Back to School time is daunting. You need to get your classroom together, attend professional development, meet with your team.... basically the list could go on and on. So while you are in charge of all of those shenanigans, I have got you covered when it comes to organization and prep for the first couple of weeks - and better than that, it is all FREE!Say whaaat?! Stay on track with parent communication from the start Newsletters and Calendars make parent communication easy. With editable features, you can easily plug in your information, print, and go! Organize yourself with behavior documentation If I had to pick my all time … [Read more...] about Be Prepared for Back To School!
Organization-home
Parent Contact Made Easy!!!
This week we NEED to talk about parent contact. While student connections are oh-so important, do you ever stop and think about making connections with the parents too? Parents need the connections too I learned pretty quickly that it is essential that you communicate with parents. For me, just chatting at the pick up line seemed okay my first couple years, but after getting fed up with being bombarded with emails and phone calls made me reevaluate what I was doing. Sure, I was sending home quick notes that our school would mass produce that let parents know important events coming up but they weren't effective. Bottom line is that parents weren't … [Read more...] about Parent Contact Made Easy!!!
Preparing for New Students
It is inevitable that all of us will be getting new students throughout the year. Do you just wait for this to happen or do you have a plan? For a continued smooth sailing year, it is best to have a plan! Make New Student Bags One of the best ideas that I saw on Pinterest years ago was to make "new student bags." Right now you are probably busy making copies and getting things ready for each student. Do yourself a favor and make a few more. Our school was a revolving door. Students seemed to come and go weekly! Apart from the extra few I would get the first few days of school, I could always count on getting about 3-4 new students by the end of … [Read more...] about Preparing for New Students
Take Home Folders
How do you organize everything you send home at the end of the day? I am going to share my FAVORITE method: using take home folders. What are take home folders? Take home folders are where I housed everything. This is where the parents knew they would find anything I send home, including behavior calendars, AND where they knew to send anything to me such as a note. In it, I had a space where it was any paperwork that needed to be returned to school (such as forms or picture money). I also had a space for papers that were meant to stay at home like school info and such. What all do you need for this? A 3 prong folder I buy mine for … [Read more...] about Take Home Folders
Flexible Seating – Is it for you?
It's all the rage these days: Flexible seating. What is flexible seating? Flexible seating is where you give multiple options for your students and where they want to be seated. Some might choose to sit at a desk, others might choose to sit on a couch if you have one, others might even choose to sit on a bean bag. There are no more assigned seats and it is supposed to give you classroom a new level of comfort. The whole basis behind this is, kids probably don't want to sit in a hard chair at a desk all day. With flexible seating, you are eliminating that and giving your students options. What do you use for flexible seating? Stools … [Read more...] about Flexible Seating – Is it for you?
The Classroom Management Guidebook
Happy Classroom Management Monday friends!!! This Monday I am so excited to share with you something I have been working very hard on. I have created a Classroom Management Guidebook just for you. As much as it pains me to say it, the new school year is inching closer. While I know you are probably soaking up every bit of relaxation you can get, it is important to start thinking about some sort of plan for next year. I used to fly by the seat of my pants when I first started teaching and for the most part, it worked okay for me. That was until I got a class of students who REALLY needed some structure. That ended up being the worst year I have … [Read more...] about The Classroom Management Guidebook
