Teaching With Haley O'Connor

Let's build a better world together-one classroom at a time!

Easter Egg Hunt and Plants

  I had a bunch of plastic eggs left over, so I came up with this SUPER simple game that we did as an Egg Hunt. I wrote a sight word on the top and the bottom of the egg, and then broke them. Then, I "hid" them around the grassy area outside and they had to put them back together. My littles were a little perturbed that there was no candy in them, but you can't win em all! :) Of course, I ... read more

Spring Fun!

I just finished my Spring packet. It is GIGANTIC!!! And you can have your own copy! :) The first 3 people to comment get the packet for free! Just be sure to leave me your email. :) ... read more

Let’s Get Acquainted

I LOVE linky parties! They are one of my favorite parts of blogging. :) This super adorable linky comes from the FABULOUS LaToya Reed at Flying into First Grade. This linky is super simple and sweet, AND I'm excited because it requires me using me new initials. Don't laugh at my initials. They are HMO. And without my middle name...well, just HO. Awesome. Husband. I know, I know...not ... read more

Organizing Clipart

All you TPTers/TNers out there...question. How is your clipart organized? Cause as of about 9:00 this morning, mine was a HOT MESS. I did keep them in folders by the creator, so I would always know how to thank. BUT, I had no idea what was in each folder, because there was too much to remember. I would get done with an activity and find some adorable clipart in a random folder that I totally ... read more

Addition Freebies

Is it Friday yet?!?!? :) One of my babies came in SCREAMING this morning and that lasted for about 45 minutes. THEN, 4 sweet little friends came in my room because their sub didn't come in. THEN, I had a Walk Through. HOLY MOLY! But, we had a super fun time in Math today. :) We are back to working on Addition. Love it! First, we played these fun dice/spinner games. They were so easy to explain, ... read more

Listen, Love, Learn

Happy Sunday. We have had a BUSY weekend!! But, I managed to post my 120th day packet! Super excited! Most of my little ones did the 100th day in Kinder, and we kind of did it in my room. But, I wanted this to be super different for them. Soooo...it's rock star themed! Instead of dressing up like little old people, we will be dressing up like ROCK STARS! 120th Day Rock Stars of course! ... read more

Constellations and Comprehension

We have had such a super fun week! Here are some of the activities. :) We have been studying all about stars and constellations. To wrap up, we made our own constellations. Last year, we wrote legends to go along with them, but we didn't have time for that...boo! Aren't they so cute, though?!           That one is Pak-Man if you weren't sure, haha! ... read more

Word Study Binder

Hey hey hey friends! I am SO excited for this upcoming week. Valentine's is like my FAVORITE! And how sweet is my amazing hubs?! He took the day off to bring us pizza and hang out for our class party. My littles are SUPER excited. A few years ago, our district implemented Words their Way. I love it, but I have to be honest...I never really figured out how to keep it organized. I'm still not the ... read more

A-Z of Me!

It's only two days until Friday! :)  I'm linking up with this adorable linky party to share a bit about me! So fun!! Be sure to click the picture and link up! App- Teachers Pay Teachers! When the little "Cha-Ching" goes off, it just makes my day! It's so nice to be able to comment of questions/feedback, etc. I constantly am looking for things to snag for the upcoming week! Book Character- ... read more

Soil Scientists

Okay...I have a confession. Science is not my favorite subject to teach. I know, I know, shocking right?! My hubby would totally tell you that he is not at all shocked by this, and it's probably for the best. :) The other night, we were watching science (blag!) and I got super tired. I decided to go to bed (even though it was like maybe 8:00). About 30 minutes later, I was still wresting around in ... read more

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  • As you get ready to go back to school, it is important to think about ways you can build parent teacher relationships. In this post, I am sharing 5 questions to ask families to help build a strong classroom community. You can use these questions at Meet the Teacher, for conferences or just to get to know students and their families through email. Use this free parent questionnaire to get to know more about your students and their family’s culture, beliefs, or religion.
  • Do you feel like you are ready for a new classroom management system? Are you ready to ditch the clip chart? In this post, I am sharing 5 classroom management strategies that will help your students feel valued and take ownership of their behavior rather than feel publicly shamed. These classroom management tools and ideas will empower kids to make good choices. Use these student behavior strategies to set students up for success. Focusing on intrinsic motivation is key.
  • Gratitude is a hard skill for students to learn but with picture books, they are able to better understand and learn how to be grateful. In this post, I am sharing 4 books about gratitude for kids. These kids books about gratitude are great to read around Thanksgiving. These are some of my favorite November read alouds. They are not necessarily Thanksgiving books but they do tie in very well into the month of November. These are great to read during classroom meetings or readers' workshop.
  • Struggling with classroom management this year? Today, I am sharing 4 classroom management ideas that actually work. These non-verbal cues for the classroom are a great way to help students stay on task and complete their work. Instead of using a clip chart, try one of these behavior management tools instead. These visual cues for behavior help students regulate their behavior on their own. Try one of these behavior management strategies today using picture cards and other classroom visuals.
  • Are you using clip charts as part of your classroom management system? In this post, I am sharing 4 reasons why you should stop using clip charts in your elementary classroom today. Using a clip chart for behavior problems damages teacher student relationships and student relationships with their peers. Clip charts for behavior also don’t work long term. It is time to ditch this behavior management system and try something new.
  • Are you still using clip charts for your behavior management system? If this is your go-to classroom management system, it is important to identify why you are using this to manage student behavior. In this post, I am sharing why teachers chose to use clip charts over other classroom management tools. There are tons of other classroom management strategies out there but clip charts for managing behavior still are high on the list, especially for new teachers.
  • Kindness lessons and activities by Teaching with Haley. Kindness is a great place to start your social-emotional curriculum and I’m excited to share some of my favorite ideas with you in this post. I cover my favorite kindness videos, kindness read alouds, and kindness activities. Including what kindness is, character education, what boundaries are, and more. Great social-emotional learning lessons for kindergarten, first grade, and second-grade students. Learn more
  • Digital phonics activities have become a hit in elementary classrooms. Digital resources are great because they are no prep for the teacher and they are super engaging for students. In this post, I share my favorite phonics activities during literacy centers, Daily 5, or guided reading groups. There are magnetic letter activities, vowel team activities and diphthong activities. Students can work on creating sentences, cvc word activities, and phonics patterns.
  • All Are Welcome is the perfect read aloud for back to school. It is a great introduction to social-emotional learning about kindness, inclusion, and diversity. During the beginning of the school year, it's so important to set up a strong classroom community and start building relationships. This helps with behavior management and student learning. This book does a beautiful job celebrating diversity and helping students feel safe in our classrooms. Grab this All Are Welcome book activity!
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