Today's post is a catch-up post to tell you about 3 fun projects we've been working on in 2nd grade! First up, is a super cute writing project I do every year for the 100th Day of School. I love the 100th Day of School because it is a great milestone for all of the progress that has been made during the school year. One of my favorite 100th Day activities is a writing project called “When I am 100 years old…” We begin with the phrase as a sentence starter and students' imaginations go wild! To spice up my students’ writing, I use an app on my iPhone called AgingBooth to transform my students ..read more

because I’m pretty sure I failed my “once a week” goal during the first week of the year!  Oops! :) I have been lost in the land of benchmarks, RTI, grade cards, meetings, grad school, more meetings, tutoring, and sleep!  Speaking of sleep, I should be in bed right now… but I just wanted to stop by for a moment to share about the big sale tomorrow.  I’m sure everyone in blogging land already knows about it, but if not, here are the details: Everything in my TPT Store will be on sale on Sunday AND Monday!  Be sure to stop by to check out my latest Valentine’s Day creation ..read more

Happy winter break!!! (I’m hoping most of you are on break by now!) My last day was Wednesday, so I’ve been enjoying some serious relaxation time!! The busyness of the holiday season has cause me to slack on my blog, so without further ado, here’s what we’ve been up to lately! At the beginning of December, we made Santa’s Beard Countdowns! These were a huge hit with my students! Click on the image below to snag the freebie for your class next year! I used a combination of fabulous resources from bloggers for my Holidays Around the World Unit. The majority of goodies came from Halle and ..read more

Do you use Elf on a Shelf in your classroom?  I sure do!  In fact, one of my lovelies from last year already stopped by last week to see if the classroom elf had arrived yet!  Too cute.  My elf usually arrives two weeks before Christmas and adds some major excitement to the classroom.  This year, I wanted my students to document the elf’s adventures by keeping an elf journal.  I browsed TPT for some files and couldn’t find just what I was looking for, so I made it!  Introducing… {Newly updated!!!} The file is filled with activities such as: If you are pl ..read more

If you are looking for some ways to teach your students about Internet Safety, I have some great resources for you! This week, my grade level (2nd) started departmentalizing for the first time. We have 5 teachers, so two teachers will be teaching science, two will teach social studies, and one will teach technology (that’s me)! With five teachers, we had to have a very creative switching schedule. Here’s how it all worked out: Does that look confusing? It is!!!! Basically, all students will have science twice a week, social studies twice a week, and technology once a week. Every class will ..read more

Today’s post has nothing to do about teaching… in America, that is! One year ago today, I was in Ghana, Africa preparing to spend three weeks teaching kindergarten. As I sit here on my comfy couch drinking iced tea, it’s hard to believe that I was in Africa one year ago. The trip has made a lasting impact on my life and I hope to be able to go back someday! I went to Ghana with an organization called Cross-Cultural Solutions. Thankfully, my teacher friend, Holly, was able to come on my adventure with me. Going to Ghana is something that has always been on my heart, but it took me awhile to ta ..read more

Today's blog is about a new website that has been flying under the radar! Edit (7-6-16): This blog post was written in 2012 and the Scootpad site has changed significantly since then. 1)  It's free. 2)  There are no ads {this is a huge plus for any site I use with my class!!} 3)  Students can sign on from school or home! Have you heard of it?  It was created last December and I started using it in March. I first heard about Scootpad from an administrator in my district who emailed us all the info.  I think you will love it!   Basically, Scootpad is a site wh ..read more

I'm excited to be able to share another bright idea with you today!  I absolutely loved reading everyone's bright ideas during the last blog hop!  You can read my post from last month about using a Super Improver Wall to motivate your students {here}. Today, I am sharing one of my favorite integrated art projects that I use in my classroom every year: Shaving Cream Snowmen!  It is always a favorite!  It feels strange blogging about snowmen in March, but here in Ohio, we still have plenty of snow on the ground.  In fact, we have already missed 12 days of school due to snow... what a winter ..read more

As a classroom teacher, the Super Improver Wall is one of my favorite ways to motivate students and build a positive classroom culture.  I first learned about the Super Improver Wall at the Whole Brain Teaching midwest conference.  You can read more about what I learned at the conference {here}.  The WBT website has a lot of great ideas about how to use the Wall.  Of course, I have tweaked and adapted the concept to work in my classroom!  This post will tell you all about how I use the Super Improver Wall to motivate my students and build a classroom community.   I used a square pocket cha ..read more

I am very excited to be participating in a book study of Barbara Gruener's book, What's Under Your Cape? Barbara's blog, The Corner on Character, is a wonderful resource for character education and I have been a long time reader!  The summary of What's Under Your Cape states that it serves as, "A guide to help elementary teachers infuse virtues, values, and traits into the habits, routines, and culture of their character-building so that their superheroes can soar."  Barbara's Book is a quick read filled with practical ideas for your classroom!  I am lucky to be hosting Chapter 4, which focus ..read more