Shutterfly Share Site

When I taught fourth grade, I created a classroom blog in 2012.  It was a big hit; the kids would read and reply to posts and parents could see what went on in the classroom.  I didn't post student photos online, but there was still plenty to post about.

Then in 2013, I created another blog as well as an Edmodo site.  This was password protected, so I did post student photos.  The kids also had more freedom to create posts and reply to each other.  There was no direct messaging between students, so it was another fun, safe way to bring learning from the classroom to their computers/mobile devices at home.

When I got moved from fourth to first grade, I knew there would be no blog for the kids.  There would be no comments, no kids reading posts to study at home, no kids logging in to view the videos I created in Educreations.  My principal brought up the great blog I did during my evaluation and I said with a thinly veiled sour note in my voice, "Of course I won't be doing that next year."  He started to disagree, but then realized no, not so much.  I said, "At least not in the same format."

My partner teacher has been using Shutterfly, so I knew that was an option.  The target audience would be the parents, not the children, which never appealed to me as much.  The reason I waited until 2012 to create my first classroom blog was because I never wanted to write something else for the parents to read; my first priority was the kids.

Well, after a month of getting to know the children and their parents, I learned something about first grade parents.  Not that they love their children more than fourth grade parents, but they are so much more involved.  They have to be when their children are little.  I guess it's obvious and I knew that, but seeing it firsthand really drove the point home.  I have more supplies than I know what to do with, even from the parents who have very little to spare.  I write notes on a daily basis so parents can be informed.  I have so many parents who have asked to volunteer; I've only ever had one parent come in on a weekly basis in fourth grade.  I'm not even sure I know how to delegate tasks to parents.

So I looked into Shutterfly because I am just so grateful; I wanted to give something back to parents in a way that I didn't feel when I taught fourth.  And I'm so glad I looked into it because I'm really excited about it!

There are so many great features when it comes to the Shutterfly Share site.  Like Edmodo, the teacher has control over who has access to the site.  So once I get permission from parents, I will be posting student photos.  They will see them using manipulatives in class, and having fun on field trips even if they can't chaperone.  But it's not just a photo sharing site!  It has a calendar, so I can skip typing up a separate newsletter.  And it even has a volunteer sign up page that is both easy to set up, and easy to look up afterwards.  I'm so excited to share this next week!

If you're interested in using Shutterfly for your class I posted the parent letter for FREE in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  I hope you find it useful!






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