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!

The One-Minute Summer Emails That Build Lifelong Parent Connections

Every summer, I send out two short, simple emails to my class from the previous year.

They aren't fancy. They aren't long. But they always get replies like:
🧡 “Thank you — that meant a lot.”
📬 “He smiled so big when he saw your name pop up!”
📚 “She will stop by for that hug the first day back!"

✉️ Mid-Summer Check-In (which is now for NJ Teachers):

Hello, Former FABO FIRSTIE!

I hope you’re having an amazing summer! I’ve been thinking about our class and all the wonderful memories we made together. Don’t forget to read a little each day (use your library card!), write a story now and then, and of course — play outside and have FUN! I miss you and I’m so proud of how much you grew this year. 💛 Never forget...YOU ROCK!

✉️ One Week Before School Check-in

Hello, Former FABO FIRSTIE!

Can you believe that in a few short days, you will be a SUPER SECOND GRADER! I'm so excited for you! I'm excited to see you again. Don't forget to stop by the first day for a hug, handshake or a high-five. 💛 You're going to ROCK Second Grade!

✨ WHY THIS WORKS:

• Parents love it. It feels personal, thoughtful, and intentional.

• Kids feel seen. That one message reminds them: “My teacher still cares.”

• It builds your reputation. You’re not just the teacher they had — you become the teacher they remember.

And best of all?
💡 It takes under 1 minute to send each one.

If you send a letter like this to your former students, I’d love to hear how it goes. It’s such a small thing that makes a big difference.

Rethinking “Which One Doesn’t Belong?” — Open-Ended Questions for Deep Thinking

If you've ever asked your students “Which one doesn’t belong?” and expected one right answer, it’s time to shake things up! In my classroom, I use open-ended versions of this classic task to spark conversations, build confidence, and encourage flexible thinking.

These aren't your typical multiple-choice worksheets. Each prompt includes four items and every option has a reason it could be the odd one out. Students are asked not just to choose, but to explain their thinking.

Let's take a look at one math-related slide and the possible answers:

Quick: Which one doesn't belong to you???

Why is this powerful?

✅ It invites deeper thinking. Students look for patterns, exceptions, and relationships.
✅ It values all voices. There’s not just one “right” answer—there are many justifiable answers.
✅ It builds math vocabulary (if a math slide!). Kids naturally start to use words like “greater than,” “even,” “tens place,” or “symmetrical.”
✅ It makes formative assessment easy. You’ll quickly see who’s noticing what—and how they’re reasoning.

How I Use Them in the Classroom

• ✏️ Morning Work or Do-Nows
  A great way to get students settled and thinking at the start of the day.

• 💙Morning Meeting Activity!  Truly the perfect activity and it wakes up their brains. A double win!

• 👩‍🏫 Math or Reading Workshop Warm-Ups
  Perfect for mini-lessons or number talks. One slide, one conversation—tons of insight!

• 🤝 Partner or Small Group Work
  Students explain and debate their choices—collaboration meets critical thinking!

• 🧠 Early Finishers or Centers
  These tasks feel like puzzles—but sneak in serious learning.

I recently attended a PD Session which featured a woman who gave valuable insight: When kids answer, just nod head in agreement. Don't "make a fuss" over the ones that blow you away.  I've been doing these a long time and I was the one fussing.  But I overdid it and kids knew the answers I "loved."  Now I "love" them all equally!

TIP: These are a GREAT way to open up an observation lesson with. I have done it many, many times and admin always loves to see the deeper thinking.

What’s Inside My “Which One Doesn’t Belong?” Resources?

I’ve created grade-friendly sets for first and second grade with:

• Full-color slides for digital display that come in Google Slides and PowerPoint

• Printable versions in black and white only.  A different format but just as good.  

• A mix of visual and numerical reasoning prompts

• Open space for writing and drawing to explain thinking

Whether you're building number sense or stretching higher-order thinking, these flexible prompts are easy to plug into your routine.

Ready to Try It?  Here's a free sample to get you started.  

Which One Doesn't Belong? FREEBIE

I also have two wildly popular Which One Doesn't Belong products and have recently created monthly versions.  Get the bundle below for $25 which is $11 off the regular price. That's like getting 3 months FREE!  Gotta love that!

I never have to worry about last minute plans or having something READY at a moment's notice.  These Which One Doesn't Belong? slides are life-saving for me!

My Favorite Low-Prep Literacy Hack (Especially for Sub Plans!)

Ever feel like your read-aloud just needs something after it’s over?

You know the moment: your class loved the story, everyone’s engaged, and then… crickets. Do we write? Do we draw? Do we move on?

Enter one of my favorite grab-and-go solutions:

Book It: Retell It, Write It, Make It!

These printable mini-packets are the perfect follow-up to your favorite picture books—especially the ones featured on Storyline Online (Yes, the free site where celebrities read books aloud 🙌).

They’re a total lifesaver when:

• You need something quick but meaningful

• You're prepping for a sub

• You want students to practice literacy skills without extra planning

💡 What’s Inside Each Packet?

Each Book It! packet includes:
📚 A Retell-It page (oral and written)

 

✏️ A Write-It prompt (A story-connected writing activity

🔤 A Make-a-Word phonics page – built around a key word or theme from the book

They’re print-and-go and student-friendly for Grades 1-3!

📚 Which Books Are Included?

So far, the Storyline Online Growing Bundle includes 16 titles:

• Henry Holton Takes the Ice
• The Empty Pot
• Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch
• Zombies Don’t Eat Veggies!
• When a Dragon Moves In
• Trombone Shorty
• Strega Nona
• A Bad Case of Stripes
• Maddie’s Fridge
• I’m Not Scared, You’re Scared!
• Enemy Pie
• Chester’s Way
• Jabari Jumps
• Arnie the Doughnut
• Stellaluna
• The Hula-Hoopin’ Queen

New packets are being added every week!

Try One for Free!

Want to see what they’re like?
Grab the free Book It for The Sandwich Swap
It’s perfect for character-building and discussion, too.

💰 Snag the Growing Bundle Now!

The Growing Bundle currently includes 16 packets (a $32 value)
But right now it’s only $12 — just 75¢ each!
And every new addition is included automatically. 🎉

➡️ Storyline Online Book It Growing Bundle

Whether you’re lesson planning at midnight (we’ve all been there) or prepping an emergency sub tub, Book It! packets have your back. Easy, engaging, and done for you. ✅

Let me know if you try one—I love hearing which books your kids connect with most!

✏️ Teacher tip:

Make a few copies, pop them into a plastic sleeve, and store them with a QR code to the read-aloud video. Instant sub plan or early finisher bin!

Why 120 Chart Puzzles Belong in Your Math Centers

Looking for a low-prep, high-impact math center that builds number sense, encourages perseverance, and keeps kids engaged? Try120 Chart Puzzles  Such a small-but-mighty math activity that packs in tons of learning with minimal teacher effort.  Very minimal!

✂️ What Are 120 Chart Puzzles?

They’re exactly what they sound like! Take a 120 chart, cut it into pieces, and ask students to reassemble it like a puzzle. You can use a blank 120 chart as a base or let kids build directly on a table or tray.

Just print, laminate if you want, cut, and toss the puzzle pieces into a baggie—and you're DONE. It’s an instant, reusable center that students can work on solo, with a buddy, or in a small group. NOTE: I do not laminate. Instead, I print directly onto construction paper.  Sturdy enough. Just use different colors in case pieces wander about. This way, it will be easy to get the piece back into the right baggie.

🧠 What Skills Do 120 Chart Puzzles Build?

These puzzles do more than just keep early finishers busy. They actually strengthen key number concepts, including:

• Number Sequencing – Kids get constant exposure to counting patterns and one-more/one-less logic.

• Place Value Understanding – Students see how tens and ones interact as they place pieces.

• Number Pattern Recognition – Rows go up by 1s, columns by 10s. The more they build, the more these patterns stick.

• Problem-Solving & Perseverance – Rebuilding a 120 chart isn’t always easy, especially when the pieces are irregular. It encourages stick-to-itiveness!

• Spatial Reasoning – Students have to rotate and flip pieces to find their correct spot.

• Math Talk – These are great for partner work and guided math groups. You’ll hear rich conversations like “This number should be right above 54…” or “There’s a 72! That means this piece might go here.”

🧺 Simple to Prep, Easy to Differentiate

The beauty of this activity is that it’s low-maintenance for you and highly adaptable for your learners.

• ✅ Use full puzzles for beginners

• ✅ Cut charts into larger chunks (like rows or columns) for support or K students.

• ✅ Use more complex cuts for early finishers or second graders

• ✅ Offer blank 120 charts or clues to scaffold learners that they can place pieces directly onto.

NOTE: Download a free chart on TpT...so many of them!

🎯 Perfect for…

• Math Centers

• Early Finishers

• Morning Tubs

• Sub Plans

• Take-Home Practice

• Small Group Interventions

• Partner Challenges

✨ Final Thought

120 Chart Puzzles look simple but they’re loaded with learning. Best of all? Once you’ve prepped them, they’re ready to use all year long. Mine above have lasted a few years so far.

Minimal prep. Maximum impact. That’s a teacher win.

Why Poetry Belongs in Every Classroom

I got an email on Tuesday asking me why I'm so passionate about using poetry and songs in the classroom.  I pulled together my Top 10 reasons why I think using poetry binders in my First Grade classroom is beneficial:

1. Builds Early Literacy Skills

• Encourages fluency, phonemic awareness, and vocabulary development.

• Provides repeated exposure to high-frequency words and patterns.

2. Promotes Reading Confidence

• Poems are often short and rhythmic, making them approachable for young readers.

• Repetition and predictable structures help build self-assurance.

3. Enhances Listening and Speaking Skills

• Reciting and performing poems improves oral language skills.

• Encourages expressive reading and articulation.

4. Supports Memory and Retention

• Rhyming and rhythm aid memorization.

• Helps students recall language patterns and content.

5. Encourages Creativity and Imagination

• Sparks interest in wordplay, imagery, and storytelling.

• Inspires students to create their own poems.

6. Creates a Personal Reading Resource

• Students can revisit poems independently, building a sense of ownership.

• Acts as a growing portfolio of literacy progress throughout the year.

7. Facilitates Cross-Curricular Connections

• Poems can align with science, social studies, or seasonal themes.

• Reinforces concepts through engaging language.

8. Strengthens Home-School Connection

• Students can take binders home to read with family.

• Encourages literacy outside the classroom.

9. Fosters Classroom Community

• Shared readings of poetry promote a sense of belonging and shared learning.

• Class favorites can become part of daily routines or transitions.

10. Supports Differentiated Instruction

• Binders can be customized with poems suited to individual reading levels or interests.

• Provides an accessible entry point for struggling or emerging readers.

There you have it!  Thinking of starting a poetry binder this year? Here are 20 FREE poems to get you started. Have fun with them  Enjoy!!!

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!

Why Did I Wait So Long?! The Poetry Binder Hack That Saved My Sanity

I've finally figured out a classroom poetry binder system that actually saves me time—and I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner! If you’re a teacher looking to simplify monthly poem organization, you’re going to want to try this.

The Struggle Was Real

Every month, I’d print out our classroom poems, pass them out, and watch 20 tiny humans try to line them up with the three rings in the binders.  Of course I'd help but by the time I got all the way around the room, poems were upside-down, backwards and out of order. 😅

I did this September-June!  Every. Single. Month..

I thought I was doing things efficiently. I really did.

Spoiler: I was not.

Enter: My New Binder System

This year, I did something wild — I printed the entire year's worth of poems ahead of time. Yup. All of them. Double-sided. Sorted by month. Dividers which were simply labeled, "September Poems, October Poems, etc. included.

I handed out binders in September and said to my colleagues, “I'm done.” And guess what? I really was!

Here's What I Do Now

• Copy/paste just the poems I want into one master document (Thank you, Google Slides link in my TPT packet ).

• Number every poem so we can find them quickly

• Print double-sided and sorted by month (include Month dividers!)

• Put into binders just ONE TIME!

• Done and done.

Bonus: A Google Slides Shortcut!

If you're using my TPT poetry packet, grab the Google Slides link. I just drop the poems I want into one doc, and it's way easier to edit and prep for print. Then when I'm introducing a poem, no more scrolling. They are in the exact order I need them and display perfectly on my projector.  (I also have PDFs included which I used for display for years.  But while helpful, not ideal.  Slides much better!)

Seriously, Try It

I feel like an idiot for not doing this sooner — but also like a genius now. 😂 If you're still doing the month-to-month chaos, consider giving this full-year method a try. It’s honestly one of the best time-saving shifts I’ve made.

And don't forget, my September Poetry Packet is FREE!  

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!