Resources for Early Childhood Educators
Hello CDA Candidates and Early Childhood Educators! This month I want to focus on resources that are available for educators. As we say goodbye to summer, and enter Autumn, “The Season of Giving” seems to be right around the corner. As such, I would like to share some ideas on where teachers can turn when looking for resources for their students, and most of these resources are free. Often times, teachers are underpaid, and schools, preschools, daycares, etc., are under-funded, leaving some educators to spend out-of-pocket money on supplies or other fun things for their students.
My first and favorite resource, is Donors Choose. Donors Choose was started 2000, by a public school history teacher. Understanding the need of resources for his students, this history teacher realized that people all over would be willing to help or donate money, if only they knew how, why, and who. Donors Choose makes it easy for public or government funded educators of preschools to post a project, requesting items and supplies they need to make a successful classroom. There are millions of items to choose from. Early childhood educators like yourselves, simply create an account, write about the need your students have, and shop online for items you would like your students to have. Once your project is approved, it goes live, and donors all across the world can donate at any given moment. Donors Choose even allows teachers to ask for funding for special trips, or guest speakers. It is truly an amazing resource! With the holiday season coming around, people all over the world look at Donors Choose as a way to give back. Consider creating a project today! Read more about it here: www.donorschoose.org.
My second favorite resource, is Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT). As an educator myself, I have always found I’ve personally learned best from other educators. Some teachers have the most creative ideas for even the simplest skill we are trying to teach our students. At TpT, you can search through hundreds of thousands of lesson plans, ideas, skills sets, reproducible worksheets, and so much more. You can search by grade, including Pre-K, by subject, including specialty subjects such as arts and music, and you can search by price. While many teachers on TpT have put a lot of time and effort into their plans and expect to be compensated, there are also tons of teachers who share their items for FREE! This site even offers plans for Homeschool children! Read more about it here: www.teacherspayteachers.com.
With just a simple Google search, today’s educators have the chance to open up our world and explore new ideas from fellow educators across the world. Change the monotony of today’s textbook/worksheet classroom, and delve into the world of the resources available at our fingertips. Here are a just a few others I personally enjoy using:
Scholastic News Magazine/Scholastic News Online
Super Teacher Worksheets
Happy planning, Child Development Associate Professionals!