teaching little stars to shine brightly
Providing a safe space for small children to safely navigate big feelings is important. When students are feeling overwhelmed by their emotions, they often need space to be alone. In a classroom environment that can be hard, because space is limited. We need to understand the necessity for this space and plan our room set-up accordingly. This is what our safe space looks like in
Our words, actions, and content choices can either break down, or perpetuate gender stereotypes: the choice is ours! I have worked hard over the last ten years to become mindful about the choices I make every day that can potentially have a lasting impact on my students. Combating gender stereotypes in the classroom needs to be something we actively work towards. It may mean rethinking
I’m here today to share one of my FAVORITE back to school activities with you: Friend Wanted Ads! This activity is perfect for helping students build new relationships at the beginning of the year. The anonymity boosts confidence and allows students to approach new friendships without judgment! Essentially, at the beginning of the school year, students write an advertisement sharing the qualities they
A few weeks ago, I posted about my favorite Back To School Read Alouds. Today I wanted to expand on that post share how I use read alouds in the classroom to build community throughout the year. I don’t know about you, but I LOVE read alouds! I loved them when I taught first and third grade, and I still do in second. Why? Well, I
Let me start by stating that this post is not putting down ANY forms of classroom management! I write this assuming that EVERY teacher does what works best for them and their students. We come to this profession because we want to ignite a love of learning and help children discover their potential. When you have that as your primary goal (and I know you
As Mother Nature continues to dump copious amounts of snow on us up here in Boston, I am sitting by the fire taking part in one of my favorite weekend rituals: Reading Reflection Journals! What is a Reflection Journal? Well, it may be the single most useful tool I use in my classroom! Setting Up For Success On the first day of school, I show
It all started with an Amazon gift card. I don’t know how things work in your school, but we are not permitted to accept personal gifts for the holidays. However, we are allowed to accept classroom donations. Well, behind the scenes, an amazing parent of one of my students started taking up a collection to help buy our classroom more books. First, I just need
I walked into my new classroom this morning and a box of books fell as I trying to move them, and they spilled over my feet. It was my collection of beginning of the year read alouds, and they inspired me to start typing. The topic of my book talk: Celebrating Individuality!!! {and yes… this topic definitely called for me to make an inspirational quote
It’s almost that time of year, and I wanted to take a few minutes to share some of my favorite back-to-school activities with you! My favorite activities are the ones that really help me build a strong community from the beginning. Building community in your classroom is critical to a great year! Students who feel safe, valued and a sense of belonging are infinitely more
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