Registration is Open for the 2018 Spring Teacher Retreat!

We are so excited to announce that it is time to open registration for the 

2018 Spring Teacher Retreat

at the beautiful French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana! 

 

This will be the 5th year for this amazing event, and we know this will be the MOST INCREDIBLE EVENT YET! Are you ready to feel appreciated for all of the work you do in your classroom every day?  Need a weekend away with your teaching besties to relax and rejuvenate? Want to be uplifted by other passionate educators and fall in love with teaching all over again? If you answered yes to any of these questions, the 2018 Spring Teacher Retreat is for YOU!

We have an AMAZING weekend planned for you this year!

On Friday night, we will be holding an optional pre-registration social event to welcome all of those teachers checking in early. (More details will be announced soon!)

We will start off the Saturday festivities bright and early as we register attendees and offer breakfast treats and beverages to kick off the day! The morning will be filled with an inspiring keynote from our INCREDIBLE keynote speakers, Hope and Wade King, educators at the world renowned Ron Clark Academy, authors of the soon-to-be-released The Wild Card book, and co-founders of the high-energy Get Your Teach On conference!  A wide variety of other professional development sessions and mini-sessions will be offered to fill the remainder of the afternoon! We have an amazing line-up of the most inspiring presenters, educators, administrators, TPT authors and teacher-bloggers coming to join us for this special event! (A lunch break will be provided between sessions. Lunch will be on your own, but we will provide many options for you to choose from!)

We will join back together in the evening for our annual Saturday night social event! This year, we will be traveling back in time to the roaring 20's for a Mayhem & Mystery party like none other! Come dressed in 20's attire and join us as we socialize, snack, collect clues, interview suspects and figure out "WHODUNIT!" It will be an evening filled with flappers, fun, gangsters and games! This will be an engagement experience that no educator will want to miss! Oh! And did we mention the incredible give-aways??? With the help of our amazing event sponsors, we going to spoil you with incredible teacher swag! 

We've designed this weekend for you to be able to CONNECT with other amazing educators, be INSPIRED, learn ways to ENGAGE your students at the highest levels, and leave energized to return to your classrooms and TEACH with renewed passion and energy!  And the absolute BEST PART? You will have SO MUCH FUN! It will be an unforgettable weekend…and YOU DESERVE IT!

Click HERE to visit our event website and get registered for just $80!

For more information about the event, visit our website at www.springteacherretreat.com.  You will find details about all of the events for the weekend, information about the resort, hotel reservation information, t-shirt ordering links, and more!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram @springteacherretreat for all of the latest updates!

We can’t wait to see you there!

Assessments Made Simple with ESGI

Teacher Friends...

If I could give pre-school and primary school teachers one piece of advice in regard to how to balance the teacher-life workload, I would tell every teacher to...

 

What is ESGI?

 

ESGI, which stands for Educational Software for Guiding Instruction, is an online program that automates 1-on-1 assessments. You choose an assessment from the extensive online test bank (or create your own!), assess your students using an iPad, computer or even your smartphone, and instantly have your student and class data organized in one place!  Select one of dozens of types of data reports, and print!   Instant progress reports, report cards, and student/class data reports!  It's literally that easy! 

Why should you use ESGI?

First of all, it will save you HUNDREDS of hours a year!  I mean it, teacher friends, HUNDREDS!  No more filing paper assessments, pulling out student binders, and laying out student papers all over your desk or floor!  The data is all in one place, and with one click, you have just about any student or class report  you could desire!

You are also able to effortlessly stay organized, your students will LOVE assessments now that they are invited to complete them on an iPad, computer or phone, and your administration and parents will love the information they receive from your reports!

 

But don't just take if from me! 

Check out how why other teachers love ESGI.....

 

Amazing, right?!  Well, just when you think it can't get any better...it does!  Did you know when you sign up for ESGI this fall, you also gain access to the "CMT" tool?  CMT stands for Classroom Management Tool.  CMT provides you with a variety of amazing teacher tools such as:

* A list and report generator for birthdays, awards, allergies, etc.

* A name-writing practice worksheet generator

* A Parent Teacher Conference scheduling tool

* A field trip organizational tool to help keep track of field trip payments and permission slips.

* Much, much more! 

Friends, they even have a phone app coming out soon that allows you to take pics on your phone, and they automatically sync to student portfolios, lists and/or assessments!  It's amazing!

Check it out!

If you want to know more about the ESGI Classroom Management Tool, check out all of the informational videos on ESGI's YouTube Channel!

ESGI has single-handedly saved me soooo much time in the classroom!   I truly and genuinely want to share it with the teacher-world!  If you are a primary teacher, it's absolutely a MUST-HAVE!  If you want to learn more, be sure to visit ESGI Software's Facebook page and check out their "videos!"

ESGI is a tool for which you purchase a yearly subscription...but if you use this link and use the code B7296, you can sign up and get a FREE 60 day trial...and if you decide to purchase it after you try it...you will receive $40 off automatically!

 

You will never regret "gaining" back hundreds of assessment hours so you can spend more time with your sweet families!  Trust me!

Have a great school year, my friends!

 

Go Back-To-School...SUPER HERO Style!

Back-to-School... 

Like most primary teachers, I like to begin my year with an “All About Me” type of unit so I can get to know the kiddos better…and they can get to know me, too!

In past years, we have done the usual back-to-school read-alouds and had some great “what do you like” discussions. 

I’ve done various “All About Me” booklets and drawn lots of “things I like” pictures.  

But folks, after spending the summer "touring" with the "Get Your Teach On" team, and being surrounded by educators who are passionate about student engagement... I went back and re-read one of my favorite resources from Hope King...

 her Set the Stage 2 Engage ebook…

{Click here to check it out!}

And it reminded me why it's so important to start your school year with a..

So... GONE are the days of
“get to know me” mediocrity!

Hello STUDENT ENGAGEMENT!

This creation is all about using that creative hook to teach students that learning can be fun, that we are all special and WILL be successful, and of course, that we  are “family” who appreciate our differences and encourage each other!  

{A few of my main priorities during the first few weeks of school!}

It’s an “All About Me” unit with a punch!

 

If you are looking for a fun and engaging way to start off the year, check it out!

 

120+ pages of engaging get-to-know-ya’ goodness!

 

Here is a sneak peek of just some of the things included...

 This unit is an “all about me” unit with a punch!

This unit focuses on helping students identify their strengths and encourages them to always do their personal best!  Resources included in this packet will allow you to “flip” your classroom into “Superhero Central” and set the stage for maximum student engagement as your students learn about what “super-powers” they each possess!
 

Suggested Instructional Sequence:   
(However, you can also just pick-n-choose activities as you wish!)

 

1.      “Everyone’s a Superhero” Book & Discussion (pages 2-16)

2.      Student “I’m a Super Kid” Books (pages 17-40)

3.      Mini-Superhero Craftivity & Bulletin Board Display (pages 41-46)

4.      Superhero Show-N-Tell (pages 47-51)

5.      Super Symbol Creation  (pages 52-54)

6.      Making Superhero Capes (pages 55-56)

7.      Superhero Celebration Day! (page 57)

1.     “Flip” your classroom into “Superhero Central” (pages 58-70)

2.     Superhero BINGO – Choose your option: Matching pics/visual discrimination focus or “Create Your Own” version) {Editable file so you can customize for your students!}  (pages 71-91)

3.     Superhero Roll-N-Cover Game (addition focus) 3 Levels of play (pages 92-98)

4.      Superhero Writing (pages 99-101)

5.      Super Kids Class Book  (pages 102-108)

6.      Flying Superhero Craftivity (pages 109-113)

7.      Superhero Science:  The “X-ray Vision” Game (pages 114-117)

8.      “You’re a Super Kid” Certificates (pages 118-121)

(Each of the above activities is explained in detail on its own 

activity description page!)

 (Take a peek at how I flipped my room for this unit last year!  The kids went wild!)

 (Note: I teach at a private Christian school, however, the packet activities are not religiously based.)

(Super hero cape design and directions are included in this packet!)

It’s on SALE now in my TPT store!

Check it out HERE!

 

My Favorite Summer Tradition.... The Gift of a Day!

Hello Friends!  Happy Summer!!!

Woo-Wee! I have been a busy girl lately! Oh, you know... wrapping up the school year, shuttling the kiddos from sport camps to sport practices, trying to keep the house clean, the yard weeded, and the family fed!  Whew!  It's enough to make you think you don't have time to blog!  LOL   But I have missed y'all...and knew I needed to hop on here and share some of the things that have been rolling around in my "summer-mode-brain!" 

Now, if you’ve ever read my blog or followed me on Instagram (hollyehle) or Facebook (ehlekindergarten), you probably already know I’m a family tradition nut! 

I’m ALL about making memories and trying to be “intentional” as a parent. However, I’m human and as hard as I’ve tried, I just can’t manage to add hours to the day or extra days to the week…so I’ve had to be creative in the ways of creating family traditions.  I have to find ways to make a BIG impact with the limited amount of time I seem to have.  I think I’ve come up with quite a few pretty cool traditions that are “do-able” for parents with limited time, if I do say so myself!  Today, I'm sharing one of my favs!

One of my favorite summer traditions is what we call 

 

I mean, really…Fewer things sound more delightful than spending a day doing exactly what we want, right?!! To our family, “The Gift of a Day” tradition reminds us that sometimes we need to put our obligations and our work aside and just BE.  We need to spend time with our loved ones, in our favorite place doing our favorite things, completely relaxing and forgetting about the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. “The Gift of a Day” is about making the most of every moment and approaching all that you do with purpose and love.  It's about keeping the people and activities we value the most in the forefront of our minds so that we don't get distracted by all those things that aren't important.  It's about feeling the satisfaction of truly giving and appreciating life around us and not taking one single thing for granted.

I may not be able to be “SUPERMOM” every day of the year….but this tradition allows me to be just that for a least one day! LOL   And when you stop to think about it… If you consider how the events of a single day have changed the course of history… maybe, just maybe, giving your child a “Gift of a Day” may just change their lives forever too!  

So this is how it works in my family. During the first few weeks of summer, we have each family member complete their own "perfect day" card. (We currently just have our kiddos fill them out…but every few years “we” {mom& dad} have filled them out too!) We have each person write down all of their favorite things, the things that they would love to experience packed in one day!  (NOTE: This is NOT about going to fancy, expensive places or about buying things.  This is about doing the simple things each kid loves, like spending time with their best friends in their favorite places, picking their favorite home-made meals, etc.)  We then store each member’s card in his/her envelope on their specially assigned page in our “Gift of a Day” memory book.

This is what OUR little "Gift of a Day" keepsake book looks like.
(Keep in mind, we started this YEARS ago!  You can tell from the style! Hee! Hee!)
You can use any time of keepsake booklet or even just a storage box with cardstock cards!

 

Here is a peek at the inside.  The first pic shows a little description of the tradition and the next two pics are examples of the inside pages.  Note that the photos of my boys are glued onto actual envelopes that are glued onto the pages of the mini-scrapbook.  The cream cards then slide into the envelopes for keepsake keeping!

This is just a small scrapbook that has an envelope glued to each page with a name on each. Nothing fancy….just simple and organized. {You could also just have a special envelope for each person that you keep in a pretty little storage box. The container doesn’t matter.  It’s the memories that will!} 

During the summer, we commit one day to giving each family member the “Gift of a Day.”  We secretly plan these days without our children’s knowledge and then surprise them on the morning of their special day by decorating their door and other places around the house with simple posters and balloons. Even though we have done this for over seven years and the kiddos know their special days are coming, the look on their faces on their “Gift of a Day” mornings is priceless!

One of our favorite parts of this tradition is actually looking back in each of our envelopes at the past years’ “Gift of a Day” cards and photos.  My kids get a big kick out of looking back at what they used to think was “the best thing ever” and giggling at those things! 

Here are a few pics from some of our past "Gift of a Day" activities....

 

Lexi's 2008 Gift of Day: Spending a "girls" day with her best friend, big cousin and Mommy!  We went to Build-A-Bear, went to the animal shelter and made some animal treat donations, and played with the animals waiting for homes.  #futurevet  

Lexi's 2010 Special Day:  Another girls' Day at the animal shelter with her big cousin and a few friends! I love that almost every year her idea of a "perfect day" involves serving!  

     

Colton's 2008 Gift of a Day: He just wanted "his people" (cousins, aunts, uncles and friends) to come over and play tractors with him in his room.   We had a cookout menu of hotdogs, carrots and beans. (His choice!) We had over 50 people show up to celebrate Colton's "Gift of a Day" and have pictures of everyone of them in his "tractor room" with him!  #lookatthatsmile 

(Thought you'd get a pic out of a throw back family pic!)

 

 Colton's 2009 Gift of a Day: All he wanted was to have his family over for an "Ehle chicken" cookout and set up his tent!  We actually took pictures of all 60 people who came!  It was incredible! #hesapeopleperson #ehlechickenisfamous

Colton's 2010 Gift of a Day: Oh, you know.... The year that he wanted "his tribe" to come over for a play date in his teepee.   LOL.  Yes, yes I did paint a photo prop for the occasion.  Hey! It was on his "perfect day" request list! Oh... Did you check out all the cool teenagers he invited who painted his nickname "Bubba" on their chests?!   #everyoneinEhlevilleappreciatesthistradition

Hunter's 2008 Special Day:  Hanging out at Chuck E. Cheese, Crazy  Pins and Steak and Shake with his best friend, Ty.   Ty has been a part of Hunter's special day for 11 straight years!  The picture memories are incredible! #bestbuds

 Lexi's 2014 Gift of a Day: This day included chillin' at our pond with her bestie! #simplelifeisgood

So that’s it! It’s pretty simple really….but it has had a HUGE impact on my kids. 

My kiddos are now 15, 15 and 12 and they still LOVE it!  They know I can get “busy” with my job….but they know I know how to “stop the bus” (ß Reference to Ron Clark’s latest Move Your Bus book here! If you haven’t read it yet….do it! It’s great!) and put things in priority. 

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my family and this is just one simple way I can show them!

 

If this post has inspired you to try granting “A Gift of a Day” to your kiddos (or hubby), click below to snag my template of our “Gift of Day” cards and give it a try!

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Gift-of-a-Day-Tradition-Card-Freebie-1991030

Try this AWESOME Easter/Spring Tradition... It's an Egg Tapping Tournament!

Looking for a fun Easter/spring tradition for your family or group of friends? Start an egg tapping tournament!  It’s simple, inexpensive…and SO much fun!



1. Simply hard-boil one egg per friend or family member in attendance.  (You may color or decorate the eggs as desired, or just leave them plain. )

2. Print out the egg tapping bracket (that can be downloaded for FREE at my TPT store) if you have 16 players or less.  (If you have less than 16 players, you may have to fill in some of the “first round” lines as “byes” or give each player 2 eggs.)

 

Click HERE to download the free bracket!

 

If you have a larger group of participants, you may wish to go to www.freebracketgenerator.com and customize your own bracket.

3. Fill out the first round (lines on both outer edges) slots with players' names or their “egg team names.”

4. Begin the egg tapping tournament by having two players that are pitted against each other hold their hard-boiled eggs with the “points” facing each other.  The players “tap” the eggs together with the intention to break the other’s, without breaking one’s own. 

5. Amazingly, only one egg will crack each time.  The player whose egg does NOT crack or break moves on to the next round of competition.

6. Continue play until a final winner is determined!

Want to know more about the history of egg tapping?"

Click HERE!

Enjoy your new tradition!