5 Games To Play With Your Crawling Baby
I’m going to be really honest—I’m a toddler kind of mama. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing better than snuggling a little baby! But other than that, the baby stage was not my favorite. I was ready for ball-chasing, hide-and-seek, pretend play, and the rough-and-tumble fun that comes with a toddler. Yet, my little guy […]
Songs to Sing to Your Baby (That Won’t Make You Crazy)
For years before we had Baby R., one of our favorite hobbies around the house was singing snippets of random songs, usually inserting our cats’ names in place of the lyrics. So after he was born, it was only natural for us to sing to him, and often. We sing because it teaches him about […]
4 Ways to Build Intrinsic Motivation in the Classroom
Motivating students is one of the biggest struggles modern teachers have in the classroom. With increasing academic standards, high expectations, and large class sizes, getting students to learn and follow expectations can be difficult. In their quest to manage classes, teach kids, and instill good behavior practices, many teachers turn towards extrinsic motivation rather […]
How To Help Your Child Make Friends in Kindergarten
Sending your child off to kindergarten can be daunting. It might be the first time they are away from home for an extended period of time. Parents worry about many things for their new kindergartener: whether they will they be homesick, have accidents, survive without that afternoon nap […]
Why We Do Centers in the Morning
Ah, centers. A precious time of day in the kindergarten classroom….one of the few blocks of time where students are free to make choices, play freely, and build social and emotional skills in a real way. In my classroom, we have center time in the morning before recess. I love to engage with the students […]
The First Week Of School: Ideas for Play at the Beginning of Kindergarten
Whew! The first week of school is in the books. As most teachers do, I have a love/hate relationship with the first week of school. In so many ways, kindergarten at the beginning of the year is defeating. You have to teach the students how to sit […]
My Reading Goals for Kindergarten
School starts next week, which means we are back in staff development. Today was data day (everyone’s favorite, right?) We analyzed our school’s data and my principal told us that the district is setting a goal of having every child “on level” for reading by third grade. […]
One Exhausted Mama
3:00 a.m., bleary-eyed, here I am breastfeeding for the fourth time tonight. It’s been over a month since I slept more than 2 hours in a row. I am one exhausted mama. You pull off, cuddle up against me, and snuggle in. Letting out a […]
Is Preschool Too Old To “Just Play?”
This morning I played with Baby R as usual, tickling him and enjoying his belly laughs, watching him reach out for his toys and explore his environment…if I told someone that I stopped my 4-month-old from doing these things to get him to […]
Flexible Seating Part 3: Examples and Ideas
Now that I have *hopefully* convinced you that flexible seating is absolutely wonderful (see here) and that it is totally doable in your classroom (see here,) it’s time for the fun part! Today I am going over examples and ideas of different flexible seating options. Flexible seating can […]