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:…
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…
Who would like a song or two or three to sing with students this September? I’m hoping you! Welcome September, jazz up calendar time, and prolong hand washing with this trio of top-notch tunes. Happy September to all! Diane Hooray for September! (sing along to the tune of “Jingle Bells”) September, September, September’s here, hooray!…
April is National Volunteer Month. Who knew, right? Even if you’re not prepared to formally recognize your school’s volunteers (which often occurs as the school year is wrapping up), it’s a great opportunity to give a shout-out to the folks who offer their gifts of time. Verbal acknowledgments and handwritten notes are quick and easy….
You know how students often think a substitute teacher is fair game for some silliness. Not long ago a teacher bud of mine arranged for a sub to cover his class while he attended a local math conference. In preparation for the sub, he put desk tags on the students’ desks so the sub could…
I recently read an article that listed five phrases students should hear from their teachers every single day. I’m curious to learn what you think. There’s one phrase in the list that caused me wonder. My nose even scrunched up a bit. Let me know what you think! Good morning/Goodbye. Simply put, it’s important to…
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…
You’ll agree that smiling is contagious, right? I mean, didn’t you smile when you saw this photo? I sure did. I discovered lots of smiling photos on a fellow teacher’s Pinterest board. She maintains a board of smiles: smiling kids, smiling adults, and even smiling animals. I love this idea and intend to create my…
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…
Well, our mail was missing. We found it and we’re all grinning about it. Teachers have substitutes and so do mail carriers. A few days ago a colleague noticed that our outgoing mail had been picked up, but no mail had been delivered. Or so we thought. Later in the day our mail was found…