When we think of best practices for having a healthy classroom, you probably think it's just simple common sense. But when we're moving at 100mph every day, we can unknowingly opt for practices that undermine student [and teacher] health. Here's 3 simple, do-able ways you can improve the health of your classroom.

1. [Obviously] Keep the Outside Germs Out

I once did an interesting germ experiment with a 2nd grade class. I prepped sterile petri dishes with plain gelatin, got gloves and a box of q-tips. Students gathered germs from various surfaces in the school using gloved hands with q-tips [playground equipment, door knob and light switches, library, desks, hand rails...]. Groups of students were assigned to various places. Then, they rubbed their q-tips on the gelatin in the petri dishes, put the lid on and labelled them. Once strange things began to grow, [using masks and gloves] we looked at them under microscopes and compared them to pictures of various germs. 

Every student bec...

Read Across America is coming! Get ready with these fun bookmarks. 

Making reading fun is worth giving up a little time for. Why? Once students love reading, becoming a lifelong reader becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. On that note...

Here's some fun things you can do for Read Across America Day.

• Make fun bookmarks. [See video]
• Read with finger lights.
• Have a Pajama Party - Wear your pJs and bring a pillow to make reading more relaxing all day.
• Dress up as your favorite book characters.
• Choose picture books to read aloud for every subject all day.
• Have older students choose books that have a character that they are like or would want to be like. Share the book and tell why or write about it.
• Make green eggs and ham.
• Have a book tasting in your class.
• Read with flashlights.
• Have a Read-a-Thon to raise money for books in your school or classroom or to raise money to give books to students in a needy school in your area.
• Try talking in rhyming words all day.
• Read Red Fis
...

Creating a reading culture in your school can be as simple as re-evaluating how you promote and talk about reading. Here's an incentive program that helps promote a culture of readers. It can be done as a class or as a school but is most effective when done school-wide. [I wish I'd thought of it, but I didn't.]

The Million Words Club 

At the elementary school my kids went to, students can read any books they choose to get to a million words read in a year. When they get there, the art teacher does a cartoon drawing of them reading and it hangs framed in the hallway until they graduate and take it home (my daughter is in college and still has hers). You could easily do a photo booth session with lots of books or something fun related to reading instead of the cartoon drawing. Students can earn ribbons to add to their framed photo for each additional year they read a million words.

The school started this program 12 years ago and it’s still going strong. The kids can’t wait until t...

With Valentine's Day coming, do you have a plan for both fun and staying in control of your class?

You'll have to both manage a hyped up class AND their parents. While class parties are an important and fun part of school, they can be stressful! Are you ready?

We know class parties are important. They build community, help us connect with each other, give us (hopefully) some fun, shared memories and create opportunities to take a short break and celebrate. You and your students work hard. Sometimes we need a bit of a break to reenergize us and give us perspective. In addition, parties can also be a great time to teach some social skills - greeting guests, making others feel welcome, party behavior, etc.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought I’d share a few tips for managing not only the party details, but the parents (and their) expectations that come with class parties. Let’s face it. Running your classroom is one thing, but add a roomful of parents into the mix and it’s a whol...

So often, we need a short activity that can be done on the fly in or outside of our classrooms. Perhaps your schedule is never straight forward. It’s cut up into odd pieces.  

While we want to make the most of our time, odd chunks of time or time waiting in line can leave you scratching your head wondering what to do with that 5 minutes between morning meeting and heading out the door to Art or the assembly or whatever it is. You know what I mean. Here’s a list of ideas to will help you keep the learning going, make a smooth transition or to just take a brain break on the fly. 

You can grab the full list of Purposeful Sponge Activities in printable form here.

Enjoy! 

Things to Do While Waiting or Transitioning [guest speaker, assembly, lining up…]

• Storytelling: Retell a story in order. Students take turns saying the next part.
• Counting, Skip Counting and Number Sense: Practice counting to 100. Practice skip counting by 5s, 10s, 25s… [start in random places for older students
...

I'm the queen of lists and teacher to do lists. Don't even get me started!

Seriously, I really do LOVE lists and live my life by them. It's my go-to for staying organized - checklists, to do lists, grocery lists, lists of goals and so much more. I've got lists for all kinds of things. And while I might have mental lists, more often than not, mine are written down. As one of my besties tells her kids, "I have two brain cells left and one them is busy." Yup. that's exactly how I feel so many days. So, I write things down. But, a million notes and lists don't work. It's just too easy to lose track of it all. Trust me, I've tried THAT approach. 

This time of year, the Teacher To Do List can become overwhelming. There's so much to accomplish in what's left of the school year, and so many extra tasks get added to your teacher plate whether you want them or not. Add in all your personal tasks and goals, and it can be a recipe for disaster. That Teacher To Do List can become a mile long. Whe...

Behavior management or managing a class for the long-haul is much more difficult than anyone ever tells us in our teacher training.

Remember when you were getting ready to begin your student teaching and being informed what you're in for when you have no experience to tie that information into? You simply can't fathom what that means or what it looks like in reality. We need a lot of experience in order to make sense great classroom management. In addition, there's a lot of trial and error that goes with figuring it all out.

The more teaching experience we get under our belts, the easier it is to understand and evaluate the various behavior management options.

Here's a few ways that we can manage a class and each method's pros and cons. In addition, I have a few acton steps at the end of this post to get you on a great path to train your students toward self-regulation. 

Here goes...

Proximity

Management by proximity is when you move to stand near a student when they're misbehavi...

As we head into the holiday madness and the home stretch for 2019, everyone's in anticipation mode. This can be fun or agonizing depending on what's going on in your classroom and school.

I've always been torn this time of year.

On the one hand, there's holiday programs to prepare for and all kinds of assemblies and other events that are fun and exciting. On the other hand, losing precious instructional time is always difficult for us teachers. I want both but something has to give. As I always say...a YES to one thing is a NO to something else. We have finite time in our day. We simply can't do it all. 

So here's how you can deal with it all in a way that melds the two extremes. 

Put everything on the calendar that you have no control over - Christmas play, a sing along, school assembly, etc. Make up your mind to be happy for all the moments that make your school a community. 

Then, ask yourself this question:

What are the essentials I need to teach in December? [This applies to...

Self care is essential in a profession known for burnout. 

1. Use Your Sick/Personal Days

A mental health day is a justifiable sick day. Better to have a mental health day than to be sick for days because you wore yourself out. Look at the calendar and see when your longest stretches are without a break (no Monday off or other holiday). Make a note of possible days you would want to take off to give yourself a break and tentatively put them on your calendar.  Maybe plan a long weekend or take a random Wednesday off (my favorite).

2. No. Say it. Often.

NO is a powerful word. Don't be afraid to use it. You can always change your mind and say yes later (on rare occasions), but it's really hard to go back on a yes.

3. Do Not Disturb

Put a sign on your classroom door when you are working on planning or grading. You'll have less interruptions and have more focused work time.

Do not disturb your heart as well. Don't listen to negativity. Have a standard answer when others try to gossip...