I just took down all the holiday decorations in my house, and everything is looking a little blah. That’s the problem with January: It can feel like a letdown because the holidays are over. Pep up the post-holiday season and motivate positive behavior with this engaging idea! Write fun but uncommon activities on separate index cards….
Classroom Management
Do You Have a Crazy Classroom?
It’s December—that means it’s time for children in your classroom to lose their minds and forget the behavior rules they had down pat before the holidays. I totally get it because I’m a little squirrely in December as well! My office has a festive tree in it and I may or may not have had…
2 Ideas For Stuffed Toys!
My husband and I are cleaning out his family home with a plan to move there this summer. His mother passed away two years ago, and she was a wonderful woman and a bit of a pack rat. She saved everything from dishware to wrapping paper to t-shirts from her boys’ scouting days. Amidst the…
Stuck in a Line
How many times have you had your students lined up and ready to go when all of a sudden your schedule changes? Perhaps the music teacher isn’t ready for your class, there’s another class in the hallway, or the assembly you’re supposed to be going to is slightly delayed—and you know that your classroom management…
Rough Day?
Today is the day after Halloween. That means your students are either stuck to the ceiling on a sugar high or are slumped over in your circle time area after the inevitable crash. (Hey, at least this isn’t combined with the effects of a full moon.) You might be wishing you had a bottle of…
3 No-Prep Activities!
When I was a classroom teacher, one of my favorite phrases was, “no prep.” That meant an activity could be put into my lesson plan without going to a copy machine, or cutting out a bunch of stuff, or even making a quick run to a store. Prepping lesson plans is one of the many…
Time Fillers to the Rescue!
All teachers know that time filler activities are important forms of classroom management—and the key is to have these ideas ready to go when needed. Who knows when you’ll have to fill those empty minutes before lunch, or before a special, or when a lesson plan you thought was fabulous suddenly becomes distinctly non-fabulous. Hey,…
Clean Off Your Desk Day
Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day! And it’s a day I should probably observe. (If you’ll note the photo above, I don’t have the cleanest desk.) I suspect many of you don’t even have desks in your classroom. When I taught I didn’t bother with one because I never had time to sit…
Timely Tips and Ideas
December is here! And that means your life is about to be busy and crazy. So when thinking about blog topics for this Monday, I decided you could probably use some super easy ideas that would make your December glide by a bit smoother. Check them out! Do you need some easy and festive art…
Just Say No to Bubbles?
What’s a well-known hallway transition that has been around since the beginning of time? Have students pretend there are bubbles in their mouths as they walk quietly down the hall. Has this idea been around forever? Yes. Are there more unique and creative ways to encourage quiet behavior when walking in the hallway? Yes. Is…