The editors here at The Education Center® chat regularly about our days in the classroom. One topic that comes up about once a year deals with whether or not we were “rippers.” What does that mean? A ripper is a teacher who rips out pages from her teacher resource books rather than keeping the book intact. I am proud to say that I qualify as a ripper. Although I kept resources like monthly books intact, I ripped out my reproducible skills sheets and sorted them into files labeled with corresponding standards. I’m an organizer, and by ripping out these pages, I could better keep track of the materials I wanted to use.

At last check 33% of our editors were rippers and 66% were not. (It always seems like there are more of us rippers, but maybe we’re just more vocal about it.) What about you? Are you a ripper? Why or why not? I’m not the only editor here who wants to know, so please, share your thoughts!

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Dropping my students off with another teacher, for gym or music, always gave me mixed feelings. On one hand, there was the peaceful lull of a few minutes to myself—time to run to the restroom, call some parents, grade papers, and finish a few lesson plans. On the other hand, there was the frenzied rush of knowing that the clock was ticking! What should I do first—run to the restroom, call some parents—well, you get the picture.

If I wasn’t careful, my planning time would dissolve before I realized it. But even when I was very careful, I found myself preparing for school in the early morning or, my other favorite trick, carrying home a heavy bag of teacher “homework”!

Teachers have found lots of tricks to help them get things done. Some rely on their aides or on parent volunteers. Others stay late or work on the weekends. Many have worked out a balance of both. What’s your routine? Do you find yourself enjoying a few moments of peace, or is the clock ticking over your head from the beginning of the day until the end? What can The Mailbox® magazine editors do to make your planning time more efficient? Let’s hear from you!

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After I had been at The Education Center® for a few months, the first magazine that I worked on was published. I proudly displayed it on a shelf in my office. Now that shelf is populated with all the books and magazines I have had the privilege of editing or writing. Each one of those publications holds specific memories for me—memories of testing projects with my coworkers, researching interesting topics for learning center cards, or watching, wide-eyed, as an artist turned my simple directions into colorful, kid-pleasing characters. Because we’re always thinking about ways to reach your students, every day in this office brings new adventures and moments to remember.

I couldn’t resist wandering around the office today so I could take a walk down memory lane with a couple of my Mailbox friends. Here’s what they had to say:

“I especially liked working on the Mix & Match Games. We had the opportunity to make the art shine.The challenge there was to fit the gameboard path in with all the art. The art was fun to do and the colors are wonderful. I hope the kids get as much fun out of them as we had producing them.” —Pam Crane, Senior Artist

“If you’re a preschool teacher, wait until you see Day-by Day Preschool Plans! I had such fun working on this book, but then, I have a special place in my heart for preschoolers. I found that this book neatly tied together crafts, stories, songs, and more for every week of the year. So there I was, sitting at my desk, singing some of the song lyrics aloud and occasionally incorporating movements that preschool teachers might use. Admittedly, I was having fun while working, but I’m sure any of my coworkers who wandered past my office may have had a chuckle. That’s okay. If I have fun making sure the lyrics flow well with the tune, then I’m sure the preschoolers will have a ball!” —Marsha Heim, Copy Editor

Now it’s your turn. I want to hear about your favorite activity from The Mailbox magazine. Do you have an activity or project you’ve done for years, one you know will be a success every time? Or, have you just found a new Mailbox idea, book, or magazine you have fallen in love with? Tell us about it! Your favorite may become someone else’s favorite!

Happy teaching!

Hope

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This is me after Jazzercise. I’m tired, I’m sweaty, and my photographer is standing really far away from me—so I’m probably a little stinky as well. I try to exercise whenever possible, but let’s be honest, shall we? I would rather be sitting on the couch eating a cheesecake and watching reruns of House. (I just love that surly physician!) There are two reasons why I force myself to work out—the first being that I don’t want to buy larger pants. The more important reason is to reduce stress. Teachers have a lot of stress in their lives! What about teaching stresses you out the most, and how do you combat that stress? Do you exercise? Talk to coworkers? Bite your nails? Take bubble baths? Go to professional development workshops? Drop me a quick message and let me know. And if you happen to have a good cheesecake recipe, I would be tickled if you would tuck that in as well!

Your exhausted blog host,

Kim Murphy

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My experience shows that if you want students to really get excited about a subject or skill, use food whenever possible (being sensitive to any allergies, of course). Even frozen peas and toothpicks got my kids way into building angles and 3-D shapes.

When I first read the idea “Many Moons” on page 40 (The Mailbox Intermediate Feb/Mar), I just smiled from ear to ear. Kids use Oreo cookies to model the phases of the moon by scraping away different portions of the cream filling. Now, that’s my idea of a fun and memorable learning activity! How about you? Have you had any luck using food-related activities in your classroom?

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I have a confession to make: I’m a bit of a packrat. That was especially true when I was teaching. I had tons of store-bought teaching supplies as well as a closet full of cardboard tubes, cotton balls, craft sticks, and other miscellaneous items that I had collected over the years. The trick with being a packrat is figuring out how to store things so you remember them at opportune times. Have you ever finished teaching a unit only to discover a week or so later that you had overlooked a perfect poster or game to go with it? If so, you know exactly what I mean about figuring out the best storage options.

As the managing editor of The Mailbox® magazine, grade 1, I hear from many of our readers about how they store the pull-out posters and gameboards from the magazine. Some teachers organize them by subject area. Some prefer to keep all their posters in one place and all their gameboards in another place. I’d love to know what works best for you.

Currently, I feature either two posters or two gameboards on the pull-out centerfold in each issue. First-grade teachers, how would you feel about having one side a poster and one side a gameboard? The posters and gameboards have been so well received, I wonder if you’d like one of each in every issue. Let me know what you think.

And please don’t forget to share your tips for storing The Mailbox magazine posters and gameboards. As a packrat, I always enjoy hearing great organization ideas!

Find this poster in the February/March 2009 issue of The Mailbox magazine, grade 1!
	Look what’s coming in the April/May issue of The Mailbox magazine, grade 1!

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It’s hard to believe it’s February already and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! Some people I know think this is simply a greeting card holiday, but I think it’s a nice opportunity for students to share with others how much they care. My second graders were always eager to make and distribute valentines, so each year I found ways to carve out time for students to do just that. In California, I was lucky enough to have a team of room parents who planned fun classroom activities for us (aka “a party”) on this day. Students played guessing games, created patterns while constructing candy necklaces, used candy to make butterflies and airplanes, and to top it off, decorated heart-shaped sugar cookies. Yes, a lot of sugar, but also a lot of fun!

What are your school plans for Valentine’s Day 2009? Will you have a party? If so, can you even call it that? Will your students deliver valentines? I’d love to know what you are planning!

If you’re looking for Valentine’s Day ideas, The Mailbox® magazine, grades 2/3, has a few of them sprinkled throughout the issue. Page 25 features a display called “Nouns We Love,” and page 34 explains how to incorporate money skills to make a decorated valentine bag. Page 56 tells how to make an “un-frog-gettable” valentine holder, and page 58 includes an idea for delivering valentines. And don’t forget Teacher’s Helper® magazine, grades 2/3. There’s a super-cute heart-themed unit on pages 17–24.

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I bet you’ve spoken the words differentiated instruction a time or two recently, huh? We know that tailoring instruction to students of varying abilities and learning styles is a daily challenge for you. With that said, may I present to you our For Every Learner series. We’ve made differentiation just a bit easier with these books. For each skill featured, you’ll get three different ways for a student to practice. All you need to do is choose the activity that’s just right for each learner. The activities are all reproducible and have fun formats with fun characters!

Take main idea and details, for example. In the first activity a student identifies the main idea in a set of sentences, circles the supporting details, and then crosses out any details that do not support it. With the second activity, a student cuts out a series of detail strips and glues them underneath the correct main idea. And for the third activity, a student sorts a set of supporting details into three sets and then writes a main idea for each. One skill—three different ways to practice it!

The books are grade-specific and cover either math or language arts skills. View the tables of contents or print the sample pages and try them out! Be sure to stop back and post a comment to tell me what you think.

Right now these books are so new that they are available only in select teacher stores. Use our dealer locator to find the store closest to you and give them a call to check availability. After March 1, they will be available to all dealers.

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I have to say that our early childhood editors truly outdid themselves this time! I have in my hands two hot-off-the-press books that will help you cover the basics in preschool or in kindergarten with ease. Day-by-Day Preschool Plans and Day-by-Day Kindergarten Plans are literally packed with thematic plans for EVERY week of the school year! Each weekly theme is organized into an easy-to-follow daily lesson plan grid full of ideas for setting up your weekly centers, as well as ideas for group time, literacy, math, art, songs, literature, motor skills, and more.

We surveyed teachers to determine the most popular themes taught at each level and included them in these books. Check out the table of contents (Preschool or Kindergarten) for a list of themes. Also, don’t miss the sample pages below. There are two pages on teeth from Day-by-Day Preschool Plans and two pages on pumpkins from Day-by-Day Kindergarten Plans.

The books themselves are 256 pages, but we didn’t stop there. We included an additional 150+ pages of patterns and forms online at The Mailbox Books. Visit www.themailboxbooks.com for more information on our online book extras.

Look them over and send me your feedback. I’m eager to hear what you think.

Keep in mind that these books are so new that they are currently available only in select teacher stores. Use our dealer locator to find the store closest to you, and give them a call to check availability. After March 1, they will be available to all teacher stores.

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Ah, the unexpected day off! These are the days that students live for. As a teacher I secretly loved snow days too. Even though it meant reworking the weekly lesson plans and returning to overexcited students, I enjoyed having that one treasured day to do whatever I wanted. The chance to sleep in, the opportunity to catch up on daytime TV, or (dare I say it) the chance to clean the house in solitude–it felt amazing!

Please tell me that I am not alone! Surely there are other snow-day lovers out there! Tell me how you like to spend an unexpected day off from school. Or has it been so long since you’ve had one that you don’t remember?

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