We all know teachers are busy.
And I mean, BUSY.
I thought I was busy before, and then I had a baby, and all I can say is WOW.
You teachers out there with more than one child and no stay at home parent, you ladies & gents are the real heroes of the world.
2018 was a whole new experience for me.
I went back to work when Leah was 5 months old, and her dad stayed home with her (thank you Canada for amazing maternity/parental leaves!).
Even with Ben at home, life got CRAZY and I had to get really good at prioritizing and really bad at procrastinating.
(I have always been a procrastination queen, so it was a hard habit to unlearn 😉)
As a family, we have our feet under us a lot more solidly now and are once again finding time to do the things we enjoy.
For me, that means going to the beach, playing hockey, and stalking teacher blogs!
In case your 2018 was as insane as mine, I decided to compile a little list for you of my top 5 blog posts you may have missed in 2018.
As I said last week, I posted a LOT of content in 2018, and unless you are the most loyal of readers (if you are, THANK YOU! ❤️) it’s pretty likely you missed some of it.
The following posts didn’t get shared via Facebook or email (yet), and only just started making the rounds on Pinterest, so you may have missed them.
Click on any of the titles or images to go read the posts in their entirety!
1. 5 reasons you should make more time for syllables
I wrote a blog post about syllables a few years ago, so this one may seem a bit familiar.
The old post was long and rambly and confusing, so I broke it down into two parts to make everything cleaner and more to the point.
This post, which I published a couple weeks ago, is kind of like a part two to the original post, How to Make Sure Your Students Really Master Syllables.
Go check it out if you need more ideas for your syllable instruction. There’s a BRAND NEW freebie in there, too!
2. French stamping ideas & activities
Last spring, I added a stamping centre to my repertoire for the first time.
My students LOVE stamping!!
3. How to get your students to speak more French (using puppets & big books)
My students need SO much help and support when it comes to communication orale.
If you teach in a French second-language classroom or in a minority community, I’m sure you can relate!
(I put that in quotes because, lemmetellya, Mme Andrea’s puppet shows are NOT fancy, elaborate, or time-consuming. All about getting the most bang for my buck!)
4. 4 tips for trying directed drawing in maternelle
My students LOVE directed drawing, year after year, and it’s something I incorporate in our days as much as possible.
However, it can be intimidating to start, for the teacher and for the students… if you guys don’t think you can draw 😉
You can also check out this post, to read all the reasons why you should.
5. 6 ways to use math journals in your French primary classroom
This post is pretty recent, too.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you probably know I LOVE math journals and use them for spiral review each day.
But, you can use math journals in lots of other ways, too!
What’s the best blog post you came across in 2018? Maybe you came across some words of wisdom, and they were a game changer for you or your classroom… or maybe you were inspired to try something completely new.
Drop a comment below and let me know!
I love me some new teacher blogs to stalk 😉
Happy 2019 – sending you vibes for your happiest year yet! ❤️
PS – Are you a member of my FREE Resource Library for French primary teachers? If not, what are you waiting for?? Sign up below for access to every freebie I’ve ever made… and will ever make!