I can't believe back-to-school time is coming up so quickly! I've been thinking about my classroom decor and decided to go a little different route this year. I want to try and use as many actual photos as possible to make things super clear for my students and help with explicitly teaching classroom procedures. I've made some new visual posters and wanted to share them with all of you. My first change was with my class rules posters. I have used a modified version of the Whole Brain Teaching rules for the last several years. I also wanted explicit Voice Level posters for my students. If you haven't checked out A Day in First Grade's blog post about her morning meeting, it's a must read {here}. I loved how she gave her students three choices for sitting on the carpet. Last year, I had a lot of students who didn't want to sit criss-cross applesauce. I think my students will be much happier with these options. If you're interested in any of these visuals, you can download them all below for free by clicking on the pictures! I hope these are helpful in your classrooms!

Hi everyone, Lots of you, on Facebook and Instagram, have asked me about my centers. Today, I'm here to show you my daily center routine. I should tell you

STEM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering and Math”. In education, STEM is a subject that includes mostly project-based learning where students work together to solve a pr…

Teaching methods and strategies vary based on teacher, classroom, and any other factor you can think of. Positive behavior can be encouraged in your class..

Our resources are a game changer. They are high-quality, ready to use and sure to reignite your passion for teaching.

A collection of the clearest, most high-quality books, articles, videos, and downloadable documents for learning how to differentiate in your classroom.

Problem solving is challenging for young students (and many adults too)! To support my little friends, I teach them problem solving strategies that they can use when they encounter a problem. We want our students to become independent thinkers who can solve problems, control their emotions, express empathy, and help others.

I'm really working on classroom organization. It improves my productivity with students, so I know it is time well-invested. However, ...

This post is part 1 in my inquiry series. To learn more about inquiry click through to see my many other posts about inquiry. If you are new to my blog,

Are you tired of trying to figure out what to do with your students who finish their work early and still maintain PEACE in your classroom? This post will show you how to Keep The Peace With Early Finisher Tubs.

According to Wikipedia, early childhood education is a branch of education theory that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth to up to age eight. The benefits of early childhood education for children are almost countless as well as being long lasting. I have four children aged 9, 7, 5 and

The green and red choice board is a universal support available for all students to support their social-emotional behavior.

Download your FREE Place Value Math Enrichment Bundle and start using math activities that actually lead to growth for ALL your students...without spending hours planning, prepping, and grading.

When I first started teaching special education, individual schedules were a bit of a mystery to me. I knew my students needed them but I couldn't wrap my head around how to use them in an individual way that was meaningful for each individual and not overwhelming to my staff! Let's be honest my first year, everyone was on a wall schedule with a check schedule ticket system, including my student who was unable to walk! Looking back I realize how unproductive that was but at the time I didn't know a better way. Now I look at each individual student's needs and create a schedule that is meaningful to them. For example, if I have a student who struggles with transitions, I don't create a wall schedule for them, because that automatically doubles the amount of transitions. Making them have to transition from one activity, to their wall schedule, to the next activity. Instead I offer them a schedule that is more portable, something like a First-Then Clipboard Schedule, in which they transitions from one activity to the next, rather than going from one activity to their schedule, then to the next. That being said, I would use a wall schedule for a student who needs opportunities for movement so that I am able to provide them opportunities to move in an organized fashion. I would strategically place their wall schedule in a calm space in the classroom that they can call their own. A place they can go to take a few deep breaths and re-group before join the next activity. In turn staggering their transition just enough so that they misses the mass chaos of all the preschoolers in the room transitioning to their next activities. If this process is tricky for them at first, I could provide visuals on their check schedule tickets. Depending on what makes the transition difficult for them, I might offer them a check schedule ticket that reminds them of the expectations when checking their schedule: QUIETLY WALK TO YOUR SCHEDULE or I might simply offer them a check schedule ticket that reminds them to take a deep breath. This is how it works. . .each time the student gets a check schedule ticket, they go to their wall schedule, put the ticket in the library pocket by the top of their schedule and take the next schedule icon off their schedule. That icon is then matched up to a matching icon in the classroom of the space they have been asked to go to next. For example if the icon on their schedule was of social small group they would match it to the icon in social small group. This matching up technique is used whether a student is using a wall schedule or a clipboard schedule, it is truly the key to success. By matching icon to icon, it is very clear what space we are asking the students to go to. It takes the emotions out of it! For example, I am no longer the 'bad guy' saying go to the art table, instead the schedule is telling the student to go to the art table. As you notice in the picture above there is a Velcro dot on top of the matching icon as well as the one on the backside. This is so the match up spot can be used more than once. I don't want the students to see a teacher take off the previous matched icon so they can match their icon because then the student starts to think, what is the point the teachers are just going to take my icons off. It would be like your administrator deleting an entire IEP you had written before your very eyes... you would start to think what is the point!?!? Matching up is hard work for kids and we really need to notice and celebrate their efforts, especially in the beginning when the system is new to them and transitioning is tough. Which is also why I usually choose to use a match to match Velcro system rather than a library pocket for my kiddos to put their icons in. Putting an icon in a library pocket takes more hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, which are both skills we work on with our students but not skills I want them to get frustrated with when they are trying to match up and transition to the next activity. It is all about thinking through the process. One other tip I have found along the way, is the importance of being strategic about where we place the icon to be matched to. For example if the dramatic play icon is on the outside of the dramatic play area, a student could potentially MATCH AND RUN! If the icon to match to is in the back of the center, then the student has to actually walk into the center to match up, which will then help them see items in the center and more likely engage with the activities and peers in the space rather than matching and running! It is all about asking ourselves what we want, take the art center for example, if I put the icon on the art shelf the students could potentially match to the art shelf and run off, if instead I put the icon to match to on the chair itself, I might have better results as that is what I want. I want the student to match up and sit down to listen to the art lesson for the day. Wow that was a lot and all I have time for today! Like me on Facebook so you have access to my next post: 10 Tips for Teaching Students and Supporting Staff to Use Individual Schedules in a Meaningful Way! See you soon, Lindy 

These 50 DIY projects can breathe new life into Social Studies lessons. We think of DIY for the house and maybe even for classroom decor (the popular crate seats and teacher toolkits come to mind!), b

Maybe you've always wanted to try PBL, but you just haven't gotten around to it yet. Here's a set of beginner-level resources to get you started.

This easy science experiment is a fun way to demonstrate the concept of gravity to young children. You’ll just need a few supplies, including paperclips and magnets, to take part in this cool science activity! This activity correlates with NGSS: Disciplinary Core Idea PS2.B. Follow our Science for Kids Pinterest board! Here’s a fun …

The Art center is a place where students can go to express their feelings, ideas, and be creative! Every child is an artist in the Art center! It is a place that promotes high-level thinking, problem-solving, and is rich in vocabulary. Students can learn and develop skills in all learning domains (language, literacy, math, science, social studies, fine motor, gross motor, and social skills) through art. It is an amazing place in your classroom if you are intentional with the materials and experiences you plan and set up for your students.This post contains affiliate links.

Here are a few photos of the documentation showing others of our journey as we inquired about color and shades.

Last week my colleague, her daughter and I lazured my new classroom. Though many Waldorf schools have classrooms dedicated to each grade, at our school the question of which class will be in which room is one that is discussed each year. Because some of our classrooms are difficult, odd sizes and our class sizes […]

Project/Inquiry Based Learning has been a passion of mine ever since I discovered it about 5 years ago. Since then, I have stepped out of m...

My best advice to any teacher is to start the year with simple, but clear classroom expectations. If students know what you expect out of them starting from the beginning of the year, you will spend less time stopping instruction to correct behavior. When students know the expectations, they will try their best to follow ... Read More about Classroom Expectations

Have a chatty class? Do your talkative students get louder and louder during small groups until it feels like chaos? Do they talk when you'r...

We believe that building a culture of transparency connects us to our community in a powerful way that demonstrates our commitment to our earliest learners. In our ongoing effort to be transparent …

Prompting Hierarchy- How I got duped! What you need to know about the prompting hierarchy. Snag the infographic and info perfect for working with your staff!

Here’s a few classroom procedures that have worked well for me – and a couple awesome ideas I’ve run across since I’ve stepped out of the classroom...

Hi! Today, I wanted to share some of my favorite crafts to use for teaching digraphs. I try to make my blog posts useful for teachers in the classroom, and […]

Maths gems 4 - weekly post of secondary maths teaching ideas

The students at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School in Lafayette, Louisana had a fantastic time doing this operating room dramatic play as a part of their, Hospital Day. Students were given patien

Let's advocate for play-based learning in primary education! Explore the benefits of play, & how it enhances creativity, emotional regulation, & academic rigor.

So my awesome Peeps have put me in charge of sharing something meaningful with you this week! My class loves center time so I wanted to share just a little about how we rotate centers. This year I am going to split up my literacy & math centers. So I am only going to share about my literacy center rotation today. I have 8 literacy centers. Each child gets to go to 2 centers for 20 minutes each while I am pulling groups. I try to put a higher student or 2 with a lower student. That way if they need help there is usually someone there to help. Also when I pull groups according to reading levels there are still children in the center. I take their pictures on day 1 and print them to use for center groupings. The pictures are put up with sticky tack. So if we need a group swap it's easy to move them. The centers in the middle are on velcro. That way each morning I take the bottom center off and move all the centers down one spot then the groups get 2 new centers each day. How do you swap your centers around? Click below to go grab my center sign freebies. Don't forget to check back next week for a tip from one of my Peeps!