teacher resources

  • Circle Time Idea Round-Up

    Circle Time. You either love it or you hate it. To be honest, it’s not my favorite part of the day, but it is a lot easier to manage (and much more beneficial for the children) if it’s well planned and follows a consistent routine.  I’ve developed some great tips and tricks over the years, you can check them out here, but I’ve also learned a lot from some other amazing preschool teachers and bloggers.  I’ve rounded up everyone’s favorite circle time strategies for you, the links below will take you to each blog’s circle time posts so that you can learn from them and compile your favorite tips, tricks,…

  • Friday Freebie – Classroom Planning

    Happy Friday! Whether you like it or not, many of you are probably realizing that summer has flown by – we’re halfway through July people!  According to my teacher friends and all of the photos on my Instagram feed, many of you are thinking about back to school already, so I thought I’d share a freebie that might help get you back in the game. This classroom planning set is from Teacher Treasure Hunter, who clearly speaks my language (checklists and to-do lists of course).  It’s geared towards elementary teachers, but seeing as it’s a freebie preschool teachers won’t mind if they don’t need all of the components – because…

  • Preschool Curriculum Part 2

    Curriculum is important, it gives you a path to follow as you plan activities for your students. Ideally, a curriculum should help you make sure that your students are receiving a well rounded educational experience. There are so many curriculum options to choose from, should you buy a “curriculum in a box” or follow a loos, theory based approach? How do you decide?I’ve had this conversation with enough preschool teachers and administrators to know that it is an important issue, but the decision isn’t an easy one to make.  I’m going to share my research with you, so that you can get a better picture of the options that are…

  • Preschool Curriculum Part 1

    Curriculum is important, it gives you a path to follow as you plan activities for your students. Ideally, a curriculum should help you make sure that your students are receiving a well rounded educational experience. There are so many curriculum options to choose from, should you buy a “curriculum in a box” or follow a loos, theory based approach? How do you decide? I’ve had this conversation with enough preschool teachers and administrators to know that it is an important issue, but the decision isn’t an easy one to make.  I’m going to share my research with you, so that you can get a better picture of the options that…

  • Friday Freebie – E-Resources for Teachers

    Happy Friday! This week has been all about ideas and resources for teachers, if you haven’t already seen them, go check out all of these great posts; Intro to Teachers Pay Teachers Custom T-shirts for school My Favorite Blogs for Teachers Stores that offer teacher discounts Today’s freebie is another great resource for teachers, this E-book is full links to different sites that are perfect for teachers.  There are sites to use with children in the classroom, sites that are perfect for communicating with parents, sites that can help with lesson planning, and sites that are ideal for online storage and file sharing.  Download your copy and take some time…

  • Teacher Discounts

    Have you heard about Walmart’s new School Supply Program for teachers? They just announced it last week and it got me thinking about all of the other places that I love to shop that have teacher programs.  So, I put together a list for you! The Container Store – Teachers can register to receive special email offers throughout the school year. Michael’s – Michael’s gives teachers an additional 15% off their entire purchase when they show their school ID. JoAnn Fabrics – Teachers get 15% off their total purchase with the JoAnn Teacher Rewards Discount Card. Barnes and Noble – Eligible teachers can receive 20% off books for the classroom. FedEx…

  • Do you use TPT?

    Have you heard of Teachers Pay Teachers? Do you use it? I cannot believe the number of amazing resources I’ve downloaded from TPT over the years – the freebies are awesome, and every product that I’ve bought has been completely worth the money I’ve spent (saving me the time and effort of having to make it myself). There are some incredibly talented teachers out there and we can all benefit from their great resources.  It can be a bit overwhelming to sift through all of the products that come up as a result of a search, so I wanted to share a couple of TPT tools you can use to…

  • Ice Cream Activities for Preschool

    Have you ever explored ice cream in the classroom? It’s an irresistible topic, and a great way to engage children in activities that include a ton of academic topics.  Here are some of my favorite ice cream activities to use with preschoolers;  Ice Cream centers: This set includes 5 activities that are sure to keep your students busy (and probably giggling).  Children can create their own ice cream flavor and write about the ingredients, answer questions about ice cream, graph their favorite flavors, and complete an ice cream glyph.  It also includes a dice game where students get to roll the dice and collect cards to “build” an ice cream…

  • Friday Freebie – Classroom Labels

    Happy Friday! When I looked at the calendar at the beginning of the week, I was in shock. The middle of February already?! I’m itching for spring, and it’s coming quickly (thank goodness).  If you’re anything like me, you’re ready to freshen things up a bit, so I’ve got the perfect freebie for you. I recently revamped my classroom label freebie. It was one of the first sets that I ever added to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store, and it needed an upgrade.  I’m planning on re-labeling my whole classroom (there’s just something about new labels that gets me excited, and I know I’m not the only one!), so go…

  • One Word Resolution

    Resolutions. Love them or hate them, it’s time to consider goals for the new year.  I tend to make general goals for the coming year, so when I read Primary Powers’ post on one-word resolutions, it really resonated with me.  It also reminded me of One Little Word, something that I had read about last year, and am looking forward to implementing in my life this year (check out Ali Edwards’ Blog for a great explanation). The idea that one word can shape the way you view the entire year is refreshing – it reminds me that everything is a matter of perspective.  So this year my word is: I’m…