The Idiot Proof Valentine’s Day Card
Everybody gets so fancy when it comes to Valentine’s Day and to be honest, I think it stresses out both kids and adults. Here is an easy Valentine’s Day little something that most everyone can make.
Materials:
Two pieces of different colored paper
A pencil, pen or marker
Glue
Scissors
Fold one piece of paper the long way (the “hot dog” [...]
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One of the most important and rewarding activities for you, as a parent, is to introduce your kids to topics that YOU find interesting. The subjects don’t need to be part of the school curriculum or even something your kids will eventually study in school, but they need to be something that you feel passionate [...]
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Playful Learning: Letter Writing with Younger Children
I think letter writing is one of the best ways to encourage kids to write. They can choose to write a full-blown letter or a simple postcard.
Either way, Mariah at Playful Learning (www.playfullearning.net) has some terrific tips for doing this type of activity. She also has ready-made paper that you can print right from her [...]
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i knOw A LoT of Adults wHo gEt confUsed as to wHat To capitAlize. Here aRe the basics to help explain it your kid:
1. Someone’s name or their title, when used before their name:
Otis
President Obama
Doctor Herdez
2. The name of a group of organization:
San Francisco Giants
The New York Times
The United Way
Stanford University
United States Congress
3. At the [...]
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A Very Cool Home-Made Holiday Gift
Finding cool Holiday gifts that kid’s can make is challenging.
I read a great idea on the Eensies blog on how to solve this problem. Jennifer at The Write Start, posted an activity that she did with her son. Trained as an Occupational Therapist, Jennifer always considers fine motor skill development in her posts. This time [...]
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Cranky Kid? Four Ideas to Change A Funky Mood
Everybody gets cranky. It’s just a part of life but when your kid is grumpy and you have things to do, it can seem like a monumental problem. Here are a few ideas to try out that I use in the classroom to put the skids on crankiness.
Don’t Yell. Tell Them How You Feel.
I try [...]
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I like to encourage children to write poetry about their dreams and aspirations. A poetry activity that I do in my class near the end of the year is about hopes and dreams for the coming new year. This is how I structure it:
First we do a brainstorm of all of the positive feeling words [...]
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A Great Conversation Starter: “Change The World For Ten Bucks”
My friend Sarah sent me the book, Change The World For Ten Bucks, to see what my students would think about it. They loved it.
This book is filled with a variety of activities for to do with your kids to help make the world a better place. Everything from a postcard to write a friend, [...]
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A Great Tool For Writing Persuasive Essays
It’s tough writing essays. Whether you’re an adult or a kid. Organizing your thoughts. Outlining ideas and examples. And even then, essays need editing and rewriting, and most kids don’t understand that.
A tool that I use in classroom to help my students write persuasive essays is a graphic organizer. It works well because it provides [...]
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It’s very difficult to find good science books to read to my students, whether they’re in 1st grade or 5th. But a series I think belongs in every home library is called Let’s Read And Find Out Science Books.
These books are well illustrated, and cover topics ranging from volcanoes, earthquakes and plate tectonics to rare [...]
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Yes! It is mandatory in my 5th grade classroom that all kids become comfortable reading aloud, whether it’s to the entire class or to a friend in a quiet moment. Why? Here are a few reasons:
1. In most Middle School, High School and Universities classes students are asked to read passages aloud as a means [...]
Jason, Ithaca, New York
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