With such a bizarrely warm winter, I find myself seriously missing unique snowflakes, curling up by a fireplace and cozying up in my favorite sweater. Our kids are missing out on all the wonderful features of winter too! So, let’s bring the winter spirit to them and incorporate it as much as we can to enrich our classrooms and homes. Here is a list of winter math activities you must try! Frosty’s Estimation If you’ve started lessons on how to best estimate, this bulletin board is perfect. Glue a bunch of cotton balls into the shape of a snowman and ask students to make their best estimate. Oh, and be sure to actually record how many cottonContinue reading
Category: Teaching Ideas & Inspiration
News Articles For Kids – Lesson Ideas
It’s important to raise kids with a sense of global citizenship and community awareness, and what better way is there to do this then to introduce children to the world of news? When teaching kids about news articles it’s helpful to dissect the genre itself: define it’s characteristics, read plenty of examples and look for stylistic elements. Once that’s done, you may have just prepared your students to be critical readers of the news, and perhaps even effective news article writers! Below is a list of steps I recommend if you plan on teaching writing news articles for kids. Take a look: Discuss Non-Fiction Features It’s essential that students understand that news articles fall within “non-fiction”Continue reading
Teaching Kids Kindness
*This post contains affiliate links for convenient viewing* The kids in our care are still developing parts of their character, that will go on to shape how they treat others and how they view themselves. As teachers and parents we have a unique and powerful role to help shape and mold the best parts of our students and kids. One lesson I truly love to teach to my students is kindness. There is no better feeling in the world then knowing that your kindness has left someone else better off, and kids need to experience this amazing feeling. There are lots of opportunities for children to laugh at their peers’ mistakes or call each otherContinue reading
News Article Graphic Organizer – Freebie
This news article graphic organizer is great for students because it helps them plan the overall flow of their news article before writing. It’s a great way to map their thoughts and plan out their writing, and it’s also useful for teachers to track their students before the final writing process begins. If you liked this graphic organizer and found it useful, don’t forget to rate us down below :).
10 Children’s Story Books That Are Hilarious!
*This post contains affiliate links for convenient viewing* When the school day was winding down, my students would anxiously wait for their favorite part of the day: read aloud time! They would inch close on the carpet and excitedly strain their necks trying to catch a glimpse of our newest read. Even now, my daughter runs towards me with full force when I say the words “story time”! Kid’s absolutely love a creative book, especially if it can appeal to their silly imaginative side and relieve some tension from their busy day. Here are 10 children’s story books that are hilarious and will have your students or kids roaring with laughter and thoroughly entertained. MustacheContinue reading
Yasmine’s Belly Button Book Review and Lesson Ideas
Summary Yasmine’s Belly Button is an endearing story is about a young girl named Yasmine, as she gets ready for her first day of school. As she feels butterflies in her stomach about her first day, Yasmine notices her belly button. She begins to wonder why it’s there and embarks on a series of discoveries about the significance of her belly button. Yasmine’s mom tells her all about their connection as mother and daughter, and soon Yasmine realizes that everyone has a belly button in common! Thoughts This book is as much of a tale for mothers as it is for young kids. It will definitely pull on any parent’s heartstrings as it recounts much ofContinue reading
How to Prevent Bullying – A 5 Step Plan
It’s unfortunate to say that we’ve all experienced some form of bullying, and so have our kids and students. Whether being bullied, being a witness to bullying or being the cause of bullying, this pervasive social issue is strong amongst school-aged peers. Bullying can have short and long term effects that are detrimental to students’ physical and/or mental well-being. Here is my 5 step plan on how to prevent bullying from happening in your classroom, home or school. Also, be sure to check out my anti-bullying posters here. 1. Identify It’s important for kids to identify bullying when they see it and understand that it involves many parties. Once they are able to identify it, theyContinue reading
Fall Inspired Science Lessons
Each new season brings about features that are perfect for scientific investigation and inquiry. Fall is no exception. Here are some fall inspired science lessons that will have your students summoning the scientific process like pros! Life Cycles Use pumpkins (or another Fall fruit/plant) as a way to talk about a plant’s life cycle! First, discuss the journey of a seed, germination, sprouting and more! Here are some diagram ideas that students can create: After much discussion, have your students see a plant come to life before their eyes! Open a pumpkin, leave the seeds inside, add soil and water. Have students track the plant’s growth and keep a journal with their observations. Science Investigators PartContinue reading
Ideas for Fall Language Activities
There is so much to be described in the Fall season, which means it naturally lends itself to many language activities. Students can engage in describing, creating, reflecting and reading all about Fall features. Take a look at the following Fall language activities that link back to curriculum. Most of these activities can be tweaked to apply to a variety of grades and difficulty levels. Reading For Meaning Speaking & Writing – Word Choice There are so many special experiences to be had in the Fall season, so it works perfectly to have students practice expanding their word choice and descriptions. Check out the following ideas: Writing – Classifying Ideas Paragraph Writing WhatContinue reading
Toy Organization Ideas (With A Minimalist Approach)
Last year I experienced a big move. My husband, daughter and I packed our bags and relocated to Delaware. Before that I was living with my inlaws. My daughter was still small and didn’t require too much stuff. A crib, changing table, stuffed animals and basket filled with shakers and plush toys were all she needed. However, once we moved things changed quite drastically. My daughter turned 1, began walking, became more alert and all around more demanding! What’s more, we had much more space to hold all of our trinkets. On came the toy buying. Now, I have never been one to accumulate stuff. I’ve always shopped as consciously as I could, and usually askContinue reading