I want to quit teaching, how do I become a teacherpreneur? This is my current story. And I am guessing that if you are reading this, it may be yours too. I just want you to know, you are not alone. We spend years dreaming of the perfect classroom, teaching job, school,

I want to quit teaching, how do I become a teacherpreneur? This is my current story. And I am guessing that if you are reading this, it may be yours too. I just want you to know, you are not alone. We spend years dreaming of the perfect classroom, teaching job, school,

Teach students all about spiders with these creepy crawly lessons. These science lessons are fantastic for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade students. Learn facts about spiders.

I want to quit teaching, how do I become a teacherpreneur? This is my current story. And I am guessing that if you are reading this, it may be yours too. I just want you to know, you are not alone. We spend years dreaming of the perfect classroom, teaching job, school,

The Sensory Bins Master Guide Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey there! Have you ever tried sensory bins with your class? Are you looking for the proper tools and techniques to implement sensory

I want to quit teaching, how do I become a teacherpreneur? This is my current story. And I am guessing that if you are reading this, it may be yours too. I just want you to know, you are not alone. We spend years dreaming of the perfect classroom, teaching job, school,

The Sensory Bins Master Guide Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey there! Have you ever tried sensory bins with your class? Are you looking for the proper tools and techniques to implement sensory

Which Champagne is sweet? In this blog post, we will discuss the different types of sweet champagne available on the market. We will also provide you with some recommendations for sweet champagne brands that you can purchase. So, if you are looking for a bubbly drink that will satisfy your sweet tooth, read on!

Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!

Finding creative ways for introducing money in the classroom and learn about the basic foundations that go along with this topic is so important. Read for more ideas!

We have begun a new writing unit for the 4th nine weeks and it's all about non-fiction. Informative writing apparently has many names, I have heard it called expository, informative and informational. Whatever you chose to call it, we have been working on it this week. To make it a little bit more fun, we have been creating mini-books! All you need to make a mini-book is 5 index cards and one rubber band. I cut little slits to make the rubber band hold it tightly (pictures of the books are a little further down). Before we get to the mini-books, first we talked about how writers do research before they write. We broke out a lot of non-fiction text so they could research some topics and choose one to write about. A few years ago I had a grandparent/former teacher donate a whole set of these books. We have used them for many things this year in ELA and writing. Sorry for the glare, but lamination does not like the camera! I have saved extra copies of Weekly Readers/Scholastic News from years past. This year I have worked on my non-fiction classroom library since with the CCSS we are reading a lot more non-fiction text. Most are from Scholastic and I've gotten them for free using my points. After we read about a few non-fiction topics and chose what we wanted to write about, we set some ground rules for our mini-books. We are also continuing to learn about non-fiction text features in literacy using THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS, so you can see that they had to include several in their mini-books. I think adding the text features was their favorite part, I kept hearing "Come check out my keywords" or "Look at my table of contents!" The next few pictures are a few examples from their mini-books. We aren't done yet, but I think they're going to turn out great!! They are so into it! Pay no attention to the capitalization, punctuation and spelling...I am trying to focus on content before editing : ) I know I'm biased but I'm pretty impressed with their books so far, I love how they used text features, especially the keywords they chose. You can see a little bit of our Plants Unit in there too. : )

I'm so excited to share about Penguin Day and the activities we did in the classroom. Download the Ice Castle Observation page for FREE!

Why You Need To Use Rice Sensory Bins Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Nope, I'm not crazy! Rice actually is a fantastic sensory bin filler for toddlers and kids for so many reasons!

If you work as a school administrator, a parent volunteer, or a member of a school sunshine committee, you probably already know just how important staff morale is. Keeping staff morale high is crucial to creating a warm and welcoming school environment. Teachers and other school staff members work hard! Let's help them feel appreciated and boost staff morale this fall with some fun and fresh ideas! Fall is a Great Time for a Staff Morale Boost Fall is a fun time in any school environment. Depending on when your school started for the year, the fall months of September, October, and November mean that students and staff have settled into a new routine. Once the hectic air of back-to-school season has left the building, fall feels like a warm and cozy hug for most of us! As a long-time chairperson of my school's sunshine committee, fall was one of my favorite months to embrace special activities and events to boost staff morale. There are so many great themes to play on in the fall, plus it's a good idea to build those staff relationships before the holiday season rolls around! Today I'm sharing some ideas that are great for any time of year, but they're especially suited to fall! So if you're looking for new ways to recognize staff in your school, here are 5 fun ideas to inspire you. 1. Apple Buffet Nothing screams fall like all things apple in the Midwest! When I came up with the idea for an apple buffet, I was inspired by the local apple orchard just up the street from where I lived. If you've ever visited an apple orchard, you know there's a certain kind of "fall magic" that you can just feel in the air. The humble apple is a most prized fruit and is used to make all kinds of wonderful fall treats. Make the most of apple season in your area with an apple buffet for staff members! I did this by purchasing a variety of apples, and putting them out with all kinds of toppings. Some fun toppings include caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, crushed cookies, chopped nuts, and coconut. On the day of, simply set up a buffet table with paper plates, napkins, apple slicers, apples, and toppings. As staff pass the table, they can choose an apple, slice it, and dress it up! This resource includes announcement signs, decorative posters, sign-up sheets, ingredient labels, and reminder tags to make setup and planning a breeze. You can also decide if you'd like to run this as a potluck-style event or provide all of the ingredients yourself. Either way, this is a fun idea to celebrate autumn, and boost staff morale! 2. Jeans Day Certificates As a teacher who worked in a school with a strict dress code, nothing was better than having a "Jeans Day"! And once fall rolls around, it's even better to be able to wear your coziest pair of jeans to school! Since I loved wearing jeans so much, and I knew my colleagues did too, using certificates for "Choose Your Own Jeans Day" was a total no-brainer. When I ran the sunshine committee, we used these certificates as a prize for staff meetings, to celebrate holidays, and more. School administrators loved handing these out when they observed great lessons being taught during observations as well! Everyone loved getting the option to wear jeans on any day of their choice, and it's a great inexpensive option to add to your list of ways to thank staff for their hard work. 3. Soup Potluck Does your school have potlucks from time to time? We had them often, and while they were usually holiday-themed, my favorite was our annual Soup Potluck in the fall. Everyone loved not having to bring their lunch to school that day! Plus, what is more cozy and comforting than soup? To host a soup potluck, I put out sign-up sheets well in advance to make sure we had a nice variety available. On the day of, I set up enough tables to hold everything and provided power strips for everyone to plug in their slow cookers. In the morning, staff would come in and set up their pot along with little tags that said what kind they brought. When lunchtime rolled around, everyone was so excited to taste test different soups and enjoy them with bread or crackers. I love the sense of community that comes with potlucks! It's always fun to host this on a Friday, or the day after a big local football game was held. This resource helps make planning and executing a soup potluck fun and simple. Included, are announcements, sign-up sheets, a timeline for a successful soup day, reminders, room décor, and more! 4. Staff Appreciation Post-It Notes Over the years, I have discovered that one of the BEST ways to boost staff morale is through small tokens of appreciation. That's why I love these Post-it notes so much! They're simple and easy to use, and always leave a big impact. This resource comes with 18 different messages that will brighten any staff member's day. Simply choose your template, affix your post-its to it, and load them into the printer. Add a personal touch after printing and you're good to go! Then, pop these on your colleagues' desks, on a car window, on a wall, or in another spot you know they'll find it. These are a fun and easy way to show that you're thinking of them and that their hard work is appreciated! These are also nice to hand out (unfilled) to staff members so that they can recognize each other throughout the year. 5. October Staff Boo This last idea is perfect for the month of October, and SO much fun! This activity begins slowly and picks up speed as other staff members get involved. Start it at the beginning of the month for the most fun! To implement it, you will begin the chain by making 2 copies of the BOO sign included in this resource. You'll choose colleagues to BOO and pick up a special treat for them at a drive-through, or grocery store. Finally, you'll leave the signs and treats at their desk and place another sign on the door. When the staff member finds their sign and treat, they continue the chain by doing the same. The pace picks up as more and more staff are BOOed throughout the building! This is always a staff favorite and such a wonderful way to boost staff morale. This resource comes in handy when used alongside the Staff Favorites Book as well. That way everyone will have plenty of treat ideas to get for their colleagues! Have Fun Boosting Staff Morale this Fall Which of these staff morale-boosting activities was your favorite? It's hard to choose, and the good news is that you don't have to! In fact, I have found that including lots of activities like these throughout the year is the best way to help ensure that staff know they're appreciated and keep morale high. Plus, activities like these make any school more fun to work at, which was always reason enough for me! Have fun planning your own staff morale events and activities this fall! If you'd like to take a closer look at these resources, along with lots of others, you can check them out in my TPT shop!

Johnny Appleseed Day Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey there! Today I am sharing my favorite Johnny Appleseed Day activities for your kindergarteners! I just love Johnny Appleseed Day! Something about apples

Learning how to work together is SO important. Students need purposeful activities that engage them in team building and group work. Most of what

Fall Math Activities for Kindergarten Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey, hey! 🍁Fall is such a fun time in kindergarten! New students, new routines, new supplies, new experiences, and so much more “NEW”!

We just wrapped up our elapsed time unit and let me just say….WHEW! It was fun but it was a challenge. Partly because so many of my third graders came to me struggling to even tell time. #yikes Tips to introduce teaching elapsed time: I began by giving my kids a pre-assessment to determine if they even knew how to tell time. I was blown away by how many students couldn’t not correctly write the correct hour. They understood how to find the minute hand, but when the minute had was past 30 minutes and the hour hand gets close to the next hour—so many of my kids were adding an hour because it was “closer”. Here is the template that I used: I used the telling time quiz found {HERE}. To snag the telling time assessment template for free enter your info below! I used this template so I could easily group my kids for math small groups. After small groups, I gave them my {telling time quiz} again and then gave the the highest grade to put in the grade book. If you have a subscription, BrainPopJr also has great time videos! Try BrainPOP […]

Ten Frames In Kindergarten Having a solid number sense foundation early on is vital to success in mathematics. Ten frames are one way that I help to instill number sense into my kindergarteners. But, what exactly are ten frames and how do they help? What are ten frames in kindergarten? Ten frames are a

Kindergarten Winter Activities Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at not cost to you and I only share things I love. You may or may not have made it through the fun and craziness of the holidays yet, depending on when you are reading this! With

Christmas Books for Kindergarten With so many Christmas books out there, how do you know which are the best for your class? Here I will tell you about my favorite Christmas books for kindergarten! Use the descriptions to decide which books are right for you and your class! Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney

Excellent Back To School Activities For Kindergarten Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Friends, can you believe it? Summer is already slowing to a close and we are preparing for another year of

Johnny Appleseed Day Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey there! Today I am sharing my favorite Johnny Appleseed Day activities for your kindergarteners! I just love Johnny Appleseed Day! Something about apples

So many apps, so little time! It is a pretty common dilemma for educators today. How do you choose which apps to use with your students? How do you avoid the sparkle of the latest and greatest and choose apps that will provide our students with meaningful learning opportunities? I recently had the opportunity to […]

Johnny Appleseed Day Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey there! Today I am sharing my favorite Johnny Appleseed Day activities for your kindergarteners! I just love Johnny Appleseed Day! Something about apples

How to take your beginner blog and up your game to become a Six-Figure Blogger! This is a review of the course by Create and Go

I have posted before about my "Secret Student" before but I am posting about it again to include in in What the Teacher Wants Behavior Management Linky Party! Get over there and get yourself some good ideas! These last few weeks have been hectic and crazy. The kids in my class have been real troopers through it all. We went from three first grades to two first grades after the first two days of school. Yeah, that was interesting to say the least and I think we are all finally getting into the groove of things! We added some more friends, moved some tables around and crammed ourselves in nice and cozy! I am always looking for ways to bribe promote good behavior. We give Eagle Feathers out at our school and in first grade we keep them in a shoe organizer labeled with their number. They kids had no idea that it was a shoe organizer. As I was helping someone tie their shoes the first day we had the shoe organizer up, I had a student who was absent (when I explained the system) come up and ask where they put their Eagle Feather. I kept saying "In the shoe organizer." They put it in their shoe. It stayed there a good part of the morning until I noticed. We trade our Eagle Feathers in for coupons we got here. The kids love the coupon system. I also have a "Secret Student." Each morning before the kids come in I fill out one of these by writing a student's name on the line: Then I stick it in a magnetic container and put it at the top of the board. There is also a little glitter in there for good measure. At the end of the day, I get it out and pull out the name. If that student had a good day, they get to keep the note to take home to mom and dad. They also get something out of my little prize box. If the student didn't have such a good day, I don't call them out. I just put it in my pocket and explain that whoever it was didn't have a very good day and maybe they will have a better day tomorrow. The kids LOVE the Secret Student. They always remind me at the end of the day. All I have to say throughout the day is "I need to check on my Secret Student." You can only imagine how that gets pencils moving, lines straighter, voices off.... If you want a free copy of the Star Student cards you can get it here! Update: If you need the version with "behaviour" (Aussie, UK, Canada version) click HERE! (Free on TpT) Hope everyone is having a great week! Stephany

Learn some tips and ideas to teaching about the strategies and steps to problem solving in math in this blog post, and grab a freebie to get you started!

How are your literacy centers going? One thing that is often missing from a literacy center block is a mini lesson. Read on to see how De...

Johnny Appleseed Day Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Hey there! Today I am sharing my favorite Johnny Appleseed Day activities for your kindergarteners! I just love Johnny Appleseed Day! Something about apples

Let’s Make Words! Hi, there! We’re about two months into the school year and I’m sure you’re gearing up to teach your students how to use what t

Spring Activities For Kindergarten Some links may be affiliate links. I may make a small commission from the above at no cost to you and I only share things I love. Spring is just around the corner! Seriously, I can smell it! It is time to start planning out those spring activities for kindergarten that

Prefix activity ideas to arm your students with more than just context clues. Love all the different ideas in this prefix unit!

Geometry can be a lot of fun OR it can be really confusing. This post shares 10 ways to review attributes of geometric shapes to make it fun!

The sparkle in your students’ eyes when you open a drawer of brand new centers and manipulatives is priceless. You can almost feel their enthusiasm to get to that station rotation as quickly as possible so they can touch, move and practice with these newly organized materials. MAYBE that is a little over the top, […]

How to Create Classroom Newsletters With Ease Weekly classroom newsletters can be extremely tedious to create, painfully actually, so are they really worth it? I am going to show you how I create my WEEKLY classroom newsletters, taking the pain out of the process, using 1-page templates and some reoccurring content. Let's get started!

Thank you to April Larremore and Stephanie Pollard for this cute idea! The kids loved making these 3 dimensional flower diagrams. Green straws make the stems and cupcake papers make the flower. Sunflower seeds are glued in the middle of the cupcake paper. I also had the kids break apart one seed and put part of the shell down in the soil to represent where the plant sprouted from. Any kind of seed could be used.

Ten Frames In Kindergarten Having a solid number sense foundation early on is vital to success in mathematics. Ten frames are one way that I help to instill number sense into my kindergarteners. But, what exactly are ten frames and how do they help? What are ten frames in kindergarten? Ten frames are a

How to Create Classroom Newsletters With Ease Weekly classroom newsletters can be extremely tedious to create, painfully actually, so are they really worth it? I am going to show you how I create my WEEKLY classroom newsletters, taking the pain out of the process, using 1-page templates and some reoccurring content. Let's get started!