You may not know that in addition to blogging, I also post activities, articles, and fun stuff on The Mailbox® Facebook account, which brings me to a conundrum I encounter every year around this time: Should I begin posting back-to-school activities? It’s not a simple question. If I post back-to-school activities too soon, you all…
I put a post on The Mailbox® Facebook page recently regarding a teacher’s tweet about having a bad day. She was a new teacher and felt like she wasn’t effective, didn’t know what she was doing, and would have to quit after her first year. The comments from teachers were varied and full of good…
It’s that time of year when teachers (and parents) are ready to pull out their hair for one reason or another. If your kiddos’ attention spans and brain waves have been intercepted by the upcoming Christmas holiday, try this. Grab a bag of cotton balls and a glue stick. Then print a copy of the…
Have you ever considered using a wireless doorbell to assist you with classroom transitions? I recently discovered that several teachers do. “How clever!” I thought. I was searching online to find out if these wireless ringers were expensive when my tech savvy colleague, Karen, says, “I bet there’s an app for that…” And there is!…
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…
Have you played the game 52-Card Pickup? It’s a card game you only agree to play one time. I was a kid when I agreed to play. My uncle asked. I agreed. The next thing I knew the 52 cards in the deck he was holding were spewing out all over the floor. Hence the…
Any writing utensil or classroom tool has the potential to drive you completely and totally insane, but I think that pencils are the worst. The leads break, they roll onto the floor, and sharpening a pencil can sound like a cappuccino machine in need of a tune-up. So here I present to you THREE pencil…
I’d heard of mood rings and mood bands. In fact, I even owned a mood ring at some point in my life. However, I’d never had the pleasure of seeing a mood duster! Check this out. It’s the perfect classroom management tool. Simply display a duster in your classroom—any type will do. Use the duster…
“Leah is sucking her thumb.” “Aiden laughed at Sid’s drawing.” “Jorge is bugging me!” Sound familiar? I recently asked a few teachers how they handle tattling. A teacher of kinders keeps a “tattle bear” in her classroom. When a child approaches her with a tattle, she asks him to tell the bear instead. Another teacher…
Have you read about the high school teacher who, in an effort to gain the attention of his rowdy students, clutched his chest and dropped to his knees as if having a heart attack? After the fact (or act!), the teacher realized this wasn’t such a great idea even though it was quite effective. What…