Time-saving Educational resources for K-2 Teachers
Do you have extra Scholastic News Magazines lying around your classroom? I hoard save Scholastic News magazines because I just love them and can’t imagine discarding them. However, we just never get to all of them and I always have a big pile by the end of the year. Well, I finally buckled down and thought of some ways to… Read More
It’s time for our non-fiction unit! This is one of my favorites because kids just love learning amazing facts. It’s fun to watch them become little “teachers” to their peers, sharing what they learn and have become experts on. One essential skill we cover in this unit is finding the main idea and details. Here I’ve included ideas for helping… Read More
February is a busy, busy month but hopefully you can squeeze in a little fun with these fun Valentine’s Day centers! The best part- most are completely free! Valentine’s Day Center #1: Our Favorites Carousel One of my favorite Valentine’s Day writing activities is this ‘carousel’ we do about things we love! I make 5 charts and place them around the… Read More
If you teach kindergarten or first grade, chances are you have centers (or stations) in your classroom. Centers are almost a necessity in primary grades, but aren’t you tired of preparing new centers week after week? I love having fresh, fun, meaningful centers, but one of the things I struggled with most was finding the time to plan and prep them! I… Read More
Do you love Gingerbread Man activities as much as I do? I just love using these fun stories and incorporating all content areas in my gingerbread man unit. Here are some of the fun things we do! All of the activities shown are included in my Gingerbread Man Mega-Pack. I start by reading The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth. I… Read More
If you ask a student to get you a red coat from the class closet, they will likely find it easily among a sea of black coats. However, if there are 3 red coats, they will need more guidance to find the one you want. This is where comparing and contrasting comes in. It’s a skill we use daily and… Read More
Pumpkins, pumpkins, all around! Besides pumpkin measurement, centers, and experiments, here are a couple of activities for some pumpkin fun in your classroom! PUMPKIN COUNTING POEM We’ve probably all heard a version of this poem, and this one is perfect for October. I laminated the poem with the vine and the pumpkins, then added Velcro so my students could order… Read More
Fall! It’s my favorite season of the year! One of my favorite things to do in the fall is go pumpkin-picking with my family. We have an amazing local farm and they have the BEST pumpkin pie, apple cider donuts, sweet corn…. so yummy! Another thing I love about the fall is Halloween! Throughout the month, I have Halloween center… Read More
It can be daunting for emergent writers to stretch out words, especially long words. Many kindergarten students are very artistic and can add details to their pictures, but when asked to add words, they sometimes hesitate or say they don’t know how to, even if they do have some letter-sound knowledge. Writing Warm-Ups To get kids to see that they… Read More
It’s been fun and interesting having a kindergartner at home while teaching kindergarten! I especially love when I sing a song or read a book her teacher has read and she thinks I’m a sorcerer because I know it too. One of the best things about teaching the same grade level as your child is getting creative ideas from your… Read More