The school year is winding down for most educators. Hopefully this has been a great year with tons of student success and limited teacher stress. Before you step away for your much deserved summer break, I want to offer you opportunities to consider: FREE Summer math packets for K-2 or 3-5 grades FREE math games… Read More »
Student skills develop over several years. Here is a common set of skills for each K-12 year. Kids vary in their personal abilities, but these are standard skills and standard grades where students gain specific thinking skills. Specific Skill K-3 3-6 6-9 9-12 Observation X X X X Communication X … Read More »
At home, school, church, or a club or group, consider including these five ideas when working with young children. Read aloud to promote imagination and word skills. Rhyme (plus talk, sing, and play together) to develop language skills. Routines develop independence and help kids be part of the family, school classrooms and beyond. Recognition not… Read More »
Search-Institute.org is a great site for ideas on working with kids. In their latest article they mentioned what they call HOT and COLD thinking. They call thinking ‘hot’ when it is energized and enthusiastic. ‘Cold’ thinking includes reflective notions such as analyzing and integrating ideas. As teachers, assistants and parents, we can help students develop… Read More »
The controversy rages on. Do kids need recesses? Aren’t they wasting valuable instruction time? If recesses are needed, how many and how long is appropriate? I’m no expert, but, when I taught, the recess breaks were important to the kids and to me. Primary children need to get up, get outside and run, socialize and… Read More »
Looking to invite volunteers into your classrooms? Look no further! Educating America Workbook, Getting Started: A Teacher’s Planning Guide for Including Adult Assistants is my a new resource and your answer! This a step-by-step approach that will save you hours of planning and organizing. It answers questions you may not have thought to ask yourself!… Read More »
Eye on Education posted a great article online* about maximizing lesson plans. Here are their suggestions for introducing lessons. 1. Create a novel approach to grab students attention. 2. Keep the lesson relevant to your students’ lives. 3. Use verbal AND written instructions to accommodate varied ways students take in information. 4. Model your thinking… Read More »