The first day of school is a mix of excitement and anxiety, both for students and the teacher! Putting in the effort to carefully plan the first day of school helps me start the first day with confidence and calm. After many first days of school, I have a list
How you start your day is often how you live your life. –Louise Hay Beginnings matter. What happens before the first bell even rings has a huge impact on the outcome of the entire day. The tone of the day is established in the first 20 minutes of the day.
Back-to-school is the worst of times. It’s so stressful and exhausting (seriously it’s so, so tiring!). But it’s also the best of times! The feeling of a new beginning is absolutely exhilarating. I love that fresh start, where everything is possible and I haven’t screwed up…yet! I may be in
My favorite part about the start of the new year is that it feels like a second chance at a fresh start with your class! Here are some January activities, ideas, and tips to inspire you to take this opportunity to revitalize your classroom! 1. Sharpen your procedures Doesn’t it sometimes feel
Do you know The First Six Weeks of School by Paula Denton and Roxann Kriete? I love this book! I got it early in my teaching career and it’s one of the few books that I pulled out to reference EVERY YEAR! The main philosophy of this book is that
I remember the moment clearly. It was a Friday afternoon in the middle of December. We’d had a sub the day before (you know how the kids are after that!) and a snowstorm was rolling in (you know how the kids are before that!). We were in the midst of
Remember how I like to have students recite the monthly poem aloud during transitions? Another thing I like to do is sing skip counting songs. Just like reciting the poems, the students know they should be to the carpet or in line before the song is over. It's also a
We already wrote once about the Secret Scrap, but it's definitely one of our favorite loves. Here's the re-post: Heidi says: We were cutting a lot of papers for math the other day which, inevitably, left a blanket of confetti on the floor. It's those moment when I'd like
At the end of the day, it's great to send your students home on a positive note. When the bell rings to go home, we all line up at the door. On their way out they can say goodbye to me with their choice: a hug, a handshake, or a
Photo credit: Patouche When Heidi and I changed our classroom themes to a pirate theme, I wanted a new pirate-themed attention-getter. This is what I settled on. Teacher: All hands on deck!Students (while saluting): Aye, Aye, Captain! The kids were totally gaga for it. It's hands down the best attention-getter
Here's another of our mom's summertime plans. One summer she set up a "Token Economy" for our summer jobs. It had a few simple parts. – There was a set of jobs we each were required to do daily. Each job had a set amount of money associated with it.–
Heidi and I were discussing our theme this week we recalled some of the summer plans my mom came up with to keep us busy during the summer. She remembered one I had forgotten where you got to choose your own job. The plan went like this. Everyday you had
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