VOLUME 6 ISSUE 10
TIS and THAT NEW S L E T T E R How to Survive the Winter Time Blues in the Classroom by Jill Rose Christmas break is over, it is cold, dreary, and you have not been out for recess for over a week. What is a teacher to do? We have all been there and we can feel ourselves falling into the winter time blues along with our students. The next vacation day is Martin Luther King Day unless our snow dances work. The winter time blues can have a big impact on what goes on in and out of the classroom. Here are some suggestions to beat the winter time blues. Dr. Allen Mendler gives suggestions of how to create a self-care plan to beat the winter blues. Dr. Mendler points out the fact that is important to have daily practices in our lives. These ideas would also work in a classroom.
Just Move-Close your eyes, drop your head & shoulders and inhale and exhale several times.
Take a walk through the halls to the cafeteria, etc.
Brighten up your room-bring in some flowers, add pictures of people or places that give you joy. Share a feel good story with your class.
Nancy Barile wrote an article entitled “Engaging Students during the Long Winter Months.” Barile uses poetry in her classroom to help with the winter blues. She states that “Memorizing poetry can be a meditative practice and can provide some inner solace as kids carry these words with them.” She also suggests getting in the sun as much as possible, exercising, and also going to bed and waking up at the same time daily. TeachHub suggests: *Switch up the class schedule *Allow students to teach a lesson *Open up the blinds to let in some sunlight for the Vitamin D *Plan and complete a themed project *Plan a special day
For When You Have a Free Moment… Science Websites to Explore http://www.natgeoed.org/ http://www.koantum.com/ http://climatekids.nasa.gov/ http://www.projectnoah.org/ Math Websites to Explore https://www.khanacademy.org/ http://www.hippocampus.org/ https://www.ixl.com/ http://www.purplemath.com/ ELA Websites to Explore http://kids.mysterynet.com https://www.readingrainbow.org https://www.noredink.com http://www.poetry4kids.com History Websites to Explore https://learninglab.si.edu/ https://www.icivics.org/ http://teachinghistory.org/ http://wvde.state.wv.us/learn21/ Music Websites to Explore http://sfskids.org/ http://www.dariamusic.com/ https://www.musictheory.net/ https://www.fromthetop.org
Students in Ms. Rose’s class are enjoying the sunshine!
Beat the Winter Blues! by Dave Cox This time of year can be tough for so many reasons. The holidays are now over, it’s cold, it seems like it is dark and dreary all of the time, and we are now a long way from another break. Thankfully, there’s an app (or apps) for that. Here’s a list of 5 apps you can use to warm up and brighten those dreary days. Spotify – Nothing is more powerful, in my opinion, in helping you change your mood than music. Spotify is a free app that can be used to listen to virtually any band, musician, or style of music you can imagine. If you are okay with listening to a few advertisements from time to time, then the app is completely free to use. If you decide to purchase Spotify Premium, the ads are removed and it gives you many more options for listening. www.spotify.com Breethe – There is an extensive amount of research that shows meditation is an incredible tool we can use to manage our stress and mood. But who has time for that? And isn’t it all just a bunch of “hooey”? Well, you can see for yourself using the breethe app. This app allows you to choose from a variety of different lengths of time as well as various styles to coincide with the time of day you decided to meditate. Whether it’s waking up, time for bed, or you have a few spare minutes in the middle of the day, this app may help you deal with the stress from your day as well as the “Winter Blues” https://breethe.com/ Blue Light Therapy – Research says Blue Light Therapy can aid in fighting the effects of with winter blues. If you are willing to purchase Phillips Hue Light bulbs (prices vary depending on device), this app can help counter
the effects of the lack of sunlight we all experience during the winter months. The blue light, in conjunction with soothing music, may be just the thing you need to make it to Spring. http:// apps4hue.com/product/blue-light -therapy/ Zen Wisdom – This is a quick and simple app that could be just enough to bring things into perspective when you are feeling down. Simply open the app to receive a daily Zen thought. You can click for more if you would like, view a list of other thoughts, select favorites, and even share these thoughts with your friends on social media. http:// appcrawlr.com/ios/zen-wisdom
Brainwave – It’s been a long day and you just know that you are not going to be able to sleep. Brainwave is just the tool you need. Brainwave combines binaural and ambient sounds to help you sleep soundly so you can deal with all of the stressors from your day. You can set the length of time as well as the combination of sounds that you find most helpful and soothing. The only catch is that it works best with ear buds. This may take some getting used to, but it’s worth it. (I recommend Panasonic ear buds that can be found on Amazon for around $10). http:// www.banzailabs.com/ brainwaveapps.html
How to Turn Down Blue Light on Your iPhone or iPad For manual use: 1. Open up the Settings app. 2. Scroll to the Display & Brightness section. ... 3. Tap on "Night Shift." 4. Tap on the "Manually Enable Until Tomorrow" toggle. 5. Adjust screen temperature as desired. 6. With no schedule set, Night Shift mode will automatically turn off in the morning. For automatic use: 1. In the Night Shift menu, tap on "From and To" to set Night Shift activation times. 2. Tap on "Sunset to Sunrise" to set Night Shift to come on when the sun sets based on your iPhone's clock. When the sun sets in your local area, the display will shift from regular mode to Night Shift mode over the course of a minute. 3. Tap on "Custom Schedule" to set your own times for Night Shift to turn on and off again. https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/use-ios-9-3-night-shift-mode/
Let’s Get Moving by Staci Mitchell Are your students settling in for a long winter’s nap? There is abundant research that shows the more students move, the more they learn. According to a 2013 report from the Institute of Medicine “Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Education to School” children who move show greater attention, have faster cognitive processing speed and perform better on assignments and test. Brain breaks are mental breaks designed to help students stay focused and attentive. The brain breaks get students moving to carry blood and oxygen to the brain. They can energize or relax. Brain breaks also provide processing time for students to solidify their learning. (thewatsoninstitute.org) Here are some ideas that could help keep their juices flowing:
Here is a list of YouTube Channels for classroom brain breaks from childhood101.com
Debbie Doo: Great movement routines to simple songs, perfect for younger kids.
Cosmic Kids Yoga: A big collection of yoga routines presented as adventures for kids. Check out the short 2 minute videos for brain breaks or the longer stories if you have more time.
PBS SteveSongs: The Steve Songs videos feature a popular PBS performer.
The Learning Station: A huge range of fun action songs kids will love.
Have Fun Teaching: As an adult, the Fitness Songs are on the repetitive side but my girls love them! Better for younger grades.
Dance Sweat Live: The Mini Workouts feature simple dance routines to popular songs. Great for older kids too. GoNoodle is a free website offers music videos that are perfect for getting kids out of their seat and moving. Short, interactive videos that keep students attention and encourage them to move is just the beginning. There are subject-based songs that reinforce topics covered in the classroom. If you have more than one class you can arrange competitions. This is a must see. Your students will love it no matter what the age.
There are also numerous activities that you can do that do not require any technology. Check out Minds in Bloom, a blog with strategies for all content areas and other topics such as kindness in the classroom and classroom management. The site also features freebies for many activities and ideas for incorporating movement and technology in the classroom.
Move to Learn: Simple, fun workouts for children across a range of ages.
Remember many classrooms have access to the Wii gaming system and Dance Dance Revolution.
MobyMax by Staci Mitchell MobyMax is a computer-based program aligned with the Common Core State Standards that finds and fixes learning gaps. Each student takes a placement test and the program personalizes learning based on the test results in all K-8 subjects including Math, Reading, Language, Writing, Science, and Social Studies. MobyMax is a great supplement to your K-8 curriculum. Most items have read-aloud components. Many teachers have seen tremendous growth in their student’s skill level. Some students have improved by several grade levels in just a few months.
MobyMax also has worksheets that match a student’s curriculum so if a teacher knows a student does not have the required technology at home, they can prepare “snow day” work to be sent home just in case of a cancellation.
Students can sign in from any computer with internet access and it keeps track of their work, so they pick up where they left off. So if a student has home computer and internet access, they can login and work on skills during snow days or days out of school.
Teachers can access numerous reports to monitor student usage and progress. Special Education teachers can line up student goals and monitor individual student process in different subject areas.
Students can monitor their progress. They earn game time and “badges” as they correctly answer questions and move through their tailored curriculum. Teachers can set up contests and give student’s feedback.
MobyMax is a paid subscription site. You can sign up for a free trial to preview the program at www.mobymax.com.
Newsletter Contributors Staci Mitchell Special Educator and Lead Teacher at WV Children’s Home School WVDE Office of Transition and Diversion Programs Dave Cox School Improvement Specialist at Central Preston Middle School Preston County Schools Jill Rose Multi-Categorical Resource Room Teacher at Andrews Heights Elementary School Kanawha County Schools