ABC and 123

Clever Father's Day Gifts to Make and Give

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:37:00 +0000

The air is warmer, the leaves are back on our trees, the kids are counting down the days until school gets out, the plans for Memorial Day festivities are ready to roll and my mind if full of ideas we'd like to add to this year's Summer Fun To-Do list. It doesn't hurt to start thinking about some Father's Day gift and card ideas either! Here are a few cute suggestions to get your gears turning!

Turn your left over Altoid tins into adorable mini toolboxes like these from Alpha Mom.

Use the Soda Can Cover-up printables on The Idea Room to create a special case of cola and coasters for Dad.

Tatertots and Jello presents Dad with a tee-rific round of golf.

The kids at Four Crazy Kings used images from old magazines to make this Motor Trend Dad of the Year card.

Katherine Marie Photography has come up with some clever uses for chocolate on Dad's card.

Send your father's day wishes with a sweet treat in the form of Father's Day Candy Bars, Melissa from Max and Ellie has even made up a PDF for you to download filled with all the candy related messages and ready to print out on standard sized labels. Doesn't get much quicker or easier!

Kaboose has a cute I Love You Daddy poem and card idea.

Sarah at the Fifth Street Palace and her son made this fun fish gift bag, perfect for her fishing guru dad!

Ramblings of a Crazy Women shares the step by steps for putting together a Father's Day acronym card.

Mama Jenn made this decorative saying hanging with her daughter for her husband.

Dollar Store Crafts suggests an idea for framing a personalized word collage.

Running short of time? Try this Father's Day Coupon book from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Boys of all ages will love the outdoor adventure ideas in Jen Murray's new ebook, KidVentures! Make it a Father's Day gift for dad and a summer full of fun for all the guys in your family!

Snowman Suggestions: Math, Snacks, and Sensory Exploration

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 18:29:00 +0000

I am "snow" in love with this winter-y sensory bin activity from KatherineMaries.com. This must visit link also features some great snowman crafts and activities.

H is for Homeschooling shares some other ideas for a snow themed sensory bin.

Preschool Alphabet has a picture of a healthy snowman snack idea.

The kids at Under the Big Top practiced their names by making snowman with every letter.

Swamp Frog First Grade made a downloadable snowman to practice fact families.

Fabulously First Grade has another version of a snowman themed fact family practice activity.

Tons of Fun used the idea of stacking a snowman to practice number ordering.

Teacher Time 123 suggests building a paper snowman to practice measuring length and diameter.

Somewhat Simple is offering a free printable for one of our favorite dice games, this version is Roll-A-Snowman.

Pitner's Potpourri put together an activity to combine drawing snowmen and practicing multiplication facts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Ana) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 05:30:00 +0000

Children who know how to a foreign language will have many advantages as they grow older. To increase the new language readers and speaker’s abilities, practice and creativity will enhance learning.
St. Valentine is around the corner and I decided to make a new set of Spanish cards

for your word wall.

What can you do with these cards? These are some ideas:

Word walls cards can be used:

To provide reference for children during their reading and writing.
To support the teaching of important general principals about words and how they work.
To provide a visual map to help children remember connections between words and the characteristics that will help them form categories.
To foster reading and writing.
To promote independence on the part of young students as they work with words in writing and reading.
To develop a growing core of words that become part of a reading and writing vocabulary.

You can also sort words by:

the number of letters
the number of syllables
the number of consonants
the number of sounds
if they have a certain vowel
if they have a certain rhyme
if they begin with the same letter

Download word wall cards here

Show and Tell #117

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:23:00 +0000

Gift of Curiosity linked up to our last party with a free printable valentine pack.

Growing Book by Book suggests 28 topics to get your family talking at the table this Valentine's Day.

Sparkle and Splatter shared how they put together a mailbox for their valentine's

It's Your Turn

If you are new to Show & Tell or need a quick recap, here are the rules:

~Post your favorite lessons, crafts, traditions, kid friendly recipes, field trip recap, learning games, experiments, DIY organizational projects, holiday related activities, or Ah-Ha moments.

~Direct link to your post, not your home page.

~Include a link back to us or include our link button in your post or sidebar.

~Please try to visit and comment on at least three links. This adds to the positive collaboration that makes our learning cooperative a success!

~Each week we will feature three links from the previous week's party.

Packing a Valentine Lunch with Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Then She Made adds some fruit to the Valentine sweets with this heart shaped pineapple and kiwi sucker.

Little Nummies made adorable an Sweetie Tweetie that could be a special addition to a heart day lunch.

I love all the bento lunch suggestions for Valentines day.

{Bento Mama}

{Bento Lunch}

{Bento Mama}

{Mommy Kiki}

For the kiddo who will eat a boiled egg in their lunch consider serving it in a heart shape like this one from Life is a Gag, Make it Fun.

Add a riddle or two when you pack that Valentine lunch box. Teach Mama has a printable full of heart-y jokes.

Mom on a Mission put together a printable of lunch themed love notes to add to your child's meal.

Or perhaps, create a love note of your own on the heart themed printable note paper from Chickabug Blog.

Share Your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 21:35:00 +0000

The celebration of all things love and hearts begins in our house on February 1st. This weekend has been full of Valentine books, hanging hearts, and designing Valentine cards for classmates. There is a special seasonal shelf in our living room that has transformed itself into a wall of warm, fuzzy reminders of love.

After decorating our own walls my six year old daughter and I spent some time chatting about the things that make us smile. Our wishes and our favorites came to life as we created individualized additions on the virtual Wall of Hearts.

The designing process is a fun way to celebrate Valentine's Day and show some heart for friends and loved ones. The hearts created on the interactive wall are later incorporated into the design of the reversible box wrap packaging that holds lovely Our Generation friends, like this sweet Valentine.

Sandie

Sandie, is the newest addition to the Our Generation line of dolls and books. Dressed in pink and accessorized with hearts, Sandie is an extra sweet February friend. As a company, OG is committed to encouraging girls to build an extraordinary generation, while still encouraging them to enjoy being kids.

If you are looking for a way to share your heart, or make a young girl's heart smile, this February consider adding your own design to Our Generation's wall of hearts, or adding Sandie to your doll collection.

Disclosure: It is always my pleasure to write about Our Generation. Their dolls our stylish and durable, and I appreciate their commitment to encouraging girls to build a community they love. I am thankful for the sample doll they sent to us and share my opinions about their company and their product honestly.

Simple Sewing with Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 20:31:00 +0000

Holiday Crafts and Creations gives instructions for sewing sweet Valentine bookmarks.

This Simple Home shares a first sewing lesson used to teach a 6 year old to sew.

Sewing School explains one way to organize your sewing supplies in the classroom.

Mini Eco has colorful sewing cards available as a free printable.

Mouse House posted a tutorial on creating a Kid's Suitcase Sewing Kit.

You're going to love the fun printable sewing cards,and easy to follow instructions, from Handmade Charlotte.

Unfinished Project gives a tutorial for sewing a fabric envelope for your kid's to send their Valentines in.

Practice with the machine by sewing a heart garland out of paper.

Put together a tot time tray to practice beginning sewing skills, like this one from Delightful Learning.

Valentine Themed Science Experiments

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 03:44:00 +0000

Naturally Educational explains a simple experiment watching candy hearts dissolve in hot and cold water.

Bath Activities for Kids posted some love{ly} Valentine inspired bath experiments.

The Beauty Brains list 5 simple Valentines Day Science Experiments for kids.

Create a Valentine perfect for testing acids and bases with this activity from Steve Spangler.

Mental Floss compiled 12 clever science themed Valentines appropriate for older children or adults.

Chemistry for Life links to many fun Valentine themed demonstrations, experiments, and activities. The borax crystal hearts look especially fun to try with my children.

Ms. Belcoure's Chemistry Class worked through a Chemistry Lab to make Valentine Bath Fizzies.

The Sub Hub has a free download including a couple heart day experiments.

Show and Tell #116

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 06:54:00 +0000

An Idea on Tuesday used chalkboard paint to put together a creative playscape.

Little Wonders' Day shared a list of 10 simple ways to say I Love You to your children.

Design a beautiful winter scene using the crayon cloisonne technique shared on Mommy's Wish List.

It's Your Turn

Thematic Planning in Spanish

noreply@blogger.com (Ana) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 13:30:00 +0000

Themes and units should be based on concepts. A unit on "bears", "circus" etc. is not
driven by concepts. However, units on "how animals live", "immigration", "communities" areconcepts that provide a foundation for units.

Eiher in English or Spanish thematic units are powerful in building and maintaining children interest. Children of all ability levels are motivated to learn. An advantage to using thematic units is the teacher's ability to expand the ideas and content. Contrary to teaching from a file cabinet that is used year-to-year, thematic units of study never stagnate. As a beginning, select one unit and build. Begin with concepts, objectives, materials, and a time element. Ask children what they like or their interests. This varies with each new class. Let them evaluate their learning and the unit content. Decide where to modify mini-lessons or materials.

Units are wonderful in the development of a sense of pride and ownership in learning.

Some considerations in the planning would include:
1. Length of the unit.. a week, two weeks, four weeks, etc. How much time do you have
for the implementation of the unit?
2. Content areas to be integrated.. language, literature, social studies..
3. Curriculum expectations of your school district.. checklist of skills and concepts
integrated into the unit as introduced, maintained, mastered, etc.
4. Availability of materials, both those provided by the district and supplemental
materials you may have to purchase or find.
5. Centres - what activities will be used to reinforce the skills at centres and how you
will manage them
7. Songs, poems, music - finding the resources that can be used for morning meetings,
poetry journals, circle time, phonemic awareness. Review materials that include specific
themes but also the phonemic skills you want to use in the unit.
8. Art and projects - to extend the unit. Will there be an art center each day, each
week, or at the end of the unit a project? What type of hands-on experiences will you
provide?
9. Environment - how will you work with your big ideas in a tiny space?
10. Children needs - diverse learning styles, language (oral language in their home
language and school language).
11. Scheduling the activities... working with special classes, pull out classes, and
absent students.
12. Assessment. What is the criteria? How can all children achieve a feeling of
success and be successful, responsible learners?

Teaching with Ticia: Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

noreply@blogger.com (Ticia) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 15:18:00 +0000

Photo source

Next Monday is Martin Luther King jr. Day, the day we've set aside to remember a man who changed our country. I'm sure a lot of you are scrambling trying to find some great ideas for teaching about him to your kids or to your students. Well, here are a few ideas to teach that I've found around the web recently, and I will use with my kids.

I Have a Dream speech and activities

Learn about the mules and the people MLK thought were special at the Last Mules of Gee Bend

Read "Martin's Big Words" and listen to the "I have a Dream" speech.

Cursive copy work for his speech

MLK coloring page

See the fulfillment of his dream in this art lesson

Multiple page printable pack for preschool and early elementary

Some other ideas to add in:

for older kids: research Martin Luther, who he was named after, how are they similar?

watch the video of the speech, talk about his speech patterns, does he sound interested or bored? Why do you think people listened to him?

this speech was delivered at the Washington Monument, learn about Washington's evolution of his views on slavery and brainstorm what Washington would have thought of Martin Luther King jr.?

before the speech is aired they sang spirituals, many were written by slaves for different reasons. Listen to the songs. Do they give you hope? How do you feel after listening to it? Are you angry? Different songs brought different emotions to the slaves and later to the freed African Americans.

Show and Tell #115

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational took an elementary school favorite and turned it into a learning opportunity. They used a folded "fortune teller" to review spelling words.

Highhill Homeschool experimented with electricity by creating their own circuit boards.

Ten Kids and a Dog shared a suggestion for making ornaments out of pom poms. This caught my eye because our family tried to make "disco balls" for New Year's Eve using styrofoam and sequins. It would have taken us until 2014 to cover all of our ornaments. The pom poms would have been a much quicker and just as sparkly option!

It's Your Turn

Snowflake Sculptures, Rhymes, Stamps & Crafts

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:50:00 +0000

Welcome 2013! There isn't enough snow yet in our city for winter sports or snowmen, but the kids are ready to play with snowflakes. Here are a few suggestions for some snow-y learning until the real white stuff covers the ground.

Snowflake Rhymes from The Adventures of Bear
suggested age: toddler/early elementary

Snowflake Sculptures from A List Maker's Life
suggested age: elementary+

Snowflake Mosaics from Thomas Elementary Art
suggested age: upper elementary

Snowflake Symmetry from Love2Learn2Day
suggested age: elementary

The Shapes and Classes of Snowflakes defined from Somethin Ordinary: Nature's Spectacular Geometry
suggested age: middle school+

3D Paper Snowflakes from Mathematics World
suggested age: elementary+

Make a Flake - Interactive Online Snowflake Cutting Game
suggested age: any

Gross Motor Snowflake Games - Playing with Words 365
suggested age: preschool

Blizzard Effect Snowflake Painting - To the Lesson
suggested age: preschool/elementary

\
DIY Snowflake Ballerinas - Good Ideas for You {printable template}
suggested age: elementary +

{some links re-posted from winter 2009}

Classroom Party: Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer BINGO {Free Printable}

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 13:34:00 +0000

If you are still in search of an activity for your classroom's holiday party this Reindeer BINGO might be just the activity for you. As linked below there are 4 different game boards shuffled and ready to print. Remember to print one extra to cut apart so you can draw from a hat to call out boxes. If you need more than 4 different game boards print a blank grid and a character sheet for each of your students. Have them cut on the lines then arrange and glue the graphics into the grid however they choose. For a little extra fun students could try to put the pictures in order as they appear in the familiar Christmas song, Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer!

FREE printable downloads:

Teaching with Ticia: Helping Kids with Tragedy

noreply@blogger.com (Ticia) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:08:00 +0000

I had a whole post planned in my head that I was going to write, and then events happened that changed it. I don't want to draw further attention to the perpetrator, so this won't be specifically about Sandy Hook. Besides tragedy happens in all guises. There were tragedies in Hurricane Sandy, and there are smaller personal tragedies every day. If you want a response to this tragedy in particular, read some of the links from yesterday's post.

I have dealt with this as a teacher with 9-11 and the next year when a shuttle crashed as it returned home. I have dealt with this as a parent talking when their uncle died and then a year later when their grandpa died. Both require patience and thinking before you speak.

Dealing with tragedy on a big scale,

that doesn't affect you personally

1. Correct errors they've picked up. Kids will talk about it between themselves. You can't hush it up and hide it because they will overhear things. When the space shuttle Columbia crashed, the next day I had students come in claiming they picked up pieces of the space ship from their backyard. A few even said there were aliens involved. Correct misconceptions without being judgmental.

2. Don't endlessly keep the news on when the kids are present. This may seem like a no-brainer, but another one of the teachers in my school kept the news on to get more information about 9-11. The principal had to make an announcement for TVs to be turned off.

3. Allow them to talk. Kids need ways to process. Last fall (2011) there were fires near our home. The kids and I listened to short news updates to know where the fires were. We talked a lot about what we would do if the fires came to our house. What the firefighters did to put out the fires.

4. Let them draw it out or act it out. If their actions become violent, obviously that needs redirecting, but kids need to be able to get their emotions out. Do not condemn them over their emotions.

5. Read books to help them think through it. Some good books are "I Never Saw Another Butterfly" (I only recommend this for uppper elementary or if you preview it), it's a book of poetry written by children in concentration camps. They are going through horrid things, but the directors there let the kids write and draw. Another good one for hope in hard situations is "Fly Away Home," by Eve Bunting. A father and his son are homeless and living in the airport. It helps the kids see there is hope in hard situations, because the boy in the book has hope.

Dealing with tragedy on a personal level

1. Most of what I said above applies again, but even more so. Your kids will need to talk about this, and draw about it, and write about it. Let them do it, even if it hurts you and makes you want to cry. After their uncle died my boys spent 6 months drawing gravestones on everything. They didn't go to the funeral, but they drew gravestones and ghosts on everything. They suddenly had "ghost friends."

2. To follow that, let them see you cry. They need to understand you are hurting too. It's okay. Children are resilient, and they will get better if you give them the chance.

3. Keep a normal routine as much as possible. Children thrive on routine, and it helps them to have a routine and to know what to expect.

4. If it's a death in the family, think long and hard about taking the kids to the funeral. For our family and our situation, it would not have been good for our kids to go to the funeral, for the both funerals the kids were too young. They stayed with loving friends and did not go, but some kids it may help them to process their grief.

5. Remember to talk about the event later on, it helps them remember and process things that happened long ago. It also will help you. Things hidden fester in you, and make it harder to recover.

Finally, here are several picture books about death I'm going to separate them out into ones about death of a pet and death of a person. This is a list I collected back when I was teaching, and I have used some of these books in classrooms and some with my own kids.

Books about the death of a family member or someone you know

Amazon.com Widgets

Books about the death of a pet or an animal

Amazon.com Widgets

Finally I want to add one last book, Tear Soup, this is the one I read over and over when my Dad died during my first year of teaching. I have given this book to several people to help them deal with their grief. It's a great book in that it can help both grown ups and adults.

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 02:16:00 +0000

Along with the rest of our country my heart is breaking; as parents and teachers the tragedy in Connecticut affects us on so many different levels. Since Friday I've been scraping together my thoughts in response to a situation that will never make sense. My words are not eloquent enough to share, but I have been pouring over the words of others to find peace and encouragement moving forward. As we like to do here on ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative, I have compiled links here to a few posts that may speak to you as well.

"Thank God for all the writers of the world who put pen to paper and create life rafts for the rest of us." Vigil by Glennon

Above All, Teachers Are In It for the Kids by Krache

Explaining the News to Our Kids by Common Sense Media

I Am Adam Lanza's Mother by Lisa Long

A Christmas Prayer by Max Lucado

Sigh No More by Chris

sandy hook, guns, the mentally ill and control by Heather

For the Love of All That's Holy, Quit Talking about Prayer by Freaky Perfect

Rage Against the Minivan has also put together a list of the posts that SHE found helpful.

{thirtyhandmadedays}

On a personal note, I would like to once again thank every one of you who spends your days in a classroom teaching, loving, caring for, and protecting all children as if they are your very own! Know that you have been in my thoughts and prayers as you headed back to your classrooms this Monday morning with a new heaviness and sense of responsibility. In the coming days we will likely continue to post our typical content on this site, but please understand that does not mean that we have moved on or forgotten.

Reindeer Tic Tac Toe: FREE Printables

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 15:04:00 +0000

In addition to a few Reindeer Riddles, this thematic tic-tac-toe will provide a fun addition to your classroom holiday celebration. Instead of Xs and Os play with bucks and does!

Downloads for the board and reindeer playing pieces are FREE!

Reindeer Jokes: A FREE Printable

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 19:59:00 +0000

Here is an early Christmas gift to you - some silly reindeer jokes to enjoy with your students!

Download Here: Page 1 & Page 2

Show & Tell #114

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Fantastic Fun and Learning linked up to our last party with some silly, fun Christmas carols. Check out the lyrics to sing along to tunes that are likely already familiar to you.

Serving Pink Lemonade has a cozy idea for keeping little hands warm while they play outside this winter.

If your children have been inspired to write letters to the North Pole this December this post, from Keeping My Toddler Entertained, will help you know just where to send them based on where in the world you live.

It's Your Turn

Learning About Saint Nicholas Day

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:50:00 +0000

Today is December 6th and celebrated by many around the world as St. Nicholas Day. In our house the tradition is to leave out our wooden shoes in hopes that Sinterklaas (the Dutch interpretation of St. Nicholas) will fill them with delicious goodies and small toys.

As the story goes on the night of December 6 needy children would find baskets of food and clothing on their doorsteps from a secret gift-giver. Children began to leave their shoes by the doorstep in hopes of finding coins hidden inside.

Simple Gifts are the Lesson of St. Nicholas Day - This post from Newtown Bee includes historical notes and interactive activities.

There are many children's books available for teaching your students about Saint Nicholas. Here are a few titles from Amazon.com to get you started!

There was a very interesting {religious} broadcast from Focus on the Family explaining the true meaning behind Christmas and how Saint Nicholas fits in with the holiday. You can listen to the archived conversation at the link above.

St. Nicholas Center has a page dedicated especially to teachers who would like to incorporate a lesson about St. Nicholas in their classroom. There list includes many books for classroom use as well as discussion guides and coloring pages.

As a simple way of participating in the spirit of St. Nicholas Day, consider planning a secret act of kindness to surprise a friend or family member, or do something kind for someone in need.

Disclosure: Amazon links are not affiliate links.

Teaching with Ticia: using classic texts

noreply@blogger.com (Ticia) — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 15:16:00 +0000

If you're familiar with the Charlotte Mason philosophy or Classical education you've heard of "living books," books that have stood the test of time and are still in print. Books that have a wide ranging vocabulary.

I have to confess, I'm not always a fan of some of the examples they use as living books, but I do love good quality picture books. I'm not a big fan of the Disney princess books or many other popular series for teaching from, though we do own quite a few books from that category. I love books that have something outstanding in them.

Today my example of a living book is actually a reprint with new pictures. It's also a Christmas book. I bought this 10 years ago when I was teaching second grade. Today I'm going to use this book with my kids (2nd grade and kinder) to demonstrate vocabulary and expressive language.

When you're looking for good quality books, take the time to read it through. Try reading the words out loud. How does it sound? Do the words just roll out of your mouth and make you smile to read them? I love the Bear series from Karma Wilson. I haven't read the books out loud to my kids for a while, but I can still quote parts of it.

What's the vocabulary like? Are all of the words one or two syllables? Now there are exceptions, Cat in the Hat or Little Bear for example, but usually speaking if it's not a beginning reader and the vocabulary is that simple it's not going to stand the test of time. When you're at the used book store do you pick up the copy of the TV show book you read as a kid to buy? I don't, unless it's for nostalgia, or I've shown my kids that show. Even then, my kids don't gravitate to that book over and over again.

What about the illustrations? This is going to be a very subjective thing, but can you use the pictures for an art lesson? "Tuesday" by David Weisner has almost no words, but it won a Caldecott. The pictures told the story that well. I've "read" it to my class or my kids and challenged them to create a similar style of book. One that needs almost no words to tell a story.

Some ideas you can use from classic texts:

Use classic texts to teach your history

Compare two different texts

Illustrate it for yourself

I'm a bit of a bibliophile, so I really enjoy older books. They let me get a glimpse into a different age that you don't see now.

Show and Tell #113

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 17:41:00 +0000

We are really looking forward to this week's Show and Tell! Bring on the holiday ideas: sensory bins, handmade gifts, favorite recipes, history lessons, ornaments, advent activities, thematic math, favorite winter books! 'Tis the season for some holiday sharing!

Growing Book by Book linked up to our last party with a suggestion for making gift tags as an extension to reading the book The Legend of the Poinsettia.

The colorful cloud experiment shared by Keeping My Toddler Entertained looks like fun for children of all ages!

Watch me Play and Learn made beautiful pictures of Aurora Borealis using dark construction paper and clear nail polish.

Movement and Music: Using Puppets!

noreply@blogger.com (Jedda) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Hi, It's Jedda from This Little Project. I'm here to share one of my favorite tools for interacting with kids that is also a great way to teach music and movement: PUPPETS!

One thing that is sure to get your student or child's attention is a puppet! Sometimes it seems that children and are more comfortable interacting with a puppet than directly with an adult. A puppet has the added benefit of being able to say and do things that adults cannot say and do directly. And they are FUN! There are lots of kinds of puppets: string, hand, or stick puppets. Children love to make their own and they are a great prop for teaching many skills. If you are worried about singing in front of your students, use a puppet. They will focus their attention on the puppet instead of you :) Below I have included some ideas for how to utilize these fun friends to make your teaching experience more successful as well as some puppet ideas to make. Here are 5 ways to use puppets in the classroom This video shows how to use a puppet to teach a counting song: The Book Chook has ideas on how to use puppets to encourage children's literacy. This video highlights how to teach another language with puppets, movement and music.

You don't need a puppet theater to use puppets to teach. But kids can learn a lot about role playing, social interaction, listening, story telling, imagination, and more through one. Here's how to make one in a doorway.

image: http://www.countryliving.com Some puppets are edible!

We have made stick puppets with Marshmallows: And bananas too. It's fun to have an excuse to make your food talk :) And my children love to use peg dolls like puppets too. Puppets are a simple tool you can use in so many ways to stimulate many skills, not just movement and music. I hope they make teaching more fun for you and your students :) Be sure to stop by This Little Project for more fun learning ideas!

Author Jeff Kinney - The Third Wheel Book Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Katie) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:01:00 +0000

leaving school early + take out pizza in the car + a brand new book + meeting and interviewing Jeff Kinney + touring his travel bus...

It all adds up to a 3rd grade dream and the perfect inspiration for his next personal narrative!

Are you familiar with the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series? On November 13th Jeff Kinney released his 7th book, The Third Wheel. On the 19th he was touring through our hometown in his own amazing wheels.

The following excerpt from my son's journal is a recap of the interview and a glimpse into the man behind the wildly famous series for upper elementary age students.

...

How did you get started in your writing? I always wanted to draw cartoons, but could not find a newspaper who would pick them up. I ended up putting my cartoons into books and they were picked up by a publisher.

How long does it take for you to write each book? About 9 months

How many more books will be in this series? Hopefully 3

What is your favorite book in the series so far? This new book. The Third Wheel is my favorite because it is my best writing so far.

Would you ever consider writing a series about Greg when he was a very young child? Well, have you read this new book yet? It starts out with Greg as small as a child can be.

In what ways are you most like the main character in the book? In all the bad ways I guess. The naughty things he does are most like my childhood.

Do you have an annoying brother? I do have a brother.

What advice would you give to a student who wants to get published some day? (paraphrased) Find someone who will offer you constructive criticism about your writing even at a young age. I always heard about how great I was and it made it difficult to grow my talent and accept rejection later in life.

...

As a parent I think the vague answer about the annoying brother is especially hilarious.

As a teacher I think the advice Jeff Kinney would offer young writers is very important for us to consider. Are we just teaching writing or are we really training young writers in all areas of the craft? Our kids need to learn to gracefully accept feedback and use it to grow. Food for thought this Thanksgiving weekend!

If you have a Wimpy Kid fan in your family, are looking for a silly book for a reader on your holiday shopping list, or you are looking to add a fun title to your classroom library, enter to win a copy of The Third Wheel! A winner will be chosen using Rafflecopter on Tuesday, November 27th!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seasonal writing: Letters to Santa

noreply@blogger.com (Ticia) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:00:00 +0000

I'm sure you haven't realized this yet with all of the holiday music blaring and the stores telling you every few days, but Christmas is coming.

"What?" you say it's every year. I know, I know it is.

But in all seriousness, Christmas is coming, and it's a great time to work on letter writing skills.

Back when I was teaching my class always wrote a letter to Santa, and he always wrote back to them. It was a magical moment. But, I want to share another way kids can write to Santa other than just what they really want.

When Santa Lost His Ho! Ho! Ho! is a super cute book with lots of great reasons to write letters. Santa loses his "Ho ho ho," and is depressed. Children write him hundreds of letters to cheer him up, but nothing works, until finally he gets that ONE letter.

Last year I read this book to my kids and then they spent a lot of time thinking of ways they would make Santa laugh. Teacher Files has some cute Santa lined papers that would be great with this book and activity.

For early or pre-writers have them draw a funny cartoon.

All 3 of my kids are still at the early writing stages, so we concentrate more on process and how to create ideas.

So we brain stormed together what makes things funny. Is it what you write or what you draw? Why is one joke funny and another isn't? After everyone had an idea we talked through if the idea needs a picture. The letter that made Santa laugh in the book had a funny picture to go with it. Did their funny idea need a picture to help explain it?

When they started writing I emphasize a lot that I do not care about spelling right now. I want them to write. My kids are worried about it being perfect. I want them to get words on the page and then we can edit it for spelling or grammar. This can be a very hard thing for kids to understand and grasp at a young age, but if they can get past wanting it to be perfect it can really help them be more willing to write on their own.

I'm always on the look out for other good books to lead into writing prompts, do you have some Christmas favorites for my kids to write about this year?