Course Evaluation

Photo courtesy of educatorstechnology.com

When it comes to graduate studies of any kind, you expect that you will connect more to some classes that you take than others. Initially, I was not sure what to expect with the EDUC553 class. However, I have been pleasantly surprised with how much I have learned throughout the past four weeks of this course! I think that I am fairly well versed in technology, but I found through this class that I may not know as much as I should in order to best serve my students. I learned just how important it is that I am on the forefront of using technology in my classroom. As a kindergarten teacher, I am often student's first introduction to using different means of technology for educational purposes. I want to be able to inspire my students to try to learn in new and exciting ways. I appreciate the experiences in this class to expand my knowledge so in turn I can expand the knowledge of my students.

WIki

As a kindergarten teacher, Wiki is not a tool that I think would be very useful to my students. However, I do think that setting up a school or district Wiki page would be very helpful for sharing ideas! Teachers in our building and in our district are always chatting with each other and looking for new ideas to teach certain skills, enhance curriculum or catch their students attention. I think that Wiki provides a great forum where teachers could share our ideas with each other.

In addition, a Wiki forum for my classroom parents would provide a great space for parents to communicate with each other as well as a great location for me to put important classroom information. I think that this blog as well as a class Wiki page would be a great addition to my parent communication!

Blogging

I have always thought that the greatest tool at my disposal for my students is their parents. Communication with parents is extremely important in all grades but especially so in Kindergarten. Often I will get calls or emails from parents wondering if what their child told them is actually true. Is tomorrow really pajama day? Does my child really get to bring a toy to school? While the majority of what our students tell us is true, we must often take what they think they know with a grain of salt. I have found that weekly communication with all parents is very effective. Parents appreciate being "in the loop" when it comes to what their child is learning at school, how they can help at home, and the important events that are coming up.

As a result, I email a weekly newsletter to all of the parents in my classroom. I include important information and a run down of what we have been learning about that week. This has been a great way to keep my parents informed. However, I often find myself wishing I could do more. I follow many educational and lifestyle blogs and enjoy catching up with them each day. I especially love to check out pictures about what is happening in their classrooms and lives. I am very excited to create my own blog which I plan to use for a similar purpose.

I look forward to making this blog into another tool to reach all of my students' parents and family members. I think it will be fun to share daily happenings, pictures, and other important information. In a digital age where information comes at you at warp speed, I think that families appreciate getting a look into their child's life at school each day. I am excited to develop this blog and make it into a great resource for parents!

Curriculum Unit Project

picture courtesy of teacherspayteachers.com

In Kindergarten, one of the most interesting units to teach is weather! Every year, this continues to be one of my students' favorite topics. Since we live in Nebraska where we (usually) get to experience all four seasons, weather becomes even more exciting! For my curriculum project, I chose to focus on the basics of weather. We will learn about types of weather, seasons and how weather effects us. I think this website will be a great resource for my classroom throughout the school year, as weather always seems to be a topic of conversation!

Please visit my curriculum page here!

My Goals for the 2013-2014 School Year

Personal Goals:

• Marry my best friend without a hitch in Jamaica on January 10th!
• Create an organization system for my house
• Make plans to take another trip out of the country in the next 2 years
• Cook dinner at least 4 nights a week

Professional Goals:

• Continue working towards my Masters Degree and pass each class!
• Create a system for math small group implementation in my classroom
• Develop new literacy work stations with various ability levels
• Join another committee or team at my school
• Maintain a blog to keep my kindergarten parents updated on classroom happenings

About Me

Welcome to my blog! My name is Anna Mayhan and I am a Kindergarten teacher in Omaha, Nebraska. I am now in my 5th year of teaching and have an amazing group of students this year. While I am busy working towards my Masters degree, I am also getting ready for my wedding on January 10, 2014! My fiance' Kort and I will be getting married in Ocho Rios, Jamaica in just a few short months and we could not be more excited! My students are already trying to get used to calling me by my soon-to-be new name, Mrs. Neary. :)