First things first, to REALLY maximize instructional time in your classroom, it is so very important to set up clear expectations and procedures for pretty much EVERYTHING! Your classroom will not run smoothly and efficiently if you do.not have expectations and procedures put into place. And, you can't just TELL students what they need to do. You need to model it, model it, and then model it ... Read More about Four Simple Ways to Maximize Instructional Time

Teacher Truth- I used to despise teaching Writer's Workshop. I understood the structure of the workshop model and the focus of each grading period, however, I didn't really know WHAT to teach each day during my mini-lessons. Fast forward a couple of years, and I had an amazing opportunity to visit an amazing teacher's classroom and observe her in action and I fell in love with her writing ... Read More about Launching Writer’s Workshop in the Primary Classroom

Happy Back to School! I always love starting the year off with a cute little gift for the teachers in my life, whether it's my own kids teachers or my teacher besties! A simple gift is a great way to start the year and spread smiles! This year I decided to give my son's teachers one of my MOST FAVORITE teacher supplies- FUN pens! I mean what better way to start the year than with a brand new ... Read More about The Best Teacher Gifts for Back to School

One of my favorite things about teaching is finding amazing picture books to use in my classroom. Personally, I love finding {Best Friend} books that I can use throughout the year to teach the standards AND social skills. My Book Looks blog series is a series of posts about some of my favorite pictures books and how I use them in my classroom! You can read all about Sneaky Spinach, The Jelly Donut ... Read More about {Book Looks}: The Koala Who Could

Welcome back to {Book Looks}: Book Reviews for the Classroom! I absolutely LOVE using picture books in my classroom and it makes my teacher heart so happy to share them with my readers! You can read all about The Jelly Donut Difference here and Sneaky Spinach here!  One of my ALL TIME favorite books is Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy! Whenever she publishes a new book, I ... Read More about {Book Looks}: The Fruit Salad Friend

Over the last ten years, I've used a lot of different teacher bags. I mean, A TON. I'm a bag lover and just can't seem to say no to a pretty new teacher bag! A few years ago, I fell in love with the Stella & Dot Getaway bag to use for weekend getaways and as a carry on bag for airplanes. I tried using it for school, and even though I have a ton of stuff in my bag, it was really just too ... Read More about The Best (and Prettiest) Teacher Bag EVER!