It’s report card time. Report cards are a great way to show student growth BUT you can spend a lot of time doing report cards. And if you don’t handle report cards just right, your best intentions can backfire and make your teacher life pretty miserable.Looking for the free Report Card Word and Phrase Bank with Report Card Template? Here's the link: www.makingthebasicsfun.com/reportcardcommentbankHere are the 6 Report Card Dos & Don’ts. Keep reading to get more info on each. Do...

Using puppets to teach (or reteach) classroom rules can help your students stay engaged and able to remember the classroom rules. A puppet is magical. Today you will get some tips and how-tos when it comes to making the most of puppet friend.

Making a classroom job chart and assigning your students classroom jobs is a complete waste of time. If you have a job chart in your classroom it’s time to stop how you are doing classroom jobs and do this instead.You might feel like you have to set-up classroom jobs for your K-1 students. There’s the traditional way and the smart way.You don’t need jobs like librarian, weather reporter, line leader, or paper passer assigned to your students. They are either going to forg...

You’ve set up your independent work station system in your classroom. The rotation chart is up. You’ve designated areas in your classroom for each station. Now you are asking yourself the hardest question of all. What are the best activities for my students to do during independent work stations?Listen in while we look at 6 stations that will make station time stress free. 1)Picture book with finger lights2) Independent word games- Buggy Wuggy3) Magnetic Alphabet4)Pocket chart sentence b...

Student behavior issues during independent work stations can make your life miserable.If kids can’t behave then your role of teacher shifts to judge and jury. That’s no fun.But how can you get your students to behave? You have to teach it. We will talk about set-up/clean-up, rotation, noise level, and partner problems.I’ve lived and fixed the mistakes so you don’t have to. Let’s dive in and get you started.

The Not So Obvious Basics Of Setting Up Independent Work Stations In Kindergarten and First-GradeSetting up independent work stations in kindergarten and first-grade is might be a bit more complicated than you might think. We will talk about the basics of stationsHow big should each group be?What should you think about when grouping kids?How many stations?Is it okay for students to revisit a station?When and how should you swap out stations?How long should each rotation last?Lots of tips...

What Do You Need To Set-up Stations in Kindergarten and First-Grade?If you want your students to be totally independent during station time you’re going to need to set-up your classroom with a few essential classroom supplies. You need a place where students can access the station materials.You need a rotation system and chart that they can independently read and follow. Optionally you need a timer that students and teacher can look at. We will talk about these and a few more t...

Mistakes In Setting Up Stations In Kindergarten and First-Grade I love stations. But it wasn’t always blue sky and sunshine. I’ve made all the mistakes when it’s come to setting-up and running stations.Avoid the mistakes I made by getting the first hand account of all my mistakesGet the insights and help you are looking for to get off on the right foot when you do stations in your kindergarten or first grade classroom. Mistakes Made When Doing Stations:Putting them into paired group...

Good Behavior Management, -it’s probably the most important skill you can have as a kindergarten or first grade teacher. If you aren’t the boss of your classroom then those little lovelies are going to make life very difficult. You want to be the best teacher, but how do you make sure you stay in control of your classroom every minute of the day?How do you teach kindergarten and first grade students how to behave? Today we will talk about what it takes to level up your classro...

Should you send a student to the principal’s office?The frustration is real.Student behavior gets in the way of teaching. That’s a fact. Sending kids to the principal relieves the problem for a few minutes but then what?Today we are talking about the principal's office and how you can get the help you need. You can’t do this alone. That’s for sure. Stay to the end to get the best tool I’ve ever used with those very very difficult kids.This is originally aired on my YouTube Channel,...

Giving yourself teacher grace is something that we hear a lot about lately. But what does it look like in real life? Today you will get 5 ways you can give yourself some grace. And stick around to the end where I will be giving a special little surprise to help you to keep going with the important work of being a teacher. Are you ready to get your grace on and Rock This Teacher Thing? Alright, let's go.Mentioned Resource: Keep Going Poster https://www.makingthebasicsfun.com/keepgoing

2021 is here and your teacher heart is heavy and tired. A short episode for you to fix your attention on the good you do even in your weariness.A poem by Maya Angelou, ContinueRemember to rest and do good for yourself. The world needs you. You're a hero.See you in 2021.

Wouldn't it be great if kids could move while engaged in learning and skills practice?Can it be done from home or in a socially distancing classroom? Oh YES!!!!Today we have Brittany Lynch from Fluency & Fitness.She showing us how to get our students moving and learning at the same time.Anytime teachers can get students moving and learning students are going to be more engaged, happier and the extra blood to the brain is going to accelerate learning. }}}}}}}}}}} Stay to ...

Today I am happy to invite my former student Matthew Sekerak to the show. Matthew is now an art teacher and he’s going to be telling the story about becoming a teacher and being an art teacher in a pandemic. He made me laugh so hard with a couple of his stories. So if you are needing a good belly laugh. This is the place for you. Let’s start Rockin’ today's episode.Teacher Resource: https://www.makingthebasicsfun.com/gratitude

Holiday celebrations, cultural traditions and stress. Now more than ever we want the next few months to be memorable, special and full of joy. Don’t be stressed instead get the 3 hacks you can use in your life to get organized quickly, plan efficiently and find some joy in the journey. You’re going to get some free printables to help so make sure you stay with me so you don’t miss those. Are you ready to face stress and beat it…. Me too. Here we go. Resources Mentioned...

Get your report card comments done fast and make them so amazing they will help strengthen your parent/teacher relationship. See the template below.Mentioned Resources:Get "Move It Like A Turkey" Early Finisher Solution Episode Website PageTemplate Example:I am enjoying watching ______(student) grow as a learner this year. (start positive- I see your child in a positive way and they are learning) He/She is________________. (tell one or two positive attributes you have observed) I am hel...

Ready for some easy to implement tools to help ALL of your students? Occupational Therapist, Angie Holmes, joins us today to give us useful tips on how to strengthen students' core, cross the midline, improve muscle control, improve focus, and give every student ways to improve their academic performance. All these tips will help your students be better readers, writers, thinkers and all around happier students. Don’t miss the tips on easy ways to collect data if you have a student in t...

Early Finisher Activities are a part of every K-1 classroom but with the new requirements brought by social distancing, and distance learning, using early finisher activities from the past might not be usable. Today we will talk about how to structure early finisher activities so that your little ankle-biters will be busy learning even when they finish their tasks early. You CAN keep them busy and learning and not spend hours prepping these must-have resources for our classro...

Classroom management and transitions are more fun with these easy to learn greeting and line-up chants and songs.These kindergarten and first grade chants and songs are easy to learn and use in your classroom. After 2 or 3 uses they will be cemented into your routine. Don’t forget to get the mentioned PDF of all the chants we used today so you can print it and use it to reference for when you need a quick reminder. You will use these to start the day with the greeting chants ...

Let’s get some free resources into your sub tub. Or maybe you need materials for distance learning. Today you will get 3 resources. If you haven’t heard of the book "The Blueberry Pancake Problem" today is your lucky day. Use this picture book to do a bunch of reading and math activities. You'll also get a video to use with the book as well as a bunch of printables to practice reading, writing, and math skills. Don’t you love a resource that you can use again and again? Let’s start rockin’ to...