For those of you who know me, you know that I have a slight obsession with SONIC® Drive-In. The ice. Those cheese sticks. And I'm convinced no other fast food establishment serves a tastier fountain Coke. While all of that is amazing in and of itself, SONIC's partnership with educators is what keeps me going back. Ten years ago, SONIC partnered with Donor's Choose to recognize teachers needing more support in public schools in our local communities. Through their Learning for Limeades campaign in partnership with Donor's Choose, SONIC has donated $11,902,421, supported more than 27,407 classrooms, and provided learning materials ... Read More
End of Year Writing Activities
The end of the school year is always so bittersweet. While I always loved anticipating the freedom summer would bring, I was always really sad to say goodbye to the kids who spent the year growing and maturing right before my eyes. As I've said before, I always loved spending the last few weeks of school reflecting on our year. It's also such a great time to look ahead to summer. I love implementing writing activities and crafts at the end of the year to give me an opportunity to do both. I created a set of four different hand-drawn craft templates to accompany writing prompts. These prompts are pretty straightforward and simple ... Read More
Editable Growth Mindset Awards
If you know me well, you know how much I believe in the power of telling kids WHO they are. I love praising kids not just when they succeed, but when they progress and improve, too. The end of the school year is one of my favorite times of the year for doing just that. While I think it's important to celebrate growth and progress all year long, I love giving kids tangible pieces of praise in the form of awards to affirm how much they've grown throughout the year. I am so excited about these growth mindset awards! These tangible pieces of paper praise are great for recognizing yearlong growth, but they're also perfect to give to kids ... Read More
End of Year Reflections & Memories
In years past, I loved using the month of May to reflect on the school year with my kids. As much as I loved doing this for myself, I've always felt like there is so much power in showing kids how far they've come in just a few short months. This was especially fun in Kindergarten. I loved showing my kids writing samples from the first few months of school compared to how they're writing in May. "That is NOT my writing!", they'd exclaim. "I never wrote like that!" Trust me sweet children. You DID. And those first few months of your writing journey were painful (for both of us). Can I get an amen?! As soon as our countdown to ... Read More
Sight Word Fluency
I recently had the privilege of providing professional development for an amazing group of primary teachers. We discussed a lot of different strategies, best teaching practices, and activity ideas. Professional development days are always my favorite...especially when teachers are eager & excited to learn more in an effort to provide kids with every learning opportunity they possibly can. During this particular PD, we talked a lot about sight words. It always fascinates me how the expectations differ from school to school, district to district. At this particular campus, the teachers were using Fry Words as the basis for their ... Read More
Slow Cooker Baja Pork Tacos
If you love tacos and easy-to-make meals, don't miss out on this one. Packed full of flavor and delicious! This is the kind of slow cooker meal where all you do is dump...such quick prep time! This is a family favorite and one we often serve when we entertain. My only complaint about this recipe is that we rarely have any leftover to enjoy the next day! Recipe via Chef in Training ... Read More
Keepsake Ornament
You might not know this about me, but just in case you were wondering, sentimental stuff is my jam. This time of the year brings out the sap in me and I find myself knee deep in everything that's nostalgic. My favorite part of the holiday season is decorating our family tree. The store bought ornaments are great and all, but my tender heart lets out a sentimental tear or twenty whenever I pull out the ornaments handmade by my boys. Their little fingerprints painted on the matte acrylic kills me. Can you even believe their fingers were tiny enough to cover just a teensy portion of an ornament?! Now their man hands would CRUSH them! But ... Read More
Preparing for the Thanksgiving Holidays
*This post contains affiliate links via Amazon* On a personal level, Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. The parades. The family. The FOOD!!!! And when the weather cooperates, it's one of the most magical days of the year (for me, anway). So it should come as no surprise that I would feel the same about celebrating in the classroom, too. Well, any holiday, really ;) Here are a few things I've done with my Kindergarten and First Graders through the years during the month of November. Of course, I don't have time for everything you see every single year, so depending on the dynamic and abilities of my students, I pick and ... Read More
Simply Your Teaching (And Your Life, Too…Maybe ;)
Since I posted my Yearlong Planning & Pacing Guide for Kindergarten and First Grade several years ago, I've received an influx of messages and emails asking if I'd be willing to create pacing guides for each year since 2015 (when it first posted). You asked, and I'm happy to answer "YES!". In fact, I wanted to go one step further just to simplify things for you as best I could. I created a fully editable pacing guide for you to add to however you'd like. In addition to the pacing calendar, I also created a fully editable yearlong calendar that can be printed, bound, and updated (by you) year-to-year. I even hand-drew the ... Read More
Back to School Gift & Teacher Questionnaires
At the beginning of every school year, I like to send small gifts in with my boys to gift their teachers. Typically these gifts aren't expensive nor or they extravagant. Just a simple little token of appreciation to let them know that we're looking forward to a great school year with them as our teachers. I was at my local Hobby Lobby about a week ago perusing the scrapbook aisles and I found tubes of washi tape on clearance for less than $5!!! I was so excited. I use washi tape in my planners, snail mail, bible journaling, etc. so I bought several different tubes to bring back home. I knew the amount purchased far exceeded what I ... Read More
