Winter Break started for me on Monday and, hopefully, if yours hasn’t started you’re hanging in there until it does! When I got to thinking about what to write this week, I wanted to focus on reducing stress over the holidays to really get a much-deserved break. And a good way to do that is with a You Do You […]
You Do You During This Winter Break
10 Secret Santa Gifts $5 or Less
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 to the work day. However, if you’re like me, it may be difficult to decide what to get the person […]
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 students, but, thankfully, that is changing in most places! Every teacher deserves some uninterrupted time to eat their lunch. Now, […]
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 my top ten turkey day freebies from around the web that are easy to prep, keep students engaged, and still present […]
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 and I say reading interventionist, most people ask, “What is that? What do you do?” Usually, I’ll say, “I teach […]
Setting the Tone: 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 playlist that I played every morning as my students were arriving. In case you don’t know, there is a free […]
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 with a pencil correctly. I want to elaborate on that today. Children start developing fine motor skills from a very […]
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 your shoe?” I was a bit incredulous. He replied, “No one ever showed me how.” I told him, “How about […]
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 in most classrooms. Why is that? Here are my thoughts on that. 1. The curriculums that teachers are being forced […]
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 ideas saved in the same place. And even better when they’re free! Apples 1. Apple Investigation Worksheet from Preschool Play […]