Maniacs in the Middle

Summer Ready with Ibotta

Summer Ready with Ibotta

I can’t believe it’s my first official weekend of summer!!! This school year was my hardest and most draining to date, so I am ready to kick my feet back and relax this summer. In order to do that, I needed to get a couple of items to get my backyard ready for summer! I didn’t want to break the bank so I downloaded the Ibotta browser extension! It was so easy to set up and I love that it works with so many of my favorite stores  I headed to Walmart.com because I knew they would have what I wanted!…

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Famous Scientists and Inventors for Kids

Famous Scientists and Inventors for Kids

I have always wanted to do a scientist research project but always felt overwhelmed with narrowing down famous scientists for my 6th graders. When I first decided I was going to do this project, I literally searched “Famous Scientists” on Google. No surprise to anyone, 99% of the scientists listed were white males who were not alive. My very first lesson of the year was the “What does a scientist look like?” lesson. I was not about to have my students do a research project on these scientists. I really wanted a diverse list of scientists and inventors. I also…

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Glow Games

Glow Games

*Many of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means that I make a small commission if you purchase something using my links. Thank you for always supporting my side hustle :)* COST: Before I dive into the content & the items that I used for Glow Games, I wanted to chat about the cost. The number one most asked question during & after Glow Games was, “Did you pay for all of this yourself?” The answer is a bit complicated. My district did NOT pay for one item that I used for Glow Games! With that being…

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A Classroom Management System for Middle School

A Classroom Management System for Middle School

Having a classroom management system in middle school is so hard!! A lot of it is too “elementary” for them and they just won’t buy into it! If you want a management system to work for any grade level, there has to be buy in from the students. When I was in college I had a professor who was like Mr. Feeney to me & he told us, “a child will do anything for a Jolly Rancher.” I used this to my advantage & made it into my classroom management system!  Jolly Rancher Wars is a weekly challenge where my…

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My Teacher & Tech Must-Haves!

My Teacher & Tech Must-Haves!

Welcome back to Josie’s Favorite Things of 2020! Tonight I am focusing on my teacher and tech favorites. Remember, these are all items I have personally and LOVE. I chose items that I ACTUALLY use as a teacher. These items are for the teachers in your lives or yourself if you are a teacher! This is not a post for parents on what to give their child’s teacher for Christmas!!  (But if you really want to know what your child’s teacher wants this year: it’s a hand written note, or gift cards & wine.) 🙂 These are items that I…

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