Oh my goodness! Exhausted does not even begin to describe how I feel right now. This week was our first week of school AND we moved into our new house this week. Here is real life people…I am living in chaos right now. Last weekend, we moved our beds and clothes to our new house…
It’s back to school season, teachers! You know what that means… Lots of introductions, icebreakers, and getting to know your new students on a personal and academic level. It also means that students will begin to build their classroom community, setting the tone for the rest of the school year! I am a firm believer…
The Astrobrights Paper Colorize Your Classroom Challenge is back, and I’m thrilled to be teaming up with Astrobrights for this campaign. Studies show that color can increase memory by up to 50 percent and help students remain engaged. ColorizeYourClassroom.com gives teachers a gallery of inspiration and ideas on how color can help transform their classrooms. The…
Good news! I finished decorating and organizing my classroom yesterday. Bad news! One of my teammates and wonderful friend transfered to another school yesterday (it is much, much closer to her house.) After I picked all of the pieces of my broken heart off the floor and wiped away my tears, I decided that my big…
It’s that time again! Summer is winding down and your students are preparing to come back to see you. While that may be in person or virtual for your school, it is still important to make that first week special and memorable for your students. Check out these ideas for your classroom as you head…
Morning tubs have been one of my favorite additions to my classroom routine. The students love this time to interact with each other while being creative. I have written quite a few blog posts about morning tubs, but I wanted a place where I could answer some frequently asked questions as well share some of…
At this point during summer, teachers feel rested and relaxed. Additionally, their minds are often spinning with back-to-school planning. For some, this is coming up with new classroom management strategies. For others, this is creating more differentiation in lessons. On top of this, teachers are always looking for great books to read to their classes!…
The beginning of the school year brings so much excitement! One of my favorite things about the beginning of the year is getting to read so many wonderful books to my class. I have a huge collection of books that I love to read during the first month of school. These 20 books are some…
Teaching phonics is an essential skill for readers, but if it’s not jazzed up, it can be downright borrrring for kids. I absolutely LOVE teaching phonics. I enjoy seeing my students put the puzzle pieces of phonics together to make words and having it all make sense to them. Even my higher readers need to…
‘Twas the month before break and all through the school. The children were acting crazy and forgetting the rules.’ Can you relate to this feeling? I’m sure you can! Students can become absolutely wild after returning from Thanksgiving break. Instead of getting frustrated over this, putting yourself in students’ shoes is important. Chances are you…
Every primary teacher knows how important sight words are to beginning readers. When many of these words show up in our reading material, all phonics instruction and rules get thrown out the window. I mean, seriously, who decided that have should be spelled with an e?  Why is it not spelled hav? So, how do we…
I officially have one more week of summer break. Teachers meet next Monday for meetings all day, then we have our Open House/Meet the Teacher Night that evening. Student’s first day is Tuesday. Summer sure went fast! I still have some work to do in my classroom, but as soon as it’s done I’ll post some pictures. …
