Sub Plans for the WIN!

Need a day off? Don't sweat it! Let my emergency sub plans work their magic! Whether it's an unexpected sick day or you just like to plan ahead for a scheduled day off, my no-prep, ready to print math and literacy worksheets will have your class engaged and learning all day! 

SUB PLANS FOR THE WIN! 

I have common-core aligned sub plans for FIRST GRADE and SECOND GRADE, as well as UK English versions for GRADE ONE and GRADE TWO. Each sub plan is a growing resource, meaning I add pages from time to time for free.  Currently the majority of my plans are sitting around 50 pages each! That's a LOT and will certainly grow larger over time. 

While you're grabbing those time-saving sub plans, be sure to also snag my Substitute Teacher Contact Sheet! It's a free resource in my store that further helps your sub on the days you're out! 

...I will create sub plans for third/grade 3 in the very near future. I have heard your requests and promise to do so! However, it likely won't start with 50 pages, so please note that the first edition will likely be around 20 pages. As always, my sub plans are growing so it will be at a discount and pages will be added over the course of the following weeks.  Thanks for your patience, and please keep the requests coming! 

Happy teaching!❤
@jen_rece

Save 25% off Everything in my TpT store! #BTSBONUS19

IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! 🎉 ⁣

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TpT is having their one day bonus sale, today Tuesday August 20th! ⁣

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Every single resource in my teachers pay teachers store (including my already discounted bundles) is 25% off with checkout code BTSBONUS19 😚 ⁣

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Stock up on all of the items on your wish-list and let me know what you score!! 🥳⁣

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Happy shopping! 🤗 🛍 ⁣

❤ @jen_rece

First Year Teachers, Read This Before School Starts

I'm going to let you in on a really BIG secret, new teacher friends. So grab a piece of paper, your favorite pen (aff link) and get ready to take notes. I'm about to blow your mind with this piece of insider information, and will even throw in a couple excellent first day tips for you, too! 

Okay, are you ready? Ready to know what all the "put together" veteran teachers already know? Okay, here it is: 

NO ONE HAS THEIR S#!T TOGETHER. NO ONE. So don't sit in bed crying the night before school starts thinking you don't have the prettiest room (chances are you won't because that takes a lot of cash flow - so it makes sense to build your room slowly over time) and that you're not prepared for what's to come. NO one is prepared for what's to come! That's just the nature of the game. But hold on a second, I will tell you TWO things you ABSOLUTELY need to have in place for your first day of school. 

Number One: Know how your students are going home at the end of the day! Whatever routines and procedures you teach during the day pales in comparison to not knowing how each student goes home. Are they walkers? Child care? Do they bus? Great - which bus do they take?  Know this information. Put it on a clipboard and carry that sucker around with you at end of day like it's a pot of gold. Even better - throw it onto paper and stick it to your lanyard. You won't regret being prepared. Also, give yourself a good 20 minutes at the end of day to get everyone situated in their right lines. Scrambling at the end of day is a terrible feeling. Don't do it to yourself. 

Number Two: Get yourself a kick-a$$ teacher bestie. Like, ASAP. Someone you can chug down a glass of wine with at the end of your crazy week.  Someone you can confide in, someone you can trust to have your back and not judge you for not having all your $#!t together. Someone who can make you laugh AND likes to cut out laminate. Because we know that in itself is a full time job and nobody wants to do it. 

Once you know how your kids are getting home, and you have plans to decompress with your teacher bestie, sit back and ENJOY the first days of school. Let the rest come naturally. But please, I beg of you - please remember that even those who have been teaching for 15+ years still don't have all our $#!t together. It's all smoke and mirrors. I promise you, you'll do great! 

Mother's Day Crafts!

Mother's Day is a lovely opportunity to have students reflect on their blessings! Each year I pull out one or two crafts (and/or craftivities) to help facilitate a fun - but meaningful Mother's Day. Here are just a couple of activities I've done in the past: 

This one is always a hit! This Mother's Day craftivity is comprised of a super sweet flower and each petal has a sentence or word that a child uses to describe their mom! This particular child wrote, “She lets me ride on my dirt bike” and now I’m jealous of an 8 year old because I want a dirt bike too! 🏍 vrooom vroom!! But seriously - I’m loving everything about this Mother’s Day craft activity!! 📝 🌸 

Sometimes my students don't have a relationship with their biological mothers, so in that case I pull out a different Mother's Day craft, like this one right here: 

What I absolutely LOVE about this "Simply the Best, "Hands Down!" craft is that it comes in different versions for my kiddos who don't have a relationship with their bio-mom or who have other mother figures in their lives! In fact, this printable comes with 5 different headings to be more inclusive, such as: 

• Mom
• Step-Mom
• Grandma
• Sister
• Aunt

Isn't that amazing? How do you show diversity and inclusion in the classroom while still celebrating Mother's Day? Let me know in the comments below! 

Happy teaching!❤
@jen_rece

$150 Teacher Appreciation Giveaway!

You know how much I love teacher appreciation week, so it won't come as a surprise to hear I’ve teamed up with some amazing teacher friends to bring one lucky winner this awesome amazon gift card:

Yup, that's right  -  someone is going to be blessed with an awesome Teacher Appreciation amazon shopping spree!

To recap, one lucky winner will win: 

• $150 Amazon Gift Card

Pretty amazing, right?! Be sure to head over to my Instagram post for details! Entry in this contest is SUPER easy - but the giveaway ends May 7th - so make sure to enter right away! Good luck! :) 

Happy Teacher Appreciation week! ❤
@jen_rece