Daily Friends: A Student Management Strategy
This idea is a simple one, but everytime I share it on Instagram I get so much love and feedback that I decided it deserved it’s own spot to live on my blog! I...
Category: Back to School
7 Types of Teacher Binders You Can Prep Over the Summer
I am firmly on Team No School Work During Summer. However, for more than a decade I enjoyed working over the summer because I could do little things here and there to help myself...
5 Tips to Your Best “Meet the Teacher Day” Ever!
I look forward to student orientation every year! In my district, we call it “Meet the Teacher Day”! It is a 3 hour span the day or two before school starts where students and...
Igniting the Love for Reading: My Top 5 Secrets Revealed!
My first five years teaching, my goal was to get students to pass the end of year reading test. Being dropped into a testing grade your first year is wild, especially if you have...
Build Classroom Community with these No Prep Morning Meeting (or any time) Slides!
If you’ve found your way here, you probably love morning meeting. Maybe you’re new to it and looking for ideas or maybe you’ve done it forever and are always looking for new activities....
10 Things I Do as My Grade Level Team Lead
I’ve spent 7 of my 11 years teaching as a team lead for my grade level. Over the years I’ve made life-long friendships with some of my teammates as well as endured the type...
Read Alouds for the First Week of School
My number one goal for the first week back to school is building a community with my students. I believe that community is created through shared experiences. One of the ways I create shared...
First Week Lesson Ideas: Part 2
Yesterday, I wrote about how I go back to school with a theme a day during the first week. I laid out how easily I implement the “summer” theme into the first day. Today, let’s...
First Day Themed Lesson Ideas: Part 1
I am getting ready to have my 9th first day of school as a third grader teacher! The butterflies, anxiety, and excitement all still show up every year as I prep for the first...
10 Tips for Departmentalized Classrooms
Yesterday I posted about how my team makes departmentalizing work in 3rd grade. Today, I’m back with 10 tips that help everything run smoothly. Let’s get to it! Tip 1: Label Everything! Printing student...
