New Year Classroom Celebration The week that we get back from winter break, I love having a classroom New Year celebration! That Friday, we countdown to the “Noon Year”. Each hour reveals a new activity until we reach noon. Here’s what our week looks like! Learning About New Year’s As soon as we get back into the classroom from break, we start talking about New Year’s and what it means. Happy New Year, Pooh is a great little book that really explains what the New Year is and what it means. I absolutely love this book! New Year’s Day talks about the history, customs, and how different families ..read more

Kindergarten Morning Tubs Kindergarten Morning Tubs are play-based, standards-aligned, meaningful activities that get kids excited to come to school, allow the teacher to take care of the morning tasks of greeting students, communicating with parents, checking folders, collecting homework, doing lunch count, attendance, and bathroom procedures, etc. while the class is actively engaged. Furthermore, Morning Tubs help reduce the length of morning routine, encourage problem solving and critical thinking, allow kids to explore, communicate, and collaborate. Additionally, they allow time for those ..read more

How about a handprint fingerprint calendar for your parent Christmas gifts?!? I have always LOVED how my handprint calendars turned out. I have made so many over the years!! They are so adorable, parents can use them for an entire year and then they become a wonderful keepsake. But, let’s face it…they take sooooo long!!!! So, last year, with a HUGE class of 30 Kinders and no aide, I decided I needed a new idea. I wanted it to be just as cute, useful and meaningful as my handprint calendar. But, something that took A LOT less time. Something that I wouldn’t kill myself trying to make wit ..read more

We are so excited to announce that it is time to open registration for the 2018 Spring Teacher Retreat at the beautiful French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana!    As you may know, this is the 5th year for this amazing event, and we know this will be the MOST INCREDIBLE RETREAT YET! Are you ready to feel appreciated for all of the work you do in your classroom every day?  Need a weekend away with your teaching besties to relax and rejuvenate? Want to be uplifted by other passionate educators and fall in love with teaching all over again? If you answered yes to any of th ..read more

Whether you’re ending the school year or need a fun summer school unit, a bubble week is THE. BEST!! After all, who doesn’t love bubbles? A bubble brings so much exploration, so much learning so much engagement!! You AND your kids will LOVE it! It’s so much fun, the kids don’t even realize how much learning they’re actually doing! As a matter of fact, this year I had a little help setting the stage with Oriental Trading to make it even more fun and engaging! This ALL ABOUT BUBBLES UNIT that I have created is JAM. PACKED. with FUN, HANDS-ON, Math, Literacy, Science and Art activi ..read more

Every year, at our Spring Teacher Blogger Retreat, after a day filled with connecting with other educators and filling our hearts and minds with the most inspiring professional development imaginable, we inject some pure fun into our retreat weekend in the form of a “Saturday Night Social Event!” This year, our Saturday Night Social Event was all about rolling out the red carpet for the amazing educators in attendance…and making them feel like the celebrities that they are! As teachers ourselves, the planning committee knows how many hours of over-time teachers spend doing all that they can ..read more

When was the last time someone rolled out the RED CARPET for you as a teacher?  If you attended the 2017 Spring French Lick Teacher Retreat, your answer is a week and a half ago! We love to celebrate teachers and all school staff for the celebrities they are, and that is exactly the purpose of this event. This year was no different, and we want to share with you all of the fun and celebration that happened AND give you a chance to win some awesome teacher prizes! So, the weekend began as it does every year for those of us on the planning team – with lots of prep! Because we had a huge inc ..read more

We are ready to roll out the red carpet and announce that we are opening registration for the Spring Teacher/Blogger Retreat! First and foremost, you WILL NOT want to miss what we have planned for you this year! Are you ready to be treated like the red carpet star that you are? Need a weekend of pampering to escape from the “work” of teaching? Need to be re-energized and fall in love with teaching all over again? Ready to shine and be recognized for the teaching-star that you are? Then, come walk the red carpet with us at French Lick Resort for this Retreat! French Lick is an incredible resor ..read more

As promised, in this post, I will share a little tutorial on how to “Elf Yourself” and your students!! I have been doing this fun little project since my first year of teaching Kindergarten 13 years ago. It’s always a parent favorite. But, I’ve gotten a little bit better and faster at it over the years. And, my elf pattern has gotten a little cuter Ha!! Here is a picture of an elf that I made during my very first year of teaching. It’s hard to believe, the elf boy in this picture is a Senior in High School and is the person who has been doing all of my videos for me!!! (You may have seen hi ..read more

Excellent classroom management is KEY to a productive and safe learning environment. When choosing your behavior management systems, it’s important to have more than one system in place. I like to have a behavior system to hold individuals accountable, small groups, tables and whole class. The whole class behavior system works beautifully in situations where I expect the whole class to be on their best behavior. When another adult pops in my room to talk to me, my students are quiet as a mouse!! You can hear a pin drop! That’s because they know that they will be rewarded for making these awes ..read more