A guest post this week from my Twitter friend Beth Foraker (@InclusionChick)! Enjoy! —- “You may have tangible wealth untold; Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold. Richer than I you can never be — I had a Mother who read to me.” –Strickland Gillilan I grew up with a mom who read to me. She would read magazines out loud to us on long car rides…and we would all groan…and complain and pretend we didn’t want to listen… but the…..
A guest post this week from my Twitter friend Debbie Clement (@KweezleQueen)! Enjoy! — Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my earlier article with your readers here. I appreciate being able to showcase the amazing work of the classrooms I’ve visited wearing my author-illustrator/music-lady hat. The photos from today’s round-up are from a variety of elementary school buildings, preschools and Head Start programs from NY to FL. Many of the pictures were taken in rooms specifically designed to…..
A is for alphabet! I love teaching the alphabet. So will you. Here are fun, easy to do activities to help your kids learn the alphabet. A reminder that each letter stands for one or more sounds. I suggest you start with the sounds kids feel vibrating in their throats, such as ‘m’. But there are other simple tricks I want to share with you. This is how I teach the alphabet. There are 4 lowercase letters with tails: y,…..
This is the blog I did not want to write. Why so many tests? Be sure to read an eloquent post by Diane Ravitch about saving No Child Left behind after I share a few thoughts. People have never agreed on the best curriculum, pedagogy (methods) and materials. Programs come and go, but skills remain the same. Meanwhile, teachers and principals spend their own money to provide for kids. How did we become a nation of testers instead of learners? Why was…..
I read an interesting article the other day about parents threatening to leave their school when it stopped giving homework. Take a look at what happened. The school principal and teachers were concerned too many children were missing recess (which is scant to begin with) because homework wasn’t done, which initiated the chain of events. The decision was well considered. The Pre-K-5th School Council, including parents, thoroughly studied homework research. Their homework committee, after a year of research on homework…..
It’s so much fun teaching vocabulary and spelling! Add these easy ideas to your teaching toolkit. Have a great time helping your child or students learn new words, then correctly spell them. Vocabulary and spelling go together like peas and carrots! SUREFIRE VOCABULARY BUILDERS AND BOOSTERS: Teach new words before reading a chapter or book. Look up where the words came from originally (etymology). Make word lists to study as you read a selection. Use new vocabulary in everyday conversation. Easy…..
We live in a right handed world. What seems normal to us may present many challenges for lefties who naturally figure out how to compensate and do fine in life. But wouldn’t it be nice if adaptations in our surroundings did not have to be made by lefties? Throughout history great thinkers, artists and performers have been left handed. Recently, post ‘dance party’, we noticed Morgan was having trouble cutting and writing with her right hand, switching back and forth to…..
Two of my grandkids have Valentine’s birthdays; we’re getting ready in Eugene for an old-fashioned at-home toddleriffic four-years-old party. But there is a really big, Seussitastical birthday celebration coming up and we need to start getting ready for that, too! March 2, the National Education Association’s annual Read Across America Day, honors Dr. Seuss each year on his birthday. I love classic Dr. Seuss books! Each one is filled with colorful, creative, magical, really cool characters. The fabulous illustrations are exciting for children and stimulate interesting conversation and writing……
Children make sense of their expanding world through discovery. Reading opens many doors and is the best play adventure of all. Meeting new friends, taking trips to unusual places, learning about komodo dragons and tiny hamsters are all part of the fun. The joy of reading all kinds of books, including both fiction and non-fiction, is as natural as learning to walk and talk. Comprehension is the goal of reading at all grade levels. Having a purpose gives meaning to…..
What should kindergarteners know about reading? Dick and Jane taught a lot of kids how to read, even though not every yard had a pony. We’ve come a long way with rich literature and real life writing. But there is a chasm between what kindergarteners know and Common Core ‘K’ Standard, which may surprise you with its rigorous expectations. There are four major standards in this “strand: “Print Concepts, Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition and Fluency“. Phew, a lot for…..