End of the Year School Gifts

End of the Year Tags for students gifts in my TpT store. A fun way to show your student you care about them and you want them to have a fun summer!

Click here for Gift Tags

There are 5 colorful and fun End of the Year tags to add with your student gifts.

- Have a SWEET summer (candy or popsicles)

- You BLEW me away this year (bubbles)

- Have a KOOL summer (Kool-aid)

- Have a BRIGHT summer (sunglasses)

- You had a BRIGHT year (sunglasses)

Where you can find the goodies for your bags:

• Mini erasers and summer pencils: Target Dollar Spot

• Swirly Straws: @target

• Sunglasses: Walmart

• Bubbles: @walmart

• Goodie bags: Target and Walmart

• Kool aid: Target and Walmart

• Fun gift tags: @edventureswithcoffee TpT store 😉 

The end of the year is here! Even though it ended different show them you enjoyed your time with them and wish them a happy summer! 🌞

Evaluation Year

This year is my sixth year teaching. I have been evaluated 4 out of the 6 years! In California, teachers are evaluated your first and second year teaching, and then every other year after that. This year was another evaluation year.

For my first year teachers out there, here's a little insight to what to expect from your Administrator. During an evaluation year you are constantly observed by your admin. They do unannounced walk throughs constantly (weekly) and a formal observation.  If this is your first year teaching, expect to have 2 formal observations, one in the Fall and one in the Spring. Prior to the formal observation you are expected to set personal goals based on the CSTP's  In California, teachers are evaluated on all CSTP - California Standards for the Teaching Practice. 

The standards are:

1. Engaging and Supporting All Students in Learning

2. Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning 

3. Understanding and Organizing Subject Matter for Student Learning

4. Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students

5. Assessing Students for Learning

6. Developing as a Professional Educator

Within each standard, there are more specific expectations. Your principal will take notes of the standards he or she notices during each observation and walk through. 

During September you will have a Goal Setting Meeting with your Princpal. This meeting will cover what your professional goals will be for the year. You will most likely be asked to pick at least 2 CSTP's to focus on for the year. I would recommend choosing Standard 1. Engaging and Supporting and Standard 2. Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments. These focus a lot on your basic classroom management techniques and routines (something first year teachers are focusing on already). Plus, when you have another evaluation later in your career you will not be advised to choose these standards, as you are expected to already have met or exceeded expectations.

If you are a first year teacher, you will set up your first Pre-Observation meeting with your principal, in the fall. It will be dated about a week before your Formal Observation. You will be ask to have your lesson plan ready for the observation. The principal will look over it. He or she will ask how you intend to meet your goals during your lesson. Be prepared to answer more specific questions that vary about your teaching style, meeting your goals, and your observation lesson.

Then you will have your first observation. Sounds scary?

Well if your like me, I get incredibly nervous teaching or speaking infront of any adults, I can teach and speak infront of a crowd of kids any day but not adults. Definitely be prepared... rehearse your lesson prior, have all your materials ready and out, prep your students to be on their best behavior.
***Here's a teacher tip: when having a formal observation and you want your students to be on their best behavior, first let them know that they principal is coming to observe them and how they are behaving in class. Second, you could also bribe them to be on their best behavior. I have tried both and they both work great. Some years, I have had amazing classes and didn't have to do either.

During your Formal Observation, I recommend showing off all your tricks. DO NOT try anything NEW. Show off your routines, transition skills, include manipulatives and realia, partner or group collaboration, point out objectives and/or standards, and have a good balance of teaching and student participation. Also, include any aspects of teaching that your district or school is focusing on at the moment.... And BE YOURSELF!

A few days after your formal observation, you will have another meeting, Post Observation Meeting  During this meeting, you might be ask how YOU think you did during your lesson. What went great and what you think could have gone better. Then your principal will discuss his/her notes and what CSTP's were observed. They may have you read them to yourself or they may go through each CSTP with you. You will walk away with a knowledge of what you can do to grow as an educator and things you should continue to do because your doing great.

First year teachers will do this a second time in February or March. This is when most educators are evaluated. It will be the same experience as the observation mentioned above.

The last part of your evaluation will be your final Evaluation Meeting. It usually takes place during April.  Your principal will have notes about your teaching all year long. During this meeting you will look over all the notes based on the CSTP's. Next to each standard you will have Exceeds, Meet, or Needs Improvement. Don't fret if your a first year teacher and don't have an Exceeds. Most principals have a hard time giving them out to newbies. You will sign your name and will be done.

Then you can breathe!

As you go on with each teaching year, you will become more comfortable and confident in being observed and evaluated. Contructed criticism is there to helps us grow and become better educator.

I hope this helps. Each state is different, if yours is different I would love to hear. Let me know in the comments below ↓

Happy teaching!

Hair and Make-up Done For This Teacher During Quarantine Life and Distance Learning

My hair done, make up done, wearing my teacher clothes, all during virtual learning. But why you ask? Where's the messy bun, no makeup, no glasses, no sweatshirt and sweatpants? 

No, I didn't teach. I didn't do a read aloud video. I didn't even leave my house. Again, you ask, 'why is this teacher all dressed up?'

Okay... I did all this for 2 reasons. 

1. It is nice once in a while during times like this to get all dressed up. 🎶 "I feel pretty. Oh so pretty!" 🎶 (in my head 👩‍🎤😂)

And 2. (and most importantly) I had my evaluation meeting with my administrator through Zoom.
I told my principal that I put on make up and did my hair just for her. She replied, "I did the same for you!" 🤣🤣🤣 these are rough time but its important to laugh to keep yourself sane.

The meeting went great. But it was so different to do it through a video conference and not in an office, in person.   Even though we are quarantined, life must go on and certain things can still be done, like evaluations.

So what was covered in the evaluation? 

Considering it has been an odd year, going on Maternity Leave in September and not returning until February, then in March teaching at home with COVID-19 causing this quarantine lifestyle. My admin did not have a bunch of opportunities to do walk throughs. However, I was able to complete my formal observation in the 5 weeks of returning to my class and then leaving again. This includes my goal setting meeting, pre observation meeting, observation,  and post observation meeting. Which usually starts in October and is completed around March. So to say the least it was a little stressful. 

However, with only a little bit of time allowed, my admin was able to write a wonderful report. She talked highly of my knowledge of content, professionalism, development as an educator, and my relationship building with my students, families, and peers. I was happy the Zoom evaluation went well but also happy it is over. No matter how many years you've been teaching, evaluations can still be nerve racking. 

If you would like to know more specifics and what to expect from your Principal your first year teaching, check out my blog post Evaluation Year .

Let me know if you were evaluated as an educator during the Year of COVID-19 Virtual Teaching. 

Happy Teaching!

Spring Behavior

🌷Spring has sprung and student behaviors have begun🤦‍♀️ Just a little saying that I have heard from teachers.

But I think it's more than just that. I think its all about how we look at each child. Some of the children have most likely been misbehaving all year. Some kids are going through something personal. Some children are just being kids and happy to be outside in the warm sunshine.

 Research shows that cloudy weather can have a big part in depression whereas sunny weather can provide people with a more positive energy. I think our students are just showing that positive energy in a way only kids know how to, lots of it 🤪

Now its it's up to us as teachers to join in with that energy! OR we can look at it as, kids trying their best to ruin our day. It's all about perception 🙂

ELA Focus Wall

ELA Focus Wall 

As a second grade teacher, I understand the importance of visuals for primary grades. This board is such a huge resource for my students throughout the day. This is one of my most used and looked at bulletin board in my classroom.  I change this weekly and refer to it daily. This wall uses Journeys curriculum to display ELA information. But it is versatile for other ELA curriculum. I used the same board when I taught 4th Grade and I was piloting Wonders ELA curriculum at the time.

I love to color code everything. I feel that it helps students relate back to the same topics. All the colors may seem like a lot but referencing to it while teaching every day actually helps my students focus better. I reference to each part as I introduce something new, like our spelling and vocabulary words for the week. As we read our story of the week I refer back to this wall when discussing the reading strategy and skill we are focusing on. This is so helpful for my students and helps then better understand each concept. 

I keep this bulletin board up ALL year long.

Here is step by step of how I put this beauty up at the beginning of the school year. 

First I measure, cut, then tac my backdrop paper to the wall. Then I staple it once I get it leveled. Next I staple on my border.

My husband helped this school year because I was 34 weeks pregnant 🤰

Then I measure everything to be evenly displayed. Then tack it. I love tacking things to the wall. It makes for easy removal in case things are uneven. 

Finally, I staple these beautifully color coded words to the wall.

 Here is a closer look at each section.  I switch out these papers, vocab, and spelling words each week for a new theme.

Teacher Finds:I got the colorful sheet protectors  from the Target Dollar Spot. I created and printed the titles, high frequency words, and spelling words using KG fonts. I purchased the reading strategy and skills from Amy Groesbeck TPT store. (In the future I'd like to create my own). I use sticky clips to hold my vocabulary words. I got mine at Lakeshore Learning but you can find some on Amazon. The border and backdrop paper was purchased from Lakeshore Learning as well. The little black pocket chart that holds my spelling words is also from Target Dollar section 😍

I love this wall. I put a lot of love and hard work putting it up. This wall is such an important resource in my classroom for ELA. 

New Year, New YOU!

New year, new you! Winter break is a good time to self reflect and create a happier, healthier you! Taking care of yourself can create that better version of you. Self care is of utmost importance to incorporate into your daily life.

Self care isn't just a fad, it is a must! There are a lot of articles and posts about self care but many are a "one size fits all" approach. That is not what self care is about. Self care is about focusing on YOUrself and YOUr wellness. Self care should be all about YOU and catered to what works best for YOUr life. However, focusing on yourself can be difficult for a teacher. Teachers are selfless. They focus less on themselves and more on others, especially little humans.

Teaching is such an amazing career. When it comes to teaching, no one day is the same. That is one of the many reasons why I love it. You can have an amazing teaching day, where everyone is in class, all your students understand and participate in your new lesson, no one tattles, and no one interrupted your teaching. But then the next day, everything can be quite opposite. You can have your administrator do a walk through while a child breaks down in tears for not understanding a concept, then another child runs out of the classroom upset, and a parent shows up unannounced to discuss their child's progress. There are many ups and downs every day when teaching. It can be a very stressful and demanding job most of the time. Stress can take a toll on you...your mind, body, and soul. This is why having a self care routine on a daily basis is important for your health.

Turning self care into a habit has been shown to improve whole wellness. Self care can have a very positive affect on your life. It can prevent burnouts, reduces negative effects of stress, anxiety, and can help you refocus. Self care can decrease fatigue and illness. It can help you become more motivated and productive.  You can turn anxiety and stress into productive moments of your life.

When you think of whole wellness it can encompass a lot. So lets break it down to 3 areas of focus: body, mind, and soul. I am going to share some self care habits that you can incorporate into your life. Remember, self care is about YOURSELF, so these are just ideas, pick the ones that work for you. 

Body: Lets get physical. You can take care of your body in many ways. but physical fitness is always a good thing for your body. Go outside, get some fresh air and sunshine, and take a walk. Go to the gym before school. Walk laps around your school during lunch with coworkers. Play a simple workout video at home. The importance is to set aside time daily to focus on your physical well being. Let it be 5 minutes every couple hours or 60 minutes in one chunk. Physical activity has crazy benefits to relieve stress. It also has major long term health benefits, such as reducing Alzheimer's, Dementia, heart disease, and diabetes (just to name a few). I know it can be difficult to find the time in a day but the benefits out weigh the risks. Don't forget to save some time to relax your body too. Go get pedicures with a friend. Do some mindful yoga or a massage. This is all about what makes you happy and works best in your life. Personally, I like to do a daily workout with MAPS Fitness program on a daily basis. It only takes me 20-30 minutes. Then I enjoy taking my sons on a walk around the neighborhood. Once a month I enjoy getting pedicures and sushi with my sister and every once in a while I'll go get a massage. This is what works for me, if you don't have the time or ability to incorporate these, that's okay but find something to keep you physically active, as well as relaxed.

Mind: Take care of your brain, you only have one, and it is an incredibly important part of your body. One way to take care of your mind is to provide it with adequate amounts of sleep. Every person needs their own specific amount of sleep every night. Me, I need a good 9 hours of sleep but my husband only needs 7 hours. I love caffeine but it is not a substitute for sleep. Another way to take care of your mind is to become an intellectual person. Someone who is intellectual is a "a person who engages in critical thinking and reading, research, and human self-reflection about society." Many of us already do this. Find something that intrigues you, something you want to learn more about that brings joy to your life. Then read about, research it, discuss it, and reflect on it. It can be learning something new such as a craft or a sport. Maybe you like to read romance novels or travel to various places. For me, it is my teaching pedagogy. I find lots of joy in my own work. That is why I chose this career. I love to read about and research ways of how I can better myself as a teacher. Go to many professional development and take college courses. I discuss the possibilities of what I can do better to reach every student. Then I reflect on what worked for me and what didn't. This happens on a daily basis. But I do my best to not let it stress me out. I understand that I am only human and what may work for others might not work for me. Figure out what you would like your mind to dive in to.

Soul:  Your soul is the emotional and spiritual part that is nonphysical. Taking care of your soul can be difficult to remember because you can't physically see it. It is important to find a realistic balance of happiness. It is not healthy to constantly have self doubt or criticize yourself. This job can easily allow you to be negative about your life. Allow yourself to be happy. Do things that bring you joy and peace of mind, feel good things. Some people like to volunteer and help others who are less fortunate. Others are religious and go to church. Church is a positive place, and positivism can be infectious. I like to sit quietly, every night, before I go to bed, and think of all the things I am grateful for. Sometimes, life can be so overwhelming and sad. It's good to reflect on the positives in your life. Try it, you'll be surprised at how much there is in life to be thankful for.

How can you cope when your stress meets an all time high in the middle of a teaching day? One way to cope with anxiety in the middle of a teaching day is to turn away from the student(s), take deep breaths and hold for 5 seconds, then count down from 10 as you release your breath. Deep breaths release chemicals in the brain that send signals to help relax your mind and body. This will help you regenerate and refocus to help handle the situation.
Also learn when to say no and say yes to things that make you happy. Give compliments to other as well as accept complicates from others. Be less self criticizing and harsh on yourself. Focus on what you can control. You are human.

Self care is about taking care of yourself. Focus on what makes you happy, brings you joy, and helps lower your stress level. Self care is not a "one size fits all," its all about what works best for you to make the best version of yourself.

Keeping Up That Energy

Lets talk about keeping up the energy during the holidays...

There are times while teaching when your battery runs low.  Now that the holidays are near, it is important for you to keep up your energy, so you can keep up with the energy of your students. Especially, this time of the year with all the excitement. There are a few things you can do every day to help your energy stay up.

Be positive! Its easy to always find the negative in things but its important to find some positive in your everyday life. I always think to myself, "it takes too much energy to focus on this negative thing. Why waste it when I can use that energy on something that makes me happy?" One way to ensure you stay positive is keeping a positive journal. At the end of every teaching day write down something something positive that happened. It can be some big or small. For example, I've been working with a student on remembering her password on a math program for 3 weeks and the day she entered her whole password without help, was so exciting. It could be that you noticed a student took the initiative to help another student while you ran small groups. Or the student who constantly shouts out but one time he actually raised his hand. Yay for small victories!  Look for the positive in every day life.

Team work! Be a team player. You cant do it all on your own. Work with others. Ask your grade level partner to make copies. Or ask another teacher to find support with a student's behavior. Pick other teachers brain for ways to keep students excited about learning and engaged. There's a whole tribe of teacher to engage with on Instagram, facebook, Twitter, pinterest, and more, who are willing to share tips and ideas that help them and may help you.

Timing is everything! Managing your time is so important. I love making lists! I make lists at school and home. It helps me organize my time so I can make the most of it. It also helps clear my mind of trying to remember what needs to get done. Make time for your absolute musts that need to get done. Don't stress about the little things that take too much time and wont make a difference. For example, dont stress yourself out by trying to make things "pinterest perfect." It definitely takes up a lot of your time and it wont make a difference. You are human.

Passion! Find what you are passionate about and use your passion to help keep you going (other than teaching 😉). Maybe your passion is music, books, cooking, gardening, exercise or crafting. Maybe you love reading a good book and sipping on some coffee or tea.
Whatever your passion is, do it every day. I have many passions and I'm sure you do as well. I love music, crafting, creating home decor, shopping, and listening to inspiring messages. Now that I have a toddler and newborn I don't have a whole lot of free time. So I use my time wisely by listening to music and podcasts during the day and crafting at night.
I know the holidays are near when I drive home in the dark with car lights lined up on the freeway. This is one of my major stressers, getting stuck in rush hour traffic, it can really drain my energy. I am sure some of you feel the same. To help me start the day with amped up energy I like to listen to up beat music in the morning on my way to work. On my way home I like to keep my passion going by listening to podcasts so that I putting my focus into something other than the guy who cut me off. I have a wide range on podcasts from exercise to educators. And in the evening time or on the weekends, I like to do some crafting when my little go to sleep.
Your passion will keep your heart and mind going strong!

This time of the year can take up a lot of your energy. From running around getting things done in the classroom and at home. Holidays are a time to enjoy, try not to run down all of your energy, organize your time, be a team player, find the positive, and use your passion to drive your energy!

I hope these tips help you. Let me know what works for you, leave a comment below ⬇️

Parent-Teacher Conference

Let's talk about Parent-Teacher Conferences...

After 5 years of teaching, I can finally go into a conference confidently and with little worries. Parent-Teacher Conferences used to intimidate me. Meeting with parents and discussing their child's grades and behaviors would stress me out! I always thought that I went into teaching because I love working with kids, not so much with adults. However, being a teacher is also about working with parents, colleagues, and the community. Parent-Teacher Conferences are about building relationships with your students' parents and families. If you have good rapport with your students' families than you have support at home.

I've learned by being more prepared and with some experience, you can go into parent conferences with more confidence and less stress. Here are some tools and tips I use before going into a parent-teacher conference.

Have a Student-Teacher Conference prior. I like to pull my students aside, one-on-one, and discuss their academics and behavior. These informal student conferences allows my students to be aware of how they are doing and it builds on your student/teacher relationship. After having a one-on-one conference, I give each student their own self-evaluation form. These reflection forms are a time for students to reflect on their behavior and academics

Have refreshments and a sign in sheet. Show that you care about your students' parents and want them to feel comfortable too. It's also helpful to have a sign in sheet as a record of who came. This especially helps when you have students with split families.

Lastly, have parents write an encouraging note about how proud they are of their child. Hold onto it and place all notes on each student's desk before school. So when they walk in that morning, they start their school day on a positive note. If you have no show parents, don't leave that child without a note. Write a note yourself about how proud you are of all their accomplishments.

Check out these great forms for your next Parent-Teacher Conference.

This packet includes:

>>> Student reflection sheet

>>> Conference reminder

>>> Conference sign in sheet

>>> Proud parent note

>>> Conference in session sign 

I hope this helps you and good luck on your next conferences. Let me know how your Parent-Teacher Conferences turn out.

What are your students thankful for?

Check out this cute turkey activity I just posted in my TpT store. It's a great writing activity for students to share what they are thankful for this Thanksgiving.

This product includes:

>>> Thankful writing outline for rough draft.

>>>Thankful Turkey writing page for final draft in color.

>>>Thankful Turkey writing page for final draft in black and white.

>>>Additional lined page for students who write more.

You can use this writing activity for opinion or creative writing. It fun and easy.

I feel that writing can be taught and practiced in all activities, especially around holidays.

Check it out at my TpT store Edventures with Coffee.

Enjoy!

Who is Edventures with Coffee?

Hi everyone! I would like to start off by introducing myself. My name is Ronna Yoppini.

I am a credential teacher and have been teaching for 6 years now. After receiving my teaching credential, I substituted for a year and completed a long term substitute position for first grade. The following year I was hired as a fourth grade teacher. I taught 4th grade for 3 years. I was ready for a change and decided to teach Kindergarten and Pre K for 2 years. While teaching kindergarten, I took Early Childhood Development college courses and PD. Now I am currently teaching second grade. 

I completed my Bachelors of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Communication.  I continued my education and completed the credential program with an emphasis in ELD. When I was hired as a teacher I completed a 2 year program of BTSA for first year teachers through SCOE (Sacramento County Office of Education). While teaching at my current district I have spent many hours in PDs on writing, reading, math with Common Core Standards, student psychology, STEM, and many more. While I taught kindergarten, I completed 2 years of Early Childhood Development classes at a nearby community college. I believe that I need to continue learning because life never stops teaching.

As a teacher, I believe each child is unique and their learning experience should be unique. I teach with differentiated instruction to cater to each students' learning needs. I want each child to fully understand what is being taught so they can be successful. I love teaching and want to share it with others. 

I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience teaching different grade levels and completed many professional development courses. I feel that I can help other teachers gain knowledge by sharing my experience. Teachers who support other teachers is a beautiful community. This is why I decided to start blogging. I also have a TPT account, where you can purchase and download classroom and teaching material.  You can also follow me on Instagram  @edventureswithcoffee. 

I am so excited to begin this new chapter in my career and I hope you enjoy what I have to share!