Category Archives: Education

Before and During

These are pictures of my classroom. I titled this “Before and During” because there is not really an AFTER with these. It’s more of a constant work in progress. I find something that I like and change and incorporate as I feel like it.

I’m pretty happy with it and get lots of compliments. My students act like they appreciate not having another room that is a cinderblock cube.

So, without further ado…

The back of the room

The front of the room

Looking in from the hallway

The information area. The little cork board was GLUED to the wall. It would never have been my choice for a board (it’s really small) but I just had to improvise and make it work.

The DIRECT back board of my class. This is where I put any special news, daily objectives, and upcoming test dates.

The other bulletin board is an interactive board on “Magic Squares.” It has pieces that the students can rearrange in Sudoku-type fashion.

Request to Retest Form

This post is going to be short, sweet, and to the point. Sometimes the kids just don’t get it the first time. It is our job, as educators, to teach them the concept. And, sometimes the little darlings don’t get it on the first try. I love the idea of retesting them…ONCE THEY DO THEIR PART.

This is a form to help facilitate the situation that warrants a retest. Now, if the child came to class and slept or never did any work, don’t think for a second I would allow a retake. Some lessons are about work ethic. However, sometimes a child has a valid reason. Maybe he or she was sick, had a family emergency, or missed several days because of a school related event.

So, may I present to you… my “Request to Retest” form.

It’s really self explanatory. The student fills in the information and turns in evidence that they have worked to understand the tested concept. Then the teacher can approve or deny the request.

The form is an interactive pdf, which means that you may post it on your website or blog for the students to fill out online if you wish.

I hope this helps you stay organized and document with ease. Retake Request Form

Best wishes for a wonderful school year!

Absentee Form

I love forms. They make me feel so organized and accomplished. In our district, we must have written notes from parents when dealing with a student’s absence. But, in previous years I have been bombarded with all different shapes, sizes, and styles of notes. This is fine (for normal people) but it drive me insane that I have to keep up with napkins, post-its, and legal sized papers.

So, I created an interactive form. I plan to put this on my school blog, where I have my daily notes posted. That way the kids can type in the information, print the form and have Mom or Dad (or legal guardian) sign it. Then everything will be uniformed and can quickly & easily be filed. I also will print a paper copy of the form to hand out to the kids on the first day for when they can’t get to a computer.

We’ll see how it goes.

For a copy of the interactive pdf just download that from here: Absentee form