Summer days are long and sunny. You may be tempted to hide inside in the air-conditioning but there are a lot of great experiments and learning opportunities you can do centered around the Sun. Here are a few of my favorites. Create a Sundial The Sun can be used to tell time, direction and seasons. For older students you can…
Once your child is able to recognize letters and their sounds the next step is to learn to read 3 letter words with the consonant, vowel, consonant pattern. These are words such as: man, fan, bat, cat, mop, fun. Here are some printable word lists. 1. Roll and Read games I LOVE incorporating the roll and read activity into my…
Pirates are so much fun to learn about. I especially like doing this unit as the weather gets warmer in late Spring or Summer. Pirates are fun and interesting to children but they provide a lot of meaningful learning topics! Start by reading some pirate books from your local library. My Favorite Pirate Books There are soooo many awesome pirate…
You may be a classroom teacher, homeschooling mom or a parent who wants to give your child some meaningful activities at home. Mastering the basics of creating letters and being able to recognize them is key for ensuring reading success letter on! These ideas are fun, low-prep and great practice. 8 Active Ways to Practice Letters 1. Write Letters in…
Kids are going to be spending a lot of time stuck at home over the next few weeks. The key to keeping them engaged and not driving you crazy is to provide a variety of different activities for them. Don’t sit them in front of technology all day (even if they are on educational websites). That much screen time is…
The word phonics can sometimes seem abstract or overwhelming. Parents and teachers alike often feel afraid they won’t teach reading in the “correct” order and then what they are doing won’t be effective. Here I will break down the basic steps to teach a child to read using phonics. Phonics is all about helping children understand the parts/sounds of a…
October is one of my favorite months as a teacher! There are just sooooo many different themes you can integrate with your learning objectives. A few that I have done are: Human body- bones, brain, blood, muscles etc. This is the perfect month to learn about those things and students will think its cool and gross. Bats/Spiders Harry Potter Pumpkins…
90% of the behavior problems you have in your class can be eliminated by changing your routines and environment! 1.Establish clear expectations. Let’s use the example of getting in line. I want to take a minute to close your eyes and imagine how you would LIKE a classroom of students to get in line. Imagine the noise level, how quickly…
Let’s face it, many students today wish they could spend every minute on the computer playing games. As educators, we can use their natural interest in the computer to create interest in doing other things. Book Creator (2nd grade and up) Want to get your students writing more? Book creator is a free website where students can create their…
It’s impossible to be a teacher or administrator and not have to discipline students. What should discipline look like though? I taught for seven years in Africa. There, it’s still common practice to hit students with a stick when they are misbehaving. Is that discipline? How about having students kneel beside their desk or stand in the back of the…