School and the City

(IF you are taking your husband's name) You know all those cute things that you have in your classroom with your name on them?   They have to go.  Or else it will cause identity confusion. (Is that a thing?) Yes, even the cute burlap sign that your bestie made for you. Even the director's chair cover that a teammate monogrammed for you! You know all of those things that you made at the beginning of the year for your new classroom?  Yep, they have to go, too. And you should make some new ones. Print, laminate, cut, repeat . Find these letters here for free. Blog post tutorial here .  Do you have vinyl monograms stuck all over the place - on cups, mugs, tumblers (my fave), or tech devices? It's time to peel those babies off. Get those fingernails ready for battle! What about BOOKS?! How many books do you have in your classroom library? 500? 800? Upwards of 1,000? I bet they all ...

If you are still in school... Yikes! And I'M SO SORRY! But you'll still be kicked back and relaxed while the rest of us are scrambling at the beginning of August... I have more good news for you: This Father's Day project is quick, and easy. It requires almost no prep and the fathers of your students will truly treasure it forever. There are many newspaper writing projects in my Teachers Pay Teachers store, but to let you in on a little secret, the Mother's Day and Father's Day newspapers are my favorites. (That's probably because they came first - They are the OGs!) Newspaper projects are simple. 1. Download . 2. Print. 3. Create an example or explain thoroughly. 4. Kids write. 5. Kids draw and color. (I make my students get their writing approved before they begin to draw and color.) 5. Create the newspaper by stapling the pages together or gluing them on a large piece of construction paper. You will definitely need to model, model, model...

**This post contains Amazon affiliate links. By purchasing an item from Amazon using these links,  I will receive a small commission on your purchase.** I made this SUPER CUTE interactive "Math About Me" anchor chart for the beginning of the year last year: I had to make a new one for this fall since my name is changing (EEEK) and I decided to kick it up a notch. Making these interactive anchor charts is A LOT of work. The measuring, organizing, taping, etc. makes this anchor chart design more time-consuming than usual. Why do it more than once? THis year, I decided to make my chart interactive AND reusable! 1. Size and cut your flaps.  I cut regular cardstock (8.5 x 11) in fourths. Astrobrights Card Stock is my fave . 2. Space the flaps accordingly and evenly.  3. Mark the corners once flap placement has been perfected. 4. Laminate flaps.  5. Create your chart. Include ONLY the title and topics - things that won't change ove...

Step away from that email, sista. It's summer, and you deserve a break the constant *dings* of emails entering your school email inbox. My school actually encouraged us teachers to set up an “out of office” automatic response that will be sent each time we receive an email during the summer. I love that they are okay with me ignoring rarely checking my email for two whole months. I couldn’t come up with an appropriate out-of-office email for a teacher on summer break, even after Googling. Thus, I decided I would create my own. Please use as you wish. IF YOU WANT TO BE BORING Greetings, I will be out of the classroom from [ leave date ] to [ return date ] and will have limited access to my email. If you need immediate assistance, please contact the front office at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Best, [ your name ] - - - - IF YOU WANT TO BE TEACHERY Hello students and parents! I will be out of the classroom from [ leave date ] to [ return ...

I'm baaaack! My original blog post about running Words Their Way, called  Words Their Way: MY Way , is my most-visited and most-pinned blog post EVER. First of all, I'm totally flattered that anyone wants to read anything I have to say. Second of all, I GET IT! Words Their Way is the monster under the bed that makes you decide that, well, you'd rather stay safely in your bed than risk getting out of it. I love Words Their Way - don't get me wrong - but it can be completely overwhelming and consuming if you don't have an attack plan. Thus, I present to you... If you were directed here from my first post, thanks for reading! If you haven't read Part 1  yet, I suggest you start there first. Let's dig in! As many of you know, I started at a new school this year. My new school does use Words Their Way, but I have had to change up my routine a bit to best fit my new classroom. WORKBOOKS First of all, my school prov...

I HATE pencils. Really. But pens aren't always practical. Sometimes I think to myself that I should quit my job and invent a pencil that doesn't require sharpening, and then I remember that mechanical pencils are a thing. Sigh. I guess I'll stick with my day job. Honestly, though, where do all of the pencils go? Are they hoarding them in desks and backpacks? Do they take them home and display them in their bedrooms? Do we have a pencil monster that's best friends with  the eraser monster ? Why do they tear them up intentionally? Do they EAT them? I don't get it.  It's a little infuriating. So I decided I was going to set a great example for my students by not sharing my pencils. (sarcasm) I had seen multiple ideas on Pinterest  about how to make sure teacher pencils are clearly marked. I picked my favorite method, opened a brand new box, and sharpened those babies. Then I wrapped them with my favorite washi tape so that they becam...