Mailbox teachers, pull out your wish lists! Our editors are busily working on magazine issues for the upcoming school year, and they’d love your input. Throughout every school year, The Mailbox magazines are tweaked and updated to best meet teachers’ needs. For example, during the current school year, we added the new departments “Problem Solved!”, “Good to Know,” and “Teacher Talk.” Most recently, we began labeling activities for alignment to Common Core State Standards.
Ready to wish? Think about The Mailbox magazine edition you use most frequently. Then share your wishes right here. Got an idea for a new department? Share it! Want to find more (or less) center activities, bulletin board ideas, or worksheets? Share it! Wish for a collection of activities for a specific skill, theme, or topic? Share it! Like the full-color games and activity cards? Share it! Just be sure to let us know the grade(s) you teach and magazine edition(s) you use: Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grades 2–3, or Intermediate.
Oh, and one more thing! To thank you for your feedback, your name will be entered in a drawing for a free one-year subscription to The Mailbox magazine of your choice. Wowee! Just be sure to leave your wishes before midnight, EDT, Sunday, April 14.
All ears!
Diane
Congratulations to Ronda! She’s the winner of our drawing.
We are doing more and more parent education and parent-child activities in our preschool program. Oour state board of ed wants us to “teach” parents how to interact/play/work with their child at home and many of them need ideas. How about adding a section or ideas to share with parents. It could have a newsletter, maybe a minicalendar of short learning activities to try with your child each day,an article that shares the latest research for families with preschoolers… Because some of our preschool parents are at risk and not strong in their own literacy skills,these would need to be brief and simply written for the parents. They also should be easy to copy and hand out or attach to a weekly newsletter that many preschool teachers already share with parents
I would love to have some sort of section for adminstrative issues. Also, how about a more interactive place where people can post questions and others can answer? It can go by topic and age group.
I would like to reiterate the parent education. I am in a low SES area and it is shocking how little parents here participate in their child’s education. It takes concerted effort on my part to get them involved. I am constantly searching for activities that will cost them nothing to very little to help them take some ownership in their child’s education.
I have similar problems as Rosemary in regards to the need for easy reading.
Thanks!
R
I now have a class set of iPads and would LOVE more ideas of how to incorporate their use more in my daily lessons! It would be great to let teachers send in how they are using them and what great free apps they are using to help those of us who are just getting started (or will be soon).
Looking for an easier way to discuss different cultures & ways other children around the world celebrate or live day to day, I have seen this at the holidays, but it would be fun to see each month. Different countries & cultures, thank you.
I would like more classroom management ideas. With Kindergarten and 1st grade you really have to find new ideas regularly to keep the management from year to year. I want to know about other incentive programs that people use and other management techniques that work.
I teach at a sports & wellness school, so I would love to see more cross curricular lessons that link physical education and health with the core subjects (math, language, etc.). Thanks!
I love the idea of parent education being in Mailbox preschool.
I would love to see more nursery rhymes usage, more ideas on communicating with parents. Perhaps just a column every other issue where Teachers share ideas on how they communicate with parents,.
Another thing I would love to see is easy ways to track progress of children.
Maybe just a dedicated column called Teachers Swap where you ask a question in one issue and we submit by email answers and there it is the next issue.
Oh just another comment.
I love the way Mailbox wants to know what Teachers want to know about and that you gear your magazine for us. Thank you.
Would love to see center/small group activities for 4th graders!
Parent ideas that are easy for the parent and that low cost.
I love Mailbox Magazine. I love the ideas of variety of activities…..of course more science for me, that is a weak subject area!! I would like to see less of the ‘worksheet’ type thins in the preschool editions because I know at my center we don’t do worksheets or things like that..More ideas on classroom management, parent activities to do as ‘homework’
More social skills would be good too.
I would love to see a technology section. Possible ideas would be iPad apps for the classroom, interactive whiteboard lessons, free online learning games, etc.
I’m a two and three yr.old teacher. I would love to see more craft ideas, songs and activities for this age group.
I’m a two and three yr.old teacher. I would love to see more craft ideas, songs and activities for this age group.
I’m a two and three yr.old teacher. I would love to see more craft ideas, songs and activities for this age group.
Text based questions
I would love more math aligned to 4th and 5th grade common core activities. Maybe more transdisciplinary activities between math and science or math and reading/writing. Keep up the great work!
I use your folder games all the time to reinforce learning and introduce new ideas. I would like to see more of those that are aligned to our intermediate common core standards like Greek and Latin root words that students aren’t used to seeing.
Also, maybe some contests that kids can enter like poetry contests or art contests.
I would like to see things done in World Languages. I teach Spanish and even now, 20 years in, still have a hard time finding resources that really apply to what kids learn today.
I would love to see common core correlations and more suggestions for project based learning.
I Would Love To See Music/Musical Instruments As A Theme In One Of Your issues.
I would like some ideas on how to explain to parents the common core. Also math activities that they could do with their student(s) to help reinforce CCSS. K – 5. Thank you!
We have just submitted a 2-1 initiative for iPads in our classroom. I would love to see ideas for apps that other teachers have found useful and their suggests for integrating them across the curriculum. I teach second grade.
Maybe a new section that implements literatue with craft and music ideas.
I could use ideas for kids with special needs. This year I was presented with an autistic child and he has had a lot of services in place both at home and at the daycare, but there were times I was at a loss as to how to help him effectively. My other concern is for children who speak a different language at home. There are times I am not sure they understand me and it can cause frustration or both student and teacher.
I love the ready made centers that come in each issue. It would be nice to see some more of those. Maybe some science or social studies type stations that align with the ELA Standards. It would also be nice to see the common core standards listed with the activities.
I would love to see games that correlate to the common core and make learning fun at the same time…maybe a section called common core game integration.
Writing seems to be a weakness for my students, simply they don’t like to do it! I would like to see more beginning steps to get students interested in writing. Steps that will pull them in and allow them to enjoy the writing process.
I would love to see pre-k center ideas for the following themes:
– The World of Art
– Staying Healthy
– Staying Safe
– Taking Care of Ourselves
– Moving on to Kindergarten
🙂
I agree with Rosemary’s suggestion of a handout for families.
I teach kindergarten and I need:
*a book of activities for each alphabet letter that kids can put together then play with (word lists that slide through the slots, word family wheels, booklets with “windows” that kids can ope, etc.)
*An assessment piece to use in September, then repeat later in the year for comparison purposes, would be helpful. Those that I’ve found are too lengthy to use with kids who are barely five years old and who take a few weeks or even a month or two to become comfortable enough with me to assess accurately
Thanks to all for your thoughtful suggestions. I have some great blog topics, too! Happy teaching!