“Parent volunteers are great!”
“Parent volunteers give me the heebie-jeebies!”
“I’m understanding the value of parent volunteers!”

Can you guess which comment came from a seasoned teacher? An unsure first-year teacher? A teacher who’s been teaching for a few years?

It took me a few years of teaching to realize that parent volunteers are worth their weight in gold! After all, a parent volunteer can be an extra pair of hands, an extra pair of ears, an extra source of encouragement, an extra pair of eyes, and so on. Sometimes they even bring snacks!

In what ways do you use parent volunteers? What helpful tips do you have for a teacher who is welcoming volunteers into her classroom for the first time? Two, four, six, eight—who do we appreciate? That’s right! Parent volunteers!

Thanks for sharing!
Diane

Last call! Today is the final day to enter our latest drawing for a free book from The Mailbox Books. See “Fun Friday Giveaway” for details. Congratulations to our winner, Dotty!

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Are you glad it’s Friday? I sure am! When my alarm clock screeched at me this morning, I gave it a solid whack of satisfaction. I knew Friday had finally arrived. Yippee! In fact, on my way into work I decided a special Friday giveaway was in order. Y’all have been working exceptionally hard at readying your classrooms and making back-to-school plans. Some of you have even already welcomed your new group of students.  So in honor of your hard work and dedication, I’m going to give my car to one lucky winner. Oh, wait a minute, that’s not fair—no one wants my car! (It has one of those annoying payment books.) Instead, how about a free book from The Mailbox Books? Now that’s something to get excited about!

To enter this book giveaway, simply share a favorite back-to-school memory from your teaching career. If you’re new to teaching, feel free to share a favorite back-to-school memory from your own school days. Be sure to comment before the end of Tuesday, August 31. Otherwise you’ll miss out on a chance to win The Mailbox book of your choice.

Happy Friday!

Diane

PS: Congratulations to our winner, Dotty!

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The school buses hit the road this morning! Yep, it’s the first day of school in our local school district. Lexie (the pooch) and I were finishing up our morning walk when youngsters began gathering at the neighborhood bus stops. We saw mostly older kids. One of them, wearing a gigantic backpack, was frantically racing back home—clearly he’d forgotten something important!

I don’t know about you, but I always got a few butterflies on the first day of school. I remember having them as a child and as a teacher too. How crazy is that? After all my years of teaching, those butterflies still dropped in for a visit!

I can’t keep myself from smiling when I think about the local kids and teachers who are beginning another school year. What an exciting time!

How about you? Are you with students yet? Any butterflies?

Smiles,

Diane

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Since it’s back-to-school time, I’m thinking a quick warm-up of teacher phrases might be fun! I feel certain y’all have some great ones. What are your favorites?

Here are a few I gathered from my colleagues: “Keep four on the floor” (chair legs), “Sit crisscross applesauce,” “Be loud and proud” (when sharing in front of the group), and the one that made me laugh—“Am I going to have to put on my cranky pants?”

Oh, and feel free to include teacher actions too, such as clap routines or flipping the light switch. This is going to be fun!

Fingers on the keyboard!
Diane

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Happy Friday! I have an idea for making a connection with your students’ parents. See what you think!

First, I have a confession to make. I love checking out the magazines at the hair salon, especially the ones filled with the Hollywood scoop. Well, last night I was enjoying a favorite column in one such magazine. It’s called “25 Things You Don’t Know About Me.” Each month a different celebrity shares 25 things about himself or herself. It got me thinking that this could be a fun way to introduce yourself to parents. Of course you don’t have to include 25 things: 15, 12, or even 10 would be plenty. I started my list…

I grew up in Roseburg, Oregon. My father was a logger, but I’m not related to Paul Bunyan. I decided I wanted to be a teacher in first grade. I attended nine different schools. I am a past state-champion baton twirler. Yes, you read that right. One day I hope to author a children’s book. I think a good book is an inexpensive way to take a vacation. I never need a reason to eat chocolate. I make a mean pan of brownies! I love to laugh! I always have a pet-related story up my sleeve. I love kids!

That was fun. Give it a try!

Smiles,

Diane

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Booklets are on my brain today! Joan’s comment on “First Day Faves” jump-started my thinking. She begins the year knowing she’ll have a class-made book for each child to take home at the end of the year. Isn’t that a great strategy? If I were teaching, I’d make that my class book strategy for sure.

This got me wondering about individual student booklets. Do your students enjoy making these as well? I could always count on plenty of enthusiasm when I introduced any type of booklet project to my third graders. Our projects varied in complexity and content, though most often our booklets were science-related. It was such fun seeing my kiddos get excited over booklets that I was always on the lookout for new projects. After all, learning is supposed to be fun, right?

So are you getting jazzed about booklets?

Smiles,
Diane

PS: For quick and easy booklets like the one shown—and other reproducible science activities—check out Everything Science from The Mailbox Books!

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Whaddya say we chat about favorite first-day-of-school activities? As a teacher, I loved to know what types of activities my colleagues were planning. Heck, I’m not teaching and I’m still curious! Maybe it’s because I was never quite sure how much to plan or exactly what to plan. For the first few days of school, I tended to switch between getting-acquainted activities and skill-related investigations. What about you? What’s your planning strategy? Do you have a favorite first-day activity you’d like to share?

Curious as ever!

Diane

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Have you checked out our “Modifying Instruction” stew? It’s simmering away with great tips and ideas! Be sure to have a look. And if you’d like to contribute, remember that today is the final day to comment and have your name entered in our gift certificate giveaway.

Okay, I must share one more update. It’s a follow-up to the July post “Excuses, Excuses” in which I suspected my happy-go-lucky pooch, Lexie, of either eating or successfully stashing my much-needed mouth guard. Well, the case is closed. This morning Miss Lexie proudly deposited a soil-encrusted mouth guard at my feet. Clearly she’d been playing her own little game of Hide-and-Seek. Too bad I’ve already begun playing another game called Paying Off the Dentist.

Have a great day! Have you headed back to the classroom yet?

Smiles,
Diane

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Y’all know that I think you’re awesome, right? Well, I do. I love, love, love all the wonderful comments and suggestions you make! In fact, your comments guided me to today’s topic, and it’s a biggie!

How do you modify your instruction to meet the diverse learning needs of students?  What works for you? How do you keep track of the modifications you make? Wow, no wonder teachers sometimes feel overwhelmed!

Here’s an idea! Let’s pretend we’re making a big pot of stew called Modified Instruction. Everyone who’s interested can add an ingredient (a tip, idea, etc.). I’ll stir the pot, and before long we’ll have a prizewinning recipe to meet the diverse learning needs of students!

Let’s get cookin’!

Diane

PS: Each person who contributes to the stew before the end of Tuesday, August 17, will be entered in a gift certificate giveaway from The Mailbox. Delish!

Congratulations to commenter number 1, Diane, who is the winner of our drawing!

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Okay, y’all. I just reached for my dental floss. Here I am trying to eat healthy, and a piece of granola gets stuck in my teeth. This never happens with chocolate!

Anyway, this simple action jogged my memory. Experiences in the classroom taught me that it’s wise to keep a stash of “just in case” items tucked away in a teacher closet, cupboard, or desk drawer. For example, I wear contact lenses, so I kept a contact case and wetting solution at school. I also had a pair of back-up specs. What about you? Tea bags? Snack bars? Headache relief medicine? A spare change of clothes? Slippers? Chocolate? What’s in your stash?

I don’t mean to be overly curious. But I think every teacher ought to keep a supply of “just in case” items—and Teacher Stash 101 isn’t a part of too many teaching programs!

It’s time to spill!

Diane

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