Month of JOY: Advent Calendars

December is Finally here and the Christmas season is in full swing. Nothing brings more JOY to a child's heart than the arrival of Santa. But if you are like me and a mama of little ones it can be hard to explain that Santa is not coming today...and no he is not coming tomorrow either. So help your little one curb their enthusiasm with a simple advent calendar. These Christmas Countdowns come in all shapes and sizes and can be as simple or as complex as you would like to make them. 

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Wonder Christmas Ornaments: I am a Wonder!

T'was the week before Christmas break when all through the school not a creature was stirring except for a crazy few, when what to their wondering eyes should appear but a fun idea for the end of the year!

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ELF activities for your classroom

Classrooms around the country are preparing for their favorite holiday visitors.....Elves around the globe will be flying to a classroom near you in just a few short days. If you are like me I always enjoy a new twist on my classroom elf year after year. This year we will be interviewing elves to see who gets to join our Kindness team!

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Halloween Math games

I hit the jackpot in my Target dollar section this month. Such cute Halloween items, I just had to create some math fun with all of this cuteness. Here are a couple of easy to prepare math games you can use with your students. I adapted them for multiplication but you could easily do addition, subtraction or whatever skill your students might need to review.

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Camp Read a lot! Reading corner ideas

Creating a cozy fun spot for your students to enjoy their favorite books is a must do for any classroom. I love creating a little get away that helps my students to be excited to get to visit the reading corner each day. This year I went for a modern twist on a camping themed reading corner.

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A total eclipse of the sun...

You know you have the song stuck in your head too! With all this eclipse drama you would think that we would be prepared we have only had a ton of time to come up with a plan. In fact in 1979 ABC Newscaster Frank Reynolds warned us it would be here August 21, 2017 way back in 1979. So while districts and teachers and scrambling to develop a plan that keeps safety in mind I urge you to do three things with your students...

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Bulletin Board Inspiration for Back to School

Looking for some amazing back to school bulletin board ideas? Take a look behind the scenes of a little bulletin board fun with some of your favorite teacher bloggers from Learn 365.
I have been so blessed this week to be spending time with the talented teacher blogger team from Learn 365 / Oriental Trading. While we were over at OTC the fun squad had a little friendly bulletin board competition. Boxes filled with border trim, paper fans and some cactus fun were waiting for us when we arrived. Come take a look behind the scenes.

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Get ready for Back to School!

The aisles at Target are perfectly lined and color coded with school supplies and the sweet aroma of fresh crayons is filling the air! The time is near my teacher friends, so enjoy that last margarita and take one more stroll on the beach, our pre-season is officially knocking on the door. As much as we would love to fight it, back to school season is officially here!

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Get back to school ready with editable newsletter templates

The school year is quickly approaching and pretty soon my Friday afternoons will be filled with class newsletter writing. I am a big fan of weekly newsletters to help keep my parents informed. It helps to relay important dates, weekly assignments and classroom information.

I have created some fun class newsletter designs in my new  Back to School Newsletter Template Kit . These are so easy to use, you will spend less time creating your newsletter and more time doing what you enjoy...teaching.

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Guess who's a Creative Teaching Press Ambassador

Every year right as June comes to a close and the calendar turns to July I get super excited. It's not just because I have a birthday in July, although summer birthdays are pretty cool! It's because those beautiful, brightly colored catalogs start to arrive in my mailbox. I remember those early years of teaching when I was just starting to build my collection and establish my style. I loved dreaming of my perfect classroom with beautiful decorations just waiting for students to arrive and enjoy. The reality was always a little different than I pictured. My classroom never quite looked like page 32 of the catalog but it was always warm and inviting. Fast forward to year 13 of teaching, Oh my word how can that be! I am just as excited to start dreaming of new spaces and boards.

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Geography Interactive Notebook & Activities

In third grade our first unit for social studies is a fun one.....geography. The kids get very excited and love to start exploring maps and globes. Take a peek at a few of my favorite classroom activities for geography.

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Go buggy for Math this summer!

Go buggy for math this summer with some quick math review. I found these paint chip strips at Oriental Trading. They are so versatile and you get a ton in the box. They make the best flash cards, number practice, fact family practice the possibilities are endless.

Welcome summer! Celebrating with a backyard movie night!

Kicking off summer with a backyard movie night! We have finally finished another great year at school. Between all the rainy days we were lucky enough for one evening of relief. Oriental Trading Company had everything we needed to get started!

Earth Day should be Everyday!

Make Earth Day a day to remember with a  fun watercolor writing activity. What better way to remember the importance and meaning of Earth day than with some recycled art. We started with some recycled newspapers, the students traced a circle and then cut it out. They used a black sharpie to draw their heart first then their land. Using watercolors they painted their mini masterpieces, blotting with a tissue as they went.

Valentine ideas for teachers

Looking for a last minute idea for your class....look no further we have you covered. If you are anything like us you are crazy this time of year. Between meetings, lesson plans, test prep and the flu my weeks have flown by how in the world is it already mid February? So without a ton of time to spend paroozing the aisles of Target I needed something simple and easy for Valentine's Day this year. These are about as simple as it gets. Just purchase, download and print at your local 1 hr photo place....it's that easy!