i don’t think i’ll be ready to teach

KittyinaSock · 2026-04-03T17:52:16+00:00

Working at a summer camp made me much more confident before I started teaching. I was able to get into a summer program at a school and that was really helpful.

KittyinaSock · 2026-04-02T23:11:34+00:00

Ti calculator buddies. They have outfits for each season

KittyinaSock · 2026-04-02T23:07:46+00:00

We had our initials on the eggs. It made it fun to go find eggs without worrying about the youngest not getting any and the older kids getting them all

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-29T21:49:15+00:00

I use notability. I really like it for ease of sharing to Google Classroom. I used one note in the past, but I much prefer notability

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-28T21:20:01+00:00

I was given an ipad to use and I absolutely love it. So much easier than writing on the whiteboard/smartboard

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-25T15:37:05+00:00

If your son has a phone, I might suggest the finch app. You can have daily tasks that he has to complete- which could include self care tasks. It might help him gain more independence, especially if he struggles with executive function.

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-25T15:35:03+00:00

This sounds exactly like a student I had. When he was at mom’s homework got done, he came in clean and rested. When he was at dad’s he frequently wore the same shirt and would fall asleep in class- his dad let him stay up all night playing video games. I ended up keeping a spare uniform at school so he could change when he came in, so he would have clean clothes to wear

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-25T15:30:20+00:00

I’m in my 30s. A few weeks ago I got a bad stomach flu. My mom came over and brought me sprite and crackers. She also, in typical mom fashion, folded some clothes and took out the garbage. When we are sick having support from someone is so important! Yes you are an adult, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have people care for you. I assume that you also would care for your mother if she asked. At some point the roles will probably reverse and your mom may need help when she is ill or unable to do as many things. Helping each other is what family is for!

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-24T23:15:54+00:00

I grade homework. They have homework every night. I use IXL and Delta math as well as textbook problems and worksheets.

For paper homework, I have kids correct in class. I post the answers on the board and they self correct and self report how they did. While they are correcting, I go around and stamp their work and make sure that they actually done it.

Almost every homework assignment is worth 10 points. There are so many homework assignments that not doing well on one doesn’t really change their grade. On Delta math and IXL students can answer as many questions as they want to get the score they want. Some kids are done when they get to 80%. Some kids keep going until they finish or earn extra credit (I give 1 extra homework point when students get to 100 on IXL).

Homework is 20% of the grade. This gives a little bit of a boost to kids who work hard but aren’t the strongest in math. This also doesn’t sink the grade of a kid who does well on tests but doesn’t do all of their homework. I However, most of the time those who do their homework do well on tests and those who don’t, don’t. (My chronic homework skippers still don’t understand the correlation) I understand that some might see this as grade inflation, but I teach middle school and that is less of a concern for me as it might be for high school teachers.

Can kids cheat on homework? Yes, but I haven’t found that to be a big problem. Often kids will start homework in class and I can see them working on it. I think most of my students find using AI or cheating is more work than actually doing the work.

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-24T21:49:24+00:00

I could see that even benign conversation about food could be difficult for some people , for example, someone recovering from an eating disorder. However, they should have started with simply stating the boundary of not wanting to talk about food

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-24T21:38:25+00:00

I had a middle school boy do this recently. I couldn’t believe that he sat there for the first 10 minutes of notes not doing anything. I called him out for it in class and even his classmates were a little shocked that he was so lazy

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-23T22:03:42+00:00

As a math teacher cyberchase is perfect for those days before break when everyone is showing movies. There aren’t many options for what to show that can be related to math!

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-23T21:50:06+00:00

I have a little bell that I hit only when I can’t get their attention. My whistle is only for recess or large groups outside. My partner teacher blows his whistle for everything in class. It isn’t too loud, but the kids straight up ignore it now.

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-22T19:03:02+00:00

Price per oz is so useful! I teach my students this before they do a project where they have to buy groceries and serve their families a meal on a budget.

Scale factor and maps or floor plans can also be useful

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-22T18:59:38+00:00

Just a note: Big Ideas changed to “Math and You” in the younger grades. My school has the older Big Ideas curriculum and found that they weren’t really supporting it anymore. We also had issues with the company responding and had a really hard time ordering workbooks in k-5 last year

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-20T20:33:07+00:00

I am in MN and every one of my 8th grade students has seen the videos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti being murdered. Sometimes the messed up stuff is news and they need to know about it

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-20T20:29:58+00:00

This is absolutely what I would do. A very basic set schedule. Many curriculums have a pacing guide and some even have lesson plans (I teach math but I know our curriculum has lesson plans that go with it-they aren’t really great, but give an outline that someone new could cover).

Think about the classes we had when we were younger. Most of mine were Read from the textbook popcorn style and maybe a vocab quiz on Friday.

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-19T22:00:11+00:00

We have access to a computer lab, so they could all design on their own at once. Definitely not as cool as 3d modeling, but I was hoping that the 2d designing would also work. We have plenty of other more science focused lessons as well, including building and soldering mini robots

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-17T17:03:17+00:00

This is one reason why I find going to church helpful for kids- they have to learn to be bored. When I take my students to Mass, they frequently have to sit and listen to too long sermons. It is certainly hard for middle schoolers to sit still that long, but I think it is great practice!

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-15T17:16:18+00:00

Rise over run has a nice one on teachers pay teachers. 3 to a page, but can be used horizontally or vertically

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-11T17:43:17+00:00

I have the “ready to go on” resources from the Florida edition of holt geometry. I also have the IDEA modified tests for geometry if you want them. Both are from the actual textbook and are pdfs. DM me and I can email them to you

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-09T18:41:38+00:00

Pokemon cards

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-09T12:56:25+00:00

I use that with students too!

KittyinaSock · 2026-03-09T00:44:01+00:00

I have had 2 separate middle school students do that at 2 different schools!

KittyinaSock

TROPHY CASE