Which Teacher Would You Rather Be?

Wow! Just started reading the book, “Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites”  while on the airplane to California. This question, “Which teacher would you rather be?”, was asked on the second page! Makes me really stop and think about what kind of teacher I am and which kind I want to be.  Just by reading the book introduction, I am already feeling motivated and excited!
I think back to when I first became a teacher over 30 years ago. Do you recognize this machine? What color are the pages?

Why do the kids have the pages up to their noses?

Just like most teachers, I “ran” my fair share of dittos and more recently “copied” my share of printables.  Everything in moderation, right? But, I didn’t become a teacher to pass papers to children.  So why did I become a teacher, more specifically a kindergarten teacher? Because I love kids! I wanted to play, talk, interact…all things that are more difficult to do with a piece of paper between us.
I am so excited about this book study. It is a good reminder of the things I am doing right or things I “use” to do but have quit doing. It also promise to teach me a few new tricks!
Here are a few of the key points that I have already picked up, just from the introduction!

• “When students are actively engaged in experiences with content, they stand a better chance of learning and remembering what we want them to know.”
• “Worksheets and lectures teach lower level concepts.”
• Teachers are gardeners.  “Every time students learn something new in their classroom, they grow a new brain cell, known as a dendrite.”
• Lessons should “incorporate multiple modalities.”
• “If students do not learn the way we teach, we must teach them the way they learn.”
• “Every student comes to school with an inherent gift…it is the teachers job to unwrap this gift.”

This book contains:

• Activities that “increase academic achievement for all.”
• Activities that “decrease behavior problems by minimizing the boredom.”
• Activities that “make teaching and learning fun for all grades.”

Be sure and come back to follow along with the book study. Here is the schedule! To say I am excited is a little bit of an understatement!!
Kickin it in Kindergarten- Chapters 1 &2 (February 28th)
Mrs. Wills Kindergarten- Chapter 3 (March 7th)
Queen of the First Grade Jungle Chapter 4 (March 10th)
Fabulous in First Chapter 5 (March 14th)
One Extra Degree Chapter 6 (March 17th)
Mrs. Jump's Class Chapter 7 (March 28th)
The First Grade Parade Chapter 8 (March 31st)
In April, you will be visiting these girls for the remainder of the study:
Mrs. Ehle's Kindergarten Chapter 9 &10 (April 4th)
What The Teacher Wants Chapter 11 (April 7th)
First Grader At Last Chapter 12 (April 11th)
Erica's Ed Ventures Chapter 13 (April 14th)
KinderGals Chapter 14 &15 (April 18th)
A Rocky Top Teacher Chapter 16 (April 21st)
Mrs. Wills Kindergarten Chapter 17 (April 25th)
Little Warriors Chapter 18 (April 28th)
Falling Into First Chapter 19 (May 2nd)
Kickin' it in Kindergarten Chapter 20 (May 5th)
You can join in for whatever part you like! If you are not a blogger, that is OK! We will want you to join in on the fun. You can participate in the conversation in the comments. We want this to be a positive collaboration between teachers! The whole point is to encourage each other with inspiring ideas while still using research based best practice.