Celebrating student success is crucial in fostering motivation, self-esteem, and a positive learning environment. Of course, we celebrate students daily with simple statements such as “That is awesome!” or “I love how hard you tried!” Or maybe you even use Lucky Stamps to recognize his/her work! But more than the day-to-day accolades {whether big or small!} we give, it’s also important to take time throughout the year and celebrate success on a grander level! Keep reading to learn more about some easy ideas to celebrate students in your classroom! Personalized Recognition to Celebrate Student ..read more

I am a firm believer in phonics! I love that phonics is having its moment right now – the more light we can shine on the importance of letter sounds and what amazing things can happen when we put those sounds together, the better! We know that music is a powerful way to help our brains retain information. Music is a highly engaging, multi-sensory tool that helps build knowledge through repetition and a catchy tune! So of course it’s a great tool to use with our early readers. There are so many important skills that kids must master as they learn to read. However, if they can’t master vowel sou ..read more

Teaching grammar concepts to primary students can be a challenging task, but it doesn’t have to be a total bore! When it comes to teaching nouns, there are plenty of fun and interactive activities that can help them grasp this fundamental concept of language. Thankfully, nouns are the easiest parts of speech for young learners to master. Keep reading to explore creative ways to teach nouns in your primary classroom and snag a few FREEBIES to make teaching this skill a little bit easier! Activities Noun Hunt Transform your classroom into a noun safari adventure! Give each student a b ..read more

I get it – not everyone is a reader! But, I do believe that readers are hidden inside of everyone just waiting to come out! This post contains affiliate ads at no cost to you. See my disclosures for more information. But over my 20+ years of teaching, I have experienced countless kids who just don’t love reading! They’d rather doodle or play with Legos or solve some equation that I can barely wrap my head around! And you know what? That’s okay! Heck, I’m even married to a man who would prefer to read {A LONG!} New York Times article over picking up a book! So in this post, I’m sharing some bo ..read more

There are a few standards that are a challenge to teach kids and telling time is high up on that list! Am I right?! I mean, what makes sense about this: there are 12 numbers on the clock but in order to tell time, one needs to count by 1s or 5s to tell the time? Confusing, right? At Back to School Night, I BEG my families to resist the temptation to get their child a digital watch. It’s just reading numbers as opposed to actually telling time. True story: I had a super smart friend growing up. But when she’d visit my house, she would always ask the time. My mom pointed out the clock but she k ..read more

Compare and Contrast writing is a hard skill to get our little people to master! But like anything else we teach, the more we expose our students to the concept, the more comfortable they will become with it! In this post, I’m sharing some ideas that will help your students master Compare and Contrast. By starting with small activities as a group and moving into writing, your students are sure to become masters of Comparing and Contrasting by the time they leave your classroom! This post contains affiliate links.  By purchasing an item on these sites using these links, I will receiv ..read more

I may be aging myself here but I remember the thrill of going to the store and carefully picking out my Lisa Frank and Mrs. Grossman’s stickers! Oh, and then deciding where to stick these treasures – the decisions! Of course, this love affair with stickers did not end when I left my tween years – it just grew more and more! And now, with the fun of Stanley, Yeti, and our computers to stick these treasures onto – the possibilities are endless! Book Stickers It’s no surprise that my favorite stickers are book-related! I truly am a bookaholic and I’m not embarrassed to stick it everywhere ? Rea ..read more

In the hustle and bustle of the school year, it’s easy to forget to express gratitude to your students and their families. However, taking the time to show your appreciation can go a long way in building strong relationships and creating a positive learning environment. I’m sharing some quick and easy ways to thank your students and their families throughout the year – not just for gifts but for appreciating your students for who they are! Send Personalized Thank-You Notes A handwritten note can make a HUGE impact. Take a few minutes to write a short, heartfelt thank-you note to each of your ..read more

Do you ever wonder how you taught before having access to thousands of videos online? I do! When I’m stumped for how to explain a concept in another way {or need to “hook” my students in!} I love to share a quick video. I am always in awe of the talent Today, I’m sharing my favorite Math YouTube videos that are frequently played in my first-grade classroom! And some activities to go along with them! Number Bonds One of the trickiest concepts for students is often number bonds. For our adult brains it “makes sense” to see the relation between addition and subtraction. But students need LOTS of ..read more

As February 29th approaches, let’s take a moment to leap into the fascinating world of Leap Day—a day that only comes once every four years! This extra day in our calendar is not just a quirk of timekeeping, but a wonderful opportunity to engage our young learners in fun, educational activities on this “bonus” day! Keep reading to find some ideas and activities to slip into your learning plan on February 29th {or even the days surrounding it!} What is Leap Day? Leap Day, occurring on February 29th, is an extra day added to our calendar every four years to keep our calendar in alignment with t ..read more