✨ Put a Little Magic in the First Day of School (Right After Lunch!)

The first day of school can feel like a whirlwind. By the time lunch is over, everyone’s minds and bodies have been working hard. That’s why I love to build in a little magic moment after lunch to re-energize my students without overwhelming them.

Enter… Magic Play Clay or Play-Doh.  (Download for FREE!)

Make Your Own

How It Works

Before students return from lunch, place a small ball of white clay (can be store-bought but I make my own) on each desk. Tell them this is no ordinary clay. It’s magic clay that will change color when they make a First Grade Wish once they squish, roll, and stretch it.(In the baggie at first until mixed!)

As they begin working the clay in their baggie, the hidden color inside will start to appear. The transformation is quick, fun, and totally mesmerizing! (The secret: hide a little food coloring in the middle of each clay ball before class.)

Keep in baggie UNTIL all mixed well.  This way, won't stain anything. They must get my verbal OK before they can take out of bag.

Why It’s Perfect for After Lunch

• Calms the energy after recess and the bustle of the cafeteria.

• Gives students a shared, fun and giggly experience in the middle of a big day.

• Sparks conversation without the pressure of a formal activity.

Add a Creative Twist

Once the color has fully appeared, I let them take it our of the baggie and challenge students to shape their clay into something:

• Spell their name or initials with it

• An object that starts with the first letter of their name

• Make an animal out of it

• Free play! Let them do what they want with it

Let them share with a partner or small group. It’s a fun way to build community and get everyone talking again.

It’s simple. It’s magical. And it gives your first day the perfect dose of wonder… right when your students need it most.

Full directions, poems and a class book you can use as well linked above.  Enjoy! 

New Directed Drawing (NO, David!) and Growing Bundle

I’m so excited to share my second Directed Drawing Bundle. This is a GROWING BUNDLE and it’s a good one! If you’ve been wanting to bring a little art-meets-literacy magic into your classroom, this is a good time to grab this!

At the moment, this bundle includes two Directed Drawings: No, David! and Piggie and Elephant.

The bundle is just $6 as of now before I add the next Directed Drawing later on this week.  That means you get the remaining 3 that will be uploaded within the next few weeks FREE. How cool is that? 

What are the next books to be added?  Drumroll, please!

1. The Recess Queen

2. Mother Bruce

3. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

These easy, book-themed directed drawings are perfect for:
✅ Morning work
✅ Literacy centers
✅ Art integration
✅ Sub plans
✅ Fun Fridays
✅ Early finishers
✅ Read-aloud extensions
✅ Bulletin boards
✅ Fine motor practice
✅ Indoor recess
✅ End-of-day wind down

Each one is easy to follow, super classroom-friendly, and helps students build fine motor skills, creativity, and confidence. 🖍️

Take a peek at my Complete Directed Drawing Bundle #1

Which one is your favorite? I admit to having a soft spot for David!

Happy drawing!

Piggie & Elephant to the Rescue! Directed Drawings

If your students are anything like mine, they’re obsessed with Mo Willems. And if you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for activities that check all these boxes:

✅ Engaging
✅ Low prep
✅ Tied to literacy
✅ Actually FUN

Well, friend, consider it done! Let me introduce you to my Piggie & Elephant Directed Drawing Printables — aka: the magical combination of writing, reading, drawing, and "LOOK WHAT I MADE!" moments that will make you feel like a superhero (without the cape or paperwork).

What’s the Deal?
Your students get to follow simple, step-by-step directions to draw Piggie, Elephant, the Big Guy (hi, whale 🐳), Love Birds, a car, and a ship. That’s SIX different drawing options—differentiated FOUR ways—because you teach real humans, not identical robots.

Some pages are no-writing-required (perfect for kinders or “I lost my pencil” days), and some have sentence-writing options with different line types depending on your students' abilities or handwriting stage. There's even extra paper for your little novelists. I see you, future Mo Willemses.

Why Teachers Love This:

• It’s a sneaky way to reinforce comprehension. (“Let’s draw Gerald! But wait… what’s he feeling in the book again?”)

• It builds fine motor skills without a single clothespin or play dough in sight.

• Students become very proud of their creations. Like, “Please display this until I graduate” proud.

• It’s fun for centers, sub days, Fun Fridays, or “we finished math early and I am NOT starting a new lesson at 2:17 PM.”

Bonus Teacher Tips:

• Do all six drawings over a week while reading the books aloud = INSTANT cross-curricular magic.

• End the week by having students combine characters into one scene = hilarious and bulletin board-worthy.

• Let them record themselves reading their sentences on Seesaw. 

• Keep a binder of reusable directed drawings in sleeves = easy access, forever engagement, zero excuses.

Whether you’re team Piggie, team Elephant, or team “please let the pigeon drive the bus already,” this resource is a go-to gem you’ll use year after year.

Check out the other Directed Drawings I have in action and a full preview of how I format the packet...I think you'll recognize some cool characters your kids will love!

This is Bundle 1: Save $5 which saves you 33%  Piggie and Elephant will be available in Bundle 2 when it's ready...by the end of July.  Happy 4th!

Draw Like Dav Pilkey : Directed Drawings from Dog Man

If your students are obsessed with Dog Man, you're in good company! Dav Pilkey’s graphic novel series is a favorite in my classroom and from what my colleagues say, their classrooms, too. 

While, full disclosure, it's not a favorite of my personal taste, I am fully here for anything that gets kids excited about reading and this fits the bill!

I aim to please so please I did....my kids went WILD yesterday when I shared my latest Directed Drawing packet with them. (Thanks to my husband who actually makes the drawings for me.)

It was at the end of the day so I wasn't able to take too many pictures.

Take a peek at some of their art from past packets. I'll have to get better at taking pictures!

This resource includes step-by-step drawing guides for 6 Dog Man characters — perfect for beginning artists and young readers alike! Each drawing breaks down the character into simple steps. Build confidence for sure! Read about the benefits of Directed Drawings if you are new to them.

Characters Included

• Dog Man

• Petey

• Petey's Lab

• Mayor

• Hot Dog 

• Chief

 Why You'll Love This

• ✔️ No drawing experience needed — each step is scaffolded to support your youngest learners

• ✔️ Great for literacy connections — pair it with Dog Man read-alouds or independent reading time

• ✔️ Perfect for brain breaks, Fun Friday, art centers, sub plans, or bulletin boards, Do Nows, Fast Finishers, Summer Send Off, etc.

• ✔️ Inspires storytelling — students can write about their characters once they draw them!

Easy Prep, Big Engagement

Want to take it a step further? Let students create their own comic strips or Dog Man-style adventures using the characters they’ve drawn!

Ready to Draw Some Laughs?

Whether you’re a lifelong Dog Man fan or just discovering the world of Dav Pilkey, this directed drawing pack is a fun, low-prep way to build confidence, creativity, and giggles.

👉 Grab the Dog Man Directed Drawing Pack for K–2 now and unleash your students' inner illustrator! 

Lots more packets coming this summer.  Thinking Pete the Cat, Bruce the Bear, Pig the Pug, Fly Guy, Piggie and Elephant, David....any others?  Hmmm...thinking, thinking...

UPDATED:  I made a Pete the Cat Packet and made  MONEY SAVING BUNDLE! Save $5!

FREEBIE! Meet Your New Best Friend in the Classroom—Making Words!

Hey there, teacher friend! Happy New Year! I love January with my First Graders...the growth really accelerates by leaps and bounds once January hits! It's exciting to see. I still have a few more days of vacation but wanted to share one of my favorite classroom activities with you: Making Words! 

I did speed it up so you I could show you my words. Can you guess my thought process?  I can hear my Firsties saying, "I just used the digraph -ck!"  Every time I made a plural word, I envisioned, "Yes! She added the s to make more than one!"  I love how this engaging hands-on activity is like their own second dose of Fundations for the day!

I’m excited to show you why (and how) I use this game-changing tool that will make your teaching life even more amazing—and I have 13 FREE January/February themed Making Words ready for you to print out today and share with your class.

Do you have lots of magnetic letters? If so, you can make this activity center below as a year-long area for your kids to get more practice making words. My kids are always there...even during their Free Choice time.  Kids like to go in groups of 2 or 3 and just write messages or play school and practice sight words.

Here's a picture of one student using the Making Words Center to leave me a message.

They often write their parents a message and send it home via Seesaw. One parent even replied using refrigerator magnets and sending a message back to her child. Fun!

So, what's all the buzz about? Well, let me tell you how this tool is going to take your classroom to the next level of engagement and learning. Promise! 

What is Making Words?

Making Words is a hands-on, interactive learning resource that allows students to practice spelling, phonics, and vocabulary through word-building activities. The best part? It's completely adaptable for your classroom's needs. The FREE January/February Making Word packet comes with 13 Make-a-Word worksheets. While I don't use all 13, I do use, at a minimum, eight.  One per week where kids work together and then 1 per week that we do together.  I use magnetic letter on the board that they come up and manipulate into words and write down on their worksheet. (Or use Doc camera if you don't have letters.)  NOTE: I do add others to Free Choice time and send home when kids request them...which is often. Families do together.  Fun!

Making words is like a word puzzle, Fundation lesson, and a learning adventure all rolled into one. What’s not to love? 

If you do this:

then there is a very high probability that you will LOVE making words with your class!

Why You’ll Love It

1. Endless Fun with Themes Galore!
   With 13 Making Words per monthly packet, there’s a fresh word-building challenge for every month—and let’s not forget the holiday themes! From Pumpkin Spice words to Winter Wonderland vocabulary, your students will be excited to create and learn with each new theme.

2. Simple Setup, Big Impact
   You don’t need a PhD in lesson planning to get started. Each packet is designed for quick, easy implementation, saving you valuable time. Just print. That's it! Plus, with the activities aligned with the K-3 curriculum, you can quickly integrate them into your existing lessons without skipping a beat.

3. Helps with Phonics, Spelling, and Vocabulary
   Making words isn’t just a fun activity—it’s a critical literacy tool! Your kiddos will master phonics skills, improve their spelling, and expand their vocabulary all while playing and collaborating with their classmates. 

4. Perfect for Small Groups & Independent Work
   Whether you're working with small groups or letting kids dive into independent learning, Making Words has you covered. It’s versatile enough to use in a variety of ways. And the best part? It’s not just something your students will do once. They can revisit it again and again—making it a year-long valuable resource.

5. Boosts Confidence and Builds Creativity
   When students start creating words from scratch, something magical happens—they feel empowered! It builds their confidence and fosters creativity. Seeing a student light up when they’ve created a new word or finally recognize and can spell that Trick Word in Fundations, is an unforgettable moment that shows how powerful this tool is.

6. Helps with Differentiation
   You’ve got a class full of diverse learners, and Making Words is designed with that in mind. Whether they’re beginners or more advanced, it meets every child’s needs. Plus, the variety of words offered means there's always something new for everyone to explore!  

Why It’s a Must-Have for Your Classroom

Alright, let’s get real. We know that as teachers, you’re constantly on the lookout for tools that save time, maximize engagement, and boost learning. Well, guess what? Making Words checks all of those boxes—and more.

It’s a one-stop resource that will provide hours of educational fun throughout the year. Imagine the smiles as kids dive into themed word-building challenges, the high fives when they spell a tricky word, and the excitement of learning through play. Can you say "classroom gold"?

But don’t just take my word for it—this tool has been crafted with teachers in mind, and I can’t wait for you to see the difference it makes in your classroom.

How I Use Making Words in My Classroom:

1. Pick out a Making Words Sheet and gather your kids on the carpet area.  You can either use Magnetic letters or cut our the letters.  Either way, I do prefer kids to actually move the letters around to make the words.  Ask kids, "Can anyone make a word out of these letters?"

2. Record words on board. 

3. I often guide students who lack confidence. "Dan made the word at.  Look at the word, Sarah. If I put a C in front of -at, what is my new word?"  

4. Repeat the above and if students don't mentions diraps, plurals etc, guide them. Help them make those connections.  Point to the Word Wall area and remind kids to make those words too.

5. Group Work: Once a week, while kids are eating snack at desks, I will whip out a Making Words.  They can eat and think at the same time! 

6. Independent Time! When kids are ready to work without me, I will let them work independently at times but OFTEN in a group.  They make/record words together.

7. Share Words: Halfway through, I get everyone's attention and ask if anyone wants to share a word.  This is the best part. The kids love to show what they know.  The student says the word as I write it on the board.  I tell the kids that they can add this word to their own paper if they want. Most do. 

My colleague uses these Making Words activities but does NOT have kids cut the letters out. Personal preference. Do what's best for your kids.  I do have kids store words in a snack baggie so they can work on their words throughout the week.

In the beginning, the words in First Grade start off as mostly 2-3 letter words but that really changes fast.

Side Note: A few years ago, our First Grade Team was concerned that so many of our kids struggled with RHYMING WORDS for the first time.  A downward trend that I feel was reversed by Making Words. 

Are you up for a new activity in 2025? Grab your Making Words set today!

Happy teaching!

A Book I DO NOT recommend!

A colleague was deep cleaning her room for a classroom move down the hall.  Look what she found tucked in the back of a closet...by Joy Cowley no less. (BTW, I have mad respect for that incredible woman!)

As much as I love Joy, this book is so.....creepy looking!  And Ha-Ha Powder?  My colleagues and I had a good laugh interpreting what Ha-Ha Powder really is!  In this "J Level" book, the powder falls out of the back of a car and everyone who comes in contact with it can't stop laughing.  I bet!

Look how depressed the clowns are when they discover they have no Ha-Ha Powder in the back of their car.  Eek! 

As I'm writing this, I googled to see the copyright date since I don't have the book in front of me.  I found this article from 2018.

What surprised me most: That any teacher would STILL be sending this book home!

Joy's most popular book that has sold over 40 million copies and is still going strong:

She has a ton of Mrs. Wishy-Washy adventures in the series that kids love just as much. But I didn't know that Mr. Wishy Washy had his own book!

Did you have a favorite Joy Cowley book? Mine was little lovely book about a woman who used items from nature to make a warm coat for herself. 

Let me know your favorite Joy Cowley book or memory you have...

Have a Happy 4th of July! 

First Day of School Classroom Traditions

One tradition I always do on the first day of school is to take individual pictures of my new students. I snap the photo and then show them the pic right away. Picture perfect, of course!  (I used to do the First Day of First Grade but now that every parent seems to snap their own pic, I moved on to this type of photo.)

Using these photo props is a great way to start and end the year! Makes a great first impression as well as a strong lasting impression! I usually print out a copy of each child holding one in the beginning of the year and hang them up in the classroom to make an adorable bulletin board. 

I also send through the Seesaw app. I think seeing their smiling child helps parents relax if they had those first day jitters themselves.

When I cut these out, I leave a small white border around each one. Makes cutting them out quicker! I just have kids hold them…so simple! What teacher doesn't like SIMPLE?

Next year, I'm going to send home an end-of-year gift that has BOTH back-to-school and end-of-year and pictures  I meant to do it this year but the last day of school crept up on me pretty fast.

Another tradition I LOVE and the kids go BONKERS for is making Magic Play-Doh! Be sure to visit learn how to do it, and grab the freebie there.  If you haven't yet done this fun activity, make this the year you try it out!

Birthday Celebrations in the Classroom

I love to celebrate my little ones' special day in the classroom BUT I keep it pretty simple. Very! If you are looking for some tried and true (but easy-to-implement) ideas to celebrate birthdays in your classroom, you may find something here.

Straws and Crowns are given out to my birthday kids.

Years ago, I had a pretty elaborate display of their birthdays but no more.  Space became an issue and I just didn't want to give up that much real estate to a display that really wasn't used much. So here's my super simple birthday display that takes me 10  minutes to complete. (Shown with names/dates blurred out.)

Oddly enough, it gets WAY more "looks" from the kids than the fancy displays I had up. Pretty sure because it's eye level and straight forward. I made it using PowerPoint, added a border and first names/birthdays.  Easy. Done.  I usually have "Crazy Straws" but the Dollar Store was out so these large ones work fine. Easier to clean for parents!  NOTE: I'm now in a huge classroom but am sticking with this simple, yet, effective display.

My colleague gave me this large coloring sheet. Perfect for the birthday child to color in while others are making cards.  While it says the website address to access it for free, it's not active. I'm sure you could easily find another one. The appeal is that it's 17 x 11. This is the Do-Now of the day and I send home the cute birthday cards that day the kids make but I have some colleagues that compile them into a book.  I may try that next year. A nice memory all in one place!

They also get to pick out the books that I'll be sharing that day.  They tend to pick tried and true favorites, Some pick nonfiction...up to them! They can bring in books from home, too. 

Being a Cool Cat Helper of the day is always FUN but nothing beats getting to be one AND picking your partner. That's what happens on your birthday! It's such a simple system with no stress of changing jobs or having kids complain about their jobs!  I've been doing it this way for about 7-8 years now and would never go back to a full-blown job board. Each student gets to be a helper in ALL areas (like the coveted Line Leader every 10 days.)

They get a joke on the calendar and get to take it home.  I try to match up the child's looks as best as I can and the kids always say, "How did you make a picture of me?"  I have Seasons, Dinosaurs and Sports themes. All contain jokes.

We sing this fun Happy Birthday Song during Cupcake time!  Grab it if you want it,  It's my highlight! After we sing it (and add our Cha-Cha-Chas!) we give the Birthday student a "firework" with our hands and a "Truck Driver" which, if you don't know, you put your hand up in the air, and pull down while saying, "Honk, honk!" then pretending to talk into a radio, say in a deep voice, "Happy Birthday, Little Buddy."

Giggles galore! 

That's it.  Not a ton but I think it's the just right amount of birthday fun for my Fabo Firsties.