Are you like me, suddenly living the life of uncertainty? Will I be teaching distance learning from home? Will I be teaching a mix of face-to-face and distance learning?
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We all know that children should not be overexposed to the screens on their devices, but that does not mean a complete technology ban. And as almost any parent can tell you, sometimes, buying yourself 30 minutes of quiet time with a videogame or television show is a lifesaver. It is okay to let your children indulge (within reason) as long as your most common response to boredom is the tried-and-true, “go outside and play.”
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Handwriting is a critical skill to teach and allow for independent practice. My favorite way to introduce handwriting to early learners is through the concepts of sticks and curves. By using this vocabulary, students can easily make sense of the complicated process of letter formation. Sorting activities with tactile letters is a great way to introduce the concept. As little hands can touch the curves and sticks that make letters, the concept becomes less abstract and gains meaning.
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Name writing, spelling, and other activities have so many cognitive benefits and simply makes one feel important! Reading and spelling the names of classmates expands upon the benefits. It not only deepens alphabet knowledge, concept of print, and letter sequencing, but it builds community!
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Recognizing colors and identifying color names is an important part of a child’s development. This connection of colors, color names, and even color words create the cognitive link between visual clues and the spoken and written word. The process of learning to identify a color by name is actually more complex than it seems. A child needs to sort in their brain that colors are not shapes, sizes, objects, textures, but rather the shade, hue, and vibrance of something you see. Learning colors lays the foundation to complex cognitive thinking and neural pathways that will allow for complex thinking.
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This engaging alphabet book featuring the letters A-Z, focuses on letter sounds in a musical way! Students learn alphabet sounds just like magic with this engaging rap and alphabet book craft they are excited to take home, share and love.
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When Covid-19 closed our schools this spring, education changed. Like it or not, education shifted from the classroom to the home. This shift will create gaps in education like never before experienced. Educators are scrambling on how to lessen the gap for their students when they arrive in the fall. Hopefully great things and necessary changes will result from that scramble. Kindergartners and First Graders are at the greatest risk for learning loss because of their crucial stages in development.
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My Dad was born in 1912. His Dad was a government trapper and was in the mountains when he was born, but had arranged for his youngest sister Mamie, to be with his wife during his absence. My Dad and his twin brother came early, he weighing a mere 1.5 lbs and his brother at 2 lbs. The birth was difficult and his mother died within the week. Aunt Mamie was left with the responsibility of trying to keep two tiny premature twins alive as well as care for three older siblings until my Grandpa came back from the mountains.
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During this time of school closures, many wonderful companies are making their online resources available to elementary students, but for many families who are sharing computers in order to complete work, or have limited access to the Internet — completing school through online means may not be the best or most accessible course.
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When your child turns 5, one of the first questions that comes to mind is, “Is my child ready for kindergarten?” When answering this question, it is important to look into all components of a child’s development. Ask yourself these questions:
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To get you started on your exploration of space with your learners, I am offering my Space Thematic Unit for FREE. Use this plan and activities to spark the imagination and learning for your students, or your own child or children.
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There are many great sensory activities that you can use in your classroom during the month of February. One of my favorites is Valentine Play dough! This dough will last the entire month if stored in an airtight container.
Mix Together
1 cup flour
Probably one of my favorite Dramatic Play opportunities during the school year, is The Valentine Post Office. I purchased the postman costumes years
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America is obsessed with football, I myself love to find some Friday Night Lights, or enjoy a great game featuring one of my favorite teams on TV.
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When logging into your ESGI, and this message appears, be sure to click HERE! You will be glad you did! Students can now hold their own iPad while you are assessing — and that is so empowering for students, and so much easier for the assessor.
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Do you have reluctant writers? There are various reasons that students don’t want to write, but the main reason is that handwriting is a difficult task for them to preform. There is a burning story inside them, but putting that story to paper is, at best, a painful and difficult task.
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This is my great-grandmother, Nikoline, an immigrant from Norway in the late 1800’s. Because of her, I am smitten with everything Norway, and the Norwegian Advent is no exception. The advent celebrates the days prior to Christmas and in Norway, this Christmas calendar is called julekalenderen.
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I love exposing my students to the various cultures and beliefs around the world. I have found that December is just the month for this cultural exploration!
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The month of November is such a gift! There are so many beautiful things to weave into your teaching this month that will enrich and excite your students. In fact, I usually don’t have time for all the things I wish I could teach in this bounteous month!
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This year is flying by! My class just reached the 50th day of school, and we celebrated with some 50s fun to mark the half-way point to the 100th day. My students loved the opportunity to roll up pant-legs, throw on poodle skirts, slick back the hair, and pop some bubble gum!
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