Happy (ALMOST) New Year, friends! 2017....really?!?! Have you made any resolutions? Me...notsomuch. Of course, I always want to be a better version of who I was the year before, but resolutions never quite "stick" if you know what I mean. Sure...I want to eat healthier. Work out more. Get more organized. Keep the house clean. Do the laundry...regularly ;) Yes...I want all those things. And to eat all the things and still be able to fit into my jeans. But really...I just want to have a great year filled with lots of laughter and more memories than I can count. I'm still … [Read more...] about All About January (and a few freebies!)
writing center
Writing Fast Finishers
Happy Tuesday!!! (Is it Tuesday already?!) I'm trying to finish up my presentations for next week's I Teach K/I Teach 1st conferences and I'm working hard on empowering our primary writers at the moment. As I was pulling out my resources for this particular presentation, I came across a stack of my writing fast finisher activities that always seem to be a hit with the primary teachers I mentor. Let me break it down for ya. Pick a Pocket *might* be one of my most favorite writing station fast finisher activities ever. You can differentiate and modify as needed. I used this in Kindergarten and 1st grade. … [Read more...] about Writing Fast Finishers
Writing Interventions, Guided Reading, Behavior, & Vocabulary (with Freebies!)
Yesterday I had the privilege of talking to some of the most wonderful teachers in the world...my Texas teachers!!! Okay, so I'm a little biased ;) Honestly though...it was such a GREAT day in Austin. SO much to cover!! Writing interventions, guided reading, behavior management, and vocabulary! This is how I typically feel after a day full of talking... Hahaha!! I absolutely love it! The exhaustion is most definitely worth it! I promised my Texas teachers I'd pop-in today and leave a few goodies to download :) If you attended my Writing Intervention session, you might remember me … [Read more...] about Writing Interventions, Guided Reading, Behavior, & Vocabulary (with Freebies!)
Reading & Writing Simple Sentences
Hey y'all! I've been hard at work and busy planning and prepping a few presentations for several upcoming conferences (hence the radio silence). I'm heading to Indiana, Tennessee, and NOLA in November and I can't wait!!! In the meantime, I wanted to share a few things I'll be discussing in a few of those sessions...particularly guided reading. Today I wanted to take a break from all that planning and prepping (I have a sick one here at home!!!) and talk a little bit about reading simple sentences. First, look at this face. This is not the face of a sick child, is it?! Bless. He's got a case of … [Read more...] about Reading & Writing Simple Sentences
Writing Center Fast Finishers
Happy Tuesday!!! (Is it Tuesday already?!) I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off today and completely forgot to post. I wanted to talk to y'all about building parent relationships starting at the beginning of the year. I have some great tips and suggestions for you, but I'm going to save those for tomorrow since I have a lot to say about that and I want to give it my full attention. In the meantime, I just wanted to quick tell y'all about my newest addition to the shop....Writing Center Fast Finishers! Eeek!! I've been presenting these ideas at conferences for the last couple of years, but haven't gotten … [Read more...] about Writing Center Fast Finishers
Write On Wednesday
It's Wednesday and the 3rd day in my weeklong birthday SALE-A-BRATION! Today we're talking all about writing... I know I've blogged about my writing station several times before so I won't go into great detail about it here. However, I do want to take a minute to tell you how much I love it. I've always had a writing center, but I struggled week-to-week with planning writing activities that kept my kids truly engaged. Keep in mind that my writing center is completely separate from Writer's Workshop. While I love for my kids to choose what they're going to write about, when they visit the writing … [Read more...] about Write On Wednesday
Penguins!!! (And A Couple of Walruses, Too)
Teaching my kids about penguins has always been one of my favorite themes. There is just SO much you can incorporate in this thematic unit of study...science...math...literacy...a little bit of everything! If you're in the process of planning out your penguin activities for the next few weeks, I thought I could share a few ideas that might help make your planning easier :) First up, here are some of my most favorite penguin picture books. I don't get around to reading them all during our unit, but these are several I've read throughout the years and have loved. The Penguin Who Lost Her Cool is a great little read if you … [Read more...] about Penguins!!! (And A Couple of Walruses, Too)
Work on Writing – A Writing Center Makeover
How many of y'all struggle with your writing center? I know I do. Every year. I want my kids to be engaged and excited about every part of the writing process. I want them to LOVE to write. I want them to CHOOSE to write when they have free time. This is not always the case for every child, but I'm DETERMINED that it will be!!! Writing is a HUGE part of our day. We write for EVERYTHING. We have about 30-45 minutes for Writers Workshop...then there's Shared Writing...and of course the Writing Center. And we're writing in all other academic areas as well. You'd think it's easy to … [Read more...] about Work on Writing – A Writing Center Makeover
