Books to help you recharge over the Summer

Hello Friends, it's Erin from The Elementary Darling. The countdown is on! I have about four weeks left before the end of the year, and this is the time that I start planning for the summer and organizing for the beginning of the year. I know some of you are thinking, "She is crazy!" and I might be a little bit, BUT the end of the year is the best time to organize and plan.  Last year, I wrote this post about what I do a the end of the year, and Kristin wrote this post, about planning during the end of the year.

But TODAY, I am going to show you my favorite professional development books. Obviously, I would recommend checking out one or two based on your needs, however they are ALL amazing!

For the teacher that needs to RECHARGE

I love anything written by Ron Clark, but Move your Bus is my favorite. I reread it often to remind myself to be a runner! If you don't know, his co-owner of The Ron Clark Academy is Kim Bearden, and her book, Crash Course will remind you why you went into teaching. It is my ultimate favorite! I also recently found the book Conscious Discipline, thanks to my friend, Theresa from True Life I'm a Teacher. This book is all about teacher mindset. I just started it, and I am loving it!

Throughout this post, you’ll find Amazon Affiliate links. This means I receive a small commission if you purchase something through that link, at no extra cost to you, that helps keep my blog running and helps fund giveaways!

For the teacher beginning Reading Groups

These books are good for reading groups, or ideas for your groups. Even if you have been implementing reading groups for several years, I know you will find something useful in them! These two books are my everything when it comes to Guided Reading. Jan Richardson has everything you need, including strategies and printables in this book for every level of guided reading. The Daily Five book is great for anyone who uses a grouping method for reading.  I also LOVE Word Nerds. This book has amazing ideas for vocabulary instruction. While I would recommend it for 2nd grade and above, it could be modified for Kindergarten and 1st grade.

For the teacher looking for Math Group ideas

I LOVE this book! Debbie Diller is an amazing math group guru, and she has fabulous ideas in this book! It is for grades K-2, so if you have a book suggestion for 3-6, I would love to hear it!

For the teacher looking for Differentiation Ideas 

If you are a GenEd teacher and you have a huge range of student abilities in your classroom, these are my top picks! I got my gifted endorsement several years ago and the book, Teaching Gifted Kids in Today's Classroom is my all time favorite. It has so many suggestions to extend the learning of higher level students.  Advancing Differentiation and How to Differentiate Instruction for Mixed Ability Classrooms are both amazing and so helpful when your classroom ranges in ability levels.

For the teacher looking for IDEAS or Strategies

How many times have we all run out of ideas or needed new fresh strategies for teaching a topic?  I recently found these books this year, and I never knew what I was missing. THEY ARE SO GOOD! You can use these books no matter what ELA format you use. It is literally a book full of strategies for every level. They do cost a little more, but honestly, they are worth EVERY penny. You can find the reading one here and the writing one here. These two will be the ones that I will be reading over the summer!

What professional development books will you dive into this summer? Whether you are reading to recharge, learn new strategies, or try a new method, these books will help you achieve your goal! Do you have an awesome book that I didn't show, leave it in the comments below! Happy Reading!

Finish the Year with a Bang: What I Like about YOU!

I'm closing a chapter with the 2015-2016 school year coming to an end.  I am officially moving out of the elementary school and into an office at the district office for next year.  I've had a hard time for many reasons with this move, but there is SO much to celebrate!  Our theme couldn't be more perfect for me:  Finish the Year with a Bang!

My very first group of students that I taught in both 3rd and 4th grades will be graduating this Friday.   I'm so happy for them and proud of my honor graduates.  

Now that I've teared up, I want to share with you something special that I have done with my students the past five years.  I wish I had started this with my very first group of students 10 years ago.  What I Like About You is a day where I want my students to leave my room with a full heart and knowing how much I love them.  

For each student, I prepare a slip of paper with a fun or sweet memory, tell them what I will miss about them, tell them why they are a great learner, and what I love about them.  I then pull each student aside during the day and talk to them about their card.  I try to also snap a picture of the two of us together to send their parents as well.  

This is one of the best things that I do all year, because they take such pride in their little piece of paper and they walk a little taller the rest of the day.  If you would like to use my template, download it by clicking here.

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates.

Thanks for reading, Meghan from Keeping Up with Mrs. Harris.

Finish the Year With a Bang: End With the Beginning in Mind

14 days. That’s all I have left. That’s it ! Can you believe it?

END WITH THE BEGINNING IN MIND

The end of this school year is {finally} near, my friends, and I have already started preparing. You know the expression, "begin with the end of mind?" As many teachers have at this time of the year, I have shifted my thinking to "end with the beginning in mind."

I think that I, like most teachers, romanticize the back-to-school season; Every year I forget how chaotic, overwhelming, and exhausting it is until I'm living it. Each year, I have gotten a little better about prepping for the next year.

An old trick that you may already know is to have and fill a Back-to-School Box. In this box you will put everything that you will need immediately, during pre-planning, open house, and the first week of school. You will store this box somewhere in your classroom that is memorable and easily accessible for when you come back after your amazing - but too short - summer vacation.

In my box, I include:

• Desk AND lanyard nametags for my new students, laminated and cut (I write names with a Sharpie AFTER laminating)
• Supplies for Open House: copies, labels, station signs, and easels
• Basic copies for the first week of school

You've seen the lines for the copier - and even worse, the laminator - during preplanning. Avoid those lines AT ALL COSTS by planning ahead!

I'VE LOST MY MIND, I KNOW

How do I get all of these things done, you ask, in addition to my regular teaching and planning?

I make myself a countdown calendar. On this printed calendar, I count down the days until the end of the school year... obviously! But also, on each day, I write down a few tasks to be completed. I do try to organize the tasks so that they don't take away from my current class.

For example, I'm not taking any math stuff down until the day after the last day of math. (We switch classes for math.) The first days of tasks are things that are practically unnoticeable to the students; I don't want them to think their school year is quite over yet!



I save the tasks that I want the kids to help with for the last day or so. Some of them would rather do chores for me than watch a movie - which I ADORE!

All that being said, it's an easy way to organize little tasks and get things done in a timely way, instead of being overwhelmed during post-planning. PSA: Having only ONE day of post-planning is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS if you ask me. I'm supposed to undo 180 days in one morning, before the staff celebration? Um, no.

JUST KEEP TEACHING

We are almost there, y'all! Hang on! While you and your students anxiously await your summer and you try to cross tasks off of your countdown calendar, make sure you give your students some fun, yet meaningful, work to do.

I may be a little biased, but I personally love these end-of-year newspaper writing projects that I created. The kids LOVE writing their own newspapers, reflecting on the school year, and spending lots of time illustrating. It's a great calm activity for the last week of school.

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates.

Saving your Sanity- Organize for next year!

HOW is it May?!?! This year has flown by friends! Hello all, it's Erin from The Elementary Darling and I am here to share my best and favorite tip to organize yourself at the end of the year.

I know how terrible the end of the year is, but if you do ANYTHING for yourself, you need to do this! Every year, I buy a spiral notebook that is so cute that I can't wait to use it.

Then decide what sections you need and write them on post it notes. (SO easy, right?!?!) 

This year mine are 

1. End of the year- Things to finish in the last two weeks and Post Planning

2. Leftover Inventory- I list ANYTHING that is left over from this year that I didn't use so I don't        purchase it again.

3. Items to buy- I take this list RIGHT to Target when they put out the school supplies. I also use this list when I am on Amazon. I cross them off as I purchase them.

4. Items to make- This is great for my Summer to do list, as I remember what I need, I put it all in the same place.

Start your lists! The number one reason why I love this more than printables is because everything is all together! I can add to it, and there are tons of pages for my lists. I never lose it, and I can cross off as I go.

What ideas do you have to organize yourself at the end of the year? I would love to hear them, so leave them in the comments! Come back this month to see the rest of the ideas on how you can end your year with a BANG!

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach be sure to follow us on Instagram,Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates. 

Personalized Student Framed Gifts- Finish the Year with a Bang!

Can you believe we've made it to May?! It's time for warm weather, sunny days, and winding down the school year! Yay!

It's Stacia from Collaboration Cuties, and this month at the Primary Peach, we are sharing activities and tips for Finishing the Year with a Bang! So, please check back all month to find tons of great ideas.

I'm excited to share a fun End of the Year Student Gift Idea with you: Personalized Student Name Frames! This easy and meaningful gift is a perfect keepsake for your students.

Amanda (the other half of Collaboration Cuties) made these for her students last year, and they turned out awesome! There are a few different ways to make these adorable gifts.

First, you need to compile a list of words and phrases to describe each student in your class. You can do this OR you can have your students help you. This is a great activity for the end of the year and the perfect way to promote a positive community in your classroom.

If students are compiling the list, there are many different ways to let them do this. Each student can write their name on a sheet of notebook paper and place it on their desk. Then, have students move around the room adding words and phrases to each student's paper until everyone has added one word to each paper. Depending on time, you can also make this a center and have a paper with each student's name in a binder and students add words as they visit the center. Or, in the younger grades, you can do this as a whole class activity and write the words together. Amanda actually did a St. Patrick's Day activity where students wrote character traits for each student on gold coins, so she was able to use those words for her students. Click here to read about it! It's another fun way to have students come up with words for their classmates.

Next, after you have all of the words you need, use a program like Wordle or Tagxedo to create the name posters. You can customize colors and styles to make it unique for each student.

Finally, print out the name posters and place them in frames. You can get frames at the Dollar Tree for $1 each. You can decorate the frame if you want by adding some stickers or other embellishments.

I hope you and your students enjoy this special end of the year activity!

For even more ideas from The Primary Peach be sure to follow us on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook to catch all the latest news and updates. 

Have a wonderful Sunday!
-Stacia