Aloha Friends, I hope your year has been great so far and that you have settled into a great routine. Second grade is that year to really hone in on memorizing those math facts from 1-20. My students usually do pretty well with addition facts 1-4. I find it's more of a struggle for them to memorize the higher numbers from 5-9. Each day I have my students get onto Xtra Math and do a lesson.  This is a free program that I'm sure many of you use. It is accessible through Clever but easy to access online. It's a great way to get those facts memorized and also to let those higher level st ..read more

Aloha friends! Here we are again and another new school year is looming in front of us. As the beginning of the year approaches I'm looking at my closet and feel like I have nothing to wear.  A closet full of clothes and nothing to wear! I want to start the year off right and not have to spend anytime in the mornings wondering what to wear. Such a time sucker.  Well I found a little something that has been very helpful for me to get my closet prepped for the school year. This Back To School Mini Capsule Wardrobe by Outfit Formulas was an awesome way to reorganize my closet a ..read more

Aloha! It's that time of year again. The Back To School shopping frenzy! Sales along with social media can fuel us into a buying craze. Are you like me buying ALL the things that could be useful for your classroom?  Sometimes I feel like I just buy because I may need it someday or it's really cute.  I need to wear blinders when I walk into Target!! However if you are like me, then you need to be on a Budget. I have my own kids that I have to buy for and their supplies, on top of mine, add up quickly! Here are a few quick tips to help get you organized so that you are only purchas ..read more

Aloha friends!! The summer is quickly slipping away and we are heading into August.  Some of us have a few weeks left to kick back and enjoy the dog days of summer.  But, I know some of you will be heading into your classroom soon! Are you ready for that first day?  Here is a quick synopsis of my first day. It might give you some ideas if this is your first year teaching or maybe just new to this grade level. After setting up my classroom I sit down and plan out my first day.  Then I have a tentative plan for the first week.  It really depends on the vibe of my cla ..read more

There are so many important components of running your classroom such as organization, management and building relationships.  One of the most important relationships we can build is that of our home/school connection.  We need those families helping us to bridge our learning from  school to home. Most parents are so grateful for all that we do, and  can be great partners in our classrooms.  Often times we notify parents only when something is amiss in the classroom or to remind them to turn in their permission slips. With everything we are juggling it can be hard to ..read more

Aloha Friends!! I hope you are off to a great summer vacation, and if you are still in the classroom I hope you are enjoying some fun end of the year activities. I am home for the summer and enjoying some down time. However my internal alarm is still on!! With some extra time on my hands I have been working on a few fun items. I have been planning a monthly series of fun Riddle Review Sheets.  I just finished a summer version. Each page has a different skill and a riddle to decode.  I created a similar pack at Christmas and have a freebie from March if you want to check them ..read more

Aloha Friends! I hope your holidays have been fabulous and restful.  We all need to recoup and prepare for the year ahead. Something I strive to work on each year is my classroom organization.  I recently was told about a new app to help with parent communication called ClassTag. There are other apps out there that I have tried and they all seem to have faded from my use. Most were great for a particular purpose such as messaging or posting photos.  However, I'm really excited about using ClassTag and all the features it has to offer. This app has everything you need to keep ..read more

Aloha friends!! How was your Thanksgiving? I really enjoyed the time off and cooking with my family. This year I made Prime Rib.  It was delicious and so decadent! Are you ready to hit the Black Friday sales today?  I'm not a fan of the crowds, but good luck if you head out.  I think I am going to stay in and be crafty. I just wanted to share a fun freebie center I created for you to use in your class this coming month. My kids always need to review nouns so I whipped up this Christmas themed center.  I love the graphics by From The Pond! I just had to use them in s ..read more

Aloha friends!! I know many of you are off to a great start and your school year is in full swing! Many of you are returning to your previous position, but I know some of you may be new to 2nd grade this year. It's so exciting to venture into a new grade and curriculum.  It definitely keeps us busy and always looking for new ways and ideas to keep our lessons flowing and kiddos engaged. Last year I had two new colleagues who were brand new to 2nd grade.  It was fun to collaborate and share ideas.  They came to me quite often and asked how I was teaching a certain lesson and wh ..read more

Aloha friends!  March is upon us and Spring Break is right around the corner! Then only 1 quarter left!! This year has flown by and there has been a lot going on in my school. We have a new administrator and she is very tech savvy and moving our school along the tech path.    Our little country school by the beach is cute, but not high tech. This year our principal has really focused on making us a 1:1 school.  All students in my class now have a Chromebook and all of our data and info is online in Google Docs. I decided it was time for me to catch up and begin creating ..read more