a dash of creativity, a pinch of fun, and a whole lot of learning!
…The teachers have nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of bulletin boards, classroom set-ups, and flexible seating danced in their heads. That sounds about right as we head into the busy back-to-school season! Teachers everywhere are busy setting up their classrooms and turning their four walls into a magical learning environment that inspires and welcomes their students. Part…
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In my imaginary, perfect dream world, I have four students in my classroom. During our reading time, I do a quick whole-group mini-lesson. Then, I spend the remaining time working one-on-one. I see every single student every day. There is no lack of time. (After all, I have only four students.) I roam freely from child to child, individualizing my…
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I have always assigned nightly reading. Why? I don’t assign nightly reading because I want to give students “reading homework.” I don’t assign nightly reading because we’re trying to win a pizza party if we meet a school-wide goal of four billion minutes. I assign nightly reading because I wish to instill a habit and a love of literacy in…
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The Energy Change Look around your classroom. It’s not as bright and shiny as it was the first week of school, is it? Things might be falling off the wall. That bulletin board border that you so carefully put up in August is now bent and ripped in the corner. The lamination on your posters and centers are covered in…
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Text evidence skills are important, but how do you even begin to TEACH text evidence skills to primary readers? In this blog post, I’ll share the activities, lessons, and ideas I use to get my little readers into the habit of using and citing text evidence as they read- even in kindergarten! (Yes, you read that correctly! I’m going to…
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Valentine’s Day is almost here! I wanted to pop onto the blog today and share an a-DOH-able little gift tag freebie with you! (Do you see what I did there? Ha!) My almost-two-year-old son, Sawyer, has his little daycare Valentine’s Day party tomorrow. Since his little friends are toddlers, I wanted him to pass out Valentine’s Day gifts that were…
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We’re talking about all things Christmas today! I have a ton of Christmas activities, resources, freebies, and ideas to share with you that are completely focused on LITERACY! Let’s jump right in! Free Christmas Word Work December goes by so quickly, right? Sometimes we just need something FAST and FUN to get us through the week. I recently updated my…
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