When my parents came to visit over the Thanksgiving holiday, we discussed the long and expensive path I took that ended with a degree in elementary education. You see, my high school guidance counselor encouraged me to go into another area of study instead of teaching since teaching jobs in Michigan were difficult to come…
Teachers and Teaching
When Students Are Absent
Ah-choo! It’s that time of year, or at least my nose thinks it is! Isn’t early December about the time students begin missing school due to wintertime illnesses, such as the cold and flu? No teacher wants her students to be sick—well, wait a minute, there was a student or two…:0) But seriously, an absent…
Thanksgiving Follow Up
Are you eating leftovers? Are you shopping for deals? Are you watching football? Are you putting up holiday decorations? Hmmmm, what else could you be doing? Certainly not school work (I hope)! Tell us what you like to do on a day off from teaching, and this little penguin could be headed your way. Of…
Gobbler Surprise
This grinning gobbler can hold a dinner napkin or student writing—a list of thankful thoughts, a story of thankfulness, or a Thanksgiving Day poem—to be shared at mealtime. In either case, the tiny turkey makes a supercute and thoughtful addition to a Thanksgiving Day table! Have older students measure and cut the needed paper strips…
Our Address
Coworkers and Friends?
Last weekend, I went to a three-day scrapbooking retreat with Lynn, the managing editor of The Mailbox magazine Kindergarten edition. Around six years ago, we discovered that we were both into paper crafts. Ever since, we’ve been piling ridiculous amounts of crafting stuff in either her car or my car and going to various…
Hallway Manners
I love it when I see a class of students quietly parading down a school hallway. It’s such an accomplishment for both the teacher and students! Hopefully by this time of the school year students are falling into a pattern of lining up quickly and quietly; and then again maybe not! How do you encourage…
Teachers’ Pets
Did your nose wrinkle as you read the title of this blog? If it did—unwrinkle it! This blog is not about the notion that teachers show favoritism to select students. Ugh! We know better! Nope, this blog is about our furry, feathery, and scaly companions who are sooooo happy to see us after a long…
What Would You Miss?
Lately, I have been demonstrating creative activities for YouTube videos from The Mailbox. (They haven’t been posted quite yet, but they will be soon!) I found that sharing these fun activities takes me right back to the classroom. I almost feel like there should be a bunch of wiggly students gathered around me. (In reality,…
Lost-and-Found: An Observation
One of the most traumatic events of my young life occurred in first grade. One day in the middle of autumn, at dismissal, I watched a classmate disappear out the door wearing my snorkel jacket. We both had them; many in our school did. Ours were both navy blue. But as I stood holding my…