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    Wow.  I really am not sure how to start this post. But, here we go.   In my experience, teachers by nature are planners. I usually spend a large chunk of my summer vacation making plans for the next school year. As of right now, our school district does not have an opening plan in place. I am really glad that they are taking their time.  I am really glad that there are several (a lot) of teachers on the reopening committee.  But I am really nervous about what this coming school year is going to entail. Read on

Welcome Back!  It’s time to start thinking about getting back into the groove!  I don’t know about you, but the school year FLIES after Christmas Break!  So, I am here to share some teaching ideas for January.Please note that this post does contain Amazon Affiliate links.  If you purchase anything from Amazon through these links I receive a small commission at no cost to you!Keep reading and don’t forget to grab your freebie! Teaching Ideas for January: Back to School “Bootcamp” So, the first few days of school back from the break we spend some time reviewing our classroom rules

  Welcome back to Part 2 of my Morning Work Activities post! So, without further ado, jump right in to check it out and grab your freebies! In my last post, I started talking about Morning Work Activities that don’t involve worksheets!  Check out some other ideas! 5. Talk to your friends! Sometimes the kiddos come in with a story to tell or something that they desperately want to share.  I am not a fan of Show and Tell, or Show and Share, so I try to give them time to just come in and talk to one another.  Sometimes I

Ahhh…the first 20 min. of school after you have happily greeted all of your darling cherubs.  We want them to be busy, independent, learning, and calm.  I want my morning work activities to help set the tone for the day.I don’t know how you feel,  but as a teacher, I really don’t want morning work to be something that I have to later grade, so I have a few fun morning work activities(or bell ringer work) that doesn’t involve worksheets or a whole lot of planning! This post is the first in a 2 part series.  Today are ideas 1-4!This post

  It’s that time of year again,  Parent-teacher conferences!  Now, I know that some teachers dread parent-teacher conferences. I am not one of them.  I enjoy (most) of my parent-teacher conferences, so I thought I would share some teacher tips for parent teacher conferences to help YOU enjoy them a little more!  Click the read more button to read on!   Teacher Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences #1: Entertain the Siblings! It is inevitable that parents will need to bring their children to conferences.  Sometimes it just can’t be helped.  Make sure that you have some items where the kiddos can entertain themselves

Back to School is just about here (for me at least).  Here are the things that I have been working on in my classroom to Get Ready for Back to School and some fun Back to School Open House Ideas! Back to School Classroom Set-Up!  Where do I begin? Here is what my room looked like the first day that I walked in: Over the years I have learned that I have a tendency to get off track when setting up my room.  I always have grand plans for projects that I would like to do over the summer.  Sometimes

Welcome back to my Getting Ready for Back to School Blog Mini-Series!  So, only 2 weeks left to go.  You know what that means right?  You are running “Outatime”!  Your summer is ALMOST over!  What am I doing?  Back to School Self Care! ME time…  or more importantly, family time!  This is a great time to STOP thinking about school for a minute.  I know, I know.  That is REALLY tough, but once school starts it is even HARDER to stop thinking about school for a minute.  Do it NOW.  I promise you won’t regret it. Back to School Self

Welcome back to my Getting Ready to Go Back to School Blog Mini-Series!  So, three more weeks until back to school.  So, what am I doing now?  Now is the time to MAKE STUFF!  Now, I don’t go crazy making stuff, but I started a list at the end of last year of things that I wanted to make (or remake) for this upcoming school year.  This is also the time that I start making my (big) purchases so I can be sure that my classroom is set up (coming up later in the series) for Meet the Teacher Night, which

Am I ready to go back to school? NO!  Am I thinking about going back to school? Yes, I begrudgingly admit that I am thinking about it!  I still have a little more than a month left of summer vacation, but here is how I get back to school ready!  Read on and don’t forget to pick up your freebie! This post contains affiliate links for Amazon. By purchasing an item on the Amazon site using these links, I will receive a small commission on your purchase (with no extra cost to you). For more information about my Disclosure Policy, please visit

I, like you, wear many hats in a day.  I am a wife, a mother (of a teen and a tween), a teacher, a union discussion representative, a blogger, and a teacherprenuer!  Phew!  Seeing it all written out like (and the list isn’t totally complete) makes me tired.  I have to keep up with it all somehow!  That is why the word teacher is in quotes.  This is about my bullet journal. It helps me Keep it All together in one spot!  Before I go on, I have to caveat a little…I do NOT lesson plan in my bullet journal.

I LOVE Valentine’s Day.  But, if your school is anything like mine, there isn’t a lot of time for Valentine’s Day! I have a fun Valentine’s Day Gift Idea that you can incorporate right into your Writer’s Workshop or Writing Center for the big day! So, without further ado… This year for Valentine’s Day, I got my kiddos: Fun blank books I found in the Dollar Spot at Target!  Fun Scentos Pens that I found at Meijer, and a fun Valentine’s Day themed Writing Prompt Cootie Catcher! Each section of the cootie catcher has a different story element for your