Thankful for parent teacher conferences

November is a great time to teach  about Thankfulness.

This turkey is on a fellow Kindergarten teachers bulletin board.  Isn't he cute?

November is also parent/teacher conferences.  They terrify me....there I admitted it.  As much as I love meeting with the parents, the idea of parent/teacher conferences just scares the bejeezus out of me.

I want to start my conferences on a positive note, so one thing I do is have the parents write on a turkey feather three compliments about their student.  This accomplishes two things: first, it has us talking about good things regarding their child, and second, it gives me  feathers for our turkey bulletin board and a chance to compliment each student, making them feel wonderful.

This year I took those turkey feathers as a chance to introduce thankful journals.  We brainstormed things we were thankful for using this fun organizer from Jen Bradshaw at Teacher Karma

 

Then we picked four to use in our journals.  I just had my students fold their paper in four sections and in each section write and draw about something they are thankful for.  Just a simple 4-square graphic organizer for planning.  We revised our writing by adding the word because to what we had written the day before.  I wanted more than just I am thankful for statements.  I wanted thoughtful reasons.

We are in the process now of writing our foldout pages to add to this book created by Jennifer at 4mulaFun

I have so many things to be thankful for, I could fill a hundred journals.  Model for your students true gratitude by making your own journal.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

Thankful for Bright Ideas

November is a month to look over our blessings and remember to be thankful for things large and small.

I am thankful that one Saturday each month some of the best bloggers out there share their wonderful ideas, tips, and classroom experiences during the Bright Ideas Link-up.  I am thankful that I have been able to participate in these events. 

November's event is a Roundup of Bright Ideas, where we are re-capping the best of the Bright Ideas.  So here goes....some of my favorites.

My personal favorite has to be raising butterflies.  Best thing I do all year and here is the post to tell you how I do it.

I have really been obsessed with making little magnets out of the clear stones you can get in the dollar store and in the floral department of any craft store.  Here is the post where I explain the many ways I use them.  My student's favorite way is as reading magnifying glasses.

I like getting kids outside.  In February it is for tracing shadows.

In May it was for field day.

Some ideas are short and sweet.  In August I blogged about this single little tip to make your life easier.

These are some of my bright ideas, but just take a look at all the bloggers that have shared their ideas.  Check out the link up below for a Round Up of wonderful Bright Ideas.

Also consider following me on Facebook, at my TpT store, or here on this blog.

Have a GREAT day!

An InLinkz Link-up