March is Music in Our Schools Month
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Image Credit: https://nafme.org/programs/miosm/
Did anyone watch the Schoolhouse Rock! 50th anniversary singalong on abc l...
Read Across America 2022
CategoriesHappy 118th birthday, Dr. Seuss! In honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday on March 2, people across the country will be celebrating by reading good books. National Read Across America Day was established by the National Education Association (NEA) in 1998 to help promote the joy of reading for children. As it turns out however, establishing reading habits early in life can provide potential lifel...
Teaching History in 2021
CategoriesHas anyone heard the term "fake news" ricocheting about recently? Of course you have, I'm being facetious. The news, fake or authentic, represents current events, or history occurring now. It's been said that "history is writ by the victors", which is another way of alerting us to the possibility of fake news. We study history in an effort to learn from the...
Featured Teacher Jenna Solberg
CategoriesGuess what? March is Music in our Schools Month, and appropriate in my opinion. If you live in the northern half of our country you always feel relief as winter fades and spring approaches. If you live in the southern half you look forward to earlier and longer sunshine. Time to get out of the stale indoor air and filter your lungs and watch the trees and plants build buds on their way to flowe...
Vocational Education in America
CategoriesI left university after one year and spent the next six bartending while I figured out what direction to take in life. At one point I worked at this steakhosue in Portland and made a friend who was exceptionally artistic in a hands-on kind of way. He was working on a degree at the Oregon College of Art & Craft. Obviously a liberal college, OCAC...
Book report: Why We Sleep
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Does anyone else think it odd that squirrels sleep an average of 15.9 hours per day? I guess because they're so hoppy and acutely aware it seems they're awake all the time. It's really a bias to think that animals which are alert must be more often awake and co...
Winter Reading Log: 19 Books Recommended by Educators
CategoriesThis article was originally posted December 2018.
Perhaps it’s the introvert me, but when I wake up 30-60 minutes before the rest of my family and have quiet time to read (while drinking a warm cup of coffee), I feel so energized and ready to conquer the rest of the day ahead. (In a
Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences - Before, During and After
CategoriesParent-teacher conferences can be a great opportunity for meaningful conversations about how students can reach their full potential in school. To help ensure meetings are positive and productive for everyone involved, below are a few tips to consider before, after, and during conferences.
Before the Conferences
When scheduling conferences, try to of...
Featured Teacher Meghan Lanouette - August 2019
CategoriesIn each conversation I’m noticing a similar pattern, which is somewhat attributable to the line of questioning:
Why did you become a teacher?
I've known for a long time that I wanted to work with kids.
Why did you become the kind of teacher you are?
Well I just sort of arrived there.
How did that happen?
Journaling this Summer and Beyond
CategoriesMindfulness, emotional intelligence, achieving goals, communication, healing, creativity, the list goes on and on. There is a plethora of surprising benefits associated with journaling for people of all ages.
Perhaps you’re looking for a healthy way to manage stress associated with the demands of your job. Maybe you’d like to devote some time this summer for reflecting on...
Featured Teacher Tammy Johnson - June 2019
CategoriesTammy originally wanted to teach history, but there were no vacancies. In preparation for the open position in Special Education, she completed two post-secondary courses and dove into an unexpected passion. She didn’t rate it out loud to me, as such, but she is so obviously into teaching, and improving at teaching, and succeeding at teaching, and candidly offering her affinity for teachi...
Activities to Commemorate Memorial Day in the Classroom
CategoriesMemorial Day presents unique learning opportunities for students at all grade levels. Officially enacted by Congress in 1971, Memorial Day is a somber national holiday held on the last Monday of May every year. (This year Memorial Day is on May 27, 2019.) It is a holiday intended to honor and remember fallen veterans of the United States.
Below are several ways you and your students c...
4 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month (Even if Poetry isn’t Your Thing)
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Roses are red, violets are blue,
&n...
Heart Mapping: A Prewriting Activity for Valentine’s Day and Beyond
CategoriesMy trip to Southern Germany with my husband, the smell of homemade cinnamon rolls baking in the oven at my Grandma’s house, taking my dog to the beach in San Diego, my two little boys, reading good books – I love writing about the people, places, things, and memories closest to my heart. With Valentine’s Day upon us, it’s a great time to give students the opportunity to...
2019 Winter Reading Log: 19 Books Recommended by Educators
CategoriesPerhaps it’s the introvert me, but when I wake up 30-60 minutes before the rest of my family and have quiet time to read (while drinking a warm cup of coffee), I feel so energized and ready to conquer the rest of the day ahead. (In a recent blog post, I highlight...
Building Lifelong Readers with Independent Reading Strategies
CategoriesHappy wintertime! What better way to spend the cold, dark days than cozied up with a book, complete with a blanket and a kitty on your lap? The warmth a good book brings to the soul is significant, and there are numerous additional benefits of reading – mental stimulation, increased concentration, stronger writing skills, improved analytical skills, knowledge, entertainment…the lis...
Promoting Positive Behaviors: There’s a Children’s Book for That
CategoriesWhen working with students on kindness, empathy, friendship, and other positive behaviors, sometimes the characters from children’s stories say it best:
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” -The Lion and the Mouse
“If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you’ll learn things you never knew.” -Pocahontas
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Have you Read any Good Books Lately?
CategoriesSummer Reading Recommendations from Teachers
Whether on the beach or at a coffee shop, for many teachers, summer is an ideal time to catch up on reading for pleasure. There are an infinite number of great titles out there, sometimes it’s hard to choose. To narrow down all the choices, I asked my teacher friends from around the U.S. (including Wisconsin, Minnesot...