I want all of my materials to be kid friendly and engaging to help pull students into lessons. Teachers who work with me sometimes roll their eyes when I insist on adding graphics to reproducibles, letters home and quizzes, but many students are overwhelmed if all they see are words on a page. We need…
Meet The Mailbox®
Who Is It?
School’s out for a few days! Are those yippees, hoorays, and darn skippies I’m hearing from far and wide? I know your brains need a break, but I can’t resist this fun little quiz to find out how well you know your hosts of The Mailbox Blog! Take the quiz, tally your points (one point…
Merry Christmas!
Wishing you and your family the happiest of holidays! Your friends at The Mailbox!
Last Day?
Is today your last school day before winter break? My last day of student teaching was the last day before winter break. Responsibility had shifted back to my mentor teacher, Mrs. M. I was winding down, or so I thought! About an hour and a half before dismissal, Mrs. M folded back the wall separating…
Teachers’ Pets
Did your nose wrinkle as you read the title of this blog? If it did—unwrinkle it! This blog is not about the notion that teachers show favoritism to select students. Ugh! We know better! Nope, this blog is about our furry, feathery, and scaly companions who are sooooo happy to see us after a long…
Celebration Trivia
I’ve rounded up a fun tidbit of trivia for you on this fabulous Friday, day 31 of The Mailbox’s 40-day 40th anniversary celebration. Did you know that in 2005, a preschool edition of The Mailbox magazine was a prop in a big-screen movie? The movie was Must Love Dogs, a romantic comedy starring Diane Lane…
My Life Changer
Today I am attending the wake of a woman who changed my life. Her name is Margaret Michel, known to most as Marge. She and her husband, Jake, (who passed away in 2012), both passionate educators, were the founders of The Education Center. Together they shared a devotion to the learning of children. They believed…
Have You Heard?
The Mailbox turns 40 this year! Yes sirree, for 40 fabulous years, The Mailbox has delivered creative and educationally sound ideas to teachers around the world from teachers around the world. Now that’s what I call making a difference! Our official celebration kicks off this Wednesday, July 17, and lasts for FORTY days! I promise…
Snip, Snip, Snip
Check out that hairdo, would you? My mom insisted I have a pixie cut for much of my childhood. And, like most kids, I wanted exactly what I didn’t have: long hair and brown eyes. Why the short hair? Well, I was quite good at sniffing out hidden shears. On one occasion, I snipped a…
Wish BIG! You Could WIN!
Mailbox teachers, pull out your wish lists! Our editors are busily working on magazine issues for the upcoming school year, and they’d love your input. Throughout every school year, The Mailbox magazines are tweaked and updated to best meet teachers’ needs. For example, during the current school year, we added the new departments “Problem Solved!”,…