The Apple A Day Way

We all know the adage, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," but I've never heard anyone say "You know, I've heard that 365 apples a year keep the doctor away."  Why not?  The two statements are mathematically equivalent but (to me at least) they're not mentally equivalent.  Reason number one, the primary teacher in me is compelled to point out that year and away do not rhyme (while day and away do rhyme).  Reason two (which I would argue to be the real reason), 365 apples a year sounds daunting, while just one apple a day seems manageable, even easy.  We can all handle one apple a day, one day at a time, but the idea of all 365 days and all 365 apples at the same time is utterly overwhelming!

I've found this "apple a day philosophy" to be applicable not only to my apple eating habits but to my classroom as well.  If I sit down in August and look at the entire school year ahead of me I'm flooded with all the things I need to do.  Even when I feel it's possible to cover all of the CCSS, keep my kiddos safe, engage my students, address my unique learners and not forget my lunch on the counter (Which is not always how I feel in August!),  the idea of integrating something cute, creative, interactive and Pinterest worthy into each lesson is almost too much to bear.  When I hit this moment of teacherly doubt I stop and remind myself to do things the apple a day way.

If I'm being honest, I have no idea what bloggable activity I'll be doing with my students in May - no idea.  But that's okay.  I do know that on the first day of school each student will have one of these cute "Smartie Pants" notes on his or her desk in the morning.  That smartie pants note is my "apple" (little extra) for the first day of school.  When I look at my classroom this way and attempt to find one "apple"to add to each day, things get easier.

I'd like to invite you to join me on my quest to brighten my classroom the apple a day way.  Each week I'll post three "apples" that I hope you'll find useful in your own classroom.  On Mondays I'll post something you can make, on Wednesdays I'll post an out of the box worksheet, and on Fridays I'll post something extra fun.  Stay tuned.