Hello Friends! I'm so glad you are making your way through our blog hop to read through the terrific teacher tips, gather the letters that spell out a secret message, download the fabulous freebies, and enter all of the great giveaways at every stop! Our hop is a 3…2…1… BACK TO SCHOOL BASH  because each member of The Primary Pack will be giving you  3 teacher tips,  2 giveaways (one on each of our blogs and one BIG one on the Primary Pack),  and  1 freebie! To enter our BIG giveaway, you need to head over to THE PRIMARY PACK first! As you "hop" through our blogs, you will collect a letter from each of us… 28 total. Those letters spell out a secret code that you need.  You will use the secret code to enter the Rafflecoptor on The Primary Pack at the end of the hop. You need to collect the letters from us IN ORDER, so please make sure that you start from the beginning of our hop. Click on the button below to head over to THE PRIMARY PACK and...

Hello my friends..... Greetings from a weary teacher who survived my first four days of school, and tried to spend yesterday doing absolutely nothing school-related in order to relax and recuperate.   I've been struggling to compose a post that summarizes how my week went in hopes of releasing some of the pent-up frustration and feelings, and decided that linking up with Michelle from Big Time Literacy was the perfect place to help me balance the positives and the negatives..... So here goes...... Dear New Second Graders, I promise to greet each of you with a smile and a hug tomorrow morning as you enter Room #2.  I know that I might have been a little grouchy on Friday afternoon at bus time. I was feeling way outnumbered.  There are 28 of you and only one of me.  Our class is one of the biggest I've had ever in my 24-year teaching career, and I am overwhelmed.  Please be patient with me as I adjust to the sheer magnitude of my resp...

The countdown continues my friends..... Eight more days. Seven really. My school's Open House is Monday, Aug. 17th. My classroom is still in  a state of set-up chaos at the moment, but it will be ready by the time 26 eager little learners walk through the door to begin their new learning adventure.   One of the things they will see upon entering Room #2 is a tie-dye reading corner where  Pete the Cat will be "rocking in his school shoes."   They'll see endless bins full of books-- waiting to be read.   They'll see my guitar-- ready to be played at our daily sing-a-long time. They'll see me--smiling and giving welcoming hugs--ready to love each one of them for all the reasons that make them special. They'll also see this Focus Wall that spotlights our learning targets for Reading, Writing, and Math. Consider it a gift from my classroom to yours.   Click {HERE} to d...

Greetings on this peaceful, easy Saturday evening my friends.... Rosie is sleeping in her special spot on the sofa.  I can hear my neighbors grandchildren riding by on their bicycles.  There is caramel coffee in my cup. The light outside my deck window is fading.   In the words of Zac Brown..... "Life is good today...." While I have to admit that this has been a week full of personal setbacks, I continue to move forward on my life's journey with strong resolve.....especially on the professional front.  This summer I explored some new opportunities--which I will share in a future post...and stepped way outside my comfort zone to travel and experience  things I've had on my bucket list for a long while.  Yes, it monopolized a lot of my time in July, but it all made me a better teacher, collaborator, and person.   Tonight as I reflect on all that has transpired in this "Zen Summer of Jen 2015," it seems fitting to join  Farley'...

Hello Friends! Thanks for stopping by as I take another walk down memory lane before introducing one of my newest ideas!  In my best Junie B. journal-writing style, let me share this personal story. WHY I MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT BIRTHDAYS by Jennifer Reynolds Elementary Teacher My Mom always made a huge fuss about my birthday when I was growing up.   Even though it fell 12 days before Christmas when time and money were tight.   She always made sure to provide a thoughtful and usually homemade gift, donut cake in a holiday shape from a local shop, and chocolate milk bought in glass bottles from the corner Sterling's store. Fun games were planned with a few friends from school, and a grand time was usually enjoyed by all.  Well, except for when I turned eight and she put trick candles on my cake that would not blow out and made me cry!  Luckily, that lesson was learned and and happy celebrations followed  year-after-year!  THE END ...