Enlightening Young Engineers
My most frequently asked question in emails and blog posts is how to start, schedule, and manage an elementary Makerspace. I’ve had a Maker area for K-2nd Grade in my classroom for the past five years, and for almost two years, my room has served as a full blown Makerspace for two days per week, serving close to 300 early… Read More
This year, thanks to the fabulous guidance of Kristen from Easy Teaching Tools, I dove in headfirst with a Class Instagram for my Gifted and Talented Kindergartners, first graders, and second graders, and my students and parents are absolutely LOVING it! I started the year managing it myself, but now that we have a small class set of iPad minis,… Read More
Student-led Conferences are one of my FAVORITE ways for my students to take ownership over their learning and progress in the classroom. I have successfully held Student-led Conferences in second and third grade (spring semester) in lieu of traditional Parent Teacher Conferences by using individualized “portfolio style” presentations. There are three essential steps that make Student-led Conferences low prep, stress-free,… Read More
Happy Thursday, teacher friends! Today, I’m sharing with you my top five favorite “magic tricks” for smooth, easy, quick, and engaging transitions in your classroom, guaranteed to keep you from pulling your hair out! A classroom “transition” is defined as any time students are moving from one activity to the next, and very often moving from one location of your… Read More
It’s FINALLY finished and it feels fabulous! Tons of black + brights = one HAPPY classroom! It’s been three long years since I’ve redecorated my classroom or even changed my theme, and I’d truly forgotten how fun (and exhausting) it can be. I moved classrooms, so it was the perfect time to clean out, purge, reorganize and start fresh, and I’m… Read More
