Kinder Teamwork

I was a teacher from July of 1999 to June of 2015 in Fontana, CA. I taught Kindergarten, First Grade, Second Grade, Fourth Grade, and Fifth Grade. I work best with K-2 students and the majority of my years were spent in Kindergarten and 1st Grade. I left at the end of the 2014-2015 school year to move with my husband and kids to a rural Missouri town. I homeschooled my special needs daughter from the end of her 6th grade year through the end of 11th grade (June 2024). She may attend public school for her senior year (2024-2025) as she wants to make some local friends, have prom, and a graduation ceremony.

I like to use Whole Brain Teaching techniques to keep my students engaged. Once I started using WBT my classroom ran so unbelievably smooth. Behavior issues were almost non-existant. Student's academics also soared above what I could have ever imagined. I didn't have formal instruction so I am not a WBT expert but I am telling you if you are struggling with creating engaged, active learners or with discipline problems, you should do your research on WBT. Give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. That's my motto. I also believe in a lot of positive reinforcement in the classroom which is why I used Class Dojo to track behaviors and keep parents informed. I used a WBT scoreboard but tweaked it to satisfy administrators. Instead of happy face vs sad face I did students vs teacher. After every activity they either earned the point for working as a whole class group or I earned it if someone wasn't helping their team. For every five points they earned they got a Brain Break on GoNoodle. My students LOVED the Koo Koo Kangaroo Guys and I'm glad they did because I did too! :) I used the Class Dojo randomizer to select a student who got to choose our brain break IF they had 100% positive behavior for the day. Man I miss the classroom......

I was nominated for Teacher of the Year by my colleagues in 2015 and chosen for my preK-6th grade school site! I then went against 44 other teachers from other sites throughout my district and was named District Teacher of the Year. It is quite an honor!!

B.A. in Liberal Studies, 1998 B.A. in Psychology, 1998 CA Multiple Subject CLAD Teaching Credential, 1999

My products were made for my own personal use in my Kindergarten classroom, or for my daughter, a struggling learner, or for TpT buyers who have requested special items from me. Since I am out of the classroom currently I am working on custom requests and projects for my colleagues and friends. I figure since I took the time to make them, I may as well share them with others. I hope you enjoy. If you have any comments, questions, or requests, please let me know. :) I can be reached at kinderteamwork @ gmail.com Thank you!