We've got Thanksgiving break under our belt and Christmas plans are well under way. The hallways are abuzz with festive decor and crafts. Backpack hooks overflow with winter coats and puffy jackets. The countdown is on! Winter break is coming, and Christmas with it.    You may remember reading about my first classroom party, the Thanksgiving party that changed everything. As I have sat with colleagues and have noticed their preparations for Christmas and sat with my own ideas, I have noticed some differences in how each teacher approaches the season. One teacher in particular is a Kindergarten teacher and is giving her students '12 Days of Christmas.' She is using mostly non-tangibles such as pajama day, silly sock day, as well as small gifts she already had on hand, but the idea is that she is spending the days leading up to Christmas honoring her students with gifts. This idea gave me great pause as I stopped to wonder if that sort of approach sets our students up for a s...

 Parent engagement in their student's education is an essential part of a student's success. As a classroom teacher, I implement a number of way's to keep families engaged in their student's learning. Keeping my lesson plans that auto-populate into the FACTS family portal is the simplest way to keep families engaged in learning. If parents can access information on what we did in class on any given day, as well as what may have been assigned as homework, parents are immediately armed with real-time information. This knowledge can be extremely powerful in any number of circumstances. If a student has been out, if a student has trouble remembering and communicating important assignment details, or if a parent simply wants to plan ahead, having accurate lesson plans instantly accessible can be an extremely valuable tool to support the engaged parent. Additionally, I lean heavily on a tool provided by our school behavioral system. Each student keeps a 'foot' on thei...

Loved by students, a typical year in an elementary school may involve a handful of class parties. The first is usually in celebration of Thanksgiving, followed by the great holiday celebration right before winter break. Classes will typically celebrate Valentine's Day, and end the year with a party in celebration of the student's achievement of completion of another academic year. My very first class party with a class of my own is one I'll never forget. The class had lost their teacher just prior to the end of the first quarter. I had served as a substitute teacher on campus for 3 years prior. I loved being a substitute.  The LORD called me into the classroom full time and and immediately, the whirlwind took over. Coming into a classroom after the beginning of the year was hard enough, but coming into the classroom after the beginning of the year as a brand new, very green teacher was next level. By Thanksgiving, I was exhausted to say the least. For our class party, I too...

Often receiving a scary or negative connotation, parent-teacher conferences are an excellent opportunity to foster parent engagement. They are the ultimate collaborative effort in two primary forces in a child's life.  Per our elementary family handbook, teachers are required to reach out and host a parent-teacher conference at mid-term progress reports and at report cards when any student has a D or an F in any given subject. Additionally, a teacher has the authority to ask for a parent-teacher conference at any time. Kindergarten has mandatory conferences in the fall and spring. 1st grade has mandatory conferences in the fall only. All others are on a case-by-case basis. In 4th grade, we have parent-teacher conferences less often. When one of my children was in 3rd grade, her teacher asked for conferences in an effort to get to know her students from their parents' point of view.  For me personally, I will hold a parent-teacher conference at any time that the parents re...

 Our school's signature fundraising event is our annual fall Hoedown. It's a western-themed carnival -style offering of fun, food, and fellowship. There are horse-rides, hay-rides, and once, even a petting zoo. Each class hosts a game and each family purchases tickets that gain them access to all the games. There is also a chili contest and pie-baking contest , alongside a virtual silent auction . All proceeds are split evenly to be used directly in the classrooms. Additionally, items purchased with 'Hoedown' money are property of the school and are left behind for others to use when a teacher leaves or moves on from her role on our campus. This way, the money poured into our campus stays in our campus. The money poured into our students remains with our students.  This event is impactful to build parent and family involvement for several reasons. The first and most important factor is that is absolutely does not happen without parent or family involvement. The need fo...

  Welcome, friends! My name is Alyssa Larson and I am a third-year 4th grade teacher in the panhandle of Florida. I am a Christ-lover, mother, daughter, sister, friend, karaoke aficionado, thrift store queen, and sometimes coffee snob.  Our purposes in this space will be varied and valuable. We'll tackle some tough topics, we'll laugh, we'll ask questions, and most importantly, we'll walk together. Thankful for you, AL