I am a constant grazer. In fact, as I write this blog post, I’m nibbling on pretzels and trying to keep the salt from falling between the keys on my keyboard. (Should the keyboard get too gritty, I’ll move on to my cottage cheese or the dried fruit.) Snacktime for me is slightly messy, but basically pretty simple.

In direct contrast, snacktime with a classroom of youngsters is fraught with complications. Food allergies and healthful food requirements can cause oodles of stress! Is snacktime allowed in your school? Do you provide a snack, or do youngsters bring their own? Do you do any cooking activities with your students? Sit back and type me a reply telling me all about your snacktime or lack thereof. Hey, while you’re at it, why don’t you have a little snack!

Your hungry blog cohost,
Kim Murphy

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Okay, quick survey here … How many times have you helped a child open a juice box during your teaching career? By the middle of my third year, I had perfected my lunch duty technique. You should have seen me! I could open a milk carton with one hand and peel a banana with the other. That’s not all, though. At the same time, I was consoling three other students—one who didn’t like something his mother had packed for him, one who misunderstood the lunch calendar and was stuck with something she wouldn’t eat, and one who forgot his chocolate-milk money. Whew! I was good.

If my lunchtime duty was on the playground, I would arm myself with nurse notes, whistle, and latex gloves and head outside. That was usually better than the lunchroom. I say “usually” because I spent a lot of my teaching career in Nebraska, where it is … cold! During the winter, I bought lots of hand warmers, the kind  hunters use, but I was still oh, so cold!

Between you and me, I dreaded lunch duty. There were lots of little reasons. (While we’re talking, do you have that perpetually late teacher who is supposed to relieve you after ten minutes or so? I did!) But I guess the most important reason was that I always felt like I had so many other things I needed to be doing. (Not to mention that I needed some time to eat my lunch.) How about you? Lunch duty—take it or leave it?

Well, teachers wouldn’t want their students to answer a question that was worded that way, would they? Let me revise that. Lunch duty—take it or leave it—and why?

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I love spring! The blue sky, the warmth of the sun, and the newness of the season all simply boost my spirits. For me, spring has always been a feel-good time of year. As a teacher, I had favorite things that I looked forward to in spring, and no, spring vacation was not one of them. (Okay, that was a lie. I just wanted to see how carefully you were reading!) When I was a third-grade teacher in Washington State, our spring was filled with pioneer-related activities. It was part of our state studies, and we made the best of it. We even capped off our study with a day trip to Whitman Mission, one of the historic sites along the Oregon Trail. The day was a killer for teachers and parent volunteers, but the students’ enthusiasm made it worth every aching muscle!

What is your favorite spring teaching topic or theme? Are you planning a special class outing? Share your springtime favorites with us. Your plans could very well inspire a teaching colleague to plan something similar. Or a teaching colleague might have a suggestion for you!

Happy spring to all!

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Our team of editors has a birthday tradition. Whenever a birthday rolls around, we treat the birthday girl to lunch. It’s a fun way to enjoy a good meal and good company while leaving shop talk back at work. The folks on our floor meet periodically in the break room for what basically turn out to be mini food marathons. In the past we’ve served up breakfasts, lunches, even sundaes. Our most recent gathering was unofficially dubbed “dessert fest” and, as you can imagine, was filled with such treats as cheesecake, brownies, and chocolate chip cookies.

Members of the editorial team head out for a birthday lunch.

Now that I think about it, food was a big part of building relationships at the schools where I taught too. At my school in California, different groups of teachers would bring in snacks for each Thursday’s morning break.

Sometimes they were healthy-ish treats, like bagels and fruit. Other times they were seasonally themed, like baked potatoes and all the fixings for St. Patrick’s Day. At another school where I taught, lunching at a restaurant on a workday was a coveted event. Getting off campus for those meals always felt like a luxury, and many teachers were eager to join the fun!

How do the teachers at your grade level or school build relationships? Do you have any fun ideas, food related or otherwise, that you’d like to share with other teachers? Do you have suggestions for bonding activities that are free or low cost? (I’m guessing those might be calorie-free too—extra bonus!) If so, share them! I look forward to hearing from you!

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What do you think of when I say “teachers’ lounge”? Do you think of a warm, friendly place where you can meet with your peers? A place where you can share ideas and funny stories, maybe get some peer coaching? Or do you think of a place where you pick up your mail, buy a soda, and leave?

At my school in Nebraska, our first teachers’ lounge was a tiny room at the end of the hallway. Still, many of us stopped in before school, and huddled around the crowded tables during lunch. After a few years, we took over an empty classroom. This allowed us to have a small sitting area and more room for our lunchtime visits. But I don’t know if times were too busy or I was too busy—I just didn’t make it in there as often as I used to. Instead, I took my lunch back to my classroom so I could eat while I graded papers or worked on other projects. Even when my classroom was right next to the teachers’ lounge, I didn’t spend a lot of time in there.

At my school in Texas, our lounge was tiny, basically just a small work area with vending machines and mailboxes. Nobody ever ate there, but a small group of us did eat lunch at one of the tables in the cafeteria. Only a group of teachers could find joy in a friendly lunch surrounded by noisy students in a school cafeteria!

If I came to your school for a tour today, would you even remember to show me the teachers’ lounge? How much of your daily routine includes the lounge?

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With the last name of Murphy, I’m accustomed to thinking of St. Patrick’s Day as if it’s a national holiday. I grew up believing that it’s not enough to wear a wee bit of green on the 17th—it’s best to dress in green from head to toe. But this year as I celebrate, I feel slightly out of sorts. I got married last month, and my good ol’ Irish name has been replaced with “Tresino”—100% Italian. At first I wondered how goofy I would look wearing my “Everyone loves an Irish girl” T-shirt when my last name is Italian. But then I decided to look at it this way: deep down I will always be an Irish girl. It’s just that now I get to celebrate my husband’s Italian roots, too. Bring on the pasta!

So will you and your students also be covered in green this St. Paddy’s Day? Did you sprinkle your lesson plans with shamrocks and leprechauns? I’m curious to know how big of a deal this one-day holiday is in your classroom.

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If I could give you a quick glimpse inside the editors’ heads here at The Mailbox® magazine offices, the one question you would see swirling around everyone’s mind is “What do teachers think of THIS issue of The Mailbox?” Our editors love getting feedback from our subscribers. Your comments help us shape the magazines so that they continue to be a useful resource that you will turn to again and again for your classroom needs.

With that said, before we mail out the next issue of each Mailbox, I’m going to ask for your feedback on the current issue of the magazine. First up, the February/March issues. Now that you’ve had a chance to use the ideas and activities in your issue, tell us what you think. What worked for you? What didn’t? What did you love? What would you like to see more of? Whatever is on your mind, we want to hear it!

Please refer to the specific edition (Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grades 2-3, or Intermediate) that you are commenting on so that we know exactly what you are talking about.

Thanks in advance for your valuable insight.

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My first graders always looked forward to learning-center time. I did too! There’s something refreshing about the variety of activities and the freedom of movement. Often it was a challenge for me to find enough fun ideas for the skills I was teaching, though. It was even more challenging to find the time to come up with quick and easy activities on my own. Do you sometimes face the same challenges? What skills are you looking for in center-time activities? I’d love to know if there are some skill areas we can help you with.
And speaking of quick-and-easy ideas, have you had a chance to check out the step-by-step center activities in the grade 1 edition of The Mailbox® magazine? If not, take a look at these recent activity cards. The activities take nearly no time to prepare. Just remove the colorful activity card from a magazine and set out the materials. No copying, coloring, or cutting out patterns!

from The Mailbox® magazine, Apr/May, grade 1	from The Mailbox magazine, Feb/Mar, grade 1	from The Mailbox magazine, Dec/Jan, grade 1

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Many of my students loved to visit the library. You know the type: the kids who couldn’t wait to check out the next book in the Magic Tree House series or another book by Steven Kellogg. Those were the kids who ran to meet me at the door, their faces shining as they proudly held their books up in both hands.

But there were some kids who weren’t as happy to be in the library. Those were the kids who wandered around the shelves without any idea of what they were supposed to be looking for. As the librarian pointed at the clock, reminding them that their time was up, these kids grabbed the closest book and ran to the checkout desk. Or, they just kept the book they already had checked out because that seemed like the easiest thing to do.

Some days, I would stay in the library with these children and try to steer them toward a book that would grab their attention. For some of them, a book of jokes would make their eyes light up. For others, a nonfiction picture book with a little bit of text (maybe one about sports, or one about animals) was a winner. It took some patience, but it was so satisfying when one of those children finally found a book to proudly hold up!

Have you found any secrets to making the most of library time? Maybe your media specialist has some tricks up her sleeve! Come to think of it, are you still lucky enough to have a media specialist at your school? Do share!

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I can only imagine what you’re thinking. “Lessons from a fly? You’ve got to be kidding me. I teach! I don’t have time to talk about flies!” I admit that I don’t usually make time to talk about flies either. In fact, I find them quite annoying. But here’s the deal. The other day I found myself captivated by a very large black fly that was absolutely determined to fly through glass. It buzzed and bashed itself against my window time and time again to no avail. And even when I strongly suggested exiting through an open door, its refusal was unwavering. In the end, the stubborn thing knocked itself out. This got me to wondering, “How many times have I knocked myself out trying to ‘fly through glass’? Do I approach challenging situations with fly-like behaviors? Ugh!” OK, maybe you wouldn’t have gone there, but I did, and here’s what I learned from a fly:
1. Saying the same thing over and over (buzz, buzz, buzz) tends to annoy people.
2. When you’re not getting the results you want or need, try a new approach.
3. Don’t be afraid to take the suggestion of an onlooker. His or her idea may be a really great one!

If nothing else this experience confirms my belief that teaching and learning can be all about the moment. You know what I mean, those teachable moments. In this case I was the one learning something from an unexpected situation.

So do you have any stories about learning on the fly? (Sorry, I just couldn’t resist the pun.) Or how about sharing a favorite teachable moment from the classroom? I’m waiting…

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