Ice Breaker Activities for the First Day of School

Ice Breaker for Back to School

Ice breaker activities can help make your students feel more comfortable. If you are like me, you know the feeling of uneasiness that comes along with walking into a room full of people you don't know.  I ran into that at the recent Teachers Pay Teachers Conference in Vegas. It was  800 people I had never met, and although I warmed up to everyone, it took some mingling to help make that happen.

Mingling is a great way for your students to get to know each other on the first day of school.  I have used lots of different ice breaker activities over the years, one of which is the 'get to know your classmates scavenger hunt'.  It's a fun activity, but many of the kids have done it before.  In an effort to change it up a little, I came up with my version, which is called Bubble Gum Buddies.  It's the same concept, but it's bubble gum themed and the kids get to chew gum while they walk around. I also included a version without gum chewing just in case anyone was forbidden to have gum in the classroom. Bummer if that is the case! Keep in mind that it's only about 25 minutes of gum chewing and bubble blowing, so it's not too big of a deal. Have your camera ready because it is going to make for some cute pictures.

Get this fun Ice Breaker Activity by clicking HERE

You can also find the ice breaker activity in my back-to-school bundled activity pack for upper elementary. It has 15 activities to choose from at a reduced price.

Click HERE for the Back to School Pack

Guest Blog Post for Laura Candler's Corkboard Connections

Calling all Laura Candler fans!! If you are like me, you have been a fan of hers for years. With that said, I am sure you can imagine how honored I was to write a guest blog post for her Corkboard Connections blog. The post is now live and ready for you to enjoy. It's a positively fun post with tips on how to  bring smiles to your classroom.  You can check it out by clicking the link below. There is a freebie  download included in the post. 
 After reading it, take a moment to look around her blog and Teaching Resources website where you will find many other great teaching ideas. She has lots of  printable resources, some of which are free. Enjoy!
Guest Post:  5 Ways to Make Your Students Smile

If you are interested in having me guest post on your blog, I am always open for the invitation. Just send me an email using the link on the sidebar and we can discuss the details.  

Teacher Burnout

Although I have been in the classroom for  nearly twenty years, it has been the last ten years or so where teacher burnout has become so prevalent.  It's a sad reality that great teachers all over the country are leaving teaching, or even the field of education, to never return.  We all see the open letters floating around the Internet from teachers exiting the classroom.  It's their way of saying why they simply can't do it any longer.  
The start to a new school year is a great time to give yourself a little reminder that teachers are not Superheroes.  Even though we are pushed into Superhero expectations, we are not.  So, take a breather, enjoy my little video, and start your new year knowing that you are not alone when you feel overwhelmed.  Remember to take a moment for yourself when you need it.  
Also, you might find this little list of back-to-school teacher tips helpful.  It's from a former post and can be found here: Back to School Teacher Tips Teacher Superhero
Feel free to share a link to this post.  Thank you. 

Creating Colorful Writing

Colorful Writing Idea

This is a fun activity to do at the start of the year with your kids.  It will get them thinking about the importance of writing using colorful words.  

Take a moment to check out these other bright ideas.  There are over 130 teachers participating.

Boxes Become Bookmarks

I am so glad to be participating in the Bright Ideas Hop/Link Up again this month.  Right at 150 teacher bloggers have joined up to share bright ideas that you can take back to the classroom.  Enjoy!
I thought with Earth Day right around the corner, I would share an idea that goes along with that topic; reusing items, or giving items a new purpose.  How cool are these re-purposed box bookmarks pictured below!  All you have to do is take any colorful cardboard box, such as popular cereal boxes, Little Debbie boxes, Pop Tart boxes.... use whatever durable box you want that you think will grab students' attention. Then cut the box into bookmark sized pieces.  Use your hole punch to punch a hole in the top.  Run some yarn, ribbon, or cross-stitch thread through the top to make a tassel, and there you go.....  a box becomes a bookmark!! 

To celebrate Earth Day, why not have your students bring in the front and back of their favorite cereal box or other treat box. By doing that,  the parents will have already helped with the time consuming cutting part of trimming off the excess cardboard. You can then take the flat pieces to your paper cutter and trim the large box pieces into bookmark sized pieces.  How easy!  When you are finished, you will have hundreds of the cutest bookmarks that kids will enjoy using.