Feeling overwhelmed by the thought of returning to school after winter break? With just a few simple, high-impact tasks, you can set yourself up for a smooth and stress-free January. From quick pre-break prep to actionable strategies for your first week back, this guide is packed with tips to simplify your classroom reset and help you focus on what matters most: teaching with ease and confidence.

You made it to the end of the school year with your students. Let’s make sure it ends on a positive note. I have five tips and activities for the end of the year that are easy to implement, involve little to no prep, and will put smiles on the faces of you and your students.

Students have worked hard this year. They are ready for a break. You are, too. However, you know how important it is to encourage your students to practice their skills over the summer to prevent losing some of what you all worked so hard to achieve this year.

The challenge becomes finding work for your students to do that offers practice and reinforcement, but that they’ll actually enjoy doing. I’ve got you covered. Read on to learn how.

The end of a school year means many things to a teacher. Endless to-do lists, fitting in final lessons and projects with your students, getting your classroom summer vacation-ready. The end of the year also means thank you gifts.

As teachers, we’re on the receiving end of gifts of appreciation from our students and families. We also want to give gifts to those who walked alongside us throughout the year. Especially this year.

Stressed about finding just-right gifts that are within your budget? Don’t be. I have suggestions and resources to help.

This growing collection of posts will teach you how to lesson plan quickly, how to create an effective lesson planning system, important factors to consider when planning your lessons, and strategies for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly lesson planning.

Let me help take some of the overwhelm out of the holiday season in your classroom. I have organization tips, writing activities, and holiday activities perfect for your upper elementary students.

Read on as I take you through five teaching resources that will help save your sanity and keep your students engaged this holiday season.

Lesson planning doesn’t need to be a chore. Establishing routines and using a planning approach can go a long way to simplifying your lesson planning process. Here are four simple steps that streamlined my lesson planning process and saved me hours of time.

Planning backward will change what and how you teach. Radically. It will challenge you. It might even frustrate you at first. It will also result in instruction that is cohesive, aligned, and meaningful.

When I started planning backward, using the Understanding by Design® method it transformed my teaching. My lesson planning process and the quality of my instruction as a whole changed dramatically. For the better.

In order for learning to happen, students must be engaged. Engaging students during instruction can be a challenge, even for the best teacher. This is especially true during virtual learning. But there are ways to engage students during distance learning. Megan, a 15-year veteran, is here to share four ways she’s found to keep her students motivated and excited about their learning even while learning virtually.

After several months of distance learning, teachers have found ways of making virtual teaching easier. Implementing systems such as simple morning starters and efficient grading can make your job easier and reduce your overall workload.

I’ve invited Monica, an Upper Elementary teacher from Los Angeles, to share the tips she’s learned for making virtual teaching easier.

If you’re like me, you love using the “classic” paper and pencil work in the classroom. I don’t mean worksheets, per se, but having students write on paper for assignments. I like digital materials too, but for me I have always liked having students work on paper.

Unfortunately, the pandemic and our new world of virtual teaching has made that nearly impossible. Now, everything is digital, from math tests to writing prompts.

What if we don’t have those materials readily available?

Guess what? You do!

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Do you love painting projects, but hate the mess? Finally! A way to keep arts and crafts in the classroom without the mess! Learn about the best way to paint with zero mess.

How to Get Organized Now and Reap the Benefits Later | Join me for a blog series on organization. Each week I'll teach you different ways organization can simplify your work life and help bring balance. Learn how to organize daily schedules and routines; teaching resources, and classroom supplies; and how to use best practices for lesson planning. Series includes guide sheets to help you organize it all. | everythingjustso.org

How to Get More for Less on Teachers Pay Teachers | Do you purchase resources for your classroom on Teachers Pay Teachers? TpT is one of the best sites around for finding teaching resources. But do you know how to get the most for your money on TpT? Let me teach you to get the absolute most for your money on Teachers Pay Teachers. | everythingjustso.org