Thing Three:Blog Use

     In my classroom, I would like to use a blog as a communication window for the parents of my students.  I would like to provide them with a link at the beginning of the year and let them log on either daily or weekly for posts regarding what their children have been doing in class.  I would love to include  pictures of them doing fun activities, classroom reminders, and could even use it to post spelling words or other key information in the event that it gets lost!  I would be very open to letting them comment on the posts as well to create a community or family vibe through out the classroom.  I also liked the idea of posting a break down of what is and is not working for you, the teacher, in the classroom.  This shows the parents just how much effort you are putting into your job and can help them to appreciate you and allow them to see what might otherwise go unnoticed.    Using the blog would really help parents to feel like they have a good grasp of what the student is doing and feel more involved in their education.
      

Thing Two: Creating My Blog

     For thing two we were asked to design our blog and create an avatar to go along with it.  I found this experience quite entertaining!  I have never ran a blog before or even created an avatar for that matter. It was crazy the amount of things you could edit on this little person to make it your own! I let my avatar reflect me pretty closely.  The hair/ eye color are pretty dead on but the outfit reflects my personality more so.  Over the summer I worked through the YMCA doing summer programs and each counselor had a "camp name" and mine happened to be Princess so I could not have chosen a more fitting outfit!  My blog name and my posting name are pretty generic and straight forward, I am contemplating changing them now that this whole blog thing is becoming more fun.Overall, I have found creating the blog a lot easier than expected.  I am already being able to see how it would be a great informative tool to parents and students alike.

Thing One

     After watching the provided tutorial, I decided that the hardest lifelong habit for me would have to be habit one, which is beginning with the end in mind. Often I like to take things step by step, day by day and look at what is in the now and pay little thought to the end until I get there.  However, this does seem to be an easy habit to adapt, especially in lesson planning.  As a teacher you are constantly setting goals and objectives that you want your students to reach. You see these objectives and goals as the end, and then must work backwards to figure out how it is that you are going to reach this end point. 

     The easiest habit would have to be habit seven and a half hands down! Play is such an important aspect of young children's lives.  Working in child care settings has helped me to understand just how important it is to young students and how much they actually learn from play!  I am constantly seeking ways to incorporate different aspects of play such as games or dramatic play into the classroom to get information across in a fun and memorable way.