Happy New Year!

My name is Danielle,  I
am the owner of Crayonbox Learning. I’m really excited to be a Guest Blogger
for Maggie’s Kinder Corner!   I’d like to
share a little bit about myself.  

I live on a small farm in Arkansas, where I raise a herd of
Alpine dairy goats.  I’ve been creating
learning materials since 1999.  I began
creating learning resources to help children in my classes that had learning
challenges, as well as severe behavioral issues.  I found out early on that these children took
an active interest in learning, and excelled when they had materials that were
theme based, and engaging. The learning materials that I create feature my own
hand drawn images and designs.

Since I live on a farm, 
I like to create learning resources that have a farm based theme.  One of my favorite packets is about Hatching
Chicks.  Many classrooms across the
country incubate eggs as part of their science unit and raise chicks.  I developed this packet to enhance the
exisiting curriculum, especially for classrooms that do incubate chicks in the
classroom.  The packet features printable
learning resources, including a chicken life cycle ring book and full sized
chicken life cycle posters. The product description will detail all of the
items included in the packet.

Link to product:

www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Hatching-Chicks-Chickens-Mini-Unit-Science-Learning-Centers

Since it’s the new year, 
many of my friends and colleagues begin talking about being more
organized.

One of my favorite organizational tips for organizing
learning resources is to use view binders. 
I keep a view binder for each month, and a separate view binder for the
larger themes.  I use the view binders
because they have a plastic cover for which I can slip down a colorful theme
based cover and spine label so that I know exactly what is in each binder at a
glance.

Included in each binder: 
All of my notes/plans, drawings, and sample worksheets.  If I become inspired by pictures in magazines
or other resources, I make a copy of that page and I include it as well.  I generally add a comment or note on the
pages to be able to recall what inspired me.

The view binders fit nicely on a bookshelf or can be stored
in a “milk crate.” by season.  The milk
crates will stack up in a closet if space is smaller.  The best time to find view binders and milk
crates is during the “back to school” sales, or when office supply stores are
changing out inventory. 

 If you would like to stop by my Blog,  please click on the button below.