As I write this blog entry, the clock before me is clicking closer to 10:00, and that means…snacktime. Every morning I take a short break and refuel. Usually I opt for fruit or a granola bar, but occasionally I give in to my salty cravings and nibble on some chips. When I can, I like to read something light and fun while I snack. It reminds me of snacktime with my second graders in California. A parent volunteer would read to my little friends while they refueled on their morning snacks. The rules were pretty simple. After students got their snack, they stayed seated until the reading was over. (Parents knew the time frame and were great about sticking to it.) I’d invite the volunteer’s child to lead the rest of the class in giving the parent a silent cheer of his choosing. Then students would dispose of their snack trash on their way out to morning recess. It was lovely! My students were able to eat in a calm and quiet environment while still being entertained. As an added bonus, they were exposed to a variety of books and to models of strong readers. As for me, I got a chance to sit back for a few minutes and enjoy my class. It was definitely a win-win situation for everyone involved.

So while I’m digging into my snack, give me something else to chew on. Tell me about snacktime in your classroom. How do your students refuel? Do you have a quiet snacktime or is it also a time for students to get their wiggles out? I’d love to hear from you!

Jen

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I recently started taking a drawing and painting class. Now let me be clear—I have reasonable fine-motor skills, but no one is going to confuse my work with Monet’s anytime soon. During my first class, I sketched a still life of a basket of pears. I like to think that my sketch is recognizable as a basket of pears to people other than myself. Even if it isn’t, I’m quite pleased that I’m doing something fun and creative outside of work.

Work can often take up a big chunk of our lives. If I didn’t put forth the effort, I could easily spend an entire week just working, eating, and sleeping. But that would leave me vaguely unsatisfied. What hobbies do you have? What do you do for “me” time? Painting? Needlework? Scrapbooking? Beading? Baking? Karate? Let me know. I’m always looking for some good creative options.

Your blog cohost,
Kim

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My first two years of teaching were spent in a first-grade classroom. If you know first graders, you know that I was one happy lady. You also know that I was one busy lady! Why was I so busy? I needed to keep those first graders busy! Whew!

Of course, I didn’t want my students doing just anything. I wanted them learning while they were working. When I look at the new Learning Mats series from The Mailbox® Books, I wish it had been available when I was searching for grade-one resources. Its no-fuss preparation quickly provides fun skill reinforcement for small groups. But here’s the best news about the series—not only is there a literacy book and a math book for grade one, but there are also literacy and math books just for kindergarten and just for preschool!

Each book has all you need to work with small groups of students: pull-out color mat sets, teacher and student cards, teaching activities, and assessment pages. You’ll be able to address different learning abilities, and the preparation is minimal!

Check out this colorful mat from the preschool Math Learning Mats book. It’s one of four garden-themed mats. You can pair it with any set of cards from the book, but I’ve chosen some of the cards from the “Modeling Numbers” unit.

Here’s one of the six playful dinosaur-themed mats from the kindergarten Literacy Learning Mats book. There are 24 mats in the book in four different designs. The cards shown can be used with any mat set in the book to boost your students’ color-word skills.

If you work with first graders, don’t miss this treasure of a mat from the grade one Math Learning Mats book. If you’d like, use mats in the treasure mat set with these colorful cards to introduce or review fractions with a small group of students.

As an added bonus, each book includes reproducible assessment pages, such as this one on fractions from the grade one math book, for each skill your students practice using their cards and learning mats.

If you’re busy with younger children, be sure to add the books from the Learning Mats series to your collection. You can quickly put these activities together to reinforce important skills and still have time to get busy with something else!

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I have a secret to share! First, let me clarify that this secret is 100 percent about me. It has nothing to do with teaching, teachers, or students. It’s an all-about-me secret. So what’s up?

I can’t tell you quite yet, but here are a few clues:

• I haven’t lost weight—darn it!—nor am I marrying a wealthy entrepreneur (ditto on the “darn it!” comment).
• My hairdo and hair color have not changed. In fact, I’m pretty sure I look exactly as I did yesterday.
• There is something strikingly different about me today.

Have you guessed my secret yet?

It’s my birthday! That’s right! I’m a year older today! I know it’s silly, but I do love having a birthday. It just makes me happy. Well, that’s all I have to share. Ha! You didn’t really expect me to also share my age now, did you?

Smiles to you and cake for me,

Diane

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Recently I took my golden retriever, Max, to a new kennel while I was out of town. It advertised all the luxuries of home—soft bedding, TVs tuned to animal shows, playtime, and special treats for snacktime. Although it cost more than I wanted to spend, I decided Max deserved a little extra TLC since I was going to be enjoying a vacation. When I picked him up, the kennel staff presented me with a report card for Max. After oohing and aahing at the kennel’s creativity, I read over the report. Although it was obvious that all kennel guests get As, it varies as to whether it is an A, A+, or A–. To my horror, Max got an A–. The comments began by saying that Max is a friendly and social dog but then noted that he demands a lot of attention. (Well, of course he does! He’s the center of attention in my house, and I’m just fine with that!)

I left the kennel a bit upset, but it didn’t take long for me to think back to the report card comments I wrote for my students. I did the same thing that the kennel staff did—I began with positive comments followed by areas in which the students could improve. How could I possibly be upset with the kennel staff when they were following the same strategy that I used when teaching? Plus the comment about my attention-hungry pup would have been much harder to take had the kennel mentioned only that.

I know many of you have recently finished report cards or are in the midst of doing them. Best of luck as you work your magic with those comments! They really can be challenging to write. Max and I will be thinking of you!

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Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to be a teacher. I think I decided for sure when I was in the second grade. I was in awe of my teacher, Ms. Miller. I thought she was the smartest, prettiest lady in the world (except for my mother, of course). Because of teachers like Ms. Miller, I met beloved book characters. I learned how to work with numbers and learned all about the earth and its creatures. Teachers were role models for me, in life as well as academics. I wanted to be just like the men and women who had such an influence on me.

That being said, I have at times daydreamed about other careers. Let’s play with that thought today. If I hadn’t become a teacher, what would I have been?

• For a while, I thought about being a cruise director. I loved the idea of coordinating activities for happy people all day. What a glamorous job that would be! On the downside, I get seasick if I jump over a puddle, so that job is out.
• Like most young girls, I dreamed of being an actress. There’s something about entertaining people—making them smile and laugh—that makes me happy. Unfortunately I was never discovered. Well, not yet anyway!
• The nurturer in me wanted to be a nurse. My mother worked with doctors, and I always enjoyed visiting her at her office. Helping people feel better is really appealing to me; giving shots to people is not.
• My love of children’s literature led me to consider being a librarian. It would be such fun to share my favorite books with children. Between you and me, that’s still a job I consider.

Hey, when you think about it, I actually have had all these jobs, haven’t I? Who coordinates more activities than a teacher? And you and I know that teachers are the best actors around. We entertain, cheerlead, and keep children engaged all day. Of course teachers are nurturers, and my happiest times were spent sharing the literature I love with my students.

What about you? If you hadn’t become a teacher, what would you be?

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On my way to work this morning, I was thinking about you—about how you make a difference in your students’ lives each day. Wow. I drive by two elementary schools on my short commute, and I often find myself imagining students’ arrival in each classroom. I picture the children coming in, some with stories they can hardly wait to share, some practically bouncing through the door with extra energy, those quiet ones who light up when you smile at them, and the kids with little black clouds over their heads who will need a little extra attention. Then I picture you reigning in all those needs as you help each child put on his student hat and get to work.

How do you get your students started? Do you have your students go straight to centers? Do you have them read silently? Is there morning work posted on the board? I used to have my class read independently. It took a while to train some students to take advantage of this gentle beginning, and there always were a couple students who struggled to settle in and read. But it was my favorite way to start the day, and I think, eventually, my students loved it too.

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Don’t you love it when kids add humor to a day? Last night was one of those times for me. I was watching my daughter, Grace, play with her toy kitchen. She sported glittery silver dress-up shoes; purple polka-dotted sunglasses; and a long, shiny beaded necklace. She “cooked” some tea, handed me a plastic teacup, and then gravely warned me to be careful because the tea was hot. It was hard not to laugh at such a comical sight, but for Grace, playing with her toy kitchen is serious business. (If I didn’t heed her warning about the imaginary tea, I’m sure she would have cautioned me even more emphatically!)

Watching kids during pretend play is a form of entertainment that I never tire of. You can’t beat the price, and smiles are guaranteed. The really cool thing, though, is observing how much kids learn through play and realizing that a lot of what they do imitates adult behavior. Little details, such as a child putting her hand on her hip as she stirs imaginary soup or pointing out illustrations as she “reads” to her doll, make me chuckle. It’s incredible how closely kids observe adults. They take it all in, don’t they?

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I’m not a big football fan, but I do enjoy watching games when I have a connection to the team playing. For example, my husband and I have season tickets to the games at his alma mater. It’s really exciting to sit in the stands on a cool autumn day and cheer for his team, especially if it wins!

I graduated from a university where football is king, so I also keep track of its team. I recently had the thrill of watching one of my former students play in a bowl game for my alma mater. I knew he was on the team, but I had no idea he was such a key player. During the first quarter alone, the national broadcasters said his name at least three times, and he even intercepted a pass! When his picture flashed on our screen, I was filled with memories.

You see, I was thinking about all the successes I had seen from this young man before this game. I was thinking about the multiplication tables he had mastered and the stories he had written. I was remembering his quick smile and the loyal friend he was to his classmates. Long before he ever hit the field, this young man was a star among stars in my classroom.

Every day, you are the coach of a team of incredible players. Every time a child experiences a successful moment in your classroom, take a minute to imagine the adult he will become. Go team!

Have a great day, Coach!
Hope

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And happy new year! I can’t believe it is actually 2010. Like many of you, yesterday was my first day back to work after a short vacation. For me, it was a conflicting day. While I was eager to get back to work, getting out of bed was very hard to do. Even my dog—my trusty backup alarm—was perfectly content to keep snoozing. Once at work, though, I quickly readjusted to my regular routine, reacquainting myself with my 8′ x 8′ cubicle and the quiet that blankets our hall. Before long, it was business as usual.

My first day back involved a nine-year-old dog and a quiet environment with many adults. Your scenario was probably very different. If my time in the classroom tells me anything, you probably had some excited students, very eager to share their holiday news and reconnect with their classroom buddies. You may have also had a few kiddos who were just plain tuckered out, clearly not back on their regular sleep schedules yet. Maybe your youngsters were all abuzz from a new seating arrangement or super quiet as the result of a new set of classroom procedures. No matter what the scenario, getting your students back to their learning routine was probably a big part of your day. So how did it go? Did anything surprise you about your first day back? I’d love to hear about your challenges and successes!

Wishing you all the best in the second half of your school year,

Jen Bragg

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