Are you even ready to think about next year? Whether you are, or aren't... that's okay! If you're not, be sure to pin or bookmark this post and come back to see me in August! If you're ready to bring on the planning, then join me as I share my planning binder calendar template for next year. This free download ...

It’s like Lord of the Flies downstairs in our cafeteria every morning.  Last year was the first year that our school breakfast became a madhouse, and it’s even worse this year. The kids get off the bus, come in the door that’s closest to my classroom, and pass me on their way to the cafeteria.  I used to just wave my breakfast eaters on, and have ...

*Cherry and Chutney got bus write-ups last week that showed up in my mailbox only this morning.  They were defiant to the bus driver and refused to sit down on the bus.  And Cherry called Chutney the B word. *Plum showed up after two days at home and burst into tears.  “What’s wrong, honey?” “I…want…my…DADDY!” she sobbed.  She sobbed all the way ...

An article in this morning’s New York Times magazine has set my brain on fire.  It’s about a curriculum called Tools of the Mind that seeks to teach preschoolers self-control and executive function.  I remember reading this article from NPR on it earlier this year, and am really interested in putting some of these ideas into ...

The past two weeks have whizzed by and I have been simply too exhausted to post.  I will try to be better from here on in, especially since I am starting to get into the groove.  (Waking up at 6 am again is quite painful, but I’ve responded by hurling myself out of bed to work out on the treadmill each morning, before I’m awake enough ...

I went to the teacher store this morning.  I spent $102, which actually shows restraint on my part.  Usually it’s $140.  Picking out labels for the cubbies for me and Ms. Mellow was really hard; I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to find nametags that were a) attractive, b) color-coded (I’m green and she’s blue), and ...

On the first day of school — my least favorite of the year, but that’s a different story — my centers are all closed.  The house corner gets roped off with a sign that says “Closed” even before the open house, so the children already know when they arrive on the first day that they can’t just [...]

When I taught preschool at a daycare center, during my first official year of teaching, I had a big classroom with a large area where we could sit on the floor for circle time, in an actual circle. Now, many years later, I am teaching preschool in a public school, in a very small classroom.  Our [...]

Perhaps because I really started out teaching in daycare, before I taught kindergarten at that inner-city school, I still obey the rules about licensing and ratios and proper supervision.  I never want to have my students out of my sight, because if something happened to them, it would be my responsibility.  So — I want to [...]