I write and edit for The Mailbox®–thus it’s been awhile since I’ve been in the classroom teaching little ones. Despite this, I still have “teacher dreams.” You know what I’m talking about. They’re the dreams/nightmares in which: The students are arriving, and I have nothing planned. It’s the middle of the school day, and I’ve…
A standard question at our local grocery stores here in North Carolina used to be, “Paper or plastic?” Now I’m more likely to be asked, “Is plastic okay?” Of course if I were on the ball I’d have my own cloth totes with me. Right? Recently I was totally surprised to have my purchases from…
The definition of a packrat is someone who saves (or hoards!) unnecessary things. So what exactly is unnecessary? Is something unnecessary if you haven’t used it in the past year? Perhaps. But what if…? Yep, it’s those dang what-ifs that grind my purging to a halt….
We can’t all enjoy every single task involved in our jobs. I’m fortunate because I can say that I enjoy most of them. One of my job tasks I don’t enjoy? Reviewing something I’ve already written. I just want to move on. I recently wrote a feature for the magazine on The Very Hungry Caterpillar,…
This Friday, February 17, is Random Acts of Kindness Day. Normally, I kind of scoff at days like this because it makes it sound like the remaining 364 days of the year you can treat people any way you’d like. However, I like the idea of bringing this day to students’ attention with the goal…
There’s something magical about the number 100—especially when we’re talking about the 100th day of school. To celebrate, we’ve gathered prizes worth over $100, and one lucky teacher will win them! Here’s what’s in our wonderful winter-themed prize pack: Blue Penguin by Petr Horacek (Candlewick Press) A Dot in the Snow by Corrinne Averiss (Sterling)…
Happy New Year to you from The Mailbox®! May the new year bring you much happiness, and peace.
Tomorrow is the official beginning of winter. Do you welcome it with a “whoopee” or a “woe is me”? (I had one northern friend describe how she had to climb through her trunk to get into her car because all her door handles were frozen last week. I have a pretty good idea how she…
It’s that time of the year—the time when self care goes out the window because you’re too busy. I too am guilty of treating myself badly in order to get things done. Take a look at the following statements and see if they apply to you. I went to bed too late, and now I’m…
My name is Kim, and I create Facebook memes. It’s not all I do here at The Mailbox. I also write activities for our online monthly magazine, purchase activities from contributors, write blogs, and do other stuff I enjoy. But I do have to say that creating memes is one of my favorite tasks! Why?…