It’s that time of year! Time for the Sunshine Committee to spread some cheer by involving staff in Secret Santa! I actually really enjoy Secret Santa. It’s a fun way to connect with a co-worker and bring some extra joy […]
10 Super-Easy Teacher Lunch Ideas
Our lunch period goes by in a flash, but it is important to eat and take a short break during that time (even, it’s only a few deep breaths). I know many of you have to eat your lunch with […]
Top Ten Turkey Day Freebies
I can’t believe November starts in just a few days! And after that it’s only three more weeks until Thanksgiving break! We’re almost there folks. To help you hang on until we get there, I’ve compiled a list of the […]
Reading Intervention: A Day in the Life
I just started my second year as a reading interventionist and am loving it! I hope I will get to continue in this position for years to come, but time will tell. Anyway, when people ask what my job is […]
Setting the Tone: The Benefits of Music in the Classroom
Music is such an awesome classroom management tool! I know a lot of teachers who already do this, but I wanted to share how I use music in the classroom. When I was a classroom teacher, I created a Spotify […]
7 Materials to Strengthen Fine Motor Skills
Recently, I wrote a post about the decline of the quality of handwriting in students today. You can read that one here. In it, I mention that students need strong fine motor skills to be able to hold and write […]
What Teachers Teach That Curriculums Don’t
I had no idea what my topic for this week was until today. I was thinking about yesterday when a fourth grade student asked me to help him tie his shoe. I said, “You don’t know how to tie to […]
What Happened to Handwriting?
Is it just me or has there been a decline in the quality of students’ handwriting? Over the past few years I have noticed student handwriting getting worse and worse. I, also, notice that handwriting is not being taught explicitly […]
A Round-Up of FREE Fall-Themed Activities
Last week I shared a list of notable nonfiction books for the fall season. With that in mind, I’d like to share a round-up of free fall-themed activities that could be used with those books. It’s always nice to have […]
10 Notable Nonfiction Books to Share With Students This Fall
I can’t believe it is September already! Fall is almost upon us. Usually this is the time of year when apples, pumpkins, and fall become themes in the classroom. You might do apple taste testing to see which color apple […]