a dash of creativity, a pinch of fun, and a whole lot of learning!
Critical thinking exercises are as important to our minds as physical exercise is to our bodies. In the same way children are born with the ability to cry, children are born with an ability to think. And they do! But the complexity of their thinking is a different story. Critical thinking needs to be fostered and promoted. Opportunities to USE…
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As a teacher and a mama to little ones, I’m always looking for creative Valentines that don’t involve sugar! If I’m going to spend the time and money on Valentines gifts for students or my son’s classmates, I want it to be something they can actually use and have fun with! My four-year-old is REALLY into art these days! He’s…
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Visual discrimination and word recognition can often go hand-in-hand when it comes to sight words and words with similar spellings. Before we explore this connection, we need to first understand what visual discrimination is. Visual discrimination is our ability to recognize the details within images. Specifically, it is our ability to recognize similarities and differences between objects, forms, symbols, and…
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What is word play, and why is it important to your vocabulary instruction? As a teacher, you already know vocabulary is connected to your students’ reading and writing skills. Sadly, many students LACK a strong vocabulary. Without explicit vocabulary instruction, vocabulary gaps widen as these students get older. To truly own a new vocabulary word, it’s not enough to see,…
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Finding fun and safe things for students to do during indoor recess has always been a challenge. Then, 2020 took it to a whole new level. What happens when you mix indoor recess, restless kids, AND social distancing rules? Well, it’s called a potential classroom nightmare. Toys and materials can’t be shared, and our students are spending more time than…
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Distance learning, remote learning, and virtual teaching. These phrases, which were once rarely used, are now part our everyday vocabulary. When I was thrown into distance learning last spring, I had no idea what I was doing. (Fortunately, the vast majority of us didn’t either!) I was scrambling to figure out what I needed and what I could use to…
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In this blog post, I’m sharing details of the Pajama Party Story Sessions that I started with my first grade classroom several weeks ago. This weekly event has been a memorable and FUN literacy experience for my students and their families during this time of stress and uncertainty. So what IS a Pajama Party Story Session? One evening a week,…
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