Why is Calendar Math a big deal in my classroom? My Calendar Math is a short designated time that helps students: Review prior skills learnedReinforce newer skills that have recently been taughtPreview upcoming skills that will be learned On average, I spend 2-3 hours teaching Language Arts ... read more
Celebrating the 100th Day of School is so Last Year
How many days have you been in school? We have been in school for 92 days. We have been using this Interactive Calendar to count by tens, build the number of the day, and learn about place value using digital coins and cubes. Even though we are counting the days we are in school, we are not ... read more
Why Character Tags Are Way Better Than Brag Tags
As the roles of educators continue to expand, we are seeing that now more than ever, need to help our students develop character skills that will help them be successful in life. Research has pointed out to us that explicit instruction, modeling and encouragement, instead of praise, are key to ... read more
How to Read a Book – First week of school routines
One of the most important back to school routines I teach my students on the 1st week of school is How to Read a Book. First, I introduce the 3 ways to read a book poster. Read the Pictures I model for my students how to "read the pictures" by telling myself what I see in the picture and what ... read more
4 Secrets Of A Dual Language Teacher
Last year, I was hired to teach at a new Dual Language school. I was not sure what I was getting myself into. After a year and a half, I finally understand what it means to teach in a Dual Language classroom. So here are some secrets about being a teacher in a new Dual Language school. Your ... read more
How-to Tame the Paper Beast
We use paper in our classrooms, a lot of paper. There are papers for grading, forms that need to be filled out, flyers that need passing out, notes, worksheets and the list goes on. All of it on paper. They fill up spaces and our classrooms can become cluttered. However, managing paper doesn't have ... read more
Finding the Perfect Teacher Planner
Finding the Perfect Teacher Planner during Back to School season is just as stressful as figuring out my lesson plans for the first week of school. The perfect planner needs to have all the essentials, but also needs to showcase the teacher's personality and values. This is the difference between a ... read more
10 Must-Teach Routines for the First Day of School
The first day of school can be very stressful for students but even more so for teachers. Setting up effective classroom routines and procedures are essential for a successful school year. After 10 (years) of teaching-first-day-of-school, here are my tried and true advices for 10 first day routines ... read more
Teacher Appreciation
Today is Teacher Appreciation! This year I am so thankful for my new team and administration. I wanted to give something special to my grade level team so I made these super cute bookmarks for them. If you want to say THANK YOU to a teacher this week you can find them here. ... read more
3 Steps to Take Today that Will Pay Back Tomorrow
At my new school district we have 8 weeks to go before the end of the school. I know many of us, teachers, are looking forward to summer, we are ready to leave behind the winter blues but spring fever in the classroom is at an all-time-high! I personally love April. Not only because it is my ... read more