Will you be my Valentine? First, you should get to know me…hehe.

What do I love? Let’s talk beyond the easy (family and “framily”). What do I love in the classroom?

I Love Kindergarten

I know I’ve said it before. There’s nothing as fun and exhausting as teaching kindergarten.

They come to you knowing precious little and you get to be the first one to teach and mold and instill the love of learning.

I can’t explain how important. Not everyone can teach kindergarten…it takes a special person to understand you are the first to touch their lives.

You are the first to create a love of learning. You are the first…now that’s important.

AND sometimes you get one of these love notes from a student…and it’s all worth it. By the way, put this in your happy file for later.

I Love Centers

I do love center time in a kindergarten classroom. Centers should be the best time of the day.

You get to teach reading and they get to work independently, grow as independent beings, practice reading, practice writing, practice fluency…I could go on and on and on.

If it’s set up correctly, it can be managed by your students so guided reading can continue.

If this blog has a FAQ section, the first question would be “What is the key to surviving centers in kindergarten?” The answer is easy: Routine.

I posted a full explanations of centers on Adventures in Literacy Land, but the simple answer is ROUTINE (and expectations).

Check out the Centers post for ideas for making it your favorite part of the day.

I Love Writing

Showing students from an early age that writing is fun is such a rush!

I believe the biggest reason students don’t like writing is they FEAR writing.

First, they don’t know what to write about and are afraid their writing won’t be good enough. Then, they are afraid they’ll spell something wrong. UGH.

Why do they learn so quickly to ask someone “How do you spell…?” Taking those fears away creates a love of writing. I could talk about writing all day!

I Love Reading

How can you not love reading? By equipping students with the tools to read – you change lives.

Period. Read alouds, reading connections, and reading instruction. Make sure you do it all around reading.

It doesn’t matter if you are teaching a kindergartner with early reading instruction or a second grade in an intervention groups strategies to get on grade level…it’s amazing!

My best advice again is: ROUTINE. Read Every Day. No excuses.

I Love Owls!

I”m the crazy owl lady. It happened by accident.

I was the “bee classroom” for a long time. I had a hive outside my door and my rules were: Be kind. Be safe…and so on.

Then, I changed schools and they already had “bee classroom” right across from me. What could I do?

So, I decided to be the “owl classroom,” but this was 10 years ago when you couldn’t find owls anywhere. Then, all of the sudden, they are everywhere. I can’t help it.

I’m not even sure why? But I do. I have found myself slowly becoming the “crazy owl lady.” They are so cute.

I Love Teaching

I was born to be a teacher. I love it. Will you be my Valentine? Here’s my Valentine’s treat…and it’s calorie free. This Valentine’s Day FREEBIE is just for you. Click on the picture…and you’ll get a sample.