Teachers face a unique frustration when back to school time rolls around. (Frustration is code for intense stress). So we made these back to school memes.
Coleridge holds that a man cannot have a pure mind who refuses apple dumplings. I am not certain but he is right. - Charles Lamb Apples are the hallmark of fall. Canning of applesauce, the smell of batches of thick, brown, delicious apple butter; and of course, bites
Find 23 ready to use, effective vocabulary activities your students will love, by The Teacher Next Door!
It gets at the real reasons behind burnout.
Inspiring Art Room Doors. Lately, I've seen some truly inspiring art room doors posted by art teachers on social media.
For the past two years, I have worked in two different school systems that have maintained positive morale during pandemic teaching.
Emergency Door Curtain Organizer: Safety in our schools is at the forefront of everyone's mind, and back-to-school time is a great time for teachers to take a moment to prepare for anything the year may bring. One item safety officials recommend for the classroom is a device to bl…
Whether you're in middle school, high school, university, or anything in between, it has never been a better time to be a student. Classroom designs around the globe are embracing smart and practical new technologies filled with bright ideas in their buildings, all geared toward making it easier for students to explore learning. It's not all just for show, either - a 2012 study by the Miami-Dade Public School Board showed that modern architecture school facilities using the active learning methods contribute to the well-being and academic performance of students and that teachers working in a more technologically-advanced environment are more likely to keep their jobs.
Most struggling teachers fall into the same progression of bad habits year after year that opens the door to misbehavior, and so will you unless . . .
Are you looking for some new ideas or ways to use informal assessments in your classroom? This is a complete A to Z list of assessment ideas for you!
Here are a bunch of fun fall door decorations for the classroom! You will find pumpkins, halloween, thanksgiving, apples, and more ideas!
Easy ways to instill Catholic Identity in your classroom from the moment students walk through the door... and beyond!
Find 23 ready to use, effective vocabulary activities your students will love, by The Teacher Next Door!
Great ideas for welcoming kids to your classroom.
These teacher hacks are brilliant ideas for your classroom that'll make your life so much easier this year. Number nine will change your life!
Welcome Back School Banner {Pencil Letters}. Free printable pencil banner letters for back to school teacher classroom or back to school door decorations.
Want to know the secret to a quiet line? Marshmallow toes! This simple idea and activity will transform your line!
Hey, y'all! We are officially back in school and in full swing! Our first days of art were spent printing dots after reading The Dot! We used Gelli-Arts plates to print our dots because I found that I had about 20 brand new round plates in my storage closet (wow, the things you find when you clean). Here's the video I created for my students: If you cannot see this video then it's because you are looking at my blog from your phone. Super annoying, I know. It's a blogger thing, it's not you. So here's the direct link to my YouTube page. You should totally subscribe because I add new content all the time. Now I know many of you don't have those Gelli Arts plates (and they are a bit expensive) so...I came up with an alternative for you: pie pans from Dollar Tree! I am using the pizza pie pans here: Again, if you can't see it, here it is. First grade through fourth were printing which means I had drying racks brimming with art. So a way to keep up with everything was clipping clothes pins with the teacher's names on them between the classes on the drying rack. Once dry, the clips were used to hold the artwork together. I know...every now and then I have a decent idea. After two 30 minute art classes of printing, my students looked at all of their prints and picked their fave for display. They then had to give their piece a title and 'sign it' like Vashti so it could be displayed in the hallway. Here was a video I created to explain this process: Need more Dot Day fun? Well, here is a simple one-day activity I created as a sub plan a couple of years ago. Sheet included: And if you want to check out a big ole blog post filled with TONS of Dot Day ideas, then here you go!
This week, our Carmel Mountain Preschool kids created silhouettes from water color paints.
DIY Painted Rocking Chairs For Teachers – Today I saw the cutest DIY projects to try – upcycled cheap yard sale rocking chairs transformed into painted teacher’s reading chairs. Such...
What are the first ten minutes like in your class? Is it calm? Is it organized? Are students engaged, socializing, and under control? Are your students happy? Are YOU happy? These are questions I like to ask myself to identify if I feel my morning routine is starting our day off in the right direction. And if I don't like the answers to the above questions, I know it means that I may need to tweak my morning routine. Below I have given an example of what has worked for me in the past and I hope that it can help share some ideas for those that still may be working on getting their routine down. Don't be afraid to change things if they're not working! So, what has worked for me in terms of "setting the stage for a GREAT day?" A clear, organized, easy routine, where students know what is expected and what to do. It consists of a... Greeting We can't control what happens before our students arrive in our classrooms and the state of mind they may be in when they do, but we can control how they are greeted when the step foot into our rooms at the start of each day. I firmly believe that a morning greeting can impact the entire feel for your day and I encourage you all to take the time to say good morning to each and every one of your students. One way to do this is to stand at the door and make contact with each student as they enter. Eye contact, a smile, and a warm greeting give you the opportunity to assess how a student might be feeling and help to strengthen individual relationships while building classroom community. Make it fun by switching up your greeting style each day or let your kiddos CHOOSE. You can grab this FREEBIE by clicking on the picture below. Morning To -Do's Now that students have entered the classroom they need to know what to do. If you're at the door greeting students, the students who have already entered need clear directions of what needs to be done and they need to be able to follow these directions independently. An anchor chart which clearly depicts what to do seems to do the trick! Below I have added a few examples of my favorite direction charts from Pinterest. At the beginning of the year teach students the steps of your morning routine and practice, practice, practice how they are to do this each day. Click to see Original Pin Click to see Original Pin Click to see Original Pin Morning Tubs The last step of a morning routine generally includes some type of student activity and for me, I like morning tubs. Morning tubs provide an opportunity for students to socialize, play, be creative, and independent. I like easy to assemble morning tubs that allow students the opportunity to explore, be creative, get chatty, and help them to feel calm. In the kindergarten classroom I like them to be not so structured and instead leave them pretty open ended. Basically morning tubs are hands on manipulatives which rotate through student tables each week. If you want things a little more structured you can always add picture direction cards with prompts which indicate what exactly you want students try with the manipulatives. So that about sums it up! What does your morning look like? Let me know in the comments below.
Happily, even tiny hallways can make a beautiful statement with these fun ideas for small hallway decor! Here are a round up of gorgeous design ideas to add some interest to your small hallway.
Perfect for decorating your door!
See, children by nature are not organized humans. We have to teach them how to be clean, oraganized, and overall--how to care about their things. Would you agree? Then, if they don't have this reinforced at home, our job is that much harder...but that much more important! I learned a tip from Learning in Wonderland a while back that changed the way my students handled their desk business. The Desk Fairy. It isn't enough just to say you have one...believe me, I tried. The Desk Fairy didn't make an impact in my classroom until she had a door to come through. Boom! Game Changer! Learning in Wonderland was even amazing enough to decorate her fair door for holidays. Oops. Guess I need to do that in the future! Lol. The Fairy Door is simple. Tell the students that a Fairy (name your Fairy) is coming in while they are out of the room to check their desks. If their desk is clean and organized, the Fairy will reward them. I didn't do this daily by any means, but just randomly! I usually rewarded with a fun eraser, pencil, bookmark, or some other Target Dollar Spot find! (Am I Right?) lol. The door also comes with fairy dust that I would sprinkle on the cubbies (where she would fly past) in our room! (Photo Credit- Learning in Wonderland) I used a yellow door with my 3rd graders! I unfortunately didn't take pictures of mine though because that was before my Instagram days. My kids loved looking to see if the fairy came and their desks (most of them) were so much better than before! Kids know how to organize, they just need incentive. In all honestly though, I didn't try it with my 5th graders. If you have, I would love to know if they bought into it! In closing, I hope this is a helpful tip for you and will help give your kids some incentive in keeping organized desks! (Affiliate Links are included for your convenience)
These nine main idea strategies will help your students successfully master this important reading skill. The Teacher Next Door shares her favorite main idea strategies for teachers of upper elementary students.
Here are 10 important lessons about teaching art that I've learned the hard way. I hope this list will help you avoid some of the more common mistakes Art teachers make. Since we're all going to make mistakes, we may as well make different ones and learn from each other!
Recognizing patterns is an important math concept. These FREE Skittles Pattern Cards are a great way to help kids see patterns and create their own!
Zes activiteiten voor in de Week tegen pesten - door juf Dominique Pesten komt nog veel te vaak voor. Niet alleen in de klas zien we dit nog regelmatig maar
It's popular because it works.
Have you ever had a class with so many difficult, disruptive students that you felt that you could barely even teach? What can you do to get past it? In this post, I am going to address this problem with my best advice, and some advice from others as well.
