The Open Pencil Box » a little box of inspiration for you + them

Scholastic Book Clubs in the Library

      Do you do Scholastic Book Clubs in your library? I did not do them last year. I did do them as a classroom teacher and was usually pretty discouraged because no one ever...

from Classroom Teacher to Specials Teacher….

I’ve been meaning to write this post for the entire last year–but as we can tell I haven’t blogged at all in the last year. I was too busy surviving my new roll...

I’m a NEW Librarian!

So wow! I’m now an Elementary Librarian aka Media Specialist (which I HATE to be called because I am not very “techy”) I was pretty excited to get this position...

Meal Planning on a Restrictive Diet

Just the two words “meal planning” causes me anxiety. (Just when put together though, because I love meals and I do like planning things.) It hasn’t always been this way...

Building Strong Parent Teacher Relationships…What I’ve Learned

A strong parent-teacher relationship can make your job a lot easier.  I was blessed to realize this when I worked as a teacher assistant in the Head Start program while I was...

Little White Lies We Tell Children

We all do it. Tell our children outrageous lies to help keep ourselves sane. I prefer to call them little white lies, so I can maintain my own ‘I’m a great parent’ beliefs. Here...

A List of Love-Hate Relationships that only Teachers Understand

The other day I wrote a blog post stating the reasons I love AND hate giving my two toddlers a bath. It got me thinking humorously about the things I love and hate as a teacher....

The Love-Hate Relationship with Bath Time that Every Parent Understands

Isn’t it funny that giving your newborn baby their first bath is one of the things you actually look forward to when you bring them home?  Or at least their Grandma’s look...

Thanksgiving Classroom Party Ideas

Thanksgiving is my favorite Holiday to celebrate at school! Here is a collection of activities I’ve stolen, accumulated, and tried in my own classroom over the past few years to...

Tier 2 RTI Tips…Making RTI Work in your Classroom

I read an article on Education Week’s website that shared a study of 20,000 students in 13 different states who were undergoing the RTI process. The study did not show promising...