I am determined to enjoy the last few weeks of summer vacation (and I think I’m doing a pretty great job enjoying them!) but I’m also getting excited thinking about my new class & the start of a new school year.

Easing my way into back to school planning, I stumbled on some great quotes for teachers that I wanted to keep in mind as this back to school season gets underway. They are definitely motivating me to start things off on a positive note!

If you or some of your teacher friends are in need of some inspiration check out this tear sheet. You can post it around your campus to spread the positive feelings around your school or just in your classroom. Just snip on the solid lines before posting & you’re ready to spread some teacher happiness!

Click here to download this freebie!

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Happy 4th of July! This is my favorite time of year and not just because it’s summer vacation!

Besides, summer vacation doesn’t keep this teacher from stalking Instagram for activities that my first graders would love to do during the school year.

I’m just filing them away for Constitution Day in September, which I am totally counting as working on lesson plans in the summer.

Here are my favorite Instagram posts that are perfect for July 4th (or September 17th):

First up is this amazing donut flag! I am new to the world of donut walls and clearly I’ve been missing out on things! This was made by Kristen of the blog, Capturing Joy. Now I just need to find an occasion worthy of my own donut wall. I’m thinking about all those fun 100 chart mystery pictures- you could totally use one as a pattern for a wall. If you passed out rubber gloves the kids could even help put it together, getting a little math in there with their donut decorating too! Be sure to follow Kristen on Instagram by clicking her name in the blue below & find her on Facebook, Pinterest, & Twitter too!

A photo posted by Kristen Duke (@capturingjoyblog) on May 27, 2016 at 5:00am PDT

First graders love paper chains! They are one of my go to ways to calm a super wiggly group. But it never occurred to me to have my students make patriotic paper chains. That brilliant idea is from Lindi on her blog, Love the Day. I’m so glad I saw this cute printable and I know just where we’ll be using them to decorate our classroom. Go follow Lindi on Instagram for lots more cuteness! Check out her Facebook, Pinterest, & Twitter too!

A photo posted by Lindi Haws (@lovetheday) on Jun 20, 2016 at 8:40am PDT

I love this adorable stamped flag from Brittney at her blog, Preschool Savvy. Painting with legos & other blocks is such a fun idea! I know that my students would be beyond excited to do this project or to pretty much stamp anything using legos. Basically, legos make everything better! Go follow Brittney on Instagram for more wonderful early childhood ideas!

A photo posted by Preschool Savvy (@preschool_savvy) on Jul 2, 2016 at 6:38pm PDT

How cute are these collage flags from TK kids in Mrs. Transitional Kinder’s Class!? I love how unique each one turned out. Getting to tear up paper & use stickers in one art project? That makes for a very engaged group of students! Check out Mrs TK’s Instagram for tons more awesome teaching ideas!

A photo posted by Mrs. TK (@mrstransitionalkinder) on May 21, 2015 at 4:26pm PDT

I hope that you have added these ideas to your patriotic files and found new Instagram accounts to follow for even more inspiration! Happy 4th of July!

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The post Instagram Inspiration: 4th of July Edition appeared first on Happy Teacher, Happy Kids.

Groundhog Day in first grade is always so much fun! I want to share some cute handwriting pages I just made with you so you’ll be ready for February 2nd early this year! Click below to grab a freebie with some cute groundhog jokes in cursive and print versions.

image credit: TeddyandMia/shutterstock.com

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At this point in the school year our classroom crayon supply has been through a lot of trauma! I’m planning to surprise my first grade friends with fresh new boxes on Monday morning.

I wrote the little poem above and plan to put one copy on each new box. I printed my labels on full size label paper (Avery 5353 size works great) and then cut them out so I’m ready to start sticking them on the crayon boxes. I also made a copy of the poem for the kids to trace for a little handwriting practice morning work while we all get situated after winter break.

I was having so much fun with the whole “New Year, New Crayons” theme so I made some quick & ready to use math & literacy activities. Click the image below to check them out in my shop:

Click below for your freebies!

As you get ready to face your Monday,  check out this post some tips to ease your way back into the school routine as well as another no prep freebie to help out with your planning:

Happy New Year!

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The end of July always has me feeling a bit anxious about all of the work ahead of me to start a new school while simultaneously trying to squeeze as much relaxation from summer break as possible. I don’t think I’m the only teacher who feels unsettled at this time of year (at least I hope I’m not alone!).

Instead of stewing about my worries, I decided to re-watch one of my favorite TED Talks- Rita Pierson talking about relationships. I think it is impossible to watch Dr. Pierson speak and not feel inspired and ready to jump into any new challenge.

If you haven’t seen it, stop & watch it now!

Now don’t you feel better? I also found this amazing sketch note from Sylvia Duckworth with all of Dr. Pierson’s main points:

If you’re not already following Sylvia on Twitter you are missing out! She has created many inspiring sketch notes for teachers that you should check out. One of my favorite parts of Dr. Pierson’s talk is the mantra that she gave to her students. Talk about having a growth mindset! Last year my kids would recite our class agreements together each morning. I’m thinking about introducing a first grade version of Dr. Pierson’s statement instead.

At the end of the yr many teachers countdown the days for school to end. LET’S DO THE OPPOSITE #CountdownToGreatness pic.twitter.com/O5rmPHdFBV

— Kara Welty (@kara_welty) July 26, 2015

A few days ago I stumbled across this amazing tweet from Kara Welty. Even though I’m having some back to school anxiety I really am still very excited to meet my new class. But I’ve never thought about officially counting down with excitement to the first day of school as opposed to my usual panicky, “I have how many days left to do all this work?!” countdown.

I love this idea and I have already been working to shift my mindset about back to school countdowns. I wanted to leave you with one more amazing quote from Dr. Pierson. This one is getting printed out and glued into the front of my plan book!

 Image Credits: Shutterstock.com/Sunny Studio, Rudchenko Liliia, Mark Herreid

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Today was our Fairy Tale Feast and we had a blast! A blast that was also super exhausting but a blast none the less. The kids dressed up as their favorite fairy tale characters and it was super cute! Obviously Elsa & Anna were well represented as well as an assortment of princesses, wolves, pigs, pirates, & one Little Red Riding Hood.

I dressed up as a very tired teacher/princess which mostly meant wearing my comfy casual Friday clothes paired with a very lovely tiara. A tiara that I am pretty sure was intended to go with prom dresses- thank you very much to Claire’s!

All week we practiced the adorable song from First Grade Wow’s amazing and free fairy tale unit. Today we were ready to record a video all dressed up in fairy tale finery to share with our families. Go check it out!

We finished our day with a buffet of healthy fairy tale snacks. The kids ate their way through that in about 5 minutes! Click below to grab your free signs to make your own fairy tale snack buffet:

Credit: KG Fonts, Little Red, Coffee, Kids, & Compulsive Lists

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We are working on telling time in first grade and I wanted to share this cute song in case anyone else is teaching time right now. This is another one of those songs that I have known forever but that I don’t know the origins of- if it’s yours let me know! We’ve been singing while we practice using Judy clocks and the kids love this one. Click the picture to grab a copy for your class!

Credit: Graphics from the Pond, Little Red, KG Fonts

The post Telling Time Song for Kindergarten and First Grade appeared first on Happy Teacher, Happy Kids.

Earth Day is all over the teacher-gram this evening! I have found so many amazing Earth Day projects that I’m definitely penciling in for next year’s celebration. Here are my favorites- be sure to click on the blue names to visit the teachers with these cute ideas!

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Happy Earth Day! #iheartearthday #earthday

A post shared by Colleen Alaniz (@totallyterrificintexas) on Apr 22, 2015 at 1:43pm PDT

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A little window cuteness to brighten up your Earth Day! #iteachtoo #iteachkinder #earthday

A post shared by Maria Manore Gavin (@kindercraze) on Apr 22, 2015 at 1:25pm PDT

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Today we made the layers of the Earth for Earth Day! The kids loved it! The parents were so impressed that they could name the layers of the Earth! #preschool #kindergarten #iteachtoo

A post shared by Kristen Smith (@adayinfirstgrade) on Apr 22, 2015 at 1:16pm PDT

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This little cutie joined my class about a month ago because of some behavior problems he was having in his other class. Today, his painting was the best in the class! (I'm a bit biased….I absolutely adore this kid!!!!) #lovemystudents #iteachk #iteachkinder #iteachtoo #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #kindergartenshouldbefun #kindergartenteacher #whatbehaviorproblems???

A post shared by Elyse Rhodes | A is for Apples (@peaceloveapples) on Apr 22, 2015 at 7:21pm PDT

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It's done! 45 LOUD minutes later. (Collage and thirty-five 4th graders). Next time I think I need to ask for dark blues and light greens to get more contrast.

A post shared by Kathy Barbro (@artprojectsforkids) on Apr 22, 2015 at 11:59am PDT

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I love teaching about weather each spring. The kids always get so into it and there are so many fun activities & experiments we do together. This year I upgraded my song cards for one of my favorite weather songs all about clouds. I would love to give credit to the clever teacher who wrote these words to go along with the tune of “When the Saints Come Marching In” but I’m not sure of the origins and I have seen it in many classrooms, both online & real life.  Please let me know if it’s you! Click any of the images below to grab a copy for your class.

I also made a fun cover for the cloud journal I made for my class last year. I don’t know why I didn’t think to add that cuteness last year! Click below to snag the cloud journal along with a quick addition math game.

Image Credits: Shutterstock/worker, Shutterstock/C_Eng-Wong Photography, Shutterstock/pablonilo

The post Learning about Clouds in First Grade appeared first on Happy Teacher, Happy Kids.

Instagram has become my favorite place (after Pinterest, of course!) to find new teaching ideas & inspiration. Here are my favorite posts from the past week. Be sure to click on each name in blue below and follow these awesome teachers!

I am the worst at remembering to take attendance on time. I have post it notes all over my desk & laptop but they only seem to help me every other day. Setting a reminder alarm is genius!

It never fails. I always get super forgetful about taking attendance this time of the year. Getting daily calls from the office to take attendance is just embarrassing! ? Thank goodness for multiple alarms. Set them up this week and they are working like a charm ? #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #iteachtoo

A photo posted by Learning in Wonderland (@learninginwonderland) on Apr 8, 2015 at 4:32pm PDT

I have a very messy bunch of kids this year and I feel like our floor only gets picked up if I personally invite each student to pick up each piece of paper one at a time. Can you tell I’m over this?! I am totally trying these table recycling bins this week.

Group recycling bins… such a great idea I gor from @rowdyinroom300 a long time ago! It really cuts down on the constant getting up to recycle and the mess around the room… love it!

A photo posted by Teacher by the Beach (@teacherbythebeach) on Apr 9, 2015 at 5:41am PDT

This is such a cool idea to freshen up a behavior plan at this time of year when the kids are starting to feel extra frisky!  And I now have a new shopping quest to find one of this spinning frames!

Spinning the Star Table Wheel is bringing out the best in my class ? details are on my blog now (link in comments) #iteachtoo #teachersofinstagram #teachersfollowteachers #firstgrade

A photo posted by Polka Dots Please (@polka.dots.please) on Apr 8, 2015 at 5:56pm PDT

I don’t think being irritated by pencil problems ever goes away so sending pencil sharpening home with parent volunteers sounds amazing!

Beyond thankful for our Take Home Pencil Sharpening Posse this year! ✏️✏️ #flutteringthroughfirstgrade #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #igteachers

A photo posted by Fluttering Through First Grade (@fluttering1st) on Apr 8, 2015 at 8:38am PDT

I don’t know what it is about first graders but they love to tie knots. I had two little friends on Friday both tie their shoelaces together into the craziest knots I have ever seen. They were totally shocked that we couldn’t just pull them apart when the bell for recess rang and that they had to stay inside while their teacher struggled to free them! Well, now I’m ready to untangle any knots that come my way thanks to this great tip!

Beyond thankful for our Take Home Pencil Sharpening Posse this year! ✏️✏️ #flutteringthroughfirstgrade #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #igteachers

A photo posted by Fluttering Through First Grade (@fluttering1st) on Apr 8, 2015 at 8:38am PDT

And this one was a little too relatable for the week back at school after spring break!

My class today was OUT of control!! What is in the air??? #teachers #teacherproblems #teachersofig #teacherbloggers #iteachk #iteachtoo

A photo posted by Adventures In Kinder (@adventuresinkinder) on Apr 8, 2015 at 3:52pm PDT

Check back next week for more Instagram inspiration!

Image credit: Shutterstock/Yurlymaging

The post Instagram for Teachers: Insta-Teaching Posts of the Week appeared first on Happy Teacher, Happy Kids.