Life Between Summers

Elementary Teaching Blog

FREE bookmarks to go with
Our Class is a FamilyGET YOUR FREEBIE
FREE bookmarks to go with
Our Class is a FamilyGET YOUR FREEBIE

FREE bookmarks to go with
Our Class is a Family GET YOUR FREEBIE

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Meet Shannon

picture of Shannon
Thanks for stopping by! I've taught second grade for 15 years and am a mom of 2 girls (so I'm tired and happy)! I am passionate about creating helpful resources for elementary teachers, and writing picture books for the classroom. When I'm not doing the work that I love, I enjoy spending time with my family, laughing with friends, and having travel adventures. Hope you enjoy taking a look around!

A Letter From Your Teacher

#1 Read Aloud for the first day of school!

Here’s what teachers are saying about it:

“This book perfectly sums up all that teachers hope, dream, and wish for their students each year.”
“It really helps to express the special connection built between teacher and student!”
“I love the inclusive, colorful illustrations.”
“This is the book I’ll read to my class on the first day of school for the rest of my teaching career!”

Available on Amazon, Target, or at discounted pricing when ordering direct.

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Our Class is a Family

Have you picked up a copy of “Our Class is a Family” for your classroom library yet?
Here’s what teachers are saying about it:

“This book is PERFECT for building classroom community. 10/10 recommend!”
“This will definitely be a staple in my beginning and end of the year read alouds.”
“A MUST-HAVE for every classroom!”
“The beautiful illustrations show a diverse set of children.”
“EVERY TEACHER NEEDS THIS BOOK!”

Available on Amazon, Target, or at discounted pricing when ordering direct.

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Virtual Author Visits

I’d absolutely love to meet with you and your students to talk all about class community, as well as the writing and publishing process for Our Class is a Family and A Letter From Your Teacher.

Learn More

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Life Between Summers

4 weeks ago

Life Between Summers
SURPRISE!!! 🎉 Sandie Sonke Illustration & I just finished up the cover for our 4th book together, coming in 2023! 📙🥳In the past, I haven’t shared new book titles/covers until closer to the release date, but this time around I’d like to try and share more with you throughout the actual book-creating journey (sketches, sneak peeks, etc.) so here ya have it! 💞As you probably guessed by the title, this new one will be a follow up to Our Class is a Family! 🥰The premise:Kids have their immediate family that they live with, but extended relatives (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.) make up a special part of a family too! You can see where this is going- it’s similar at school! Students have their teacher & each other within their classroom walls, but they also have an extended family there to support them ❤️Specifically, all of the amazing people who are a big piece of the heart of a school:Librarians, speech pathologists, school counselors, administrators, custodians, school secretaries, reading specialists, cafeteria workers, and parent volunteers, just to name a few 🏫 And you’ll find them all represented in this new book! 🙌🏼 My hope for “Our School is a Family” is that it will help students feel extra safe, loved, & supported, and encourage kids to form positive relationships with (and show appreciation toward) the helpers at their school!I am so excited to share more about this book with you in the months to come!! 📖 P.S. Speaking of “months,” my very warmest congrats to Sandie, who is Society of Children's Book Writers & IllustratorsIllustrator of the Month! So very well-deserved!!! 🥂💗#ourschoolisafamily #ourclassisafamily #aletterfromyourteacher #shannonolsen #shannonolsenauthor #backtoschoolbooks #teacherreadaloud #schoollibrarian #schoolcounselor #speechpathologist #schoolcommunity ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

5 months ago

Life Between Summers
New book companion to go with Our Class is a Family! Class Family Memory Books for the end of the school year 📖💕This is a nice & simple writing activity for students to work on during those final weeks/days leading up to summer break 👌🏼 It’s a meaningful way to reflect on all their memories from the year, and they can take it home as a special keepsake on the last day of school! If you’re thinking you might want these memory books for your students, the timing couldn’t be better because they’re 25% off today & tomorrow (along with all other resources in my TPT store!) with the code THANKYOU22 💛 This comes available on its own, or in a discounted bundle with more extension activities for all 3 of my books 📚 I will share the link in the comments! 💕 ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers with Lakeshore Learning.

1 years ago

Life Between Summers
Check out these top 5 favorites from Lakeshore Learning! They are having their biggest sale of the year for back to school. Use the coupon code 6392 for 20% off any non-sale item! bit.ly/2Usm24T Coupon valid ‪through 8/31/2021 for one-time use in stores or online. Limit one coupon per customer. Not valid on items with shipping restrictions. Other exclusions may apply. Visit bit.ly/3bbUXIj for details. #LearnwithLakeshore #ad #sponsored ... See MoreSee Less

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Life Between Summers

1 years ago

Life Between Summers
Standard Form, Expanded Form, Word Form. Maybe not the most exciting math concept to teach, but definitely an important one…so why not make it fun and engaging?? 😄Guess Who math games encourage higher level thinking/reasoning and using math vocabulary verbally. They’re an instant favorite for math centers and early finishers!Find this game and others at bit.ly/guesswhomathgames ... See MoreSee Less

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  • Building a class community is a work of heart. In this post, I am sharing a fun way to build a strong class community by having students wear a shirt that has a positive message or image on it. You can do this just for fun or use it as a whole class incentive. This is a great way to promote social emotional well-being in your classroom environment. You will also find teacher t-shirt ideas including “choose kindness” t-shirts. Download your free parent letter today!
  • Are you looking for fun and engaging multiple meaning words activities? Today, I am sharing 5 grammar activities that will help your elementary students learn all about multiple meaning words. I share multiple meaning words worksheets along with multiple meaning words games including my classroom game using Jenga. Find a multiple meaning words anchor chart activity as well. You can use these grammar games and activities at grammar centers, for morning work or for early finishers.
  • Are you looking for new ways to teach shades of meaning? In this post, I am sharing 5 ideas for teaching shades of meaning. These shades of meaning activities are fun and interactive for your elementary students. Students will love learning about synonyms with these language arts activities. You can incorporate them into your language arts block, grammar, or readers workshop. I include both literacy games and crafts you can use for bulletin boards throughout the year.
  • During the beginning of the school year, it’s important to set foundations. A great place to start with your elementary students is with sentence structures. Read this blog for a fun puzzle activity to work on subject and predicate. In your literacy centers, your 2nd graders can match together puzzle pieces to complete a sentence, or complete a sentence by starting with a subject and finishing the predicate. See how you can use this ELA activity in your classroom to teach sentence structure.
  • This compound words activity is exactly what you’ve been looking for! This grammar game helps students practice identifying compound words and use knowledge of the meaning of individual words to predict their meaning. This language arts activity can be played during readers workshop, guided reading groups, and Daily 5. Instead of doing a compound words worksheet, try this hands-on grammar activity.
  • Did you know that a great way to practice math skills with kids is using board games? Check out this blog post all about using Guess Who to work on number sense and place values. There are math games for everything from addition and subtraction, counting money, telling time, and fractions. There are also decimals activities for upper elementary students. Also, check out how I organize this classroom resource with separate containers and stickers for each Guess Who activity.
  • This language arts activity is perfect for literacy centers, morning work, or an early finishers activity. This Christmas themed literacy game is a great way to work on several ELA skills including parts of speech, shades of meaning and compound words. You can also work on phonics, contractions, and homophones with this holiday literacy activity. Play this Jenga literacy game during guided reading groups or Daily 5 as well. Elementary students will love this hands-on activity.
  • A fun way to build a strong class community is by having students wear a holiday shirt or sweater during the weeks leading up to winter break. You can do this just for fun or use it as a whole class incentive as a classroom management tool. This is a great way to promote social emotional well-being in your classroom environment on Fun Friday. Here is a free parent letter explaining this fun theme day in your classroom. Download your free parent letter for festive Fridays!
  • Are you looking for fun and engaging multiple meaning words activities? Today, I am sharing 5 grammar activities that will help your elementary students learn all about multiple meaning words. I share multiple meaning words worksheets along with multiple meaning words games including my classroom game using Jenga. Find a multiple meaning words anchor chart activity as well. You can use these grammar games and activities at grammar centers, for morning work or for early finishers.