Ah, the unexpected day off! These are the days that students live for. As a teacher I secretly loved snow days too. Even though it surely meant reworking the weekly lesson plans and returning to over-excited students, I enjoyed having that one treasured day to do whatever I wanted.

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In my school, celebrating the 100th Day was serious business. We had a kindergarten teacher who had her kids count 100 paper clips, counters, shoes, neckties, you name it! Then they took 100 steps, hops, and jumps; drew 100 objects; and made and wore paper crowns with 100 sequins on them. Her enthusiasm was contagious! I found myself counting to one hundred by twos, fives, and tens all day long. I looked forward to their 100th Day parade as much as I looked forward to any program our children did.

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Well, the first semester is winding down and soon many of you will be heading into the second half of the year. That, of course, means it's time for report cards!

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Tuesday, January 20, 2009 is an historic day for our country. Barack Obama will be inaugurated as our 44th president. We'd like to start a discussion of the ideas and activities you plan to use in your classroom during the next few days.

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Well, the holidays are winding down, and I'm guessing your winter break is almost over. It goes so fast, doesn't it? I came back to work yesterday, and it took me a while to shake off the cobwebs and get back into the swing of things. Not to mention my endless supply of cookies and snacks wasn't within arm's reach--probably a good thing! What finally got me going was grabbing a cup of tea, putting in my favorite CD, and making a list of must-dos by the end of the day. Of course, it didn't hurt that I found some chocolate motivation that had been left in the kitchen by my coworkers. :)

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Well, I pulled out my favorite holiday read-aloud last night, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. It was the first of many readings to come over the next few weeks. My sons love it just as much as my students always did. When I was teaching fifth grade,

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With Thanksgiving just days away, the holiday season is officially here! I've listed some great Thanksgiving books to share with your students next week.

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’Tis the season for fall festivals and Halloween celebrations! At The Mailbox, our fall festivals are quite an event. Each year we take time out to celebrate the season with snacks, craft projects, costumes, and a spooky book reading. Then we go from office to office collecting sweet treats, and everyone is invited to vote for their favorite creation in our pumpkin-carving contest. As you can imagine,

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When my six-year-old son was able to name the two major candidates in the presidential election, I realized the country officially had election fever! With all the excitement that this election has generated I know it must be spilling over into classrooms all over the country.

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Thank you, teachers! We had great response to our First-Day Ideas blog posted in August. Next up for discussion is parent conferences. That is the topic in the "What Works for You?" department found in the October/November Intermediate edition of The MAILBOX. Here are two of the featured ideas:

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