All teachers on deck! It’s day four of our “One Week Only!” idea gathering, and today’s topic is a whopper—student behavior. We’ve all had a student or two who had us contemplating the location of the nearest loony bin, haven’t we? I know I did; I’ll call my student B.B. because he was big and bad. Actually, let’s add a third B because he was also a bully. But you know what? Triple B wasn’t a bad kid; he was simply toting around a ton of bad behaviors. That’s the focus of today’s request—how do teachers help students replace bad behaviors with good ones?

In case you’re wondering, Triple B grew into one of my finest students. Trust me, this wasn’t a solo act. It took a village, and it was worth every ounce of our combined efforts!

This one’s for you, Triple B!

Ms. Badden

PS: Remember that each of your ideas we accept for publication earns you a $20 gift certificate that spends like cash at TheMailbox.com!

We want your ideas for other topics too! See Monday’s request, Tuesday’s request, Wednesday’s request, and Friday’s request.

10 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

Click. Sputter. Splat. Sigh. Okay, teachers! I’ve officially opened the can of worms labeled “tattling.” Are you ready to chat? It’s day three of our “One Week Only!” idea roundup, and our editors are eager to learn how you help your students avoid the tattletale trap!

Of course, I’m curious too!

Smiles,
Diane

We want your ideas for other topics too! See Monday’s request, Tuesday’s request, Thursday’s request, and Friday’s request.

14 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

Happy Tuesday! It’s day two of our “One Week Only!” idea roundup. Today’s teacher topic is shyness in the classroom.

As a kid I was labeled as shy. (You can stop laughing. It’s true!) At school I avoided being the center of attention at all costs. I didn’t ask questions and I did my best to not be called upon. In fact, I rarely left my chair. My shyness was the pits. But being called shy was even worse!

Thank goodness that, with the help of my parents and teachers, I became more confident over time, which minimized my shyness. That leads us right into today’s request. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Happily,
Diane

We want your ideas for other topics too! See Monday’s request, Wednesday’s request, Thursday’s request, and Friday’s request.

9 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

I love delivering great news and boy, oh boy, TODAY I have some GREAT news to share! For one week only (that’s today through Sunday, October 3) any idea, tip, or activity you leave as a comment on this week’s blog posts could appear in a publication from The Mailbox!

Here’s the scoop: Each morning I’ll post a new idea request. At the end of the week, our editors will review and select ideas, tips, and activities that y’all have shared. If one of your ideas is chosen for publication, you’ll be contacted via the email address you provided for us.

Remember: each idea, tip, or activity accepted for publication earns a $20 gift certificate that spends like cash at TheMailbox.com! And that means your next purchase from The Mailbox is only an idea away!

With a big, big smile,

Diane

We want your ideas for other topics too! See Tuesday’s request, Wednesday’s request, Thursday’s request, and Friday’s request.

20 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

In my day-to-day doings here at The Mailbox, it’s not unusual for me to be wishing I had a list of some sort. Yesterday, I was working with the color red and could have really used a list of kid-friendly red items. Of course I was able to put together a list on my own; it just took time—and time always seems to be in short supply. I know that’s something you can identify with!

This morning, I’m working on a project where I could really use a list of sound-related words, such as jingle, slam, thud, boom, crunch, and rattle.

You probably know what’s coming next: I just can’t help it! I have to ask—what kinds of lists would you find helpful in your day-to-day doings as a teacher? Heck, maybe you could even use picture lists. I’d love to know!

Your very, very curious colleague,

Diane

8 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

That’s right, sometime today—I’m not sure of the exact minute—Autumn arrives. Yippee! Now, don’t get me wrong, I like summer just fine. However, by the time autumn is here I’m really ready for lower temperatures, fewer skeeters, and fall festivals!

How about you? Do you look forward to the fall season? What are your favorite fall activities for school time and on-your-own time?

Oh, and I have one more timely fact to share. Today is also the birthday of the ice cream cone. How cool is that? (Yes, that pun was on purpose. ) Gosh, all of a sudden I feel quite compelled to celebrate September 22, 2010. I think I’ll treat myself to an ice cream cone, and I’ll make my ice cream selection fall-colored. Something brown will work. Well, I’ll be! That would be chocolate, wouldn’t it?

Happy fall!
Diane

10 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

This morning it dawned on me that many of you are putting the finishing touches on the first month of the school year. Is everything going pretty much as planned? Any surprise kinks along the way? The good thing about a kink is that it is just a kink—you know, something that can be worked out with a little extra attention. Sort of like the kink I had this morning in my little toe! It came, it stuck around for a while, and then it was gone. Just call me the kink buster!

I’d sure like to hear how your school year is going so far—what’s been great about it and what, if any, surprises you’ve had. And if you have a kink you’re still trying to work out, be sure to include that. If the kink buster can’t help you, I feel certain some of our readers can!

Happy teaching!

Diane

No Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

Yes, you read that right—tumbleweed! I no longer have tumbleweeds at my fingertips; however, when I was teaching in eastern Washington state, I sure did. Each fall big wads of dead weeds blew in from the desert. I never did figure out a way to use them in the classroom. They were interesting to look at, but that was about it.

What I wished for instead were big, beautiful fall leaves! We had a few fall leaves in that part of the country, but they were small and mostly various shades of brown. Not great for leaf investigations or art projects!

Now I live in North Carolina where the fall leaves are extraordinary and there’s not a tumbleweed in sight. If I’d known that when I was teaching, I would have gladly boxed up a tumbleweed for a North Carolina teacher in exchange for a box of colorful fall leaves.

I’m not exactly sure where I’m going with this; however, it seems there’s an opportunity for teachers across the country to connect and swap natural resources. Maybe teachers from Kansas and Florida could swap wheat and seashells!  Is that goofy? Whatcha think? What kind of a swap would you make?

Happily,
Diane

22 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

Do you have favorite forms that you use year after year in your classroom or with your students’ parents? I used a lot of student checklists, weekly progress reports, seasonal incentive charts, and monthly newsletter forms. Because my students were older, I let them fill in the monthly newsletter forms, and they got a kick out of that. Another teacher fave of mine was open pages that featured seasonal borders. I guess these papers didn’t really save me time, but they sure made my writing tasks more enjoyable! What about you? What forms are your faves? Are there forms you wish you had but haven’t been able to find? Happily, Diane

3 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

Do you have an idea for The Mailbox magazine? Of course you do! In fact, I’m quite certain that you have several great ideas that could help other teachers be successful in their classrooms. So why not submit those ideas? Heck, we’ll even pay you for them! Yes sirree, for each idea we accept for publication, we’ll send you a $20 gift certificate that you can use to shop at TheMailbox.com!

Here’s what you do:

1. Choose a grade level: Preschool, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grades 2-3, Intermediate.
2. Read the idea requests from The Mailbox editor who greets you.
3. Click “Submit an idea” and fill out the form to share your idea.

You’ll also want to visit Becky at The Mailbox Books. Why? Because Becky just posted a list of 23 idea requests. Holy cow! Answer each request and you could earn a wad of The Mailbox certificates to spend on magazine subscriptions, super-duper resource books, and more. Trust me, this is something you must do!

Looking out for my pals,
Diane

2 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This