Anyone who knows me will agree that I hate change. I run away from it, resist it, and fight it tooth and nail. Change throws me off balance, and to be honest, it flat out scares me. That being said, I do try to embrace change in my classroom. I don't make a lot of significant
New Year Goals
It's always hard for me to believe that the end of December marks the halfway point of the school year. It's astonishing to look back at all students have learned and accomplished over a few months. In the day-by-day viewpoint, it's sometimes hard to see the gains students have
Kid Blog
Every year I hear about dozens of great new websites. In a perfect world, I'd be able to try them all and utilize all of their great features. However, due to time and financial restraints, I have to pick and choose my very favorite sites to focus on. This summer I heard about
Scaffolding Student Independence
As an upper elementary teacher, student independence is extremely important to me. When my students are "stuck" or struggle, I don't want to be the first option for my students. Instead, I try to give my students strategies and tools to problem solve and foster essential
Make Homework Fun
My views on homework have changed so much over the 12 years I've been teaching. Sometimes I wish I go go back and apologize to the students I taught my first couple of years, because I now realize that I overdid a bit. The busier and more hectic my life becomes, the more I
New to Third Grade
This post is quite a bit different from my typical blog post. This summer I've had the opportunity to talk with several teachers (new and experienced) who were new to third grade, and I wanted to create a blog post that condenses some of my favorite tips, posts, and products. I
Letters to My Future Self
As the school year winds down, I always try to complete a few end of the year projects that will create lasting memories for my students. This year my students are writing letters to their future self, and this has quickly become my absolute favorite end of the year (or anytime
Unshakeable: Take Charge of Your Own Professional Development
Since my first year teaching, professional development has always been one of my true passions. I've devoured countless books on reading, writing, math, brain research, classroom management, you name it, and I've read it. I feel that this professional development is part of what
Open House Ideas
Open House and/or Parent/Teacher Night is always a stressful time of year. Teachers are busy getting their classrooms set up, preparing lessons, and sitting through meeting upon meeting, and dealing with mountains of paperwork, so it's hard to devote extra time for open house.
Decompressing: The Start of Summer Break!
For all of you who are already on summer break, happy summer! For those of you still working through your last few weeks of school, hang in there!
This is my first official week of summer vacation, and let me say that it is a much needed break. I feel like the past couple of
