Teacher Tuesday: Behavior Management (part 4)

It's hard to believe my post on behavior management has turned into a 4-part series, but I'm glad it did. Behavior management, in its entirety is the single most important aspect of teaching in my opinion. So here we go with Part 4: strategies I use with individual students rather than a class as a whole.  I have mentioned this before, but...

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Mommy Monday: talking to children to encourage self identity

Today's Mommy post is going to be a little bit different, but it is about an issue that I care deeply for so bear with me while I philosophize for a bit. To give you a quick background: I am a single mother to twin girls who are currently 2.5 years old. I have been making a conscious effort for the past couple of years not to say things like, "you...

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Guest Post: Blogging 101

Hi everyone! Today I'm excited to introduce you to a wonderful blogger: Jennifer from The Yellow Brick Road! I found her blog last year and felt that as a teacher I could relate to so much of what she shared, and got quite a few awesome ideas from her as well. This summer Jennifer decided to become a full-time teacher-author/blogger, and she has shared...

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Teacher Tuesday: Recorder Karate sheet music organization

Welcome back to Teacher Tuesday! I hope you all are having a fantastic start to the week! Along with many others (as evidenced by the many pins on Pinterest related to the topic), our district has adopted the "recorder karate" curriculum to use with our 3rd graders in general music class. I have my own opinions about the merits and drawbacks of the...

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Mommy Monday: toy storage

Today's edition of Mommy Monday is all about toys! No matter how much I try to whittle them down, my girls always seem to have an over-abundance of toys. And the truth is, they are all so great, I have a hard time getting rid of them. So the result is a lot of stuff that needs to be easily taken out and put away by 2 year olds (you know I'm not doing...

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Teacher Tuesday: classroom setup update!

It's Teacher Tuesday! Today I'm rounding up all of the updates I have made to my classroom since I last shared in my post on my classroom setup. There were quite a few projects that I hadn't completed (or even started!) when classes started- I guess it's always a work in progress, right?!? :) First I would like to introduce you to my now-in-use behavior...

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Mommy Monday: dry erase organizers

Happy Monday! Today's ideas have endless possibilities for organizing pretty much anything in your life, whether at home or at work. It is my go-to formula for bringing order to chaos! I'm talking about dry erase boards made from cheap photo frames, scrapbook paper, and stickers. Can you tell I am a little obsessed? There are so many directions...

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Teacher Tuesday: hand drum storage

Getting this set up has been a simple but life-changing solution for me (and for my students)! Does anyone else deal with cascading hand drums? I know I did. You know, you stack them up with the smaller ones inside the bigger ones, but when the students go to put them back they have a really difficult time figuring out how to fit them inside each...

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Mommy Monday: reading nook and a freebie!

It's Mommy Monday again, and today I'm excited to show you my girls' reading nook in their bedroom! My girls love to read. No big surprise- my sisters and I have always been big readers too- and I'm happy that they are continuing the family legacy :) When I was going to be moving into our current apartment, I knew I wanted a reading area to encourage...

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Teacher Tuesday: DIY interactive whiteboard

Welcome back to Teacher Tuesday! Today I'm sharing a tutorial on my biggest school project last year: my DIY interactive whiteboard (aka SmartBoard, Promethean Board etc). I know it sounds crazy to make your own interactive whiteboard, but trust me, it's not nearly as techy and complicated as it sounds, and get this: if you have a projector, this...

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Mommy Monday: toddler dishes storage and organization

Today I want to talk about how I store and organize my children's dishes. Because let's be honest- I'm outnumbered. Their dishes are the ones that get used more often than my "adult versions" right now. So for starters, if you don't know about them yet, I am completely in love with these dishes from IKEA. They have plates, bowls, cups, and utensils....

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