Teaching Tip Linky Party

Well awhile back (actually two weeks) I saw a Teaching Tip Linky Party all about providing teaching tips. I thought this was a great idea and planned to link up later in the week and then completely forgot about it.  Tonight I finally remembered, and I know I'm late to the game, but I thought I would link up anyways with Miss Kindergarten (what a fun blog name!). Now since I have been a teacher for only a short while, I feel a bit silly giving out tips but I guess I'll give it a try. I feel like as I get more experience, I see what does work and what definitely does not work and I learn a lot of this (mostly good) by observing more senior teachers. I have not had time to read through all the teaching tip links so I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, and I fully realize that this tip is not original by I still feel like it deserves mention. So here goes. My wonderous, mind-blowing tip is . . .

Have a class website.

I am in no ways a tech expert but I have seen how beneficial this can be for students, parents, and teachers.

I feel like I am in a point form mood, so that's how the rest of this post is going to go.

Benefits:

1) Students are able to take responsibility for their learning. They can no longer go home and say they don't know if they have homework, if there is something due the next day, etc. because they can be sent to the computer to check those things.

2) Busy parents can keep up to date on the classroom happenings on their own schedule.

3) Busy teachers can refer students/parents to the website for basic classroom happenings.

Must-Haves:

1) Basic classroom schedule (important especially if this changes from day to day).
2) Homework/Assignments.
3) Upcoming Field Trips/Special Events + any important information about them.
4) Contact information for the teacher and school.

Obviously classroom websites can be anything from basic to complicated, with fantastic daily updates of classroom happenings, but the important thing is to KEEP THEM UPDATED. I am sure there is nothing more frustrating for a parent/student to check for updates and find a site that is weeks (or months) out of date.

So that is my fantastic, mind-blowing, never-before-heard teaching tip for the day. I look forward to reading all the other teaching tips and learning some new stuff!

A New Unit and a Sale

Well now that (American) Thanksgiving is over it is just a straight line into Christmas. Thankfully I feel like I am finally, slightly ahead of schedule with the creation of my new Christmas-themed Math unit which contains 10 Math Centers for primary students. These centers follow closely to the 2nd grade Common Core Standards and are best suited for 2nd and 3rd grade students. Click the picture or HERE if you would like to check this unit out.

I think I mentioned this before, but I just get so excited over the holidays. I feel like it makes an exciting environment in the classroom and makes normal tasks seem extra special. For this new unit, I tried to incorporate fun elements, of course involving Santa, his reindeer, elves, presents and candy, while still aligning the activities to the Common Core Standards to make the activities worthwhile and beneficial.

I am also just in time for the huge sale that will be going on this weekend at Teachers Pay Teachers! If you intend to do any shopping, make sure you do it on Monday and Tuesday (November 26th & 27th) during the Cyber Monday + Bonus Tuesday Sale in which a ton of TPT sellers (including myself) will be participating. Make sure to use the Promo Code: CMT12 to get up to 28% off!

Check out Blog Hoppin'

or The 3am Teacher to see other sellers/bloggers participating in the sale!

If you're looking for other winter units/ideas, I've also got my Winter Daily Math for 3rd and 4th grade students up in my store, click the pictures to check those out too:

As December quickly nears, I would love to hear what will be happening in your classrooms!

Giving Thanks to Teachers Giveaway

I know I am late to the game, as this started yesterday, but I couldn't resisting posting about this fantastic giveaway that Charity Preston is hosting. Each day from November 17th to November 25th, freebies will be provided by a number of participating blogs. Such a fantastic idea, make sure to go check it out!

Here Come the Holidays

Well am I the only one surprised that it is November already? The months keep flying and the holidays keep coming. I believe the last time I posted it wasn't even Halloween, though I was counting down the days, and now here it is, almost Thanksgiving (well, American Thanksgiving). I've been so busy creating new units, but I always seem to fall behind. I've got a new Thanksgiving math unit for primary students. Click on the picture to check it out:

I have also been meaning to make a similar unit for intermediate students, as well as a literacy unit, but the time has really gotten away from me.

I must have been really busy lately because I just looked at my Thanksgiving Pinterest board, and I only have ten pins! I wanted to have something turkey-ish to share, so I guess this bulletin board picture from Pinterest will have to do:

Via Striving To Be Bold

I always love meaningful bulletin boards and this would look fantastic, while tying in the holidays.

I have a ton on my to-do list, but I am really hoping to update some of my freebies (especially my Place Value Mystery Number Cards) as well as begin offering them on Google Docs, as I know not everyone can access them on TPT.

Here's hoping I'll have something worthwhile to share before Christmas!