So how’s the waistband today? Mine’s a little snug; however, I couldn’t be happier! There’s really nothing better than spending quality time with family and friends, is there? The yummy food is simply icing on the cake (or ice cream on the pie)!

Have you ever investigated your teaching tree? I did for the first time this past weekend, and what a surprise it was! What I call a “teaching tree” is basically a family history of teachers. I was delighted to discover that my great-great-grandmother taught for a year before she wed my great-great-granddad. (Teachers couldn’t be married way back then.) My grandmother also taught for a few years. And I have two cousins who teach today. How cool is that?

What about you? Do you have roots in teaching or are you the first one on your family’s teaching tree?

Happily,

Diane

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Gobble, gobble! Happy Thanksgiving from me to you!

Warmly,

Diane

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Last Wednesday, our holiday giveaway request was for ideas for economical gifts teachers can give their students. Thanks for sharing your fabulous ideas! I was especially delighted to learn that books are frequently being given as gifts.

This week’s giveaway request is for gifts students can make for family members. To enter this week’s surprise giveaway, describe your most successful student-made gift project. And if you’d like to sprinkle in some tips for managing the gift-making process, that would be just dandy too!

Remember to respond to this post by the end of Sunday, November 28, so your name will be entered in the drawing. Be sure to check your email—you could be our next winner!

Smiles,

Diane

Hooray for Rolanda S., our giveaway winner!

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It’s always great to have a few ideas on hand for students who do not celebrate holidays. I learned this my very first year of teaching. I’ll admit that I sort of blundered my way through the first experience—I was totally unprepared for so many things that year!

Here are a few nonholiday options. Please share what works for you too!

Plan a seasonal gift-making project rather than one that’s holiday-specific. Making a photo frame is a nice option. (A child who doesn’t celebrate a Christmas can still give gifts throughout the year!) Ask a child to make a thank-you card rather than a holiday card, a winter tree instead of a holiday tree, or a snowpal or penguin as alternatives to a Santa or holiday stocking. If a parent can’t arrange early pickup on party day, make arrangements for a staff member (librarian, nurse, office assistant) to request a special helper prior to party time.

Thinking of you!

Diane

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Yabba dabba doo! It’s Friday! I have a new product idea that I think teachers will love. I can’t take full credit for it—well, maybe I can. I wouldn’t have gotten the idea if I hadn’t absentmindedly left my car lights on and had to call the auto club for a battery recharge.

Did you know that a small black box can put the roar back in a lifeless car? I had no idea! Thanks to the auto club dude who zapped my car with a small black box, I was on the road in what felt like a nanosecond. That’s when I decided I needed one of those boxes—not for my car, but for me! I’m still working out the details: however, I’m leaning toward a bracelet that automatically recharges you when you start to feel a bit drained. Whatcha think? Do I have any potential buyers?

Have a great weekend and allow yourself some time to recharge!

Smiles,
Diane

PS: Remember, you have until the end of Sunday, November 21, to share your student gift ideas with us. (See “Holiday Gifts for Students” for details.)

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Hi, y’all! Today seems like a great day to tackle an item from the to-do list we compiled last week. (See “Feeling the Pinch” for details and to make additions!) In fact, let’s make Wednesday our official to-do-list day every week!

Each Wednesday I’ll post a topic from our list with the promise of a surprise giveaway drawing to be held the following week. To enter the weekly drawing, simply take a minute or two to share your ideas before the end of the following Sunday. Here we go!

Today’s topic is holiday gifts for your students. Do you give your kiddos holiday gifts? If so, what ideas do you have for purchased or handmade gifts that are affordable on a teacher’s budget?

Thanks for sharing!

Diane

Congratulations to our winner, Beth M.!

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Wow, I want to be in your classrooms this Thanksgiving! Y’all served up a big ole feast of Thanksgiving ideas (see “Gobble, Gobble Giveaway!”). Thank you so much for sharing!

Are you ready for dessert? Your comments got me thinking about Thanksgiving books. Cheryl gave us the title of a book that is a royal hoot—Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano. I’m pretty sure each of you has a favorite Thanksgiving book too. So how about making a dessert menu of favorite Thanksgiving read-alouds! Are you in?

I’ll start the list with a couple of my faves and leave the rest up to you! Gobble, gobble!

Happily,

Diane

• ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
  What can I say? I have a serious funny bone!
• T Is for Turkey by Tanya Lee Stone
  A superb Thanksgiving-themed alphabet book. The rhyming text might even inspire a holiday program!

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Happy Friday, teachers! My calendar held a yummy surprise for me this morning: Thanksgiving Day is less than two weeks away. And this means it’s time for our first annual Gobble, Gobble Giveaway. To have your name entered in this book giveaway, simply share a favorite Thanksgiving-themed activity before the end of Monday, November 15. Together we’ll create a menu of favorite teaching ideas for celebrating turkey day. Gotta love that!

Have a great weekend!

Gobble, gobble,
Diane

PS: My third-graders loved this supersimple idea. Each morning I’d write a holiday-related word on the board and challenge them to make ten or more words using only the letters in the word.

feast: at, ate, eat, fat, sat, set, safe, tea, sea, seat
thankful: thank, tank, than, tan, fan, hat, hut, an, ant, aunt
harvest: hat, rat, vat, sat, set, rest, tea, vest, sea, rat
Pilgrims: rim, grim, limp, girls, rip, rig, slim, sip, is, grip
Squanto: nut, squat, ton, tan, sun, son, not, to, on, an

Congrats to our drawing winner, Cheryl!

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No, I’m not referring to my waistband. That post will come after the holidays! The pinch on my mind is time-related and it begins right about now. Do you agree that during the months of November and December your to-do list takes on a life of its own? And I’m just talking about your teacher to-do list!

I’d like to help you with your teacher to-do list this year, and here’s what I’ve come up with. Beginning today, we’ll start a list of the “extra” things that teachers are either asked to do or want to do during the months of November and December. Then, each week during these two months, I’ll post a topic and we’ll all pitch in to help each other out by sharing our best ideas. I might post topics such as “Gifts for Students to Make,” “Secret Santa Ideas,” or “Classroom Management Tips for December.” You can count on surprise giveaways too!

So let’s get started! Who’s going to begin our list?

Happily,
Diane

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What teacher hasn’t eked out those words at three o’clock in the morning? I know I have! In fact, I’m pretty sure I willed myself back to wellness on several occasions, especially during my first few years of teaching. Just the thought of trying to describe my class schedule (which varied daily) and my learning center rotation could break a fever in a snap! Then there were the lesson plans… I always had them; I just didn’t always follow them to a tee.

Do you keep a set of emergency plans for the unexpected? If so, how do you decide what to plan? Are you able to rely on technology when the unexpected happens or do private passwords get in the way?

Here’s to staying healthy (and being prepared just in case)!

Diane

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