Did you know that less than a year ago I was too nervous to teach in-person workshops? I had taught thousands of people to weave with my online video classes, but the thought of standing in front of a group and teaching in real time, with my fumbly fingers and dislexic brain made me run chicken! I
Past, present, and future.
Need some guidance for teaching preschool Spanish? You’re in the right place! Young children are the perfect age to soak up a new language. I'm currently raising my own three kids bilingually, and have taught classes to this age group as well. It's never too late to start, and 3-5 year olds are really fun to teach! In this post I've compiled my favorited strategies for you. To get started in learning Spanish together, you Can Do three things: 1. Outline some beginning topics. You can create your own list, with common preschool topics (think numbers, colors, greetings, etc.)Take a
The 5 Best Methods & Specific Tips on HOW to Incorporate Each in Your Own Classroom Being a teacher is a tough business. It can be hard to navigate the classroom and know if your teaching methods are
The Unfair Game is a totally unfair twist on Jeopardy that your students will LOVE to hate! Learn how to play and find sample game boards in this post.
Let's dive into some new options to teach vocabulary, for those who have the time and energy to pursue them. In this post and podcast, I'm sharing ten ideas for making the study of vocabulary something students might even look forward to.
If you have an extra-chatty class, check out this post with tips for how to get your students to stop talking in just one week!
Looking for some new ways to get the attention of your class? Here are 25 Class Callbacks-Attention Grabbers ideas for you to try out!
Get your students thinking like a historian from the get-go with these tips and ideas for your first Social Studies lesson of the year.
Boggle is such a great game for pattern recognition and spelling. You can even get a little math in there with the scoring. Kids (and adults) love it! Here is a template you can use with your class. The color version is for using with your document camera, while the grayscale version is perfect for ... Read More about Boggle Template: Make a New Game Each Time!
45 free online classes you can take (and finish) by the end of this year
Teaching growth mindset can be done with read-alouds! Rosie's Glasses is a great book for this. Get ideas for using this book to teach being positive.
Fun transitions to try in your yoga practice and classes!
So we’ve decided what we want to teach . We’ve chosen our musical materials . Now it’s time to plug it all in. Today I’m sharing how I’ve planned the first month of Kindergarten.
Hi all! Sorry I've been M.I.A., but WOW can the end of the year get the best of you! I have been getting several e-mails about how I organize all of our classroom materials. I took pictures in March when we packed up our March materials and then didn't have a chance to post until
Preparing for Your First Elementary Music Teaching Job. Organized Chaos. Top 5 suggestions to help you get ready over the summer for your first elementary music job.
Attention Getters will cut out your classroom chaos and work for all grade levels. Attention getters in the classroom are the perfect solution if you are...
Teaching vocabulary to your gifted students is something you ay have pushed aside, but it is SO important for them! Read this second post in my series about how I teach vocabulary from start to finish!
It can be difficult to find creative ways to teach vocabulary. Check out this list of 17 creative ways to teach vocabulary from 2 Peas and a Dog.
I created this culture jars art lesson for an Art and World Cultures class, and continue to use it in art classes because it is so well received. The word
There are so many ways to approach self-portraits with children: observation, inspired by a particular artist, symbols of interests and activities, the list goes on. This time, I wanted to create an engaging, multi media
All English as a Second or Foreign Language classes need a good warm-up activity to gets brains working and bodies active. Here are my top choices for ESL and EFL Warm-up games for kids to adults.
Sewing with kids can be just as fun and rewarding as sewing with kids. Get tips on when to start teaching them and what kinds of projects to make.
A simple way to teach your students classroom procedures and expectations at the beginning of the school year
These engaging strategies to incorporate movement in the classroom are perfect for the fidgety students & kinesthetic learners in your class!
Track student behavior the quick, efficient way: use a checklist. Free, editable trackers can be used to document and graph behaviors.
10 inexpensive rewards to use in your middle school class.
Want to teach students how to turn fractions to percentages…while also engaging them? In this blog, I’ll show you how you can use an art quilt lesson to help your students with fractions and converting to percentages.
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
10 ESOL Teacher Must Haves. Check out these items to make your teaching job easier.2
Come grab this free resource that is a collection of my favorite virtual math manipulatives!
Teaching your little ones the alphabet is a great opportunity to introduce them to some key Bible characters and concepts. We have just released our Bible ABC Letter of the Week Notebook available for $15 in
Here's a simple way to teacher less than, greater than: with toys! Free printable included.
Learn how to change a child's inflexible thinking with this collection of tips, books, and activities to develop a growth mindset for kids!
Learn About the 7 Continents! Exploring the 7 Continents has never been more exciting! It’s a Small World Continent Study is filled with over 35 activities to help your students gain a greater understanding of the seven continents. This 130+ page unit is filled with great resources, posters, printables, activities, and projects that will open […]
Our Wrist Wraps will make acknowledging positive student behavior and achievement fun, engaging and easy-to-prep! We have carefully illustrated 10 gorgeous bands and provided them in color and blackline versions for you to simply print and cut. Wrap them around the wrists of your students and apply a piece of tape or dab of glue to secure. Included in this file so far are the following brag bands: Great work Well done I am wonderful I am a super star I am kind I am an awesome helper I worked hard today I do not give up I am amazing I did excellent work Little learners would love to color a blackline version using crayons or bright pencils before you wrap it on their wrist! In each of the 10 designs, we've provided 5 different color choices. Hop over to TpT to find this new printable in our collection!
Looking for engaging, musical games to play with your students? Here are a few of my favorite games and activities for elementary music classes, children's choirs, and elementary group classes.
Do you teach grammar and language effectively? Do you want to? We have a magical grammar and langauge formula that we want you to try for FREE!
Corkboard Connections is a blog written by Laura Candler who enjoys connecting terrific teachers with amazing resources!
Are you a new 2nd grade teacher? Here are the best tips for taking on grade 2 and all the fun that comes with it!
So the 1st day of school in high school science is approaching and you don't know what exactly to do with your students. There is so much
