"Do you have any "nice notes" today?!" That is a phrase I hear often in my classroom! My students LOVE getting recognized in front of their peers AND taking their "nice note" home to show their family. What are Nice Notes? "Nice Notes" are cute little cards with a positive message and a cute clipart animal or person. ... read more
First Grade Health Booklet Printable Health and Wellness Activities
Helping young students learn healthy habits is an important part of supporting the whole child. This First Grade Health Booklet, "I Can Be Healthy", includes engaging health and wellness activities for primary students that introduce important topics like personal hygiene, exercise, nutrition, and taking care of our bodies. ... read more
Alphabet Poems for Kindergarten and First Grade: Fun Literacy Activities
Do you LOVE fun poems as much as I do? Well, I know young readers LOVE poems when they are learning to read, rhyme, and identify letters and sounds. These alphabet poems are a favorite! These Alphabet Poems are fantastic for ABC Bootcamp or whenever you start learning and reviewing letter names and sounds in ... read more
End of the Year Activity Booklet for First Grade
The end of the school year is such a busy and sometimes stressful time for students and teachers! Changes to schedules, celebration events, special activities, strong emotions, and more take up time and can throw off your usual classroom routines. That's why I LOVE our End of the Year book! It's such a fun way to review our ... read more
A Reading Log Alternative: Use Reading Calendars Instead
After 20+ years of teaching, I've done a lot of different things for reading homework. I stopped doing reading logs several years ago because I didn't feel it was meaningful. Sometimes, families were just rushing to write down book titles to get "credit" for homework, instead of focusing on the fun and important work of ... read more
How to Use Decodable Books with Emergent Readers: A Simple 4-Day Routine
I love using fun decodable books with my young readers! See our four-day reading group routine with our short vowel decodable books! I've used these in reading groups, with reading volunteers, and I send them home with students as well. The kids love the funny characters and simple text. The "words to know" section is ... read more
Spring Weather Calendar Activities for March and April
We have a lot of fun with this each year and I always look forward to it! It's a fun way for my students to focus on the changing spring weather and to track what they observe each day. They get so excited to check out the weather at recess each day. I start off by reading the book In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb and ... read more
New Year’s Activities and Ideas for the Primary Classroom
HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 🎉🎉🎉 I look at the first few days back with my students as a "soft-start" and here are some of the things we do during that first week! We all need time to get back into the routine, me included! I've got a great pack of FREE New Year activities included at the end of this post just for you! 1. Talk ... read more
How to Use a Classroom Reward Catalog to Motivate Students
How does a Reward Catalog work? Well, let me show you one of our favorite things in 1st grade! The great news is, you can use a Reward Catalog with any management system that you already have in place, it's low-maintenance, and it can be low cost and/or FREE for you. Here's how it works in my room... We use daily ... read more
14 Spring Classroom Resources for Primary Teachers
I love using spring-themed activities to keep my first grade students engaged during this exciting time of the year! Here is a roundup of some of my favorites that I think you'll love! Spring-Themed Reading Passages I've used these passages for leveled homework, reading groups, and more! Each week has three levels ... read more
