Grade: 6 Materials: exemplars, printouts, pencils, erasers, colored pencils, sharpener, rulers, black Sharpie markers, paper, newspaper, paper cutter, paper towel, water, plastic containers, liquid glue, spatula, white acrylic paint, colored acrylic paints or paint markers, mask molds, plastic wrap. Teacher Prep: Familiarize self with Engage NY EL Protocols, prepare artifacts, Day of the Dead PowerPoint, print template … More Day of the Dead Masks

If you’re looking for something easy and festive to make for Christmas this year, look no further! I have seen these puff pastry Christmas trees ALL over Pinterest and Instagram, so I thought I would give it a shot. Ingredients: 1 box (2 pieces) off pre-made, frozen puff pastry- thawed 1 cup pesto- store bought … More Easy Puff Pastry Pesto Christmas Tree

A few years ago I made some tie-dye Christmas ornaments to sell at a local craft fair. They were a huge hit! They are super easy to make- all you need are clear glass ornaments, some acrylic paints and patience. The great thing about these ornaments are that they come in multiple sizes, and you … More Christmas Craft- Decorated Ornaments

One of my favorite Christmas cookies comes from Jones Tree Farm in Shelton, CT. My family visits the farm every year to chop down our trees, and I always look forward to one of their cookies after. Lucky for us, they’ve shared their recipe with all of us, and you can find it here!

Ingredients: 1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers 1 Box Rigatoni (or Penne) Pasta 2 tbsp Butter ½ Block Cream Cheese Philadelphia preferred 1 cup Half & Half 1 tbsp Minced Garlic I prefer Goya 1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese Fresh Basil Salt Pepper 3 Shallots Instructions: While you are cooking the sauce, bring water to boil … More Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Heading to Thanksgiving dinner and don’t know what to bring? How about an easy to prep charcuterie board? I picked up all my food supplies locally at Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk, but feel free to purchase items wherever fits your budget and needs. The great thing about charcuterie boards are that you can customize them! … More Thanksgiving

One of my favorite things about living in New England (besides our autumn) is our coastlines. I have been blessed with my last few apartments being not too far from the beach. That being said, my entire home has a beach-vibe theme going on…I prefer to call it Greek Isles themed, but it definitely has … More Nautical Pumpkins

I think it’s impossible to grow up in New England and not LOVE autumn. Despite my allergies trying to sabotage the season, it truly is the best time to be in Connecticut. Angry Orchard Crisp Apple is my favorite cider. One day I happened to notice the bottle listed Walden, NY as its location so … More Angry Orchard- Walden, NY

A few years ago, I started posting monthly art challenges that I use for extra credit opportunities in the art classroom. Last year, I started creating my own and it has been a lot of fun! I tried to create them month by month last year, and this caused a lot of extra work having … More Extra Credit

I love Kaitlynn Albani’s Classroom Rule Posters! They’re adorable (and watercolor themed), and match with my classroom decor perfectly! They are listed in Kaitlynn’s TPT page, and best of all- its FREE! The link for the freebie is here. Check out her page, she has a lot of awesome resources for elementary teachers! I just … More Classroom Rule Posters

My great-aunt used to make this recipe for me for special occasions, and it always has been a favorite. Now that she moved out of state, I had to learn how to make this easy and (Bis)quick recipe. It is definitely a crowd pleaser! Ingredients: 2 large zucchinis ½ medium sized white onion  1 cup … More Zucchini Bisquick Quiche

To celebrate #nationalzucchiniday I am sharing some of my favorite recipes using zucchinis! This recipe was inspired by one off I found on Pinterest. The link for Jamie Cooks It Up’s recipe is below. I purchased all these ingredients from my local Price Rite. Teriyaki Sauce: ⅓ c & 1 tbsp soy sauce (I like … More One Pan Beef & Veggie Stir Fry with Zoodles

I don’t know if there is a black hole in my classroom somewhere that swallows up every cap, but for some reason caps seem to go missing in my art room. At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, I saved EVERY SINGLE cap from dried out markers, pens, glue sticks…EVERYTHING! Although I did not … More Spare Cap Storage

Friday August 2 was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, and I am a sucker for anything ice cream related. Last summer I had a family emergency, and had to take an unexpected road trip to Chicago. Somewhere on the road at one of the many rest stops in Indiana, I found Andes Mint ice cream … More National Ice Cream Sandwich Day

One of the most beautiful (and memorable) vacations that I have taken with my family was one where we visited Las Vegas, The Hoover Dam and The Grand Canyon back when I was still in college. We flew into Las Vegas stayed two days and then rented a car to drive to the Hoover Dam … More Las Vegas, The Hoover Dam & The Grand Canyon

I am one of those people who cannot work in silence. I have always incorporated music into my classroom whether it be just for background noise, or to enhance our lesson plan. A few years ago I subscribed to Spotify Premium which I definitely did not regret. My first year teaching, I used Pandora, but … More Music in the Classroom

Visiting Buttonwood Farm Ice Creamery and Sunflower Fields This past Monday my aunt and I took a trip up to Griswold, CT to visit Buttonwood Farm. If you are familiar with the area, it is just a bit more further north than the casinos. Not only does Buttonwood Farm make their own ice cream, and … More Buttonwood Farm

Located nearby Hartford, CT, Penwood State Park offered maintained trails that were easy enough for the whole family to enjoy. One of my good friends and I decided to take her brother (then 10) with us one fall and he had a blast exploring the trails and nature.

When I worked in a K-8 school, my best teacher friend the school librarian and I had wanted to plan a collaborative trip for our students to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art as it would be a great cross-disciplinary trip and opportunity for multiple lessons based upon the books and artwork displayed … More The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

Grade: 8 Artist: MC Escher Materials: Pencils, erasers, scissors, index cards, newsprint paper, black Sharpie markers, white drawing paper Teacher Prep: Make an example for each step ​ Day 1: Introduce positive and negative space using Prezi. Have students sketch 3 different symmetrical insects, with a symmetrical pattern. Once students have sketched 3 designs, have them choose one insect that they will use … More Positive/Negative insects

Lesson plans. L.P’s. Whatever you might call them, they’re always in the back of our minds…especially when you have to submit them weekly to your administration. Here’s a screen shot of the form I use for my lessons. I add times, dates (under the days) and class/teacher names in each box above the objectives and fill … More Lesson Planning. Week at a Glance

Grade: 7 Artist: Louise Nevelson Materials: Cardboard boxes/scraps, glue, scissors, paint, sponge paintbrushes, cups for paint, cups for water, paper towel, sink for cleanup Teacher Prep: Collect cardboard (boxes, paper towel tubes, shoe boxes, etc). Cut cardboard boxes into bases for students to select from, label bins (one for bases, one for scraps), distribute cardboard into bins Objectives: Students … More Louise Nevelson Inspired Cardboard Sculptures

Grade: 7 Artist: Huichol tribe in Mexico, Vincent Van Gogh Materials: yarn, scissors, liquid glue, paper, colored pencils, crayons, pencils, erasers, Starry Night handouts Teacher Prep: print out copies of Starry Night and laminate for students to reference at their tables, collect yarn Day 1: Introduce the students to the works of Vincent Van Gogh using Prezi. Have students disect the … More Nierikas- Yarn “Paintings” inspired by Starry Night

Class Dojo is all the rage. Google it and you will find hundreds of support pages, instructions, incentive/prize ideas, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Class Dojo, however, in the three years I have utilized the resource, I have found it difficult to reach my middle school students (particularly in 7th and 8th grade). Some … More Rewards and Incentives for Middle School

I am pleased to say that after years of teaching art full time, I finally have enough lesson plans developed for the middle school grades to divide the lessons into three separate binders (one for 6, 7, and 8). Even though I have a long way to go to have a fully developed curriculum, I … More Binders Binders Binders

One piece of advice that veteran teachers gave me when I began teaching was to document everything. Having so many students each year, it is difficult to keep track of which parents you spoke to, and which students served detentions, etc. In previous years, I have used a really cute Nautical Parent Communication Log form that I found … More Documenting Parent Communication