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

what teachers are doing WRONG when teaching at low income schools

Feeling  sorry for students. Well I said that one rather quick but this wouldn’t be a blog post if you don’t let me elaborate. I have to begin ten years ago when I was in...

Caring for Toddlers…the Hardest Job on Earth?

Disclaimer: don’t read unless you have a sense of humor. Old folks…baby folks. What’s the difference? Well not very much. I just had my third beautiful baby and now I’m stuck at...

Grading Writing in the Early Childhood Classroom

Grading is still a new thing I’m getting used to as a teacher. In preschool and kinder everything as evaluated based on observational measures and checklists. As a kindergarten...

What’s the BIG Deal with Essential Oils?

It seems like everywhere you look now someone is using or talking about essential oils. And most of the people aren’t just talking about them they’re raving about them. What...

What I learned (and lost) moving up grade levels

I was very lucky and blessed to work full time as a teacher assistant at Head Start in college. I took night classes in Early Childhood Education while I got to work during the...

Teaching Early Childhood Students to Edit their Writing

I can’t even take credit for this idea. I’m not sure where I found it at or how I came up with it but I’ve been teaching editing this way for the last two years of second grade....

Sneaking MORE writing into your day

SONY DSC I would definitely say that writing is my weakest link as a teacher. It wasn’t always this way though. When I taught kindergarten I did writer’s workshop and LOVED to...

Essential Oils in the Classroom

I got wrapped up in the whole essential oils craze when I was looking for ways to help my middle child sleep better. A few close friends suggested that I try lavender essential...

3 Mantras To Get You Through This School Year

“Focus all your energy not on fighting for the old but on building the new.”- Socrates This one is for the staff meeting when your principal drops a bomb of change on you… A...

Homework in the Early Childhood Classroom

Since the beginning of my teaching career, homework has been something that I find myself haggling with every year. How much do I give? At the early childhood level what kind of...