Where I teach: 2012-2013 pictures Inspiration from Schoolgirl Style Tips I've learned from Schoolgirl Style- Have consistent colors throughout the room Borders and Bulletin boards should be cohesive in colors Double your borders to make a bigger impact Hide clutter with fabric or cute baskets Be sure to have a focal point The smallest details make the biggest difference Love my editable labels from Ashley Hughes Bulletin Boards 101 Oh how things have changed throughout the years. My first couple of years I had border to match every season and thematic unit. I would spend hours switching the fabric every few weeks. Not only was this exhausting for me but it really was too busy for my students. My room was filled with color. Some could describe it as skittles exploding in my room. Now I have learned a few things. Tip #1 Cohesive Backgrounds-The best tip is to keep the boards cohesive throughout the room. I like using fabric so I stick with black and white. I sometimes pick a different pattern but the colors are all the same. Wrapping paper is also very helpful along with twin bed sheets. Tip #2- Cohesive Borders- Another thing I love is keeping the borders cohesive as well. I no longer need storage for my borders because I only pick a few patterns. To make my boards fun, I layer the borders. I think it frames the boards much better than a single border. Tip #3-Student Space-The last tip is to keep your boards simple. I provide each student with a space on my board and make sure it’s easy and quick to change out their work. I have used paperclips, clothespins and tacks. The paper clips allow me to easily slip their work under the clip. The tacks allow for multiple sheets over the course of the semester and a clothesline with clothespins allows for easy access. Paperclips are an easy option for switching out student work Clothespins are also very easy! Tacks allow for multiple sheets over the course of the semester Don't forget to link up and join the Back to School FUN at Blog Hoppin'!

Colored Rainbow Eggs Experiment Still have left over Easter eggs? Turn them into rubber eggs! The eggs go for a soak in vinegar for 2-3 days and the outer shell dissolves, leaving a rubber like skin that can bounce! Find out more about this experiment here! Materials ready! You can make the eggs colored or plain! Fill the cups with vinegar and get your eggs ready. Add in the food coloring! Here, we're doing some colored eggs and one plain egg to compare! Gently add in the eggs and let them start soaking! The eggs will soak for 48-72 hours! Time to take the eggs out! The colors are SO neat! Make sure to GENTLY wash off the colored eggs so you don't get food coloring all over! You can compare the colored eggs and the plain egg! You can also compare a regular eggs to a rubber egg! Want to pair this experiment with a book? Try The Good Egg! Grab it on Amazon! (affiliate link) Here's the recording sheet we used! Click the pic to download a copy!

Practice matching 26 common contractions with super cute Doctor Contraction Game. Print the FUN, low-prep contractions activity for kids!

Hi, friends! Today, I’d like to talk about phoneme segmentation. Stretching out CVC words can be such a tricky skill for some of our little learners. You all know what I mean! Sometimes, identifying each sound through auditory means

Drawing a dinosaur takes center stage in this dinosaur art project. Students sit up and listen as all are eager to learn how to draw their favorite subject.

Helping K-2 Teachers Like You Save Time, Grow Instructional Skills, and Teach With Confidence!

Looking for a new and engaging classroom management system for your classroom? I love Secret Student because all of my students buy into this system...

1. Kidz Bop Kids: You can find every single Kiz Bop album EVER on Spotify! It is fantastic!!! I love that I can play the current hits and know that they'll be clean and kid friendly. The kids never complained about it either.

Last week, a reader asked a question I’ve gotten a lot over the years. “How should I hold difficult students accountable?” It’s a topic I haven’t covered specifically because the answer is so simple and direct: Just like everyone else. You calmly approach the ... Read more

Tips for teaching kids comparing and contrasting in reading. Introduce the concept in small steps, practice with differentiated materials, using vocabulary.

Happy Sunday! It's Chandra from Teaching with Crayons and Curls and I am SO excited to be sharing some Sweet Treats with you today!! Let's get started with a freebie that you can start implementing in your classroom NOW for Valentine's Day and continue using ALL year long! This year I am teaching in a multi-age classroom and my teacher bestie and I try to create an extremely positive learning environment for our firsties and sweet seconds! We are constantly giving our students positive feedback, but wanted them to take on more resonsibility and really focus on having a positive attitude and sharing that positivity with others! We both absolutely LOVE this quote and wanted to really put it to use in our classroom! So, we did! I have this sweet quote framed on my desk as a great reminder! Right at the beginning of January when we were discussing resolutions and goals, we decided that it was our class goal to make someone smile each and everyday! At the end of the day we discuss who made us smile that day! GREAT way to end the day in a positive way! We also started using "Sending Smiles" or "Spreading Smiles" slips within our classroom! Students are encouraged to fill out a form when someone in our class makes them smile and then either pass it along to them or put it in their mailbox to take home. We even sent a letter home so that families could get involved in all the positive fun! We love this quote and what it means SO much that we made it the center of our classroom- literally and figuratively! If you think this is something you could implement in your classroom, grab this freebie in my store! I can't wait to hear about how your students spread smiles!!! And, you can make your own bulletin board! Now on to my BIG idea! (Not really, but a fun idea to try in your classroom!) Since we've been spreading smiles and promoting kindness, I thought it would be a great to share all the kindness and in a fun and creative way. And, I just LOVE doing crafts with my kids! In order to tell special people in our lives how we feel about them and WHY they are so special to us, our firsties and sweet seconds will be completing these cute little crafts next week and writing a letter to a "BEARY" special person and letting someone know that some "BUNNY" loves them! I just love being able to incorporate ways for my kids to share kindness with others AND incorporate all the kindness into standards based activities! Grab the {"Beary" Special} craft or the {some "BUNNY" Loves You} craft in my store! And, I can't leave you without a little bit more! These are some of my absolute FAVORITE read alouds for Valentine's Day! They help spread kindness and LOVE! If you haven't read Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, you MUST order it for yourself right NOW! Trust me, you won't be disappointed! This is a great read aloud to read with the bunny OR bear craft! A great read aloud to read before the bear craft is The Valentine Bears! If you are anything like me and dont' have a copy of the book, but still want to share it with your students here is a video of the story being told! And, a favorite to read with the bunny craft is Dear Bunny. If you want to save this idea for later, make sure to pin the image below! Thank you for joining me! Make sure to check back ALL month long for even more {Sweet Treats}. For even more ideas from The Primary Peach, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates!

Ideas for teaching personal narrative writing to first, second, and third graders. This post contains affiliate links. Where to Start with Teaching Personal Narrative Writing Before students start to write their own personal narratives, they

I LOVE January! Not the blustery, freezing cold that has me heavily considering a Hawaiian move or hibernation, but the opportunity for a classroom refresh and the promise that the new year offers each one of us. Even though we are only half way through the school year, January means we are HALF WAY through the school year!!! Semester one down, semester two to go! We've got this!

Spring is here and we all have spring fever! Energy levels are higher. Students seem restless. Behaviors that have never been seen before appear. And your once quiet class becomes chatty. Every year I remind myself that this is normal. And to be expected… But that doesn’t mean we can’t remedy the situation. In this ... Read More about 10 Effective Strategies for a Chatty Class

I'm off to work on my classroom! This is my last week of "summer." So much to do, so little time! Happy Monday everyone.

I know we all have this little issue in our classroom. Give me a: T A T T L I N G GO NO Tattling! It's very difficult for students to only worry about themselves! I made a lesson to help with this very thing. Some kiddos just don't know any better. Many kiddos don't know the difference between an emergency and a tattle. I ALWAYS want my babes to know that their voices and feelings are heard. I try to ask them in a kind way if it's an emergency or a tattle. I never want to shoo them away. I like the idea of a tattling turtle or the tattling monster. I've never done it before, but do you think I should add it into my classroom??? Here's what I have for you: Pocket chart sorting activity: The fight chant: How do you deal with tattling in your classroom or at home? Clipart and/or fonts used by permission from DJ Inkers

This two-page document lists 16 classroom jobs with columns for responsibilities and qualifications. It is left in Excel format so you can customize it anyway you'd like.

Who loves FREE classroom resources?! I made these grammar posters and I am giving them to you for free! There are 20 different posters included that cover many of the parts of speech and other grammar terms that students need to know in grades 2-4. Just plug in your name and email address below and

Did these turn out beautiful or what!? After learning about the life and art of Van Gogh, third graders created these masterpieces! I found this idea on Pinterest from Jamestown elementary blog! So thank you Jamestown! Many ooooohs and aaaahs in the hallway from passers-by! It was fun to also show the students some Van Gogh artwork that I got to see in person!

I wanted to stop by today and share some a few of my “go-to” activities during the first week of school to build our classroom community and set expectations for […]

Helpful worksheets to help students learn and practice writing and spelling common first grade words. Includes 8 pages with 80 words organized to allow students to see how the word is spelled, practice writing it and then test their knowledge. Upon purchase, you will download a PDF with all 8 worksheets that is print ready.

Do you use these Backyard Books in your classroom? There are several different animals that Judy Allen made these books for. They are ...

substitute teaching blog, substitute teaching tips

In case you missed last week's Blog Swap Sunday post - here it is! Hi, I am Amy the teacher/blogger behind Teaching in Blue Jeans. First, before you judge me let me say that I do NOT get to teach

The Pigeon Has To Go To School is the perfect book for Back to School. Included in this pack is a craft along with 11 writing activities!

Description Botanical themed Reading Group Posters and Book Box Labels Keep your guided reading groups visible and organised for both yourself and your students by using these natural and calming Modern Farmhouse posters and labels in your classroom. Includes: 8 various foliage themed groups A4 sized colour posters - to display on your whiteboard or Bulletin Boards Square Book Box Labels - perfectly measured to fit the front of your Elizabeth Richards Book Boxes Editable posters and labels - to add in your own unique group names if you choose Editable student name tags - to fit both sets perfectly. To edit: You will need to have Microsoft Powerpoint installed on your computer. Choose any font you like (must be installed on your computer) and simply type in your text. The font I have used for the names in my examples is AG Cash Me Ousside

The 2nd grade classes have been creating paper sculptures this week. I wanted to show them how they could take something flat and manipulate...

Suggested Age: 9-12 YearsNumber of Pages: 32Genre: Juvenile FictionSub-Genre: Children's LiteraturePublisher: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CHILDRENSFormat: PaperbackAuthor: Allen SayLanguage: EnglishStreet Date: August 10, 2016TCIN: 51509143UPC: 490591314011Item Number (DPCI): 059-13-1401Origin: Made in the USA

This past week all sorts of math bloggers have been posting their school supplies haul ( @druinok, @fouss) and I was getting super jelly. So I overcompensated and went to Walmart, Target, and Micha…

I was recently in a third grade classroom and was struck by the presence of rules that were posted for how to have a conversation. Having visited many middle and high schools, I think these same rules could -- and probably should -- be posted there as well.

Explore amazing aquatic animals while practicing math & literacy skills with this 50 pages of FUN ocean worksheets! Pre k -- 2nd Grade

Sorry I have been a little M.I.A. lately! I miss my blogging world, and all my blogging friends! I guess you could say I have been a little ...

Ever since I started Daily 5 in my classroom, it has run smoother, my kids are reading more, and I am able to teach more. I have begun to search for some organizational products for me and my students. I have been looking for something exactly like these cards. They are compact enough to be kept at their desks. It's going to be so much easier for students to keep track and for me. With just a glance I can see what they have done...and what they may need to be pushed to do. I have no idea who created these. I found them on Pinterest. There are also wonderful instructions on how to introduce each part of Daily 5. I am definitely using these next year! I apologize for not knowing who created these. If you know, would you let me know, so I can give credit. Here's another example of how to keep them really reading, thinking, and writing. This was created by The Fighting Texan. If you want the whole kit and caboodle, head on over here. Holy Cow! This has everything you need! AND IT'S FREE!!! The last thing I'm going to share today is a Daily 5 Rubric Who Knew??? I just love these ideas! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Have a wonderful day!

We had a lot of fun this week with our 2D shapes! We really focused on 2D shapes that we see in the real world this week. We could not believe how many shapes we see all around us! We did activities from my 2D Shapes Galore pack. Here are some activities that we did […]

Outrageously fun craft and activity uses eggs to create DIY silly egg head craft. This cute chia pet is perfect for a spring or plant lesson.

Review for SMartphone Laptop and Other