting, Parenting Adolescents, Teaching successful students · Tagged: #problem solving #parenting teens, academic success, Educating children, family values, homeschool, parents as teachers, teachable moments, time managment

Sep 20 2022

Homeschool to Traditional Classroom

Homeschool to Traditional Classroom

As our son approached middle school, I realized that I was no longer equipped to teach him adequately in math and science.  Neither subject was enjoyable or interesting to me in middle school, except that time we took apart our science teacher’s lawn mower, cleaned it, and managed to get it running again.  He called it a unit on engines.  I think it’s called free labor.  Either way, it was memorable.  But I digress.

As seventh grade loomed around the corner for my son, I knew that I wanted someone who excelled in math and science to teach him.  I could either hire private tutors and shuttle him to those classes, or he would need to return to a traditional classroom where the teachers could handle his questions without having to google the answer.  We chose to find a school.

Since he had been homeschooled since kindergarten, I wanted the transition to a classroom to be successful, both socially and academically. I had been his primary teacher since kindergarten, and I had some educational concerns.  How would he adjust from a flexible homeschooling schedule to a traditional school day with several different teachers and formal grading?  Would we discover that he had major gaps in his learning that would prevent him from succeeding? [Read more…]

Jo Baldwin

Jo Baldwin first considered teaching as a career in seventh grade after helping a cousin survive summer school homework.  Jo’s high school English teacher also inspired her love of teaching and continues to be one of her mentors to this day.  After graduating with a B.A. in English and a secondary teaching credential from Northern Illinois University, she moved to California and taught in a private secondary school and then a public middle school.  Jo now spends her time homeschooling two of her children, chasing animals on her hobby farm, and writing children’s literature.  She loves to travel and explore wherever life takes her, wander through used bookstores, drink strong coffee with plenty of cream, and use newly sharpened pencils.  She agrees with William Butler Yeats’ viewpoint on learning: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

www.GenParenting.com

Written by Jo Baldwin · Categorized: Parenting Adolescents, Teaching successful students · Tagged: #parenting teens, academic success, Educating children, family values, homeschool, Parent Decisions, parents as teachers, teachable moments

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