Back to School

Plan Your Best First Week of School Ever

Hey there, elementary educators! If you’re anything like me, you’re getting pumped up for an amazing school year ahead. And what better way to kick things off than with the best first week ever? Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a newbie teacher, a solid plan will help you start

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15 of the Best Books for Back to School

Back-to-school season is upon us! One of the best parts of planning the first week of school is deciding on which books to read. Today, I’m sharing all of my favorites with you! Our Class is a Family by Shannon Olson Why I love this book: Shannon, the teacher behind

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Place Value Game: How to Play Trash Can Math:

Are you ready for THE BEST beginning of the year math game ever?! In this post, I’m going to teach you how to play Trash Can Math–a place value game!  I learned this game two years ago when I was filling in for a teacher on maternity leave.  We got

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Favorite First Week of School Activities and Ideas

This time of year can be exciting but exhausting. While new schedules and routines get established, it’s important to create a classroom environment that is encouraging, creative, and conducive for learning. That’s why we’ve gathered some of our favorite first week activities and ideas. After greeting each student at the

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The BEST Name Tags: Perfect for Flexible Seating

Deciding on name tags is such a big deal! Before stepping into the classroom, I would have never guessed that something as simple as attaching name tags to desks could be so complicated! In my first year of teaching, I got these HUGE name tags from some fancy teaching store.

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First Three Reading Lessons of the School Year

I am really excited to wrap up my “First Three” blog series with my first three reading lessons of the school year. If you missed my other posts, you can check them outhere. While I love teaching math and I definitely identify as a writer, teaching reading is also a

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My First 3 Math Lessons of the School Year

Planning for the beginning of the year is so important for setting the tone in your classroom. For my first 3 math lessons of the school year, I ask myself “What do I want to communicate about what is valued in our classroom in this subject area?“ In math, I

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20 First Day of School Resources & Freebies

The first day of school is a delicate balance of establishing a sense of order (routines and procedures) while also creating a friendly, welcoming, and most importantly, safe classroom environment. You can check out how I schedule and plan my whole first week here: First week Plans First Day of

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