A lot of the stuff we throw away during the holidays are things kids can cut to develop their fine motor skills. I mean does anyone actually use ALL of the wrapping paper that comes on the roll? (If you do, please don't tell me. That'll make me feel bad.) Save the paper plates and napkins you didn't end up using. Gather up some leaves and pine needles. Yarn, feathers, straws, … [Read more...]
Reusable Anchor Charts for Young Readers
I have a few teacher friends who don't like their own handwriting and swear they can't even draw a stick figure. I'm not sure I totally believe the stick figure part, but I get the point. So you can imagine their anxiety over the thought of creating anchor charts. And seriously, don't we all have that one teammate whose charts are museum-worthy? The kind with perfect artistry we envy? We just want … [Read more...]
The Anatomy of an Anchor Chart
I get asked about anchor charts all the time. It seems to be a thing a lot of teachers dread making because they think they aren't good at it. But anchor charts are an important part of any classroom. They contain key information about the concept you want children to learn. They represent the learning going on in the classroom and they foster independence, so they need to be posted … [Read more...]
First Week Favorites … I WILL
"I promise to do what I promised to do." Not much is more important than being trustworthy. People need to know they can count on you and it's never too early to teach this to kids. In our school, we live by the Lifelong Guidelines, so our kids learn to understand important concepts throughout the year like: • personal best • truthfulness • active listening • trustworthiness • no … [Read more...]
First Week Favorites … SAY WHAT?
This is another one of my favorite first-week lessons as we begin to establish our classroom community. I begin by reading a picture book about listening. I'm sure there are some really high-quality titles out there, but this book belonged to my daughter and every kid I've ever had loves it because of the familiar characters. (Plus, I can do a pretty good Tigger voice... it sells it every time.) … [Read more...]