I love our farm unit in 1st grade! Each and every year I do it a little different. Teaching the same ol’ same ol’ just isn’t me and learning about the farm allows so much variety. Plants, farm to table, animals and their life cycles- the field trips, the songs- there’s so much out there and each year I add just a little something extra.
Creating space and guiding conversations about race in the classroom is no easy task. It can be downright scary and the feelings of anxiety that evoke leave many teachers avoiding the topic altogether. Before I share my experiences I just want to state that in no way am I any sort of expert. I am simply here to share my experiences and what
Yup, that’s right, I banned birthday treats. And you know what? Everyone survived! Every year I have parents and families email me a few days before their child’s birthday to ask if they can bring in treats for the class. Most often it’s cupcakes or cookies. I had the same generic canned email that I replied with. It went something like, “Yes you can send
All year long we are getting that question “What do I do when I’m done?” I’m here to help you eliminate hearing that question. There’s some really comprehensive stuff out there, like the “Early Finisher Task Cards” and “Mastery Club”, but this is a super simple easy management technique. It’s nothing that you’re going to have to grade or come up with extra printables for or anything like that,
I’m here with a super quick post that will help you save some money and maybe more importantly, time. I know everybody loves Astrobrights paper, but now and then I’m seeing it used for things like printing math centers. Teachers then laminate all of those centers, and then they cut out all of that laminate. That seems like a lot of time and money.
This video will get kids excited to read all things Mo Willems! What if you could make a video in 10 minutes or less for any book or any author? Better yet, what if your kids could make those videos to share? It’s easier than you may think. This video tutorial will walk you through this process step by step. The best part, you can
I have a quick tip for you on how to connect with families and make it easy. Positive connections are something that can get put off, those parent phone calls or emails, newsletter that are days or weeks late. I have tried some different things to make it easier on myself to connect with families and make sure I am communicating and helping them feel
When you realize conferences are a month away do you begin to sweat? It happens to me every year. School feels like it has just started, and we barely begin to get into our groove when I look to see what’s ahead on the calendar and there it is, looming. That all changed this past school year. I was tired of dreading something that I
After using Whole-Brain Teaching rules for 8 years I gave up them up and here’s why. Like many of you I fell in love with Whole Brain Teaching. It is engaging and aligns so easily with who I am as a teacher. Like all teachers however, we need to stay fresh. We need to be continuously reflecting on our practice. As I began planning last year I started
Does the end of the day chaos leave you with a giant case of the grumpies? Have you ever had an amazing day with your kids only to have it ruined by the madness that ensues during pack-up? Do you ever feel like you become a Miss Viola Swamp because you’re just trying to survive and get these kids out while they’re each still in one piece? There was
