The First 14 Days of Math Workshop

Introduction to Math Workshop in my classroom

Happy New School Year 2013-2014!

I know that many teachers will begin their school year on August 5, 2013, so I made sure that I updated my 1st day bookmarks for every one! They are a forever freebie!  Be sure to grab your copy below from my TPT store and tell your teacher friends!  AND I am having a sale until August 4, 2013!

Grab this freebie from my TPT store as a functional welcome back treat for your kiddos!

The 3 L's of Summer

I hope you have had an exciting break filled with the 3 L's of summer:

                    lounging, loved ones, and learning!

LEARNING

It's hard to believe that I am getting ready to enter my 9th year of teaching already. Its seems like just yesterday that I entered my midle school classroom wondering what questions my science students would ask first. And now, I'm teaching 3rd grade with so much more depth of knowledge about education and subject matter thanks to that "L" of learning over the summer! At first it was just a face-to-face workshop here and there that caught my attention for PD, but through the years technology has helped teacher PD expand exponentially via Twitter, Facebook, and the blogging experience! Each day this summer, I have been waking up excited about all of the new wonderful tools, techniques, books, tips, and tricks that the cyber world offers!

Here are a few of my favorites:
1. Classroom Freebies site
2. Literacy and Math Ideas site
3. 89 Cool Apps, Sites, Tools for Teachers
4.Animoto - a video making website

I have also expanded my professional learning network beyond anything I could have ever imagined when first entering the teaching field. I now talk to and bounce ideas off of teachers all over the country and the world. It's something that still blows my mind when I really think about that concept of shared learning over thousands of miles with people you have never met in person.  I have found so many people with common interests and people who truly love to discuss current educational topics! I love it! How has technology helped you in your quest for collaboration?

LOUNGING AND LOVED ONES
My family and friends live close by so I have been able to enjoy my loved ones almost every day this summer! That is, of course, when I'm not working on a new product or blog post! I am also so fortunate that I have a some of my summer left so I can still get to the "lounging" part out west in two weeks. I will post and tweet during that time though! 

Until next time,

The Elementary Math Teacher

Why Twitter is my new best friend

When Twitter first rolled out on the scene, I thought it was just media's latest attempt at extreme voyeurism; I don't really care that much about the personal lives of celebrities and I definitely don't want to spend my precious free time dishing out gossip about those latest details. 

So I've stayed away from Twitter for years...until last week. After talking to some friends I realized that I should connect with Twitter to hopefully get more connected with the digitally competent teaching world. And oh my goodness creating my @kidsmathtalk handle has completely changed my world!

Twitter has amazing discussions

I have had so many wonderfully insightful discussions with the teaching world at large and have already in less than a week made over 40 connections.  I am now constantly thinking about tweets to send out to get even more discourse started amongst people who truly share the same interests. Furthermore, everyone I have encountered is so extra nice. Every time I get on I truly feel like I belong to an inviting community. Even more amazing is that these people are from all over the world-no limits for your networking possibilities!  

Twitter is organized

I had always heard media and ads talking about hashtags, but who ever knew that the number sign could connect you to so many possibilities! Everytime you add that cute little hashtag, your tweet is connected and in a way filed with every other tweet that was sent on the same topic. After only a few hours of Twitter usage, I stopped seeing random tweets about celebrities altogether. It's only the tweets that are from my connections. While I know that some people who are using Twitter at the exact same time as me are on for non-professional reasons (which is perfectly okay btw) I don't have to be in that mix, which is lovely for me. Twitter is genius!

Twitter is always there for you

I can open up Twitter at 6 in the morning or 11 at night and be able to have contact with someone in the teaching world. If I am stuck on something that I am creating or just need some advice, I can just fly over to Twitter and send out a lovely tweet for fellow educators to answer when they have the time. It's awesome that Twitter has the component of email in that you do not have to be live in order to make and keep connections. But then Twitter also has the abilities of chat rooms if you would like to have a live discussion with others. I have participated in a few of these chats already and come away feeling energized and motivated. I love it!  Always available to talk, just like a true friend. :)  

Here are a few of my favorite hashtags:

1. #teaching

2.#mathchat

3.#3rdchat 
4.#21stedchat

What are some of your favorites?

How are you using Twitter in eduation? Leave a comment to get the discussion started! And you can follow me on twitter @Kidsmathtalk