I just spent two days at a Professional Development
Conference to learn about autism and how to be a positive role model for
children. I learned so much but given that this was over the span of two days,
I cannot possibly relay everything to you. Therefore, I decided to discuss one
main points that can be used across the board with student, at any given time,
especially for those who have behavior problems or learning disabilities.
Please note that I am not insinuating that students who are autistic
or who have learning disabilities also have behavior problems. In fact, many of
these students tend to be model students. I want to share this with you because
you can use this right away either in your classrooms with any student or during
your homeschooling classes with your children.
One of the biggest words that I took away from this training
was FUNCTION. When you have a child who is exhibiting inappropriate or according
to the Zones of Regulation book, “unexpected” behavior, instead of going on the
defensive, I want you to think about and ask the question “what is the function
of the behavior?” In other words, “why is this behavior occurring?”
To really assess this question, it is important to think
about the following: Is it because your child wants to “escape” from doing a
difficult task? Does the child need either your attention or something tangible
from you?
Hi! My name is Charlotte and I am a teacher and a lifelong learner. I
am also the face behind Colourful Teaching For You. I decided to just speak out
today because I find that a blog a lot by typing and disseminate information
but I never actually speak to you. Therefore, I decided to try something
different and created a mini movie.
My favorite superhero is without a doubt, Superman. I have
watched every episode of The Adventures of Dean Cane and Lois Lane multiple
times, along with all of the other movies and television shows that go along
with it.
We
were all created for a reason and we are all here to touch the lives of
those who live in our community and in the world. Know that by smiling
or saying hello to someone, you are adding value to that person’s life
and are therefore, living “Your Most Colourful Life.”
As the new school year unwinds, gather everything you need for term 1. There are lot of fun activities and games to keep you and your students engaged for hours on end.
A few months ago, I wrote about the concept of Creative
Thinking. I looked at the purpose behind it and how I analyzed their projects.
What I hoped for but did not expect, was
for my students to take their learning beyond the classroom.
Five Gestures to Boost Productivity and List Your Mood
Educators, parents and entrepreneurs understand the value of connecting
with others. It is essential to every aspect of our lives. Whether we want to
connect with our children, other teachers, or grow our businesses, we need to be
cognizant of its importance developing meaningful and long-lasting
relationships.
I just realized that many people are starting the #school year in #August . To
help jump-start the year, Colourful Teaching for you is having a SALE on select
items from July 23rd - 25th at my store. Thank you in advance. I hope you enjoy the next few weeks with your students!
Eight Ways to Reduce Stress and Anxiety by Finding the Joy in Relaxation.
No matter where we are in our lives, stress and anxiety impacts us all
at some point in our lives. For the past few years, I have found anything and
everything to keep me busy. I have not been able to sit still for the life of
me.
As children get
older, learning becomes a chore. As educators and parents, it is important to
nurture this desire so that children not only enjoy the process but continue to
become lifelong learners.
Over the past 13 years, I have read and learned a lot about
financial planning. Some of the advice was helpful, while other either did not
work for me or made absolutely no sense to me. In order to save some money this
month, I decided to employ the following steps:
Even though I am not financially struggling because I do not like debt. I
have decided that I want to go back to school in evenings after work
and I do not want to take out a loan. While I have saved up a decent
amount, I need to continue saving so that I can pay off the tuition on
my own. I am also a big believer in saving for retirement. Therefore,
after reading "Quick Money Wins to Help You Feel More in Control of your
Finances," by Kristin Wong on Get Rich Slowly, I decided to try the
challenge of spending less or being thrifty.
This was a difficult challenge because shortly after I started it, I realized that the past few weeks have been really warm and while I have regular summer clothes to wear outside, I don't have any for work. In order to minimize expenses, I decided to continue wearing some of my fall clothes and gradually bought three shirts instead. That way, I did not splurge between pay periods. I managed to keep aside $100 and when combined with this current pay period, I was able to pay off the Hydro bill and have some extra to hopefully treat my husband to brunch, add one extra item to my summer collection and save some.
As I was reflecting on the beginning stages of my progress, I realized that this could come in handy for anyone. Teachers tend to pay out of pocket quite a bit for their students and this is an awesome way to put money aside for those expenses. Parents who are either homeschooling or not can also use this to save for themselves or for the future of their children.
I would love to know if anyone will join me on this challenge. Please let me know how it goes by either commenting or connecting with me in the following ways:
I absolutely love summer. It is my favorite season!!!! As the sun is beginning to shine gloriously in the sky, my students are getting increasingly energetic. Thankfully, I am almost done teaching most of the core subjects and we are now focusing on more exciting projects. I cannot believe how creative my students are. They truly make me proud. If you have not already seen my post from yesterday, you are missing out on some the awesome things that my little creative genius' have accomplished. I will continue to add to that post as my students are still in the midst of working on their creations
Over the past few weeks, I have been wracking my mind to try and figure out how to keep my students excited about the last month of school in June. I finally came up with a few ideas.
1. I plan to use some drawing and coloring activities to maintain my students artistic side:
2. I want to introduce or re-introduce some summer words to my students:
3. We definitely need to have some fun in the sun with brain breaks.
4. We will also be working on some of our literacy skills in a more creative manner.
5. To recap, please see the following as it encompasses everything that I mentioned above:
Whether you use any of these or not, enjoy the these last few weeks with your children and students because they go by so quickly. I hope you have an awesome last month of school.
If you are homeschooling, I hope you fall in love with these packages like I have.
If you want more information or would like to collaborate with me, please leave a comment or follow me in the following ways:
Welcome to Colourful Teaching for You. I am Charlotte! While I have been an educator for quite a while, I was recently
introduced to the joy of curriculum development. I love teaching and
creating items for my students. I have chosen to take the things that
are working in my class, develop them further and post them online.
Please join me on this fabulous journey where we can learn, collaborate
and hopefully work together.
Colourful Teaching for You
was born because I enjoy teaching with a flare. You will see me
singing, dancing, laughing and joking with my students because I love
their joyful and open hearts. As educators, we are given the
responsibility and gift of spending time with these beautiful children.
We must cherish our time with them and work to better their lives but
teaching them in the colourful way possible.
"Education is the most powerful weapon to which you can use to change the world." - Nelson Mandela.
Hi!!!!! I am SO HAPPY that you could could join me! My name is Charlotte and I created Colourful Teaching For Youbecause I
absolutely LOVE teaching. I have wanted to become a professional educator since
the first grade and I have always been excited when exploring new ideas,
formulating new ways of teaching and learning from my students and
colleagues. When I was young girl, I was blessed with wonderful teachers
who motivated me to work hard and to see the best in myself and my
peers.
It
is my deepest desire to inspire my students in the same way. I want to
positively contribute to the future of my students by guiding and
motivating them to become lifelong learners. I want them to learn about
the beauty of curiosity and the art of learning through play, which
simultaneously teaches them about independence and their own worth as
human beings. It is my dream to be a part of this noble profession in
hopes of one day being able to create a safe and nurturing environment
for my students so that know that there is someone in this world who
genuinely cares about them. I believe that this will work wonders in
improving their self-esteem and will further aid in them thriving not
only in the classroom but in the world as well.
Furthering
my desire to help others, I decided motivate teachers by envisioning
and designing products that are easy to use within the classroom. All of
my products have been used in my classroom and are loved by my
students. I am excited about this venture and I hope you join me on this
exciting adventure of teaching and learning.
I absolutely love teaching and I do my best to teach my students how
to think beyond the curriculum as I find that while it is a great
starting point, it can be rather limiting. Children have so much of
energy and joy. As educators, we need to foster a sense of wonder in
everything that we do to engage them. It's with this spirit that I have
asked my students to take their learning a step further and to show me
what they could do. See the pictures below to see what two of my
awesome students have worked on so far.
One of my students grew her own sunflower plant.
Another student decided to create / build her own plant:
I
chose to assess them on thoughtfulness, creativity, writing and
presentation skills. My students were so excited to be given the
autonomy to be themselves and to purse a topic of interest. They had
many discussions with me and their parents about what they wanted to
pursue, why it was of interest to them and how they were going to go about
developing their ideas.
Some of my students are still
working on their projects. These two students completed theirs in record
time and could hardly wait to present their work to their peers. .