Open house, also known as back to school night, is just days away for some of you, and this is your opportunity to make a great first impression. We just had ours—yes, some schools start in early August—so I thought I’d share a few tips to help you with yours.

Teaching is one of the most challenging, underrated, and often deeply rewarding professions a person can choose. There is a lot you can learn from trying to teach a room full of (mostly) interested students that can help you in everyday life. Here are some of the biggest lessons I have learned over the years:

Snow is falling, music is playing, and the wonderful smell of cookies is in the air. School is out for the holiday, and students aren’t the only ones excited about the break! So, what can teachers do with their free time away from the classroom? Here are some fun ideas to give you inspiration:

Some of you have been in the classroom for almost six weeks, while others have just begun. Making changes to your classroom at this point in the school year may sound odd, but sometimes it is good to make a change after a few weeks to spice things up. 

If you’re thinking about shaking up your classroom dynamic, here are some easy changes you can incorporate:

The urgency for STEM education has been fueled by a workforce imperative and the need to supply an increasing demand for STEM jobs in the United States. This coupled with the new NGSS brings into focus the need for educators to understand the benefits to this unique pairing. Think of integrated STEM instruction as a road map and the NGSS as the GPS or compass. Both direct you to the same destination, however while one gives a general route, the other provides a more guided approach to finding your way with the option of many alternate routes—whatever suits you as a teacher and, more importantly, the individual needs of your students. The overlap provides teachers with more room for experimentation with lesson plans and curriculum activities, not additional work.

STEM learning is at the forefront of education today—and it shows no signs of slowing down. The focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) is a necessity in order for Americans to be competitive in the job market in future years. Careers in these fields will continue to grow, so it's imperative that we make STEM a priority for today's students in order to prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.

IT’S A SNOW DAY! The Weather Channel predicted a big snowstorm and it really happened—you can almost hear the collective screams of joy from students and teachers alike! But after sleeping in, snuggling under your favorite quilt reading a book, and enjoying some hot chocolate, cabin fever is beginning to infect your mind.

Here are some suggestions for fun snow day activities to keep you and your students entertained: 

Let’s face it: The top 20 things teachers like to do over winter break might be filled with at least 10 days of a chance to sleep in, but we all know that most teachers are also caregivers, parents to children of all ages, or parents to fur kids—all of which have their own agenda. But teachers are people too, and we need to start a campaign to do something for ourselves to celebrate the time off we have each December.

The top 20 things I plan to do over winter break are:

I guess you would call me a creativity junkie. I like to take science concepts and give them a little twist and tweak to fully engage my high school students. To start the process, I set the stage: Upon entering my classroom, students may walk into a simulated rainforest with vines and leaf canopies draped from the ceiling, or go into a human cell with 3D organelles hanging within the classroom’s cytoplasm. I also use a lot of props when teaching. For example, “DO NOT OPEN” envelopes are hung from the ceiling that are only opened when I request a student to do so. The envelope may contain a bell work question, quote that is relative to the topic at hand to stimulate classroom discussion, or a clue to use their cell phones to locate a QR code within the hallway or classroom that provides further instructions.

Now that school is over, how do you recharge your batteries to face another year after the summer break? After my last student departs from my classroom in May, I set this goal: Update everything in the next five days or less! I get all of my summer print jobs into the print shop, update the syllabi and lesson plans for my classes on each class website for the first 4–6 weeks of August/September, and send out a general message that I will not be checking the school email—my administration knows how to contact me if it’s urgent. I also like to pack what I will need for the first three to five days of school in dated and labeled individual boxes (kind of like opening up a present to myself at the start of the new school year).