When I start looking at other teacher’s blogs, there are
many different factors that I look for in a blog that will be helpful to me as
a teacher.
·
Appearance-I know that the old saying “Never
judge a book by its cover” can be true in many cases, but when it comes to
blogs I am very vain. I like a blog to
be inviting, warm, and welcoming, but not so full of stuff that you get a
sensory overload. This is also similar
to how I like my classroom to look, so I guess it isn’t too farfetched that
this is what I like to look at. Also, if
I find an activity I am going to want to find it again, so it is important that
the blog have easy navigation.
·
Teacher years-As a teacher who has just started
her 4th year teaching, I can appreciate the fact that I still have a
great amount of growth to go through as a teacher before I will be where I want
to be. However, having changed grade
levels in my 4 short years, I have noticed a big difference in the first year
you teach a grade vs. subsequent years after that in teaching the same
grade. I like to find teachers that have
taught the same grade for at least 3 years, but this isn’t necessarily always
the case.
·
DAP
Activities-As a Kindergarten teacher, I am constantly trying to incorporate Developmentally
Appropriate Practices into my classroom.
The main reason I follow any blog is to keep up with the activities that
the teacher is putting on the blog. If
they seem like they would be engaging, developmentally appropriate, and
student-centered then I see if it is something that I could work into my
classroom. Also, I look to see how
easily the activities can be adapted to meet the needs of all of my kiddos
(differentiation and extension activities).
Also, if it seems like many of the activities are going to cost a lot of
money, I usually skip over them. I would
love to be able to spend more money in my classroom, but life is expensive, and
I don’t like Top Ramen J
With these three factors in mind, I set out to find 4
fabulous blogs in Early Childhood. It
was a very throughout search, going through many of the different blogs I have
followed through my Pinterest finds, google searches, and others that I was
lined through from other websites. Here
is what I came up with.
Toddler Blog
The toddler blog that I chose was Toddler
Approved! I came across this blog when looking for activities for my own
children. Not only is this blog
inviting, but the activities in it are easy to put together with items that
most people already have in their homes.
Also, the activities are engaging for children (trust me, I’ve tried
most of them) and are easy to put together.
The founder of Toddler Approved! is Kristina, who is a certified
teacher, but is now a stay at home mom with her four children.
Preschool Blog
Learning and
Teaching Preschoolers is a blog that I have followed for some time. I really like this blog because the creator
of the blog is also an author/illustrator of children’s books, and has many
different ‘themed’ ideas centered around books.
The teacher also has a degree in Child Development, and has been working
with young children for the past 20 years.
I love the connection to literature that this blog offers, and what
better way to do that than with someone who is an author!
Kindergarten Blog
It was difficult for me to find just one Kindergarten blog
that I went to the most. There are so
many that I look over consistently.
However, one of my favorites is Little Minds at Work. She has some great classroom management tips,
organizational tips, centers, and fun activities, some of which I have been
able to try in my classroom. Another
bonus with this blog is that the teacher has a Teachers Pay Teachers store, and
offers freebies and discounts from time to time on her blog. BONUS!!!!
First Grade Blog
In my team at school, I teach the high reading kiddos. Because of this, I have found many
connections through First Grade blogs.
One of my favorites is The
First Grade Parade. She is a very
fun, energetic teacher with an inviting blog and hands-on activities for first
graders. One of my favorite parts of
this blog is the fact that she has such a HUGE area to ‘Find it fast’-which
tells me she has been teacher for many years and has many tips to share with
the world.
Overall, I enjoy looking at teacher blogs and hope to one
day be an blog that others go to when looking for a fun, engaging blog that
offers developmentally appropriate activities.
Thanks for stopping by!
