Can reading be the #1 predictor of academic success?

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First and Foremost,

Reading is the #1 predictor of academic success.

Students NEED to READ!

Consider this my DISCLAIMER…

I am NOT A College Professor.

I do NOT have a MASTERS ( or above )

in ANYTHING!

I am just a teacher.

A first-grade teacher.

A first-grade reading teacher.

A Veteran (27yrs ), a first-grade teacher,

in a TITLE 1 SCHOOL!

I have seen a LOT! Done a LOT!

Students NEED to READ!

Hear me ROAR!!!!!

So, I repeat.

I am a teacher. I teach reading.

(Aren’t they cute????)

I have been through:

Whole Language

Environmental Print

Interactive Writing

Phonemic Awareness

Leveled Readers ( DRA, GSP, AR, Lexile)

Phonics

Words Their Way

HFW

Sight Words

High-Interest Reading Books

SIPPS

Read Naturally

Daily 5

And

A MULTITUDE OF PUBLISHER’S CURRICULUM!

New sets every 7 years!

Next, having said this…

1 thing most curricula have in common :

Students NEED to READ!

READ A LOT!

And then…READ SOME MORE!

So …

My little sisters…

YES…both of my LITTLE SISTERS are

PRIMARY TEACHERS!

We were discussing school.

Yes… we do that!

We are trying to WRAP our minds around the

“READ…READ…READ more”

and they will

“GET IT!” (way of thinking.)

Well, maybe…

I LOVE reading with kiddos!

See my post here about the

GUIDED READING TABLE!

But then my concern is…

When I “release” them to read,

When I want them to become INDEPENDENT readers,

Where do they “learn” the skills to use when they “get stuck”?

Will they use strategies, when they don’t know what’s happening?

When a story isn’t making sense…do they keep reading?

If they keep reading…

Will all the skills and strategies come TOGETHER?

Students NEED to READ!

At a recent PD, my little sis said she understood the

READ, READ, READ philosophy.

Integrate science, social studies, math, technology

INTO literacy!

YES!

Writing and Reading

COMPLIMENT and Coexist

WITH each other!

You can’t have one without the other!

Students NEED to READ!

BUT…

-Me SPEAKING-

There needs to be a BALANCE of:

Skills & Strategies

in conjunction with independent reading & writing!

THERE!

I said IT!

Reading & Writing SKILLS:

Letter Sounds

Blends

Vowels

Word Families

Chunks

Grammar

Punctuation

High-Frequency Words

Capitalization

Handwriting

and MORE!

Comprehension

Questioning

Summarizing

etc, etc, etc…

(I sound like my Education College Professors!)

I was listening!

ALL of these “lessons” MUST be taught

IN CONJUNCTION with

Reading & Writing!

Yes…To be a better reader…

Students NEED to READ!

BUT…to be a better reader who UNDERSTANDS…

You must have skills and strategies to use

WHEN you read and write!

NOW…CAUTION!!!

Unless you are teaching ADULTS in a COLLEGE CLASS…

A 40-minute LECTURE on diagramming sentences

IS NOT…I REPEAT…

NOT

the way to do it!

If you WANT to spend 40 minutes discussing grammar…

CHUNK IT!

Read a little.

Discuss it.

Let it soak in.

And do it again. And again. and again!

READ!

Do 2-3 MINILESSONS over a few days…

Let it SINK IN!

Show kiddos:

What it looks like.

Where to find it.

How to use it.

Why we use it.

When to ask for help.

Kinder-Grade 1-Grade 2 teachers…

UNITE!

Mini-Lessons with a WORKSHOP!

Use SMALL Groups for STRATEGY & Skill Groups!

Let kiddos have a chance to PRACTICE

what YOU have taught them!

Let it SINK IN!

And Then…

Students NEED to READ!

and

READ!

and

READ!

and then

WRITE…and write, some more!

Skills, Strategies, Reading, Writing

They will become “BETTER”…

and isn’t that what we ALL want to be?

BETTER!

Need some HELP?

My friend, Alison, at

Learning at The Primary Pond

learningattheprimarypond.com

has a great post about

What Does Reading Workshop Look Like In The Primary Grades?

Here are some “HELPERS” for YOU!

Click HERE for more reading & writing products!

1stgradefireworks

Partner Reading for Reading Comprehension

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Partner Reading?

How to enhance their Reading Comprehension?

TALK! WHAT? TALK? HOW?

I LOVE to watch kids read!

Their faces “light up” when they “GET IT!”

They giggle at illustrations.

They laugh OUT LOUD,

when things are FUNNY!

They squint with their eyebrows touching when they can’t figure something out.

It’s MAGIC!

And then..we ask them to

SHARE!

My students did NOT want to partner read.

We had partners read together for reading comprehension.

Add flexible seating and VOILA! Readers!

Share the excitement of reading with ANOTHER!

ANOTHER?

It’s like I have asked them to “give a kidney!”

They don’t want to share.

NO! NO! Don’t make me give away my LOVE of reading!

STOP!

I didn’t ask you to give it away…just spread the LOVE!

As a result…we share.

We PARTNER read!

My students did NOT want to partner read. We had partners read together for reading

comprehension.

Add flexible seating and VOILA! Readers!

We partner read to help increase reading comprehension through partner discussion.

We share a lot..and we share WELL!

I LOVE Daily 5

( no affiliation or permission from 2sisters…just LOVE their stuff!)

I am sooooo excited!

Today I took the legs OFF of one of my tables!

I have NEVER done ANYTHING like this BEFORE!

SO FUN!

My kiddos LOVE it!

I told them it was a “WORK PLACE” and only students who are

“WORKING” can be there!

IT WORKED!

They worked, and worked, and worked!

Here they are:

Later in the day…there were 10 students on ipads with headphones

ALL engaged!

HAPPY TEACHER!

Now BACK to Partners..

We use chairs facing each other.

We use chairs NEXT to each other.

We sit on the floor and read.

And we lay down and read.

And HOW do I choose PARTNERS?

3 ways:

Sticks,

My choice,

Their choice.

I use popsicle sticks with their names on it,

if they are rereading text we have read together.

That way, the partners reading level is NOT an issue.

Just a reread.

I choose the PARTNERS if the story is a “LEVELED” read.

That way I can be assured both partners

have the necessary skills to comprehend the text.

And…they choose!

We do MUST DO’s and MAY DO’s

for guided reading.

My class has a list of centers they MUST DO

before they MAY DO their choices.

Usually the “paper” center is a PARTNER CENTER.

They can choose a partner who can “help” them.

Or they can choose to “work by themselves”.

Last, It’s their CHOICE.

They look for the PARTNER symbol on the MUST DO board.

I like the discussions and the community that comes from a busy classroom.

They learn from me and from each other.

I am looking into more alternative seatings for groups in my classroom.

So more partners can work together.

How do YOU group students for working in YOUR classroom?

How to use addition and subtraction math task cards.

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Math. I said it!

Does the word “MATH” make you giggle, or grumble???

If you teach TK – 6th grade, you teach addition and subtraction.

It’s never-ending.

Teach. Practice. Practice. Practice. Reteach. Over and over.

The numbers change. They get bigger.

But the skills and strategies don’t change.

The vocabulary changes ( occasionally), for example:

3 + 4 = 7 … Is this “all together” or “in all”?

Is this a math “sentence” or a math “equation”?

I have taught them ALL.

Our newest math program has first graders using the yellow and red foam counters on day 1.

And, they need to “discuss” with their partner HOW they got their answer.

First of all, some can’t count yet, and they won’t “discuss” their mathematical thinking

with students THEY DON’T KNOW! Not yet!

Now I get the idea. Just a little FAST!

Shouldn’t we allow them to “explore” the math counters first?

Some were poking them with pencils. flipping them in the air, and yes..one student chewed on the foam counter. Ewwwww.

And so, I am S L O W I N G things down, a bit.

To help my “littles” with addition and subtraction we are EXPLORING the math manipulatives first.

Then we will discuss routines and procedures for using them.

Last, we will use them to create math experiences.

Add some skills and strategies, and VOILA! We will have mathematicians!

To help my littles with beginning addition and subtraction to ten,

I have created some Math Task Cards using our WONDERFUL foam counters, and ten frames.

Math Task cards with ten frames

I have included Addition Task Cards,

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with ten Frames

Subtraction Task Cards,

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with Ten Frames

And student work pages for accountability.

Addition and Subtraction Task Cards with Ten Frames

Check out the video:

92 task cards for students to practice addition and subtraction with Ten Frames.

For the WIN! I may use this for guided math centers, interventions, and/or independent practice. We shall see!

Check out the other goodies for MATH CENTERS:

Think ADDITION to help you SUBTRACT

Halloween Math Fact Families

Pool Party Number Bonds – 232 Task Cards

Number Bonds help students work on number sense. Part Part Whole, Addition and subtraction, and mental math skills.

Math Vocabulary Tools for Success

Math Skill & Strategy Cards for Preview, Review, Minilessons. 6 Cards per Page. 36 math “tool” cards for scaffolding and support.

I hope this helps YOU with planning

Back-to-School math lessons for your students. Here’s to a great 2022! Check out all the goodies in my TPT store and here on the blog!

Lots of FREEBIES! Have a great school year!

Follow me :

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Wendy

Where do I put ALL of this “CENTER”… stuff????

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Where Do I Put ALL of my CENTER Supplies?

Today my tip is about storing ALL of those center supplies!

Who doesn’t LOVE all of those cute centers!

Holiday centers, reading centers, writing centers, skill centers…

And so on, and so on...

BUT

WHERE DO I PUT ALL OF THEM????

Where Do I Put ALL of my CENTER Supplies?

How do I store all of this stuff???

Well…I have a solution.

I LOVE Sterilite drawers!

NO…I mean

I REALLY LOVE SERILITE DRAWERS!

I did NOT put the casters on them.

I line them up on my counter…

I TOLD YOU I LOVE My drawers!

I teach 9 months a year ( Approximately )

SO…

9 English Language Arts drawers

AND

9 Math drawers!

Conveniently they come in stacks of 3!

These fit nicely on my counter.

9 ELA drawers

I used scrapbook paper to “cover” the front of the drawers.

(Hides the mess contents inside…)

9 Math drawers…Math is blue..just for me!

Where Do I Put ALL of my CENTER Supplies?

How do I organize it all?

Each drawer has a label on the front:

Each drawer has a month

AND

The skills my MATH PROGRAM teaches each month.

Yes, I have a math program I must follow.

My kids are assessed on these skills.

So I organize them by the skill for each theme taught each month.

I always, ALWAYS need an ETC drawer!

Who doesn’t have EXTRAS???

I partnered up the first two months of school to get an extra MATH drawer.

Mostly the same concepts for the first two months.

Each ELA drawer has the same.

Each one has a month and the skills taught in my ELA Program!

Yes, we also have an ELA program!

Check out the MEGA BUNDLE for FIRST GRADE

Tested skills…

So now..my drawers are labeled…NOW WHAT???

As I create or purchase centers,

I laminate, cut apart, and put in GALLON ZIP-LOCK BAGS!

Then…place in the drawer by SKILL!!

What about cutesie ones that are holiday-themed, but in the wrong month?

FOR example…

I teach short a & short i in August..

what if I have a cute short a center with SANTA on it?

SO WHAT?

MY KIDS LOVE SEEING SANTA IN AUGUST!

Bring it out again in December for review…

It won’t hurt them!

Centers are for independent practice…ALL THE TIME!

When we finish a theme…place them back in the drawer! DONE!

Sometimes drawers get “messy”…

THAT’S WHY WE COVER THEM!

Close the drawer & walk away!

Can you see me SMILE?

So, as you are doing SPRING CLEANING or

this SUMMER when you have “extra” time…

Think about drawers…I LOVE THEM!

( I have another set for Guided Reading…6 drawers for 6 groups!)

Here is a freebie of drawer labels for YOU…

FREEBIE

Leave me a comment.

How do YOU organize your centers?

PS… Here are a few LINKS to centers in MY store!

1stgradefireworks

How do YOU FIT IT ALL IN? Balanced Literacy, that is!

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BALANCED LITERACY IN FIRST GRADE!

I can’t believe this is year 30!

MY own twins were in first grade

My first year of teaching!
( NOT in my class…TG…)

Each year things CHANGE!

Literacy has changed!

It is SO very important!
CHANGE is NOT a BAD thing!
It can make you rethink, reevaluate, redo, remake, revitalize!

After 30 years…I can HONESTLY say..

I will NOT throw out the BABY with the BATHWATER!

WHAT????

OK…We have a new curriculum. AGAIN!
EVERY 7 YEARS.
Whether you want it …or NOT!

And so, here we go again.

It really doesn’t matter what “program” you give me.

BALANCED Literacy
is
BALANCED Literacy

My “STRESS” level rises when I try to plan.

HOW TO FIT IT ALL IN?

Reality check…

Some days I can…some days I can’t.

It’s ok.

Life won’t end if you don’t do it ALL!

BUT…

TRY!

Let’s start with :

#1.. READ ALOUDS for Literacy Mentor Texts

I start with

READ ALOUDS!

I start my day with READ ALOUD.

AND

I end my day with a READ ALOUD!

( I try to make ONE of those Read Alouds

a SCIENCE, SOCIAL STUDIES, or HOLIDAY story)

INTEGRATE whenever YOU can!

After EVERY story…We Discuss.

Characters.

Setting.

Problem.

Solution.

EVERY Read Aloud.

Discuss for 10 minutes …MAX!

Highly Effective!

When students THINK about a story,

“turn & talk”

about it,

use the “academic language”

from the story, they are engaged!

They might NOT take it on

for themselves the first time…..

but…over time, they will!

This week I heard some “reading partners”

discussing our anthology

story.

I heard “MAIN CHARACTER”,

“Beginning, Middle, END”,

“How did they SOLVE that Problem?”

WOWZA!

Teacher Happy DANCE!

If you need suggestions for Read Alouds…

PINTEREST!

Next on my BALANCED LITERACY plan…

#2 INTERACTIVE WRITING

So, how? Where? WHEN?

I LOVE interactive writing!

Interactive Writing is when the KIDS do the writing.

We use chart paper. We discuss a story PLAN.

We start with MAIN IDEA. Then we add 3 detail ideas.

We add a conclusion.

VOILA! A class story!

They help each other spell.

We sound out words together.

We discuss grammar.

And we write..and read..

and edit..and rewrite!

What a wonderful cycle!

I am using my interactive writing skills to

incorporate our

#3 Word Work

NEW long vowel phonics concepts.

We made a chart.

Together we thought up words

that use our long vowel

word families.

We made a vocabulary box

on the chart

to remind us of words

we want to use in our story.

And…THEY WRITE!

Smelly markers are a must!

And we read..This happens during our morning

meeting time.

We spend about 5-10 minutes writing

each day for 5 days.

Mondays..we begin a new story.

THEY LOVE THIS!

We started with Kate.

Long a with silent e.

Then Irene.

Long e with silent e.

Next week…

Long o with silent e.

Check out ..

BALANCED LITERACY

Next we preview…

WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Write ON

Do You Have a ROUTINE?

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Do you have a daily ROUTINE?

I do!

First, I get up early.

Then, I get a cup of coffee.. that is ready for me.

( I set it to brew the night before while I am doing dinner dishes).

There is NOTHING better than the smell of coffee in the morning. My BEST morning routine!

Next, I check my emails.

Later, I make breakfast & lunch.

Finally, I wake up hubby,

shower, & get ready for work.

I LOVE my morning routine.

When things run smoothly…I know what to expect.

That’s how our kids feel in the classroom.

When routines work

EVERYONE knows what to expect & how to do it!

ROUTINES MAKE THE WORLD GO ROUND!

Here are MY top 3 Routines

for a smooth running classroom.

The first routine

ENTERING THE CLASSROOM ROUTINE:

I meet my kids on the playground.

Our “first” bell ( line up ) is at 8:20.

I go out to our line at 8:15 and remind ALL of my students to get out of their BACKPACKS their BLACK homework folder (provided by me at the beginning of the year..black because I don’t use black for any other folder in my room..and their READ AT HOME envelope with TAKE HOME BOOKS.

They have them “in their hands” before we walk to the door.

WHY?

NO ONE has to “dig through” their backpacks when we get in the door.

While we are at the door…I have a Home Depot shelving unit next to the door.

Gray Home Depot Garage shelving Unit. this helps with the beginning-of-the-day routines!

They put their backpacks and jackets ON THE SHELVES! Great beginning-of-the-day routine! NO backpacks or jackets on CHAIRS! No room!

After we enter..2 baskets on the table next to the door. One “homework”..the other RAH (Read AT Home) Envelopes.

Black folders in HW basket, Book envelopes in RAH basket.

DONE!

(Any notes or OTHER STUFF…in HW basket).

NOW, they get a chair

( stacked at the back of the room..see routine #3)

and WALK to their desk. They know the routines.

When the starting bell rings at 8:25

(5 minutes after we enter…)

I choose the HELPERS for the day.

You can only be a HELPER if you are sitting in your seat when the bell rings! I am prompt!

( No tardies, wanderers, “chatting”).

If you are TARDY…you won’t be a helper on that day if it’s your turn. You will have to wait until tomorrow if you are on time.

An incentive for getting to school ON TIME!

I choose my helpers.

2 of my 10 helpers for the day are

TECH TEACHERS.

I ask the TECH TEACHERS to choose a “quiet partner” to help them pass out Chromebooks ( We are a 1:1 school ) and earbuds ( they have their own in numbered baggies.

(We number EVERYTHING!)

They get their Chromebooks, long into our district reading/phonics practice program, and GO TO WORK!

ALL of this takes 10 minutes.

8:20-8:30

NO MUSS…NO FUSS! Routines help manage the classroom!

The second routine

Transitions. THE WORST TIME OF THE DAY!

Solution: A NEW routine!

Kids are working. The “Hummm” of classroom work.

Happy Teacher.

And then…the timer goes OFF!

WE MUST STOP!

Time to TRANSITION TO SOMETHING ELSE!

NO!

First graders like to MOVE…and FAST!

So to help…we FREEZE!

Change the ROUTINE!

When the timer goes off…we freeze! I tell them they have one minute to clean up and return to their desks.

Always return to their desk.

Kind of like their “LANDING PAD”.

After everyone is sitting down ( well, almost everyone..there are always the 1-2 stragglers )

I say.. “One, two, three EYES ON ME!”

They respond ” One, two, EYES ON YOU!”

And then a call out… ( I have a list )

Could be “MACARONI & CHEESE”

They respond “EVERYBODY FREEZE!”

AND THEY DO!

I hold them “frozen” for 3-4 seconds.

THEY LOVE THIS!

While a few stragglers are getting to their desk, we play a game! A TRANSITION game. I only need a doc camera, my riddle cards, and a SOFT VOICE. If they can’t hear me..they can’t play! See my post on the TRANSITION GAME!

Who Am I Animal Classification Cards to help with transition routines.

Who Am I Animal Classification Cards… 52 different animals.

After we are settled, I can give directions for our next

activity. I do this SAME ROUTINE ALL DAY FOR TRANSITIONS!

No problems!

The third routine!

The LAST 30 minutes of CLASS. End-of-the-day routines.

It’s almost OVER!

The day has come to an end.

HOW TO GET THEM OUT THE DOOR?

STOP!

Many things to do BEFORE we leave.

REMEMBER…The class is ALL of yours.

It’s NOT my job to clean up, put everything away, and pick up the classroom AFTER they leave.

We ALL work here. The community is for ALL of us.

We dismiss at 2:30.

Clean-up ROUTINES!

At 2:10

we STOP, put our work away,

and FREEZE to go back to our desks.

At 2:15 we begin the EXIT PROCESS.

My 2 TECH TEACHERS (helpers) put ALL of the Chromebooks back into the cart ( I have taught them HOW to do this MANY TIMES.They know the routines.)

*UPDATE… They now put them in the cart & plug them in! I put a number on each Chromebook with Sharpie Paint Pens. Then I put a RED dot (Sharpie PAINT pen) on the side above the plug. They know ALL the red dots must line up, every number has to have a matching Chromebook, and they PLUG them in on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays! TECH TEACHERS are awesome!

2 of my other HELPERS are the

CLEAN UP CREW.

They EACH choose a ‘friend’ to help them

STACK ALL OF THE CHAIRS

into stacks of 6.

Push the stacks to the back of the room, and clean all papers, crayons, pencils from the floor.

While these HELPERS are working SILENTLY..

the rest of the class goes to the carpet. Workers who are TOO LOUD..can be FIRED! If you don’t do your job in the real world with a “respectful” tone..YOU can be fired! #lifelessons

Each day 5-6 of my students can come to

AUTHOR’S CHAIR Routine.

( 5 color coded groups )

As we transition to the carpet, I ask “RED GROUP” if they would like to “READ…in the teacher’s chair” OR PASS (for this week).

They read one story from their JOURNAL. Their choice.

We LISTEN ( being a good audience )

and then they can choose 1 person to

“ASK THE AUTHOR A QUESTION”.

We must listen, to formulate a HOT question.

At the beginning of the year, we learn the difference between a HOT question…and a STORY!

After all 5 have read…I have one student bring me EVERYTHING from their cubby. (Student mailboxes ).

I go over ALL work we are taking home.

I open the BLACK HOMEWORK folder, where I have taken out last night’s HW and put in tonight’s HW.

and

I show them their RAH books to read tonight.

After all of our work has been reviewed,

I excuse them 3 at a time to clean out their cubbies, take everything to their desk, get their backpack & jacket, take it to their desk, LANDING PAD, and pack up to go home.

When they are ready ..

LINE UP!

I start a GOODBYE CHANT…

“bye bye Butterfly..See you later alligator…etc”

They must be ready to go before we end the chant.

This takes a little practice.

NO… A LOT OF PRACTICE!

BUT…

We can get out the door in 5 minutes!

This ends my

TOP 3 ROUTINES

for a smooth running classroom.

Many more throughout the day.

I like routines in MY LIFE.

So do the KIDS!

What routines do you have that you do EVERY DAY?

Pick your top one & share in the comments.

We can ALL learn for each other!

Here are a few Classroom Management HELPERS to help YOU set ROUTINES!

Happy DAY!

Making A LIST and Checking it TWICE!

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Making a LIST? WHY?

IS SANTA ON HIS WAY?

Is SANTA on his way? In JULY?

NO! I am checking MY list.

My Back to School LIST!

And that list get LONGER, every DAY!

My Back to School is next week.

In my district ( a modified traditional calendar) we start at the end of JULY!

No tears for me…we are off the first two weeks of OCTOBER! I LOVE FALL BREAK!

And so first, I make a list – A LONG LIST!

Thank You @createteachshare

Teacher To Do list@createteachshare

Here is how my list begins…

Clean teacher desk
Clean students desks
Number each workbook ( I put numbers on EVERYTHING!)
Get student materials ( books, pencil holders -FILLED, & other things that stay IN THEIR DESKS) on their desks. We will go over them the first day.
Number homework folders, Read at Home folders & books
Tear out & runn of homework for the first two weeks.
Clean out & check literacy & math centers.
Purge ANYTHING I have not used in two years! YES!!!!
Find my teacher tools.
Check technology… after updates…check technology. After call to district office…check technology AGAIN! Finally works! UGH! I have a LOVE/HATE relationship with technology!
Schedule teacher PD meetings. ( 5 days before kids come..starting tomorrow!)
Write Lesson plans for the FIRST WEEK! ( don’t go further…things WILL change.)
Update list.
Unpack the 10 boxes of NEW Science Curriculum. Inventory. Find missing pieces. Inventory again. Store? Stack in a corner.
Add to my list: Unpack science curriculum & go through it. Plan?
Make sure resources on the WALLS are for Back to School ( Not END of School). Update.
Are class lists ready? I need to ADD names to numbers!
Make a LIST ( alphbetically, of course) of students by first names. (WOW! I have an “extra” student on my list…boy will that mess up my alphabtical list. TEACHERS: YOU GET THIS!)
Don’t care that my alphabetical student names will be OUT OF ORDER! 🙂 Breather!
Cross things OFF list. ( After you have added MORE) I know. It’s LONGER than when I started. It’s OK. Ths kids won’t know!
GO HOME EARLY! Relax. Take a walk. Pour some wine. Hug your family. It’s a job. The kids will be there ready or not. THEY won’t care if I didn’t finish ALL of the ANCHOR CHARTS I want to make. ADD that to my LIST!