It is that crazy time of year. The time of year when you are expected to write report cards and STILL teach and keep kids ENGAGED. Of course it is also the time when my own kids lives and schedules go into high gear as well. Plus the weather is so nice I just want to sit outside with a Wildberry cooler. So, of course I think it is the time to go full on theme (just so I can make 15 trips to the dollar store, Michaels and the library). This week we are all about "Camp Learnalot". Since we are still in school for the entire month I made some new calendar cards. If you are in school or maybe yo ..read more

I LOVE teaching about Magic E, cause he is magical (duh) and it is a spelling pattern (CVCE) that students "get". When teaching this pattern students find the words everywhere and can not stop themselves from pointing them out. I also like the connection you can make to CVC words and the reading strategy of flipping the vowel sound. This year we taught this spelling pattern with the Magic E (not sneaky, super, bossy or silent - MAGIC). But I love that there are so many different fun and engaging ways to introduce the pattern - keeps me looking for new ideas, anchor charts and videos (altho ..read more

Mo Willems is one of my all-time favourite authors. That's right, I am not even going to qualify that with a "children's author". I love the characters, the illustrations, the humour but most of all I love that every student I have ever introduced to his books has fallen in love with them, clamoured to read them and laughed out loud!! This year we did some of my favourite activities and  I added a few new things to our Mo Willems author study. We learned how to draw Pigeon, Duckling, Piggie and Gerald. There are soooo many videos and resources online (click on the characters to go t ..read more

Just popping in for a quick second to share some calendar cards that are perfect for March with the cutest spring animal clipart I have seen!! I may be spending way too much time thinking of ways I can use this clipart cause saying I bought it just cause it's so stinking cute seems like I have a bit of a problem. So, use number one: calendar cards. Click here  or on the pictures to pick up a copy of these cards. When I cut just inside the black line they fit nicely on my standard calendar. I also made a new March calendar header, click on the picture to save and insert into your o ..read more

This is a true life description of what happened in my classroom Friday morning. Students ran into the room with looks of glee and happiness on their faces. They ran from one spot to another noticing some of the changes in the room, new decorations and activities....but they did not stop to admire them for long because they were looking for....the Elf on the Shelf!!!  Only I DO NOT do elf on the shelf, not at home, not at school, not here or there, I do not do it anywhere. So I had to break their little hearts and explain that we will not have an Elf on the Shelf in our classroom...we ..read more

I don't know about you, but where I teach there has been a very strong focus on developing a growth mindset in our students (I have a very strong feeling that it is the same for you!) Yes, there is a lot of buzz around this topic right now...books to read and share, videos to watch and posters to post. I believe (I really do) in the importance of growth mindset, honest I do, but sometimes I wonder if the books and the videos and the posters are having an impact on my students. We all know what it means to have a growth mindset....but when it comes to the actual struggle with a chal ..read more

It is easy in this job to lose your mojo now and then (and then again after you've managed to get it back). There are the never ending to-do lists. The racing brain late at night. The feeling that you are not enough (not engaging enough, not in enough control, not letting go of control enough, not Pinteresty enough, not together enough, not on top of the pile of papers enough). But trust me, you have got mojo and you don't even know and you are enough, in fact you are more than enough, you are amazing. After watching this video I have started to self-affirmations with my class each da ..read more

I LOVE using videos in math class, I love catchy songs that I catch my kiddos singing all day long (and that I sing at home while doing dishes!). I often use them as an introduction to a concept or as a review before sending my students off to work. BUT a new way I am using them this year is during transitions. You see I have a few students who struggle to move quickly, or lets be honest, at a speed that does not make me want to pull my hair out with frustration. Nothing seems to work, they just move like molasses UNLESS there is a math video on. Soooo....once we have watched a video for l ..read more

I am solidly in the denial stage of going back to school on Monday. So to help me work through this stage I am using the strategy of avoidance, seems like a sound strategy. So take a minute and avoid whatever it is you need to be doing and look back at my week as I link up with Doodle Bugs Teaching.... I am doing it, I made a pledge and I am staying strong!! I have blogged here and here and here!! And hopefully if I keep blogging people will keep reading (or skimming at least!!) I went to IKEA to buy a shelving unit and picked up these three cuties..... ...for our 3 Little Pig/F ..read more

So this is a personal edition of WWW (What's Working Wednesday). I wanted to share my experience with weight loss and Weight Watchers over the last 12 months. So, if you were here for teaching ideas, sorry, but if you are thinking about making some healthy changes this year maybe stick around for a little while longer. Here is a bit of my journey. To start with, I was an adorable (IMO and IMYMOM'SO) baby, but I was chubby. I was a healthy, SOLID (the WORST word) and at times chubby child. When I look back at pictures I can say "Wow, you were actually a really good size ..read more