Reading instruction in my classroom took a huge turn for the better after reading The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild by Donalyn Miller. I truly believe that every school teacher should read these books. I lend my copies out all the time! They are super easy reads. I have always LOVED reading. I am a book worm. I am happiest in a bookstore ... Continue Reading
Teaching United States Landmarks with Legos
I love to teach social studies. More specifically, I love to teach about american history and government. I have a degree in American Political Studies with an emphasis in the American Legal System. After college, I worked as a lobbyist for the state supreme court. It was the perfect job for me at the time. After having four kids, my heart changed ... Continue Reading
Interactive Notebooks: Your Questions Answered
I LOVE interactive notebooks! They have been a regular part of my classroom routine and something that my students look forward to. That being said, I receive questions from other teachers nearly every day. This may be a long post, but I wanted to answer ALL of your questions in one place. So grab a glass of wine and get comfy!First, I have to give ... Continue Reading
End of Year Desk Cleaning Made Fun!
Today was my last day with students. I am CRAZY tired, but I really wanted to quickly write about a fun activity that I do every year to get my desks cleans. It is a student favorite and very effective on that last day!My kids blow sloap bubbles on their desks!You will need a few ingredients:a dish tub or other small plastic containerdish soap ... Continue Reading
5 Things Teachers Should Prep BEFORE Summer Break
I've been updating my site and this blog post can now be found by clicking HERE. ... Continue Reading
8 Changes That Made This Teacher Happy
This was my first year of using Whole Brain Teaching in the classroom. It was such an amazing change in classroom management and student collaboration. I loved teaching the classroom rules. Each rule has a hand gesture and the kids practiced teaching each other. When I noticed that the class was a little chatty, I would just say "Rule #2!" The ... Continue Reading
Inspiring Life-Long Readers
I love to read. I am a book nerd. I always have been. I was THAT kid who sat on the wall and read during recess. In high school, I had a job at the local library. In college, I shelved books for Barnes and Noble. Now, I have an Amazon Prime membership just so I can get books delivered within two days. When I finish a book, I get sad because I feel ... Continue Reading
Increase Parent Communication with Friday Journals
Two years ago, I made a professional goal to increase parent communication. My school requires a weekly class newsletter. Yes, I said weekly. I keep mine short and sweet, but I estimate that only half of my parents ever read them. My students complete an agenda every day with their "I can" statements for the day. Again, parents do NOT read. And ... Continue Reading
Time Savers for Interactive Notebooks
I am so in love with our interactive notebooks! I have been using them for three years and I have learned a thing or two about making the most of our notebooks with the small amount of time that we have. If you have tons of extra class time and nothing to fill it with, this might not be the right blog post for you. ;-) But if you want to use ... Continue Reading
Graphing Project with a FREEBIE!
We are smack dab in the middle of our state testing. On our off days, I wanted to give kids a break from our usual routine. But, I really wanted to keep them reviewing! And that is where this graphing project comes in! I have done it for the past two years and it is always a student favorite. I break the class into groups of 4-5 students. Each ... Continue Reading
Grab these FREE 60 writing prompts for grades 2-5.