Halloween is an exciting time of year for many students, but it can also be a lot to manage as a teacher! I've found that embracing the chaos is always my best option, so I created a variety of Halloween centers to help us enjoy the ... Read More
13 Fall Read Alouds You Need on Your Bookshelf
Fall in New England is the stuff of magic. Cool, crisp air, bright sunshine, and majestic foliage are enough to make anyone crave a pumpkin spice latte! It's usually about this time that we have settled into our classroom community ... Read More
Book Bins: How to Self Select from the Classroom Library
Book bins are the key to our classroom library success! They help provide structure and intention with our book selection, and I don't know what we'd do without them. That's why introducing our book bins (also called book boxes) is ... Read More
FREE Number Talks
First grade teachers, access 20 FREE Number Talk Prompts to enhance your place value unit and get your students engaged in conversation.
Hundred Chart Format: 0-99 vs. 1-100
The Hundred Chart is definitely a favorite math tool in most elementary classrooms. However, the format of the Hundred Chart can vary. Today I want to look at four different hundred chart formats and discuss their pros and cons! How ... Read More
Building Student Relationships with Writing Journals
Building positive relationships with our students is critical to their success in our classroom. There are so many ways to build relationships, but many have been made more challenging lately as we work to remain masked and socially ... Read More
Why I Don’t Use Base-Ten Blocks to Introduce Addition and Subtraction (and what I use instead)
I recently shared my top five math manipulatives for first, second, and third grade. One of the biggest questions I received was why base-ten blocks didn't show up on my first and second-grade lists, and only made an appearance when ... Read More