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<p>I made these very cute and very bright Mother&#8217;s Day cards this week with my Grade 2&#8217;s.  The most important part was that we used watercolor paper that I bought at an art store.  We used 2 kinds of paint.  Liquid watercolors, and real watercolors from a tube.  We also used a white crayon. STEP &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/easy-and-stunning-mothers-day-card/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Easy and Stunning M

<p>So I&#8217;ve been searching Pinterest for some amazing spring art ideas. &nbsp;I hope you like these ideas. &nbsp;I tried to find ones that were visually interesting and unique. &nbsp;</p>

<p>We just finished a life science unit about Salmon.  I like to try to combine Language Arts with Science whenever I can.  That&#8217;s why I came up with my Non-Fiction Animal research units for Primary classrooms. Where I live, we have a program where we can hatch live Salmon eggs in the classroom, watch them &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/how-to-teach-non-fiction-animal/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about How to Teach Non-

<p>So here&#8217;s a cute idea for Earth Day. How about Re-Using newspaper for art? Here&#8217;s what we created this week in my class. First, you need newspaper and a variety of shades of blue and green. Next cover a page of paper with each colour. Then, rip the paper into strips about 1 1/2&#8243; wide. Then &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/hands-around-earth/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about My students had so much fun maki

<p>So here&#8217;s a simple Language Arts idea for Earth Day.  This lesson idea is easy to apply to any book you may read to your class.     First I read my students The Lorax by Dr. Seuss.  Then we went over the storyline.  With a little help from me, we came up with 19 steps to &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/lorax-language-arts/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Your students will love this fun, educational Lorax lesson.</s

<p>  A little while ago, my class did a study of OWLS.  I decided to turn it into a Project Based Learning opportunity where the kids could learn about their favorite kind of Owl.  In order to make the research portion simpler, I created a great packet with information sheets about 14 different kinds of owls. &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/owls-project-based-learning-through/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about OWLS: PBL Throu

<p>I found this cute little drawing tutorial over at Art for Kids Hub. Hop on over and check out his site &#8211; he has some great videos and tutorials. So we did this as a class directed drawing activity.  First I traced a small plate to make the circle for the umbrella.  This gives the &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/how-to-draw-spring/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about How to Draw Spring</span></a></p>

<p>Easter is fast approaching.  I thought I&#8217;d let you in on some of my favorite ideas for Easter Crafts for Kids.   Check out these great ideas I found on Pinterest. When I was searching through Pinterest, I was really trying to find original and interesting crafts. I&#8217;ve done some Easter Crafts so many times &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/favorite-easter-craft-ideas/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Favorite East

<p>About a year ago, I discovered STEM.  It’s a fantastic way of integrating Science,  Technology Engineering and Math.  In my  school district, we have a new curriculum which has a component called Applied Design, Skills, and Technology.  STEM fits right into this area. There are many fantastic reasons to teach STEM lessons in your classroom &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/the-benefits-of-stem-activities/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader

<p>I&#8217;ve been searching around Pinterest and found some great ideas for Leprechaun traps.  It inspired me to create a planning sheet so that kids can make their own traps.  Scroll down to the bottom of the post to grab your own freebie.  Our favorite leprechaun trap ideas and a free printable STEM planning sheet for kids. CLICK HERE</p>

<p>Here&#8217;s another Project Based Learning unit I developed about Owls.  This unit of inquiry is great for giving kids freedom to learn about the owl of their choice.  It&#8217;s perfect for teachers who are new to units of inquiry.  There are step-by-step instructions for how to develop inquiry questions and set up the plan for &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/project-based-learning-about-owls/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">a

<p>I&#8217;ve got a few new products up in my store. I&#8217;ve been working hard on products about Inquiry Based Learning.  I have just released one about Christmas Around the World.  I will post in more detail about this over the holidays, but for now, my class and I are right in the middle of this &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/inquiry-based-learning/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Inquiry Based Learning: PBL for Chris

<p>This post started as a single idea, which developed into a very, very, very long post.  So I’ve decided to make it into a series of posts, of which this is the first.   I hope that some of you who are in your very first classroom this year can commiserate and might find some &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/stories-from-first-year-teacher-1/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Stories from a First Year Teacher #1</span></a></p

<p>I wanted to share with you a great idea for setting up your classroom rules.  The great thing about this lesson is that I have a set for Kindergarten, and a set for older primary students as well.   First you need to read the book David Goes to School by David Shannon. It&#8217;s available on &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/back-to-school-blog-hop-and-giveaway/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about A Back to School ELA lesson t

<p> Well, it’s been a long time since that first year, but I made a lot of mistakes.  Seeing as we learn from our mistakes when I look back I know now that I learned a TON.  The first thing I did was came in with assumptions. We all presume to know things about the world &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/tips-for-new-teachers-1/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Tips for New Teachers #1</span></a></p>

<p>Back to school is just around the corner for most of us.  I don’t actually go back until after Labour Day, but I assume that many of you are thinking about classroom set up and planning.  And some of you are already back in the classroom.  Even though the first day of school is a &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/back-to-school/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about BACK TO SCHOOL &#8211; for the 25th time as a teacher</span></a>

<p>I found these 5 great ideas on Pinterest for Back To School. NUMBER ONE: I love this post from Aimee at Primarily Speaking.  She really gets into details about routines and procedures that will help. NUMBER TWO: This is a great idea from Jillian Starr at the Star Spangled Planner.  These Friend Wanted Ads are &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/5-back-to-school-ideas/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about You need to check out thes

<p>I just got back from the trip of a lifetime.  The whole family and I went down to Orlando.  After going to the Teachers Pay Teachers conference in Las Vegas last year, I knew I really wanted to go again this year.  And this year did not disappoint. When I was there last year, I &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/orlando-2016-for-teachers-pay-teachers/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about What a fantastic week! ORLANDO 2016 for t

<p>This post was originally titled, 4 Things That Have Changed Since I Started Teaching and Tips On How to Adapt.   But I decided to change that when I realized that one of the things that has changed is me, and not everyone changes in the same way.   I&#8217;ve been teaching for 24 years.  That &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/4-things-that-have-changed-after-24/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about 4 things that have changed aft

<p>Last week we sent our Father&#8217;s Day gifts home.   I know that many of you do not teach in the month of June, but for those of us who do, Father&#8217;s Day gifts are pretty important. There&#8217;s a few things I really like about this gift.  Firstly, it&#8217;s really easy for a child to &#8230; <a href="https://savvyteachingtips.net/fathers-day-gift-idea/" class="more-link">Read More <span class="screen-reader-text">about Low Cost and Super Cute Father&#8217;s Day