5 (and more) Reasons Why I Want to Thank My Daughter’s Kindergarten Teachers

My baby girl is now 3 years old!! Geez! Time really flies so fast huh. This post is not about me as a mom of Naomi…this post is about her teachers in pre-school. Saying Thank You is not enough for these teachers. So I dedicate this post to all her kindergarten teachers. 

Dear Teachers (farangs & thais),

First, I want to thank you for really taking the time to know Naomi…her moods, her wants, her needs, her weaknesses, and her source of happiness.

She is not the shy and quiet little girl anymore because you make her feel confident in your class.

I want to thank you for helping us to teach her to be confident in using the potty. She now tells us when she needs to do number 1 and sometimes number 2.

Thank you for taking the time to mark all her activities. Her fine motor skills shows a great improvement because of your well thought activities in class.

Thank you for taking the time to do lovely hairstyles on her. Every time I pick her up in the afternoon, she always tells me “my teacher do my hair”.

Thank you for using ClassDojo for keeping me and her dad updated on her developments everyday.

Thank you for always informing me if something bad happens. I know that I can trust you and I know that my child will be safe.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your effort and most importantly, for making my child’s time with you fun and engaging.

Love,

Fritzie

ClassDojo Back to School Update (Surprise to the nth Power)

Who wouldn’t fall in love with ClassDojo? If you happen to be hibernating for a while…then you must be wondering who or what the hell is ClassDojo!! It’s an app that helps teachers to manage their classes. Please visit my introduction about ClassDojo here.  

Surprise to the nth power because every year the ClassDojo team never fails to give magical powers to the teachers. It just gets better and better each year!! Yay!!

So here we go with the surprises…(drum rolls please). 

Surprise #1. Introducing the “Toolkit” 

Most of the tools that we use in our class are now in one place. From the Noise Meter, to Timer, to Random which is now called Popsicle Sticks to Group Creator which I like the most. 

Check the image below to know more about these tools…

Surprise #2. Student Stories Updates
Last year, I only used Student Stories to post student’s work and Term grades. This year, I want to let them take ownership of their digital portfolios. Epecially now that they can annotate their photos, add stickers/borders, and add journals too. 

For those of you who are new to ClassDojo or don’t know what a Student Stories is. It is a student-led, digital portfolios for the classroom. Student Stories replace boxes and binders of students’ work with beautiful, simple digital portfolios that are shared between school and home, sparking meaningful conversations on what students are learning every day. (Source: http://www.classdojo.com/studentstories) 

The following are the 2017-18 Student Stories updates:

1. Post with any app: students (and teachers!) can post photos and videos to their Story from other apps directly, or by uploading from the camera roll. “App smashing” becomes a reality!
2. Any device: students can post from any device: iOS, Android, Chromebooks or web

3. Easy and secure access: no need to remember usernames or passwords – students can log in instantly by scanning their secure class QR code

4. Journal entries: the easiest way for students to reflect on their work, they can now create written journal entries

5. Draw and annotate on photos: students can add more context to entries with drawn or typed comments

6. Record and upload videos: students can record and share video up to eight minutes in length, or upload saved videos from other apps

7. Drawings: when words fall short, students can let their inner artist shine by creating a drawing all their own!

8. Filters, frames, and stickers: students can add a dash of fun to their posts, creating portfolios as unique as they are

9. Voice notes: students too young to type? All they have to do is speak into their device and add a voice note to their work. 

Students are able to start adding to their own Stories from a shared classroom iPad or Chromebook immediately as part of the ClassDojo app. For more information on Student Stories and ClassDojo, please visit: https://www.classdojo.com and https://www.classdojo.com/studentstories.

 

ClassDojo Surprises

This is about the recent features that CD added to their tool. 

1. Quiet Hours – Oh! I love this feature very much because it can inform our parents that we, teachers are human beings like them! That we need quality time with our family/loved ones, and we are not nocturnal mammals. 

How to do this? Click your profile, then select Push Notification, then select your preferred time.

 

This is how it looks like to a parent.

 
 

This is how it looks like on our end.

 
2. Notifications – Like Facebook, we have now a notification button. Here, you can see who liked your Class Story posts, which parent is now connected, etc.

  
3. Experimental Features – I am not really sure if this experimental features are for just a certain amount of time or so…but I like it! You can post your goal points of the day/week, have a banner to post something positive/encouraging or topic of your lesson, and a full screen feature 🙂 

Aren’t all these awesome? 

Sign up and give ClassDojo a try! You won’t regret it! 

Clipboard to ClassDojo

Here’s my top 3 reasons why I totally switched from Clipboard chart to ClassDojo

      1. Easy as 1,2,3! 

• Just a simple tap for a positive (ding!) or negative point (dong!)
• Weekly or monthly behavior points is available using pie chart or a spreadsheet.
• Parents communication is very convenient. 

        Here are some of the positive feedback I got from our parents: 

  Dear Fritzie

It is a very effective tool to communicate between us and i am very happy to use it,it is also working as a reminder for students to what they have to do after school for next days.  

My best
Saboori

Hi Teacher Fritzie,

I think ClassDojo is a great tool. A good way to check on child’s progress without bothering teachers all the time. The messages are a good way to receive feedback and notifications.

Thanks

Carolyn

Dear Teacher Fritzie,

I like ClassDojo, I love that I can see some update on —– in each class and very convenient to communicate with teachers and school, though I still have to get use to it more as not sure if this is just for school sending me information or if I can also asking questions about my daughter through this tool, I have to google how to use ClassDojo! 😅 However hope you keep using this application for next scool year!

Sarina K.

2. Ms. Forgetful No More!  
•  I don’t forget to award or deduct points anymore because I always have my phone or iPad or my laptop with me. When I move around the classroom, ClassDojo is just a click away! No need to go to the opposite side of the room and adjust the clipboard. Besides, the students are more engaged!

        3. ClassDojo Team Rocks! 

• Jenna, Manoj, Sam, Liam, Matt, Frances to name a few…the whole CD team is the most supportive, available team I ever met (hopefully I can really meet them personally)! You have a question, you have a problem, send a message and within 24hrs or less…they are ready to help you. 
• ClassDojo teachers, especially my fellow mentors are the best!

         You’re all awesome!! 

ClassDojo Inspired Classroom

Hello to all the teachers out there! As you all know I am very excited to use ClassDojo’s new features next month. I was also inspired by my fellow CD mentors on how they will use those cute monsters inside their classroom.

Anyway, this is what I’ve done so far…our Classroom Rules!!!   classroom rules monster

Here’s a Welcome banner with the Dojo monsters 🙂 

  

Almost ready for next week classes…here’s the final product of my classroom. 

  

I also shared the ClassDojolove to our teachers during the Teachers’ Meeting.

All the new teachers have signed up! Yay! I’d like to thank all my fellow mentors for the inspiration and of course the ClassDojo Team for supporting teachers like me. 🙂   

ClassDojo’s Class Story

ClassDojo team doesn’t stop from making our lives as teachers fabulous! From the latest Group Feature, now they are introducing Class Story!

This is something like a Facebook wall. It was at first called a Class Wall but as we know, the CD team always involves the teachers so it was renamed as “Class Story”.

Class Story is the easiest way to share photos of the class’ experiences. I can’t wait to use it in my class for the coming new academic year. The good thing about this feature is that it has a read receipts, so we as teachers know if our message went through. It is also private as only parents who are connected to your class can see the Class Story. 

I actually tried it using my son’s ClassDojo (yes, I use ClassDojo at home). This is how it looks like…

This will be available through the CD App on any iOS, Android, and website. This is still on beta phase so for more information and to request access to Class Story, please go to this link: https://www.classdojo.com/classstory/

Why I love ClassDojo?

As a teacher, I used different styles and/or tactics in managing my class. My principal and colleagues would ask me what do I do inside the classroom that I dont send students in the office. Why Student A is behaving well in my class compared to the other classes?

I am not saying I am a perfect teacher or I have a great classroom management skills…but one thing I learned as a teacher and as a mother is not one single method will always work.

From Clip Chart to sticker/stamp rewards to time-out corner to reflection time…name it! I tried all of them even with my own son (except the Clip Chart :)) and with my students.

Then I came across ClassDojo, read the reviews and tried it at home first. I do have some concern before using this App: 1. In our school (Phuket, Thailand) we don’t have an interactive board or a smart board (but i have computer and tv in my classroom). 2. Displaying red or bad behavior points or low points may make other students feel bad about themselves (but this is not different to clip chart right?) 3. How do we (management) monitor messages between teachers and parents (this one can be a matter of trust).

After some series of experiments and trouble shooting, we started introducing this to all our teachers and parents. We encouraged our teachers to use this free app wisely and professionally. I, myself doesnt believe in reward system but even if my students don’t get anything from those points. This App has helped me in a lot of ways. One is monitoring the attendance. Second, paperless behavior tracking. Third, easy communication between teachers and the parents. 4th, there is a ClassDojo community filled with amazing people that inspire and help each other.

Another good news is I am now a ClassDojo Mentor after using it for a year! You get a Mentor badge on your CD account and to be honest it gives you a boost!!

 It is so easy to use and the ClassDojo people are awesome. They answer your queries in about 24hrs or even less! Here’s a link on how to get started : https://www.classdojo.com/resources/

If you have any question or is already a ClassDojo user let me know by commenting below. Share with me your thoughts about this app. 🙂
Did I mention, I also use ClassDojo at home?  🙂