Dear New Teachers: 12 Must-Read Blog Posts to Start Your Career Off Right

I heard from an old friend recently who told me that her daughter had decided to become a preschool teacher.  (My response: “Yay!”) She followed up by saying, “You know her. She not only wants to be a preschool teacher; she wants to be a great preschool teacher, the kind that families are still talking about when their children graduate from high school.” (My response: More “Yay!”)

She then asked if I could suggest some reading material—perhaps a book or an article or two on best practices—that could help her daughter get off to a solid start. (My response: “Are you kidding me? Let me hook you up!”)

And then, I immediately headed to the Teaching Strategies blog.

As I clicked through—and reread—many of the posts that have been added in the last year or so, I was reminded of how very often I am inspired both by my colleagues here at Teaching Strategies and by so many other early childhood educators that we get to work with from around the country. Even after more than three decades of working with children, teachers, and administrators, I am happy to report that I am still learning. And I love sharing that learning because, well, that’s what teachers do.

It wasn’t easy narrowing down my selections, but I eventually got it to a mere dozen. Here’s my list of the 12 Must-Read Blog Posts that I would recommend any new teacher take a look at to obtain a well-rounded base of information, guidance, and best practices for starting the incredibly important journey of becoming an early childhood teacher. These are the posts that I’ve read that made me think, “Boy, do I wish I’d known that 30 years ago.”

So, to all of you who are new teachers, are thinking of becoming teachers, or know a new teacher, this list is for you. I’ve divided the list into several categories of information that all teachers will find important, regardless of their years of experience, and that new teachers may find particularly insightful.

Building Relationships

• 5 Strategies for Building Positive Relationships with the Children In Your Classroom, by Suzana Spina, M.Ed.
  August 3, 2023
• Meet the Teacher: 5 Ways to Ease the Transition to School, by Breeyn Mack
  September 11, 2019
• What Does It Mean to Listen? 5 Strategies for Connecting With Children, by Katie Whalen
  March 17, 2022
• Three Ways to Engage and Empower Families, by Nicol Russell, Ed.D.
  August 31, 2021
• Four Strategies to Include Children and Families in Your Classroom, by Donna Fowler
  December 14, 2021

Creating Environments

• The Power of Environments, by Michelle Salcedo
  August 2, 2022
• Less But Better, by Katie Whalen
  July 26, 2022
• Why I Don’t Have a Time-Out Chair in my Classroom Anymore, by Sue Ferguson
  November 11, 2021
• Why I Don’t Just Tell Children to “Share” Anymore, by Katie Whalen
  January 27, 2022
• Educating the Whole Child: 4 Steps for Setting Up the Classroom Environment, by Donna Fowler
  April 14, 2002

Facilitating Learning

• Tiny Habits, Big Results: What the Science of Reading Tells Us About Literacy Learning in Early Childhood, by Beth White
  August 8, 2023
• Five Tips for Individualizing Learning Throughout the Day, by Clarissa Martinez
  March 8, 2021
• 8+ Ways to Support Literacy Skills Development
  August 3, 2021
• Is it Art? The Importance of Loving the Process, by Katie Whalen
  February 14, 2022
• Why I Don’t Have a Letter of the Week Anymore, by Crystal Kucharski
  April 26, 2022

But wait! There’s more!

I have additional good news for all you prospective new teachers out there (or—for those of you who are like the friend who recently wrote me—people who love the people who are becoming new teachers!). We also offer a set of free resources to support new teachers. We’ve divided the resources into some of these same important categories and believe that they will help new teachers enjoy a great start—not just for the school year ahead but for a whole, wonderful career as an early childhood educator.