It’s the beginning of the year and you may be feeling overwhelmed, especially as you introduce new classroom routines to your new group. These last nine days, the little voice in my head keeps saying, “You were ready to pull your hair out at the beginning of the year last year too. But they picked […]
First Day Tips to Maintain your Sanity
Holy moly, I just began my 10th year teaching. I’m not sure if I’m more blown away that I feel like I finally have credibility at Back to School Night or that I have enough energy to blog after the first day. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way that make for a smooth […]
VIP Supply Caddy in your Classroom
Are you looking for a classroom management strategy that’s easy to use? I’ve got a VIP Supply Caddy that any student would love! We’ve got 25 days left and I’m pulling out all of the stops to ensure that my little guys are doing their best to be on task, respectful, and responsible. What is […]
What do you do with those School Teacher Photos you get every year?
I was so excited to get a free packet of school photos during my 1st year of teaching. Like I did when I was 10, I sent them to all of my relatives. But then, the 2nd year came around. Did my family really need another photo of my in a dorky teacher pose? Probably […]
Table Points and Classroom Management
Classroom management is THE most important thing in my classroom. One management tool I use is for group management. Over the years, I’ve used a few different table point systems and this is by far my favorite and most effective. I have 5 table groups and my kiddos are grouped heterogenous. Some years I have […]
I've been back at school for over a week…sneak peek!
I’m teaching a 1/2 combo this year so these were our first day photo props…glasses and all! I’m color-coding everything, first graders are green and second are blue. Watching little ones do jumping jacks is quite a sight to see, cracks me up year after year! Yikes…a before photo of my room! New book bins […]
Classroom Management Trophy
A Classroom Management Trophy is a great idea my students love and a way to get rid of some of your old trophies! I’ll randomly put one of these babies on someone’s desk who is deserving of it. It’s a real big hit in my classroom and my students take a lot of pride in displaying […]
3 simple classroom rules to live by
For the first few years of teaching, I tried out different rules. I had the students come up with them and they’d sign them, I’d come up with them and we’d agree on them, and so on and so forth. I found that the list of rules was becoming too long. Thanks to Project GLAD, […]