At the beginning of the summer, I bought myself an eReader. It’s a popular one from an online retail powerhouse. And it’s okay. My reasons for buying it were simple: portability and an end to space- and paper-consuming physical books. This device was going to revolutionize my reading habits (which had suffered the last few…
back-to-school
“Graphing” to Know You!
Do you include getting-to-know-you graphing activities in your back-to-school plans? It’s such a great way for students to learn about each other and you too! And it’s easy. Simply post a two-column graph grid labeled with “Yes” and “No.” Write your name on a sticky note and ask each student to do the same. Then…
Anticipation
Some things are hard to wait for. Water to boil. Toast to brown. The new season of The Walking Dead to start. George Lucas to apologize for Star Wars episodes I, II, and III and give us the movies we really wanted. Not to mention the moment when your collection of new students turns into…
Mr. S. Is Here
Each summer, as the calendar quickly slipped its way toward the second half of August, time neared to gather my personal effects and bring them back to school. I had a small box with the personal items I liked to have on my desk. Foremost among these items, besides a few photos of family, was…
A Crystal Ball Question & Giveaway
It’s August 1, and for those who teach in schools with traditional academic calendars, that means… Well, I think you know what it means, and I don’t want to say much more, in case you’re trying not to think about it. But, really, what teacher ever fully disengages her brain from thinking about school, the…
End-of-June Randomness
It’s tough to write a blog for teachers in the final days of June. Some of you have been done with your 2012-2013 school year for almost a month. Some of you are looking at your last few days. Retailers are blatantly guilty of starting their back-to-school promotions. And we will not give you even…
The Tipping Point
At some point in a teacher’s summer, one’s thoughts turn to the coming school year. Instead of hitting the snooze button 47 times in a row, you hit it 32 times one day, then 18 times soon after, until you’re finally down to just twice. You find yourself glancing longingly at your local teacher store…
That August Mentality
How did I get ready to head back into my classroom as the new school year loomed? By tackling the pile of papers and artifacts left over from the day I brought everything home in June, of course. I was a pro teacher, after all. It was never a huge pile, and nothing had been…
Ah, you’re done. Time to get started.
We wear many faces, don many hats, and invoke many influences throughout the course of a single day. As individuals, we are like that. And as a company, The Mailbox is like that. See, here at The Mailbox, we’re already talking about back-to-school even as we know most of you are wrapping up last school…