So much Twitter love from my post about my walls this year. Y’all know how to make a girl feel good! I don’t have my lesson plans ready, and am not entirely sure what I’m doing on…
What’s on your mind? Is a terrific way to get to know your students + these make an easy and awesome bulletin board too! Great activity for the first week of school and a nice ice breaker for students to get to know their new classmates. What’s On Your Mind Activity From: TeachWithMe.com Would you ... Read More about What’s On Your Mind?
Learn how to progress from balance beginner to coordination champ with these 15 awesome Balance Board Exercises!
Here is a collection of 10 FREE Printable alphabet banners. Each letter of the alphabet is available to be printed out, so all you have to do is think up a great banner saying! Have fun creating the beautiful Banner of your dreams!
I've been working on a few things for Behavior Management so I thought I'd join the party! Check out The Lesson Plan Diva to see others who have linked up! I've seen a lot of clip charts and stop lights in blog land and I have to say that I am not a fan. Don't get me wrong--I think they are pretty, easy to use, and a quick visual for the teacher at the end of the day when getting things ready to go home. BUT I strongly believe that kids should not be publicly embarrassed for their behavior. EVERYONE makes poor choices from time to time. Would you want the entire staff to know when you missed a deadline or made a mistake? I know this is not the intention, but it happens anyway. Instead I use a binder. I wish I had a photo to show but sadly it is locked up at school. In the binder is a chart with student numbers instead of names. When students make poor choices, they are asked to visit the behavior binder where they place a check mark next to their number. There is also a copy of our Quality Student they should quickly review. When sending students to the binder, I make sure to do it privately so the student is not embarrassed. Each Monday we discuss the previous week's data, celebrate if we made a goal, and make new goals for the coming week. The binder is also handy at conference time. As a class, we set goals for the number of checks we will try to stay under per week. Students also may have personal goals for how many checks they will have each week or grading period. Recently I found Homeworkopoly on Ladybug's Teacher Files and decided to teacher-lift it. She uses this for students who consistently complete their homework, but I decided to use it as a behavior incentive. ALOT of people have been posting about doing away with the prize/treasure box and this could work for that too. I included two "prize box" places on the board but you could easily replace them with something else. I am still working on the Chance cards and I also added a spot for "Student-written questions." My plan here is to have students write their own review questions for topics already covered. So my printer is running low on ink and the colors are a bit distorted but this is the basic idea. My plan is to post it on the chalk board and use pictures of the kids faces to make magnetic playing pieces. Students who made it the entire week without any checks in the behavior binder (or who met their personal behavior goal) will get to take a turn on the Behavioropoly Board. Check out Ladybug's Teacher Files to see how she runs the game. ***Update*** Due to a high volume of requests I am no longer sending out my template by email. You can go to my TPT store and download the files for free!
Fraction art is a fun way for students to practice fractions as part of a whole. For this activity, students use the Fraction Art activity page (freebie below) and create their own design by using multiple colors. Once students complete their design, they simply count up the fraction for each color used, and record it […]
In this detailed tutorial, we're sharing how to make busy boards for your toddlers, both for in the house and in the car! No power tools needed!
Everyone loves Before & After Pictures, right? So, here we go! These pictures are just what my room looked like at the very beginning of the year. At the end of this post, I’ll post som…
{My First School Project} A few weeks back the twins’s teacher sent me home with two blank white pieces of cardboard. I was told to have the girls help me put together a board that told ALL about them. Well… the girls helped for about 3 minutes, lost interest, and I was left to finish…
This is an amazing art and math lesson that I got from a teacher at a conference who did teach a district over from me, but is now getting her PhD. She always had amazing stuff to present at conference. (You're amazing, Mary Franco!) Anyway, this lesson involves Paul Klee and multiplication. I made a little three page Smart Notebook lesson about Klee's work "Once Emerged From the Gray of Night" (where I used to show a poster of it) and have the students talk about what's more important--the words of the poem or the colors and composition? Then we talk about putting two things (like writing and art, or math and art together). It's SUCH an amazing lesson, here's a sneak peek: So, students get a little background knowledge of Klee, then we talk about tessellations and multiplication (and practice on the Smart Board). Then, students get a page of one-inch graph paper and write out a one digit by one digit multiplication problem with a two digit answer. I tell them to choose one that's hard for them to remember, or their favorite one. They then repeat that problem seven times, dropping down and over one square for 4 times, then down and back a square for three times, making them into interlocking tessellation shapes: After they've drawn it all out in pencil and I've checked it, they choose ONE color of fine-tip marker to trace it with, then use colored pencil or watercolor pencil to color. The coloring is a bit of a challenge for them, because they need to forget that they're numbers and only look at the space. They then color it in patterns/designs to make it visually interesting and play with people's minds ('math? I dont' see any math!') It's an awesome lesson that really challenges their thinking. This one really shows the patterns and designs. Oh, it's also important that their numbers COMPLETELY fill the one inch box of the graph paper. I always try to do this lesson at a time of the year when classroom teachers are complaining about students not remembering their math facts. I usually do it with fifth grade, but I did it with sixth one year at the teachers' request.
Quick and easy extra space storage shelves tutorial, that you can make alone!! Create the storage room of your dreams, with super sturdy DIY storage!
Yep, I said Perfect New York Style Bagels… and I do mean perfect!! These were my second attempt at homemade bagels. The first was a much simpler recipe, and turned out great bagels. This recipe though, is a perfect copycat of my favorite New York Style bagel shop bagels! I’m sure I will be making...Read More »
Catch your students' attention with our back to school bulletin board ideas. A fun and interactive way to establish a fun and welcoming classroom community.
37 Bulletin board ideas for your church or school.
Letter boards are so fun and add a personal touch to any space. Get yourself a letter board and then try some of these 101 Best Letter Boards Sayings!
This simple vegan broccoli pasta recipe can be prepared in a jiffy and is a winning combination of amazing and vibrant flavors. It's delicious, healthy, economical and so easy to throw together in 20 minutes. A recipe that makes you want to eat tons of broccoli!Note: the post has been updated with new pictures and nutritional values, but the recipe is still the same.
Friday Favorites: DIY Organizing Projects
Do you love Top Ten lists?? Me too! See what you loved the most in 2014 on Setting for Four! My Top Ten Blog Posts: DIY's, Crafts and Decor Ideas.
Make Ten... A fun and easy card game for kids that reinforces math concepts and uses a regular deck of playing cards. Free printable play mat included!
Choose from 58 fun STEAM art projects and activities for kids to explore art while learning science, technology, engineering, and math, too!
The best, EASIEST way to make corned beef in the oven. You'll never boil corned beef again after trying this juicy, moist, fall-apart baked corned beef.
Great ideas for welcoming kids to your classroom.
This artisan bread is so easy and so delicious! Just 4 ingredients and 5 minutes of work are all you need for this easy bread recipe.
Musings of a Third Grade Teacher
Got fine, thin hair that looks limp and lifeless? We asked a celebrity hairstylist for the best short haircuts to make fine, thin hair seem thicker and fuller.
Amazing classroom decoration ideas including how to add a class fireplace, a beautiful teacher space, a classroom fridge and more!
Monopoly is a game familiar to everyone around the world but this version has teachers super excited. This version uses Math strategies to take you around the board. This game is aimed at 7+ years…
beginner board and batten tips. Board and batten calculator. How to install boards not into studs, Scarf joint seams.
Easy $5 Lightsabers: Make some awesome Lightsabers for about $5 each! I recently made a bunch of homemade Lightsabers for my kids and me to play with and use for Halloween costumes. As I was figuring out how to make these, my goal was to come up with a method that balan…
Can a vegan benefit from going gluten-free? Jennifer Kurdyla takes the plunge.
Inside you will find: * 6 Read and Color pages. * 4 Read and Draw These comprehension activities are ideal for students in kindergarten and first grade. Use this as a listening comprehension activities for your kindergarten students, or have your first graders read the passages and work independently. These are perfect for literacy centers, independent work, morning work, fast finisher, homework and more. Check out the full packet here: Reading Comprehension Activities (THE BUNDLE) This set goes well with my: Reading Comprehension Check (The Bundle) Check out the freebies here: FREE Reading Comprehension Check You may also be interested in: Reading Comprehension THE BUNDLE Reading Fluency and Comprehension THE BUNDLE If you have any questions, please email me at: [email protected] before purchasing *************************************************** Follow my stores for more AWESOME FREEBIES and GET UPDATES on my NEW PRODUCTS!! Connect with me: Teaching Biilfizzcend Instagram Teaching Biilfizzcend Pinterest
How to make a bulletin board border
At our house, we LOVE Nerf guns! Here are a collection of the most awesome Nerf games to make and play. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. Favorite Nerf Gear: The Nerf N-Strike Elite Firestrike and the Strongarm Blaster are both good guns to start with. The Firestrike is best for younger kids – my […]
8 engaging, hands-on suggestions for making math centers your students will LOVE! These creative ideas use items you already have in your classroom or kitchen at home.
Are You Ready For It? Buckle up because we're about to take Teacher Appreciation Week to a whole new level of awesome! Get ready to dive into a week filled with Swiftie vibes and major appreciation for the real rockstars - our amazing teachers! Picture this: Taylor Swift meets the classroom - that
Find the best ideas to get started selling your very own woodworking products. This list has awesome ideas including wall decor, furniture and more. The secret to really selling these items well online is...
Winter Pregnancy has its perks! From Christmas pregnancy announcements to winter maternity clothes, this is your guide to how to survive a winter pregnancy
