“Jelly Bean” and “Pearl” could be characters from a children’s book. They aren’t. They both have horns, steering wheels, tires, and, well—you get my drift. They’re car nicknames. “The Gray Goose” and “Big Blue” fall into this category as well. A few years back my friend, Becky, nicknamed her 2000 Dodge Caravan “The Swagga Wagon.”…
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:…
I was so tickled when I read that May 14-June 14 is National Smile Month. It seemed a perfect fit for this time of the school year. Teachers and students have only a few days or weeks left in the year and while some tears may be shed, there will be plenty of smiles too….
I love absolutely love it when I hear from y’all. On a recent blog post, many of you shared that you’ll be updating your classroom displays one or two more times before the school year wraps. With this in mind, I searched themailbox.com for some quick and easy end-of-the-year displays. Take a look! What else…
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….
Are you already wondering how you’ll wrap up this school year? Ouch! Did one of you just reach out and thump me? Okay, it is still April—which means you may not think you’re ready to read about an awesome end-of-the-year wrap-up that’s easy for the teacher and keeps kiddos focused and behaving until the very…
Happy June, y’all! If your school year’s a wrap, hooray for you! If not, I’m guessing you’ll wrap up your year soon. Yippee for you! Locally, our teachers have eight more days with students followed by two teacher workdays. Recent topics among my teacher buds have included end-of-the-year testing, field days, and required summer workshops….
Year-end madness can create a bucketful of emotions. In a recent post, educational blogger Stacy Tornio outlines “16 Emotions Teachers Feel Every Day in May…Before Noon.” Before noon! After reading the list, I was exhausted—never mind experiencing each emotion in a handful of hours! But then again, I’ve never really considered which emotions I experience…
The secret word for May 18, 2016, is listen. “Whaaaat?” you may ask. This is fun. Try it! Each time you read, hear, or speak the word listen, touch your right earlobe. Listen. Listen. Listen. Did you just touch your right earlobe three times? Hee, hee! Okay, now try it with your students. Tell your…
Spring break is behind you, and each day is a day closer to summer vacation. So how are you feeling? Upbeat? Thankful? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? A mishmash of these emotions and more? I’ve known teachers who cruise through the end of the school year without breaking a sweat. Trust me—I was never able to pull this…