Thanksgiving is a time when we stop moving so fast and look at our lives to realize what we are so thankful for. It is a time for families to come together to laugh, cry, and share life's celebrations. With this in mind, I am pleased to announce that my family will be growing! Our new baby will be coming in May! My husband and I, along with our son Mason and puppy, Oreo, are very excited. I am finally feeling much better although I am still dealing with some morning sickness. Here are some tips that I hope will be helpful if you're teaching with morning sickness.

Would you like to plan a Thanksgiving feast for your students and their parents? Are you feeling like you can't because of your district's food policy? Well, you still can! A few years ago my district changed their policy on food at school. Now we are only allowed to have store bought food instead of food prepared in students' homes. Because of allergies and other safety reasons, many districts are adopting similar policies. It makes planning celebrations like Thanksgiving feasts more challenging, but they are still possible! With this new policy in effect, take a look at how we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving at school and make a fun candle centerpiece to take home in time for the holiday!

After the excitement of Halloween bats and skeletons comes to an end, we are greeted with a peaceful holiday full of food, family and fun. In this light, I want to share some of my favorite Thanksgiving books that I use in my classroom.

A few weeks ago, I blogged about the planning and storyboarding process while making our class movie about the story, No, David!, written by David Shannon. This week I am focusing on the filming stage and discussing student’s jobs. Take a look at my easy and organized way to help set up students be in charge of the filming process.

 
My husband and I were sick all weekend. I even had to stay home sick on Monday. Lately, many of my students have been sick and missing school. This flu season we need to take time to teach our students about germs and about how they can take steps to protect themselves. Click to see a fun and child friendly activity you can quickly do in your classroom to help make invisible germs real for our students.

Laptops in Kindergarten? The answer is yes! Why not? Students are digital natives completely surrounded by a digital world. With the increase in class size and students still needing one-on-one support, technology like laptops can assist us in reaching all students. Read more to learn about how we started using laptops in our classroom and the results I've already seen.

 
If you teach young children you know they always have something to tell you and to share with the class. Kids would walk in the door and run right up to me telling me millions of things all at the same time. I love hearing their news and funny stories, but it was taking a lot of time away from getting started with our instructional day. A few years ago I started to think about how I could use their excitement about sharing their news to enhance their reading and writing skills. The result was the “Tell Me All About It” bulletin board. Read more to see how this interactive bulletin board is used in my classroom and why it is a class favorite!

We all have to do it. We all create, teach and practice classroom rules at the beginning of every school year. It is just part of starting school routines. I am always amazed at how easily my students are able to say the classroom rules, yet following them is a different story. Take a look at how I use video with my students to teach them the classroom rules.

If you haven’t heard the true story of Winter’s Tail, you are in for a real treat. Winter is a dolphin that was rescued and brought to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Clearwater, FL. At three months old her tail was trapped in a crab trap for about 36 hours. Shortly after being freed, her tail flukes fell off. Many people thought a dolphin this badly damaged would not survive. It took a lot of caring volunteers and money to help her, but this heroic dolphin is about to turn four years old! With her prosthetic tail she can swim just like other dolphins. Please join us on Scholastic.com on Wednesday, October 7 at 1:00 - 1:45 P.M. (ET) for a live webcast with Winter from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

The idea of making a movie with your students can seem overwhelming, but you and your students can do it! I have been making movies with my students for a few years now and I am always blown away by the amount of learning that takes place with each movie. Students learn about the content of the movie, a ton of life skills and about themselves. Take a look at how I begin making movies with my class.