I’m not sure how I missed it, but did you know that February is Library Lovers’ Month? The library—any library—is my favorite place to be! I love the feeling that settles over me the minute I walk in. The rows of bookshelves lined with books are filled with opportunity. I can walk down any row and find books that beg to be lifted off the shelf, opened, and skimmed. When I’m in a library, I believe I can learn anything; I just need to find the right book. I’m not positive which teacher or teachers instilled this belief in me when I was a student (probably Mrs. Bornstein, Mr. Holman, and Mrs. Egbert), but I am grateful for it. Every day when I taught my own students, I worked hard to create that same atmosphere—minus the rows of bookshelves—in my classroom. I hope that every child who walked into the room believed that he or she could learn anything.

Are you a library lover too? If your reply is yes, this month is a celebration of you. Happy Library Lovers’ Month!

Celebrating books with you,
Sherry

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On the shelf behind my desk is a gallon-size plastic bag. In it are crayons, markers, and colored pencils representing every color of the rainbow. A few of the colored pencils need to be sharpened, and I’m sure I could retire more than a few of the markers. But I keep the supplies handy because different tasks require different tools. You know, I need crayons to make worksheet keys, colored pencils when I need to draw fine lines, and markers for creating things like classroom charts. Of the three, I’d have to say I like markers best.

Now when it came to the tools my students used in class, that was a different story. I hated it when they used markers. Crayons, fine. Colored pencils, even better (except when they needed to be sharpened). But markers, yech! Markers covered my students’ hands, their clothes, and their desks. Markers covered printed text to the point where it couldn’t be read and then, when the markers began to dry out, they made students’ work look terrible. I bet you can picture those sad, faded lines, can’t you? I know, I know—I shouldn’t have been that picky. I should have been happy that my students had supplies to use. What can I say? I was picky, and I did all I could to discourage the use of markers in my classroom.

Which do you prefer: crayons, colored pencils, or markers? Or maybe you have no preference at all. Share your thoughts!

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As I drove to work this morning, my thoughts were spinning. Truthfully, they usually are. My brain seems to always be filled! There are small, nagging concerns, such as the pile of laundry that always seems to be waiting and the demanding grocery list in my purse. There are medium-size concerns, such as thank-you notes that should be written and craft projects I want to make. Then there are big concerns. Today I’m worried about my sweet cat, Lily. She’s a senior kitty and hasn’t been feeling well lately.

But when I get to the office, I need to put my concerns aside and concentrate on the job at hand. Some days, that’s very easy to do. I can get caught up in an exciting task and not think about home again until I look at the clock and realize it’s time to leave. Other days, it’s a bit harder. I try to stay on task, but my mind wanders to my to-do list. When that happens, I take a minute to plan how I will manage my time. I reassure myself that I will have time to do laundry or stop at the grocery store after work. Or I call my neighbor and ask whether she has time to check on Lily. Little things like these make me feel better and help me refocus on work.

When I was in the classroom, I noticed that my students had the same kind of struggles. You know what I’m talking about. A student may come to school with something on his mind as simple as an afterschool soccer game. Or he may be concerned about something bigger, like a new baby or an argument that happened at home the night before. Some days, it’s up to you as teachers to help students put their worries aside so they can complete their school work. It can be a big job.

Do you have a plan to help students get on track in the morning? I’ve tried different approaches, depending on the grade I was teaching. For third graders, holding morning meetings seemed to work well. When I taught younger students, getting them focused was sometimes as easy as having them march around the room or sing a song with fingerplay. For all grades I taught, I encouraged students to write in their journals. That was a great way for them to express their feelings.

Whatever your plan is—whether it’s for yourself or for your students—let’s talk about it. Maybe your ideas will help someone else get focused!

Have a great day with your students!
Hope

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Is it spring yet? I’ve reached the point where I’m tired of pulling on ten layers to go outdoors. I don’t want any more warm beverages. And those boots that I so love to step into in November? Well, let’s just say they aren’t looking as cute as the sandals I saw in a store the other day.

I think I’m so ready for spring because this winter has been unusually snowy for almost everyone. Have you had a lot of snow this winter? How has it affected you and your efforts to teach? Are your youngsters feeling antsy? Are your students and you ready for spring? Drop me a line and let me know how things are in your neck of the woods.

Your frozen friend,

Kim

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Two nights ago, while I was measuring and mixing punch ingredients for a baby shower, I started thinking about due dates. I’ll admit I got a little carried away because, before I knew it, I was categorizing due dates. How strange is that? Anyway, here’s what I came up with. See what you think!

Joyful due dates, like a baby’s due date, are the best! (That’s where I started.) I have a category of dreaded due dates too. For me, these dates involve making payments of some type. I could do without these! Then there are stressful due dates. I think of these as the “oh-my-gosh-I’ll-never-get-that-done-on-time” due dates. I’m sure you know exactly what I’m talking about, but I’m not sure the category name is correct. These due dates are stressful, but they are usually followed by relief, euphoria, or both. Maybe “stressphoria” due dates is a better name! My last category is annoying due dates, such as the date a car is due for an oil change. I usually don’t sweat these due dates too much; however, I’ve learned it’s best to meet them. (There’s a story here, but I’ll save it for another day.)

Until I started thinking about it, I had no idea there were so many different types of due dates! Thank goodness the punch recipe I was using was a simple one. The punch turned out, and I spent the following afternoon helping first-time parents celebrate a most joyful due date! How cool is that?

Happily,

Diane

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I’ve always enjoyed Valentine’s Day! Each year my students would make cute cardholders, and we’d put them in alphabetical order on the window ledge. The kids could hardly wait to deliver their valentines. But what they enjoyed even more was opening all their cards.

Recently, a teacher friend of mine mentioned that, as of last year, her students weren’t allowed to pass out individual valentines due to a new school policy. Although she was disappointed at first, she said it ended up being a wonderful decision. In shock, I immediately asked her to explain. She said the teachers got together and brainstormed a replacement activity. Instead of individual cards, each classroom created valentines for the other classes and delivered them. My friend said the kids loved this idea! And she said the best part was that the parents loved it too. (No more heading out at the last minute to buy valentines!)

As I thought about what my friend said, I realized that no matter what, teachers always make the best of a situation. That’s what makes them so special in the eyes of their students.

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Sharon Tresino

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One of the things I miss most about my classroom is the wonderful routine of decorating it to match the current season or holiday. I had so much fun creating the colorful bulletin boards, displays, and window decorations that gave my classroom a timely feel as well as an energizing face-lift. I also felt that keeping the classroom fresh inspired my students to take care of it and of their supplies.

My favorite decorations were those that involved my students. Each time I changed my decor, I was sure to include at least one seasonal brag board to display students’ best work. I also loved to create a simple background that came to life only when it was filled with my students’ artwork.

Some of my favorite decoration tools were my colorful corrugated borders, press-out letters, and store-bought calendar kits. I also loved having pattern books from The Mailbox® Books and, of course, my subscription to The Mailbox® magazine kept me overflowing with creative new ideas that kept my classroom beautiful!

How do you keep your classroom fresh? Do you change your decorations at the same time each month, or are you more random? What are some of the fail-safe tools in your decoration toolbox? And, most importantly, how do you get your students involved in the decoration and care of their classroom?

Happy teaching!

Hope

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Recently I visited several classrooms without even leaving my office. How did I manage that? By using my computer! I found some great teacher blogs and class Web sites, and I had a wonderful time getting a glimpse of what some teachers and kids are doing in their classrooms.

My cyber classroom visits made me wonder how technology is changing home-school communication. When I was in the classroom, most of my students’ families didn’t have computers. Even if I had been technologically savvy enough to create a classroom site, it wouldn’t have been easily accessible to all my students. My main forms of parent communication were sending notes home, sharing homework assignments on voice mail, and squeezing in phone calls during all-too-brief lunch breaks. I had parent conferences and other face-to-face conversations too, of course. How about you? What are the main ways you communicate with parents? Has technology influenced the way you share what’s going on in your classroom?

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I remember when I got my first email account. I was so excited to open the inbox and find a message! Then I discovered that I could sign up for newsletters and coupons from my favorite companies. I really felt like I was on the cutting edge of technology. When I started receiving photo updates from faraway family and friends, well, I thought email was about the best invention ever!

But I have found a new reason to love my inbox. You see, my young nieces have signed up for their first email accounts. Now nothing makes me happier than opening my inbox to find an email from Helen or Sarah. Sometimes I receive longer notes; sometimes the notes are a bit shorter. Every once in a while, Helen will just send a corny joke. (She knows how much I love them.) Sarah, who is younger, loves to experiment with fonts and send rainbow-colored messages. Whatever the messages, I am delighted to know they are thinking of me and want to write notes to their aunt.

It makes me wonder, though. I’ve never actually watched Helen and Sarah type their messages. I don’t know whether they’re using keyboarding skills or using a hunt-and-peck method. Until I get the chance to visit them, maybe you can tell me about your students and their keyboarding styles. Do they know how to type? Are you teaching keyboarding skills in your classroom or are students figuring out their own methods? Is there a computer lab in your school where keyboarding skills are taught? I’d love to know!

Happy teaching!

Hope

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So what’s the word where you are? Are you facing six more weeks of winter, or is spring just around the corner? Growing up in the West, I had never heard of the celebrated groundhog Punxsutawney Phil. I thought every little town or region had its own groundhog that was the weather predictor. Mind you, I had never even seen a groundhog and pretty much assumed we were all talking about prairie dogs. Anyway, I still celebrated the holiday with friends at school and loved all the grown-up talk about whether the groundhog had seen its shadow and what it meant or didn’t really mean weatherwise. Are you celebrating this unique holiday? I peeked through our files and found a couple ideas I just couldn’t resist sharing. I hope they make your day fun. Happy Groundhog Day!

Sherry

PS: By the way, since I moved to North Carolina, I have actually seen a groundhog! Imagine my excitement when I realized what that furry brown prairie dog really was!

I’m a Little Groundhog

Youngsters will enjoy reciting this catchy little rhyme while sporting their own groundhog masks. To make a mask, have a child color the underside of a paper plate brown; then have her cut a slit from the edge to the center of the plate. Help her overlap the cut edges so that the plate forms a shallow cone. Then staple the edges in place. Encourage the child to glue a pom-pom nose, a black construction paper mouth, two brown construction paper ears, and yarn whiskers onto the mask; then help her cut out two eyeholes. Tape a wide craft stick to the bottom of the groundhog mask. Invite each child to hold her mask in front of her face while she recites this rhyme.

I’m a little groundhog, so furry, furry, furry,
Looking round for my food. Oh hurry, hurry, hurry.
When danger comes near me, I scurry, scurry, scurry
Right back to my burrow. Yes sirree, sirree, sirree!

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Seeing Shadows

Celebrate Groundhog Day with these fun pictures! Give each child a 9″ x 12″ sheet of white construction paper, a copy of a groundhog pattern, and several pieces of tape. To make a picture, each student colors and cuts out his groundhog pattern; then he tapes it on his sheet of paper. Next, he draws on the paper a scene  that incorporates the groundhog. He colors the entire page, making sure that no space is left uncolored. Then he carefully removes the groundhog from the paper, revealing an uncolored area. He colors the white area black to create a shadow and moves the groundhog over slightly as shown. Finally, he reattaches the shape to the paper. Post students’ completed pictures on a display titled “Seeing Shadows.”

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