Favorites from the Blog

Friends, I have a secret to admit to you. When it first came to creating differentiated math centers for my students as a new teacher, I was SO LOST! I knew my students needed differentiated math activities that fit their needs, but I wasn't sure how to provide them what they needed without making each lesson, plan, and center something unique. And that took up so much TIME.

Teacher friends, are you as fascinated about “celebration days” as I am? I love looking up what random “holidays” are celebrated and when. And it was on one of these google searches that I stumbled upon World Smile Day! Imagine… a whole day dedicated to making someone smile. I smile just thinking about it.

Effective Co-Teaching Strategies can truly make a school year run so much more smoothly. As one of a small handful of special education teachers at my school, sometimes I feel like I'm on my own little island. I'm writing the IEPs, overseeing progress monitoring, meeting service minutes… all while being pushed and pulled in a hundred different directions. Not to mention trying to make sure the students' general education teachers receive all of the help they need, as well.

Oh, screen time. It can be a parent's (and a teacher's) best friend or mortal enemy. The Battle of the Binge is something I have to fight in my house. We have always tried to limit screen time, but trust me when I say that my seven year old would JUMP at the chance to watch My Little Pony for 12 hours without blinking.

Welcome to Week 4 of Quaranteaching! We are getting ready to celebrate Easter on Sunday. We should have been making plans to leave our town right after Sunday's service to head to my dad and step-mom's house for an Easter meal. But Covid-19 had other plans, so we are staying home. But that didn't stop them from sending my daughter an Easter basket filled with goodies- including PEEPS.

I remember last summer when I was preparing for my first year teaching in my first ever classroom and being so excited. I had taken over the classroom of a retired teacher, so by the time I had cleared away the old, worn out, and out-of-date items, I was left with basically a blank slate. I looked at Pinterest for hours scoping out exactly the theme I was going to use to decorate and what resources I just HAD to have. Honestly, it was overwhelming. And being a first-year teacher, I had no idea what I was actually going to need.