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Black Friday Deals You Can’t Miss!
Black Friday shopping can be some of the most exciting days of the year. Getting amazing deals on your holiday shopping or even buying for yourself things that you would have had to pay more for? Amazing! Check out some Black Friday deals you can shop now! Amazon Deals My snow broom is on sale for 20% off. As much as we want to ignore that winter is coming, the storm this weekend in Buffalo was a very scary reminder! The Theragun massage gun is on sale for over $100 off! I am obsessed with my Robot Vacuum and this top shelf model is on…
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Erin Condren Holiday Gift Ideas
Everyone is searching for that awesome holiday gift for their loved ones, or their child’s teacher. I received a package of amazing gift ideas for your favorite teacher or just a person who loves to organize. These gifts are some of the cutest options! I am going to preface this by saying that personally I love Erin Condren products. I find them to be the perfect combination of stylish, cute, and functional. I use their life planner and teacher lesson planner annually. I recently have fell in love with their writing utensils and bookmarks. But other than that I am not super familiar with their accessories. If you are looking…
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My Teacher Planner
Do you keep a teacher planner? My teacher planner from Erin Condren is so versatile that it can be used for so many different types of teachers! I am obsessed. This year’s cover that I selected is gorgeous! Each year I choose a new cover that I love. The covers are interchangeable so you can buy a few and rotate them but that isn’t something that I’ve ever done. Teacher Planner – Weekly View The weekly view is fantastic. I use it to keep track of my rotating schedule. I track what each of the teachers on my team is covering and I keep track of homework. This way if…
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Organizing Your Classroom: What to Save and What to Throw Away
So as a special education teacher, I feel like I am constantly surrounded by paperwork and junk. I have piles and piles of paperwork waiting to be filed, manipulatives that I’ve never used, and enough pens and pencils to supply a small army. This year I am trying to be better about de-cluttering my house and my office. Maybe I’ll share an article about de-cluttering my house another time. Here are some tips for what to save and what to part ways with. Save: Testing Information For this category, it is important to know your state laws and your district’s procedures. But personally, I save my testing protocols for 7…
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What’s in My Teacher Bag
I am a special education teacher and I teach eighth-grade inclusion. Which means I co-teach five classes with three different teachers. Because of this, I am very rarely in my classroom and have to travel with a lot of belongings. I thought I would share with you a glimpse into what I keep in my teacher bag and why I travel with it! My Planner I am obsessed with my Erin Condren teacher planner. I use it to keep my life organized. Since I am not the content area teacher, I don’t keep a curriculum plan in my planner because each teacher I co-teach with has it in theirs. What…
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Benefits of Color-Coding for your Middle School Students
Do I show signs of OCD because I’m a teacher, or am I a teacher because I show signs of OCD? Really it’s the chicken-or-the-egg debate all over again. But, to get down to business, I color-code EVERYTHING! Color-Coding Color-coding is a tool that adults use to keep themselves organized. If this works so well for us, why don’t we use this tool for our students too? Color-Coding in Math I use color-coding when teaching multi-step equations. I will update this post with a picture to illustrate this but I am writing this post from home. We teach the students to use “DCVS” when solving multi-step equations. DCVS stands for…
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Tips to Spring Clean Your Classroom!
It’s April! The weather hasn’t seemed to catch on yet, but it is officially spring-time! Here are some ways to spring clean your classroom. Wipe down everything! There are so many germs that have come through our classrooms this winter. I personally feel like I am wiping down all of my surfaces every day. But, take the time to thoroughly wipe down every surface in your room with a disinfectant. Don’t forget all of your student computers, your markers, and everywhere that the little hands touch. But also, wipe down your teacher desk. This winter you have had substitutes, paraprofessionals, and other adults in your room. Don’t forget to clean…
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Keeping Your Middle Schoolers Organized
Picture This: We all know that kid who does their homework every night. But then, they can never find it the next day in class. You feel bad not being able to give them credit because you know that they are being truthful, but you can’t start accepting homework based on merit because that could open a can of worms so you tell them that they can bring it in the next day. Organization can be so tough for students! We all know the student who has papers falling out of their backpack at every angle. They usually keep everything in the same folder and can never find anything that…
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Accommodations to Support Students Who Struggle With Executive Function
What are executive function skills? Executive Functioning skills are the skills that allow us to make a goal, plan on how to meet that goal, and follow through with that plan. They are the skills that help us with impulse control, keeping ourselves organized, and regulating our emotions. Students who have difficulty with their executive function skills tend to be disorganized, impulsive, and do not follow through on plans. These difficulties are typical of students who have been diagnosed with ADHD, as well as some other learning disabilities. A student who struggles with executive function is not hopeless, these skills can be taught, practiced and developed. Break down a project into…
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Tips for Time Management
There’s never enough time! I feel like any teacher can relate to the problem that there’s not enough time in the day to get everything done that we need to. This is not just a “teacher problem” but probably something a lot of people struggle with. Right now I am coming up to first-term progress reports for my students on IEPs, and I know just how time-consuming it will be to write progress notes for every goal for each student. On top of that, the rest of the world does not stop; I am still expected to be co-teaching, providing accommodations, modifying assignments, modifying their tests and quizzes, and continuing…