Hello Mrs Sykes

Welcome to the November edition of the Bright Ideas Link-Up! This one is a special one! Over the past 10 months, we have shared thousands of great ideas through our monthly Bright Ideas event. This month, we’re re-capping all of those great ideas, just in case you missed any! Back in August, I wrote about ways to use classroom magazines effectively, which you can read all about here : In July, I shared my most popular Bright Ideas post, all about my Brain Booster Box : In May, I shared Bright Ideas for Word Work . I was so happy to share the little tricks I use to keep Word Work fun and organized! Back in April, I shared my eco-friendly Reminder Bracelets ! This tip saves me so much time, and is a great way to keep the lines of communication active between home and school. March was Cheap Ways to Tame the Clutter : (And what teacher doesn't have stacks of clutter everywhere?? I can't be the only one!) Last, but my favorite, is from last February - Use

The ultimate goal of literacy is to help students become life-long readers, so they can be educated citizens. The child's first and most influential teacher is their parent and/or guardian. With that in mind, it is crucial to give families the tools they need to help this child, as well as other children in the household. {Here's a link to an article from The Atlantic:  How Family Game Night Makes Kids Into Better Students } I love to invite families to school for Literacy Night. I've helped organize, prepare, and lead Literacy Nights at least 8 times over the course of my teaching career, and I plan to continue this for years to come. Here are my tips for an easy and successful Literacy Night in Upper Elementary classrooms. Make and Take for Literacy Night, grades 3-5 At a recent Literacy Night at my school, the parents met in the gym to see a quick presentation about state testing. The students went to the media center to watch a video, learn how to do the Make and