Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

Do you ever struggle with coming up with new classroom management ideas for those few children who seem to push your buttons no matter what you do?   I feel you.  I've been there before for sure.

Stop at Organized Classroom and download a free 9-page eBook filled with ideas from the OC fans!



Just maybe you'll find something that makes the difference.

Enjoy!

~Charity



via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2GBTR7R

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

Black History Month is so important we need to find a way to squeeze it in regardless. See how I spotlighted famous African Americans! Enjoy this freebie!

Here are your free Black History Month Postcards and blank template!

Want your own set of Black History Month Postcards?



Head over to Organized Classroom and grab yours for free!

~ Charity




via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2DSWFyT

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

What are Strip Puzzles?

Simply put, they are images that have been cut into strips and when put in the correct order the image is revealed.

Many classrooms use Strip Puzzles to help a student with ordering things. This can be ordering numbers, ordering the letters in a word or even patterns.

Strip Puzzles are a great way for students to practice number recognition as they count out the numbers in order. When done correctly there is an immediate satisfaction knowing that they accomplished something because the image reveals itself. This is called the control of error in a Montessori Classroom but is a way for students to check their own work. Perfect for independent work in any classroom.

A few other ways to use Strip Puzzles are in teaching sight words, spelling words, or even a foreign language.

I first created a few strip puzzles to help a student that was having some issues recognizing her numbers and counting in order. But as I created the first set to go along with my Color Posters, I decided that this would be a perfect way to teach the color names in Spanish since we are a bilingual school.

The uses are endless!

Head on over to my blog and see how we are using them in our classroom and grab a FREEBIE while you are at it. Click the image below to get your FREE Penguin Number Fluency 1-10 Strip Puzzle.



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Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

Has your school staff morale been low?  Are you a tight knit crew or more of a "just get it done and go home" type of colleagues?  Do you wish you enjoyed your work environment a little more.  Check out this article to get some fun ideas - and a freebie!

This originally appeared on Organized Classroom.

What is teacher morale?

Teacher morale is about feeling valued and appreciated in every aspect of their profession.  Feeling proud of being an educator and knowing he or she is making a difference (and being told that frequently) ensures job satisfaction. It really isn't any different than any other job role to want to feel appreciated.  Now, more than ever, teachers are filling a job that is so multi-faceted, there are few who are even interested in stepping up to the plate to do it.  In any given day, a classroom teacher may have to fill a role of educator, disciplinarian, confidant, character builder, food provider, task master, nurse, housekeeper, and so much more... While formal professional development sessions are wonderful for teaching staff how to do many of those roles, sometimes just a pat on the back and some kind words are really what teachers need the most.  Everyone wants to feel like they are serving a purpose in the work they do. One of my favorite quotes that I have always tried to remember within the classroom when working with students is:  "Students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." It's also applicable when coming up with staff morale ideas too.


 

5 Quick Ways to Improve Teacher Morale

Need some quick solutions to make other staff members smile again when the stress of the job is becoming a little too much to bear? These ideas are not only for administrators to implement with their staff members, but some can also be done by teachers for teachers.  Don't forget about support staff - they help keep the buildings running as a cohesive unit too!

1 - Teacher Awards:  Check out THIS POST which has a really fun freebie for Staff Candy Bar Awards

2 - Morale building activities during staff meetings:  Team building can be fun by playing get to know you or ice-breaker games to start off each meeting

3 - Sunshine Club/Social Committee ideas:  Most schools have a group of staff members who are in charge of spreading love throughout the workers.  Get involved and encourage little ways to say thanks more often during the school year.  Don't have a social committee at your building?  Start one!

4 - Potlucks in the staff lounge:  Everyone has to eat.  Do a monthly meal when everyone brings something to share.  Baked potato bars, cookouts, desserts, or soup/salad buffets are tasty and offer a way to try new recipes from other employees.  Have a sign up sheet about a week prior so everyone gets a chance to contribute.

5 - Staff member get togethers outside of the school environment:  One of my favorite things about a grade level staff I worked with when I taught in Florida was the weekend meetups our grade level team regularly had.  We would do lunch, shopping, or sometimes even cocktails.  The annual cookie decorating event at Christmas was always something we looked forward to each year.

BONUS IDEA:  Just tell someone they are making a difference in front of others.  Whether that's a fellow teacher, a student, a parent, a support person, or even the head honcho, you can never go wrong when you make someone else feel good. // amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit0"; amzn_assoc_search_bar = "false"; amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "gradonlischo-20"; amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual"; amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart"; amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon"; amzn_assoc_region = "US"; amzn_assoc_title = "Teacher Morale Books:"; amzn_assoc_linkid = "318bc73b86719e1cddfd0569da8afea5"; amzn_assoc_asins = "1412913381,1682531325,1483307832,1596671033"; //

Other ideas for rewarding teachers:

When I noticed that a Facebook fan posted this on the Organized Classroom fan page: "My principal has asked our building to work on morale among teachers.....looking for some fun/creative ideas some of you have done at your buildings!" and that there was a whole thread of ideas, I knew it warranted a free eBook, which is exactly where the one below came from. 

Stop at Organized Classroom to download it right to your email!





Enjoy and hopefully some of you who have schools with some low morale right now, can use one or two ideas to break up the dark cloud a bit and let the sun shine in.

Don't have a super supportive principal?  You don't need permission to make a colleague smile.  Find little ways to make their day brighter and in turn you'll find it helps you in the process as a nice side effect.

Have fun and thanks to all the contributors!

~Charity


via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2DGtg7H

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

Do you ever wonder what topics your readers would like to know more about and their burning questions about those topics?  Stop by Teaching Blog Traffic School to get the deets and also grab 30 Plug and Play Blog Post Titles as a bonus freebie!



See you there!

~Charity



via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2rG89Rf

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

With class sizes these days, it can be hard getting Valentines gifts for all students in the classroom for holidays. Maybe these will be helpful!

They can be customized to work for your classroom’s needs!  I created 2 different tags so you have options!

Want Valentine's Day tags for your class?



Head over to Organized Classroom to grab yours for free!

~ Charity




via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2Ffw7EM

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

Do you celebrate Groundhog Day in your classroom?   I have pulled together several teaching resources to allow you to tie it to your curriculum - oh yeah!

Stop at Organized Classroom and get a free set of Groundhog Day Activity Mats while you're there!



Enjoy!

~Charity



via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2naetLp

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

I love simple crafts for the classroom.  And I love cute simple crafts even more.  :)

Check out this fun paper plate maze craft for an indoor recess or time filler activity!   You can even tie it to your reading curriculum with character analysis and/or sequencing!

Even better?   Create a super easy winter bulletin board from the craft!  #score



Check out the details at Organized Classroom and grab a free paper plate maze template too!

See you there!

~Charity



via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2rBZVcY

Guest Blog Post from our friends over at ClassroomFreebiesToo.com! Hope you enjoy.

Here is a little something I whipped up for you to enjoy! My freebie is February Journal Prompts! Perfect for writing in the grade 2-5 classroom! Enjoy!

Great for morning work, those few extra minutes of writing, or as a center.  Include some discussions in partners for some classbuilding exercises!  The list is endless!

Want your own copy of February Journal Prompts?



Head over to Organized Classroom and grab yours for free!

~ Charity




via Classroom Freebies Too http://bit.ly/2DzZVPv