Using a student planner has many benefits. Do you want to help your students work on their organization skills and at the same time open up communication with families? I have the answer for you… a STUDENT PLANNER Over the years I have always had my students use a planner, daily, and I have notice…
Making Student partner groups Putting students into groups or partners can be a tricky thing. We all know that who a student works with makes all the difference in how successful an activity will be. Many times teachers (and I was/am guilty of this too) put students together based on abilities. The students know who is…
Do you search for a teacher planner every year? I don’t. Well let me start by saying I use to but then I stopped. Year after year, I would hunt for the perfect planner to use as my day book and year after year I would spend way too much time filling it out. I…
I am a firm believer that EVERY classroom should have a day plan posted on the board. It helps everyone know what is going on and what is coming up next. Student anxiety can lower when they have a predictable day. Before I started putting a day schedule on the board students were constantly asking…
Helping Your Students to Connect The first few days back to school can be a difficult time getting students talking in front of the entire class. I have worked at a few schools in my small district and I saw the same thing happening each year. Students tend to need some coaxing to take to…
Are you starting to plan for Back to School? The summer is the time that I start getting organized for the upcoming school year. The very first thing I do is print off a school year calendar and start planning when I will teach what, based on the school year events/holidays. There are definitely some…
Why Attendance Time is Our Most Valuable Time Taking attendance is a valuable part of my day and it is something that students look forward to. In my classroom we go beyond just having students respond with “Here” and we use this time as a way to build classroom connections. Everyday an attendance question is…
Are you looking for FREE ways to engage your students at the beginning of the school year? Some much is going on at the beginning of a new school year. Setting up routines, going over expectations, gathering information, and so much more. All of these bring moments where you need to have your students working…
Are your students too old for the traditional desk plate name tags? I want my students to have name tags but they feel that the ones with the number lines and other reference items are too young for them. Because of this I have my students design their own name tag. By having them design…
How do I start getting ready for Back to School? The summer is the time that I start getting organized for the upcoming school year. The very first thing I do is print off a school year calendar and start planning when I will teach what, based on the school year events/holidays. There are definitely…
This year I noticed that many of my students were using a lot of negative self talk and that they were giving up on a task before they even started. Something needed to be done about this so I did some research on Growth Mind Set and decided that this is exactly what my students…
I beg you to STOP buying those tissue paper flowers. Yes, you can buy them everywhere and they are convenient to throw in your shopping cart, but please, please, PLEASE stop. They are super easy and cheap to make. I am going to show you how you can make your own and in any colors/patterns…
It has been WAY too long since I posted last. I will be teaching at a new school next year that will be way less stressful and time consuming and one of the things that I am going to make a priority is my blog. I feel I have been neglecting it for the past…
Every year I have my students use a planner no matter what grade I teach. Planners help students start working on their organizational skills and is great for school-home communications. I was going to show you the editable planner I made for this year with pictures but I thought I would try something new and…
I feel like I was very productive today because I got a lot of little things crossed off my to do list. That is always a great feeling. I still don’t know what I will be teaching so I can continue with getting those things done that aren’t planning for a specific grade. The first…
Today I tackled my filing cabinet. I call it “tackled” because it was a DISASTER. There was still stuff in there from the previous teacher and I just grabbed my files out of boxes and shoved them in the drawers the night before school started last year. EVERYTHING was mixed together and every time I…
This year is a little different for me because I currently hold a Grade 2 position at my school but I want the Grade 4/5 position at my school that will be coming up soon. Long story short — the way postings are done in my district I can no longer just internally transfer into…
All last year I battled a cluttered desk. I would have piles of papers on my desk waiting to be put somewhere. Once I marked students work they went into 2 piles — Completed and ready for duotangs or Corrections to be done. These piles would get in the way and make my desk look…
One of the things I anticipate every back to school time is the TpT Ebooks. This year I managed to get in this one!! I am excited about that. There are over 40 TPT sellers who each created a page which has teaching tips and at least one free item. Believe me when I say…
I love back to school time. I love buying new supplies to start fresh with and I love decorating my room. I get excited and nervous to meet my new students and this year I will be changing schools so I have new colleagues to meet! I also love the Teachers Pay Teachers Back To…
I just realized the other day that it seems like dots are my new chevron. The last few things I have made for my classroom and most of the bulleting boards I created for back to school all have polka dots on them. Here’s the proof: I saw somewhere (please let me know if this…
I just realized the other day that it seems like dots are my new chevron. The last few things I have made for my classroom and most of the bulleting boards I created for back to school all have polka dots on them. Here’s the proof: I saw somewhere (please let me know if this…
Well what can I say…this school year start up has been hectic. I am not sure if you remember but I was hoping for a job teaching Gr 4/5 back at the school I have been at for the past two years. I didn’t get the job 🙁 I had to pull my big girl…
Well what can I say…this school year start up has been hectic. I am not sure if you remember but I was hoping for a job teaching Gr 4/5 back at the school I have been at for the past two years. I didn’t get the job 🙁 I had to pull my big girl…
Welcome Everyone!! Are you ready to have some fun?? ….Play a game? …
Welcome Everyone!! Are you ready to have some fun?? ….Play a game? …
Teaching in Canada comes with its own unique experiences, some better (Tim cards) than others (cougars). Head on over to Mrs. Mathis’ Homeroom to read a great blog post where you can find 29 interesting things about teaching in Canada! Cheers,
Teaching in Canada comes with its own unique experiences, some better (Tim cards) than others (cougars). Head on over to Mrs. Mathis’ Homeroom to read a great blog post where you can find 29 interesting things about teaching in Canada! Cheers,
My husband and son are away for the week and it is giving me PLENTY of time to catch up on blogging !!! Is it bad that I love them being gone for a bit? No extra dishes, dirty towels, and I can watch what I want to on TV. For this post I thought…
Getting To KNow yOu Activity A fun way for students to get to know each other is to play Jenga with them. After all the games are assembled (see below) I put students in gorups of 3-4 and they get to play Jenga for about 15-20 minutes. As they pull the Jenga blocks they will…
I am home from work today with no voice. I guess I was talking too much during parent-teacher interviews last night. Well since I have been so busy lately and haven’t posted in a while, I thought this would be a great time to catch up. I love finding new art ideas online so I…
Well my first week is over and my book bins finally came in. I didn’t get my classroom library completely finished until Friday evening (you can see the time in some of the pictures) and then madly took pictures before I had to rush home to make dinner. Ugh (or any other disturbing noise you…
Phew…. this was the last day in my classroom before kids arrive tomorrow. I am as done as I can be for now. I know I said that I would post pictures of my room once it is done but I am not going to. Hold on don’t get mad….Here is why: I ordered book…
I popped into the school again today to get a little bit more setup in my room. Once again I did more talking than I wanted to so progress was slow. I think I need to go in after 10pm to avoid talking to people 🙂 So here is a little of what I did…
I am super excited that the Back to School Expo is almost here. On August 25th, FIVE fantastic teachers will be presenting to help you get ready for back to school. Topics include decorating your classroom, using technology in the classroom, reading success, creating a positive environment with back to school activities, and how to…
Yay, I finally went into my classroom to start setting up today. My dining room was starting to get overtaken by stuff that I had to bring to the school so I thought it was time to head into the class. This is the first year I have taken any pictures of the set up…
