Heart-Pumping Countdown

Star-gazing squats, terrestrial toe touches, and cosmic kicks are all part of this ten day brain-break countdown. Now don’t worry, you don’t need the colorful bulletin board. Simply draw ten stars on your board and number them from 10 to 1. You can also use this countdown as a lead up to any special event:…

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September Sing-Along

Who would like a song or two or three to sing with students this September? I’m hoping you! Welcome September, jazz up calendar time, and prolong hand washing with this trio of top-notch tunes. Happy September to all! Diane Hooray for September! (sing along to the tune of “Jingle Bells”) September, September, September’s here, hooray!…

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School Volunteers

April is National Volunteer Month. Who knew, right? Even if you’re not prepared to formally recognize your school’s volunteers (which often occurs as the school year is wrapping up), it’s a great opportunity to give a shout-out to the folks who offer their gifts of time. Verbal acknowledgments and handwritten notes are quick and easy….

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Five Important Teacher Phrases

I recently read an article that listed five phrases students should hear from their teachers every single day. I’m curious to learn what you think. There’s one phrase in the list that caused me wonder. My nose even scrunched up a bit. Let me know what you think! Good morning/Goodbye. Simply put, it’s important to…

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Do You Have a Decibella (or Decibello)?

What’s a decibella? Actually it’s a who and there’s a fifty-fifty chance you have a real one in your classroom. Decibella is a spunky, spirited book character who loves using her loud voice at all times. Her real name is Isabella, but everyone calls her Decibella because she is just soooooo LOUD. She simply doesn’t…

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The Value of a Smile

You’ll agree that smiling is contagious, right? I mean, didn’t you smile when you saw this photo? I sure did. I discovered lots of smiling photos on a fellow teacher’s Pinterest board. She maintains a board of smiles: smiling kids, smiling adults, and even smiling animals. I love this idea and intend to create my…

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