There are light years between a student who simply knows how to read and student who is a reader.

I have been to many a school and met many teachers who excel at teaching students to read well. But... few of their students are readers - people who love books, seek out and choose great books, talk about books like they are friends and read for the sheer joy of reading. 

Our goal as educators and as parents is always to grow readers. 

Fostering a love of books and reading and growing readers is the magic that great teachers strive for. And yes, it can seem like magic when it happens if we don't understand the steps needed to guide students there and the things we, inadvertently, do that hinder the process. 

Let's face it, there are thousands of people and computer programs that can teach someone to read. It takes special combination of dedication and skill with a big dose of heart to grow readers. With practice using these top 10 tips and my Cheat Sheet for...

Happy Wednesday!

It's not often that i blog about the business side of my business, but I just have to say... a little VA (Virtual Assistant) help sometimes is such a blessing. Thank you Rahul for all the times you step in to help so I can work on something else. 

A little help, please!

As teachers, we are used to doing everything ourselves. Which is a lot like starting a business. There isn't anyone else to do the work. I've always thought that teachers should have a little bit of VA time.

Way back when...

We used to have teacher assistants in our classrooms or on our teams to take on some of the work. Few schools invest in that kind of help anyone. It's just not in our ever shrinking budgets. So, we rely on volunteers. Thankfully, many of us have wonderful volunteer help in our schools, but just as many teachers and schools don't have that luxury. 

Think about starting a business.

So teachers. If you are looking for a business to start, this is it. Start a teacher...

Yes, you really can enjoy the fun of Thanksgiving and keep the learning on track.

As we head into the season of fast and furious holidays, it's hard to hang onto routines and productivity. Keep your students focused and engaged by incorporating the fun in meaningful ways.

My Thanksgiving favorites for engaging, meaningful teaching:

• Scholastic's First Thanksgiving Virtual Field Trip (Use primary sources, listen to stories, explore the Mayflower and lots more!) Grades K-5

• Plimoth Plantation's You are the Historian (Explore what really happened, hear from both sides and make your case.) Grades 3-5

• Hubbard's Cupboard has some easy free Thanksgiving lesson ideas and printable beginning readers, Get them here. Grades K-2

• The Mini Page First Thanksgiving Edition. Grades 2-5

• Here's a few books to share as well.

  

  A day in the life of a pilgrim girl.

  

  Easy to read version of the First Thanksgiving.

  

  The perfect story for primary kids about the pilgrims...

I love switching things up from year to year, but not everyone does.

As teachers, we can get stuck in a rut, stuck in habits and routines that aren't always helpful. In short, we cease to grow. 

The top 5 signs your teaching is stuck in a rut are: 

1. You reuse all your lessons from previous years without any revision.

2. Students and families know the drill before the year starts because you are known for doing certain projects.

3. If you hear yourself saying, "We always do it that way" or "This is how we do it every year" you just might be stuck.

4. Change is not your thing.

5. Your desk position and classroom configuration stay the same all year.

Don't stay stuck.

As nice as it is to feel like we "have it down" or finally can do the same things as last year and not have to create anything new. Don't go there. It's a deadly trap. Don't get trapped into doing the same thing and reusing old plans in their entirety.

I know it's tempting to take it easy with planning and...

WELCOME TO THE TEACHER TIME SAVER ISSUE.

We all struggle with time in life and, especially, education. There is never enough of it. So how do we not only maximize our time, but expand it?

OH, OH, I KNOW! MEGA-BATCHING!

Mega-batching is something I learned from my online mentor, Amy Porterfield. Amy is someone who always has great business ideas to share that often relate well to education. Talk about a time saver!

WHAT IS MEGA-BATCHING AND HOW CAN IT HELP SAVE YOU (OR ANY TEACHER) TIME? 

Essentially, mega-batching is grouping your tasks in such a way that you do a lot of one kind of thing all at once and then don't need to touch it again for quite a while. Think batching gone wild. This system makes us more efficient with our time. Once we have mega-batched content, we gain time and control. Without the daily need to work on planning we now have more time to refine, make adjustments, individualize and be prepared for the coming week without all the stress, late nights (or...

Looking for some Fall inspiration? I've got you covered. 

Sometimes I've just got to say thank you and great job to the teachers, parents and others out there creating great stuff. Let's face it, recreating the wheel every day is just not realistic. Besides, we all need an inspirational boost once in awhile. That's where these powerhouses come in. 

How We Learn

From weather experiments to egg carton helicopters, Sarah has tons of ideas that are easy to do and adapt for all ages. For fall try Why do leaves change color? Oh yeah! This simple experiment is worth doing. Keep it up Sarah!  Check it our here.

A Little Bit of Perfect

Katie's fall leaves are so lovely. It would be easy to create a full lesson around these.  Add this with the leaf experiment (above), mix in some of the picture books in Katie's post to teach the week's reading and writing concepts and you've got a full week. Thanks a bunch Katie! Check it our here.

Math Geek Mama

Teaching...

Keeping up with the teacher next door (or our Pinterest Pals) is an impossible task. But, we still try. What is it about all that perfection that is so alluring, even when we know it's not realistic?

Ok, this will date me, but I just have to share this perfect example of perceived perfection. I remember watching The Jetsons's cartoon on TV when I was young. There was this one episode where Jane Jetson gets a phone call on the video phone early in the morning. She quickly grabs her "morning mask", literally a mask that she places in front of her face before answering the call from her friend. The mask looks like her all done up and hides her real "just rolled out of bed making the kids lunches" face. Once the call is done, she puts the mask away and goes back to her morning with her friend none the wiser. 

Let's face it, everyone wears masks. We just don't always know what the masks others are wearing are and what's real.

Well, it's time to put our blinders on. 

Quit...

Survival Mode is for the Birds

I got so tired of survival mode, so I chose a new way to be.  I call it Thriving Mode. It's all about investing in systems to make your life run smoothly. Can you say auto pilot? There are many things we do that need to become habits so we can put them on auto pilot. Why do we train our students, but don't train ourselves? It's time to lead by example.

Auto Pilot

So, the first question is... What can go on auto pilot, and what can't? I'm so glad you asked!

School arrival time is on auto pilot.

Just do it, I told myself. I trained myself in the new habit of getting to school 1 hour early. I say HABIT intentionally. A habit is automatic, no thinking required. This became my best work time- uninterrupted, focused planning time.

The 2 Minute Tidy

I train students in the art of the 2 Minute Tidy. At the end of the school day, I leave 2 minutes to clean up. Set a timer for 2 minutes. Then, everyone works as fast as they can to clean up everything...

Being properly prepared for Parent Conferences allows you to go into each conference with confidence.

So what do we need to do to have successful conferences? Prepare, structure and rehearse and understand parents' expectations.

THREE THINGS EVERY TEACHER NEEDS TO DO TO BE READY FOR CONFERENCES.

1. Decide: What are you hoping to accomplish? What is the purpose of your conferences?
2. Create a data form for each child - partially filled out (data, class time observations...)
3. Collect work samples for each child to back up your talking points. 

STRUCTURING YOUR CONFERENCES FOR SUCCESS. 

Remember, parents are often both excited and nervous about coming in for conferences. These kids are their babies, and mama and papa bear are quick to protect. For extra confidence: Write out a script and practice it for any conferences you are nervous about. This ensures you cover what needs to be said, builds trust with parents and ensures you listen more than you...