I want to preface this quick post by saying....students don't NEED gifts. Please don't feel pressured and feel like you have to give students gifts to start building relationships. Building relationships start with a smile, a greeting at the door, a welcome hug, an endearing statement, a handwritten note, etc. I just like to give something small because I am someone who's love language is giving gifts to others. It is what I enjoy. So, every year I am on the hunt to find practical, inexpensive ways to welcome the next class of students that I will be sharing my life with. For the past several years, I have purchased the three packs of mini composition books and mechanical pencils for my back to school gifts. I kept it under $12, because I simply could not and cannot afford anything more than that. That is just a quick idea that worked for me and may work for you as well! You can grab the gift tag for free here. This year, I happened to be walking ...
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Our Classroom Reading Nook “Starbooks” Style
Recently, one of the education classes from our local community college donated an AMAZING reading nook for our classroom. The college students collaborated with each other to design, create, and build this fabulous new place for our students to read. It has been such a wonderful addition to our classroom, and we are so grateful for the college students for their thoughtfulness and talent! Their professor was my professor once and it is such a treat to see her continue to help shape college students for their future careers. I am so excited to share the photos with all of you! The students love this special place. The box is actually a recycled refrigerator box. The students had a plan for assembly before they got there, and I was so impressed with how well they worked together. They put the whole thing together in about an hour while the kiddos were gone to specials. The "Starbooks Cafe" sign is a vinyl ...
Open Your Teacher Heart
For the past seven years, I have had the honor of being an educator. Yes, it is an honor. It is a privilege, and it is a true blessing. Teaching is fun. It is rewarding. And, it is also hard, humbling, draining, exciting, and every other emotion in-between. My students have broken my heart. They have stomped on it, beat it up, played the drums on the poor thing, and left me so raw and open that I felt like I didn't know what to feel next. And, in that very next moment, my students-the very ones who just tore me open to my core-have filled my heart and soul back up more full than it ever has been before. They have taught me some of my most important lessons in life, and they have made me a better person. You see, teaching is funny like that. For many of us, teaching is our life. It consumes almost every fiber of our being. And, that can be challenging because many of us have families at home that need those pieces of us, too. I have long said that balance is ...
