Okay, I’m trying something crazy here. I am morphing my classroom progress post into a Five for Friday post…let’s see how this goes!! One To start my week, I unpacked my classroom and I am happy to report it was a total breeze! Taking time to clean and pack everything
I have been looking forward to sharing this post with you all week and the time has finally come thanks to the Back To School Product Swap! I had a great opportunity to review a fabulous back to school resource; the Beginning of The Year Lapbook, designed by my friend and
It happens every year. Everything is chill. Summer is strolling along, you know the end will come eventually, but it’s allllll good. You kick back with your feet up, take a sip of your favorite summer beverage, think about how maybe you should get a pedicure today, and scroll through your
Well, it took me two days to recover but I am back (mentally and physically) from the first ever Teachers Pay Teachers Conference! The mental recovery was far more intense than the physical after a weekend filled with tons of nerves, amazing learning, new friendships and awesome memories. I
First of all…boy does it feel good to be back and blogging! My little side project turned in to a rather huge, time-consuming focus project and took me away from blogging a bit longer than anticipated. J To get back in the swing of things, I am linking up with KinderGals and
These last few weeks I haven’t been blogging as much as I’d like to but I’m here to give you an update. Most important thing you need to know: I’m not abandoning Core Inspiration…but I am taking a blogging break. I was recently inspired by some fellow teacher creators (crazy thing
Spring parent teacher conferences are coming up next week, which means we are busy giving our end-of trimester assessments, entering grades and writing report card comments this week. It’s definitely the time of year that I realize I am NOT built for a desk job as I get all antsy sitting
Read and Respond Journals are the glue that holds our Reader’s Workshop together. I like to think of our journals as a map of each student’s learning and reading progress through the year. On the first day of school, each student gets his/her own crisp journal and we begin mapping
“Time for reading is time well spent.” – Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer. In Miller’s class, students spend half of their reading block engaging in choice reading while she sprinkles meaningful, targeted instruction around the room…sounds like my cup of tea! I agree with every study she cites and all of
Before we get into the nitty-gritty details of the Reader’s Workshop model I love so dearly…a bit of background. My classroom is a place where students learn from hands-on experience, explore their interests, converse, make mistakes and problem solve. I love to equip my third graders with tools that help
One of the most difficult challenges in my first years of teaching was making the most of my Reader’s Workshop block. Finding a balance between teaching students reading skills tailored to their individual needs, giving students a solid block of reading time, conferring with students about their reading progress and
New year. New start. New adventures. New resolution goals. Yes, resolutions are fun and get your blood pumping, but I decided to abandon making one for 2014. I honestly can’t remember making a resolution I have kept so I decided to make a more “official” commitment to achieve a few desirables this
Today is the final day of idea sharing for the We Are Thankful Linky Party over at Blog Hoppin’. I am truly thankful for all of the amazing new activities and tips I have picked up from my fellow bloggers and I hope you’ve all had a chance to swing
Today over at the BlogHoppin’ We Are Thankful for Linky Party, everyone is linking up classroom activities they are thankful for. In the spirt of fall, thanksgiving and parent-teacher conference season, I have a few activities I enjoy doing with my third graders this time of year. Fall Activity Every year
Today’s linky over at Blog Hoppin’ is all about Helpful Hints. Here are a few hints that help me in the classroom. Hint 1 – Sub Plans Made Easy Easier Any teacher knows it’s often less stressful to come to work sick than to prep for a sub…so sad…so true.
This week, I am participating in the “We Are Thankful For” Linky Party Week over at Blog Hoppin‘. I am thrilled to start with time savers that help me increase efficiency around the classroom. Since my enthusiastic third graders are always inspiring me to create new and exciting lessons, I have
Last year, I decided to do a technology makeover on my daily Reader’s Workshop. My favorite part of this makeover was a wonderful app/website called Lino. The moment I saw it, I fell in love with the attractive interface and amazing ability to organize ideas. Rather than using this app for
During our transition to Common Core, I catch myself worrying a lot. Luckily, it’s the kind of worrying that does a body good (you may be thinking that doesn’t exist…but I think it does). That’s because each worry I have leads to a problem solving session…which leads to new and
Everyone feels a little jittery and nervous during the first few days of school. The best cure..let the kiddos focus on what they know! And what topic are they more comfortable and well-educated on than themselves!? That’s why I love loading them up with fun-filled all about me activities during
I put the finishing touches on my classroom seconds before my new third graders arrived on Wednesday morning. One of my favorite moments of the year is seeing their nervous and excited eyes take in the scene of their new third grade world. Here is a peek at what they
One of the most enjoyable things about Math Workshop is the ability to modify the specific approach to instruction and practice within a consistent framework. Depending on the results of your pre assessment, you will often modify the structure and approach to your mini lesson. Below are three possible mini
Planning and prepping differentiating math centers can feel like a full-time teaching job in and of itself. In your classroom, you probably have anywhere from 2-5 unique groups of learners when you introduce each of your math topics throughout the year. These groups range in ability level and independence level
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my video
This summer, I will be releasing all 20 Teacher Creator’s Toolbox videos here on the Core Inspiration blog. Teacher Creator’s Toolbox is a comprehensive guide to help you succeed as a seller in the TPT marketplace. If you are interested in watching these video tutorials in chronological order, visit my video