Quick post tonight. I wanted to share two ways I began to utilize voice memos in my class. These are super simple, but so far they have been really helpful. Any Kindergarten teacher will probably agree that we tend to have to repeat things a lot. Instructions, tying shoes, putting on band-aids, etc.. One question I noticed I would get a million (no exaggeration) times every morning was "What's for lunch?" Of course, the kiddos don't all walk in at the same time so I found myself repeating the menu over and over and over. Now, I love talking to my kiddos in the morning but I would much rather use my time to see how they are doing and simply chat as opposed to repeating food items like a robot. That brings me to the first way I now use voice memos on my iPad. Before the kiddos get to school, I record myself saying what lunch is that day and leave the app open next to our lunch count. Students know to come in and press the play button as opposed to asking me. They got quite the kick out of this the first few times, but now it has become a part of daily routine. Saving my voice, one play button at a time.
Another way I now use the voice memo app is during math centers. Most weeks one of my centers is "Math Journals" where students complete story problems. In the past, I would have a parent helper (if available) or myself read the number story out loud for the group. I would often have to repeat it numerous times for students to remember the different parts ("Wait Miss Dunn, was it two blue cubes and three red? Or three blue and two red?") Now, I record the number story before math groups begin and set it out for students to hit play on their own as many times as they need to remember the details. Wala!
Two simple, easy ways to use voice memos to make the life of a Kindergarten teacher just a tad bit easier. Less time repeating myself = more time for meaningful conversation and teaching.
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