July is a month every teacher deserves to celebrate with great enthusiasm! Yes, it’s summer vacation for most teachers, and that’s an awesome reason to celebrate. But here’s another first-rate reason for every teacher to celebrate: July is National Make a Difference to Children Month. I’d like you to stop in your tracks right now…
Author: Diane Badden
Something Old, Something New
Not long ago, several teachers chimed in when we featured an overhead projector on our Facebook site. Who knew (clearly not me!) that the military used this handy projector before it was introduced into the classrooms in the early 1960s. Here’s something else I didn’t know—the projector is still being used in classrooms across the…
What Are You Reading?
Can it really be this easy? Heck, it’s just four words! Why not give it a try? These thoughts were twirling in my head after hearing a father explain on national television how he encourages his children to read. Simply put, he asks his kids what they are reading. He doesn’t toss the question out…
Happy Fourth of July!
Here’s hoping your Fourth of July report card includes four Fs: family, friends, food, and fun. Oops, better add in some fireworks too. Wow, five Fs! I imagine these are your first Fs ever! I wouldn’t normally be blogging on my day off, and yet here I am tapping away at my keyboard. It’s all…
A Colorful Giveaway!
How many of you have lost track of which day of the week it is? Isn’t the lack of a schedule one of the best perks of summer vacation? Oh, and no Sunday prep work—that runs a close second in my book! Well, I’m mixing things up a bit by having a giveaway today. I…
A Summer Promise
I promised myself that this summer, I would experience some new things. So a couple weekends ago, I joined a mob. No, not the mob—a mob! For about an hour, I was a member of a local cash mob. I did a bit of research before I showed up. After all, I wasn’t interested in…
Yes, They Were Teachers Too!
If you were a student in Mr. T’s classroom, would you have uttered a peep? Not me! I would have completed every homework assignment too. Yes, Mr. T was a teacher for a spell. J. K. Rowlings worked as an English-as-a-foreign-language teacher in Portugal. Sheryl Crow taught music at an elementary school in Fenton, Missouri,…
Did You Sleep In?
Ahhhhh, the favorite summertime activities y’all posted at “‘Eeee-zy’ First Friday Giveaway” sound relaxing, fun, and simply wonderful. Sleeping in, reading, spending time with family, shopping, sunning, traveling…fabulous! Y’all are so deserving! And now for the news you are waiting for—the winner of June’s First Friday Giveaway is Helena (comment 154) who is looking forward…
Decor Debate
Last week, a colleague shared an education article with me titled “Study Shows Classroom Decor Can Distract From Learning.” The article outlines a recent study by Carnegie Mellon University. The study tested the effects of classroom decorations on focus and ability to learn in children ages three through five. For the study, 24 kindergarten students…
“Eeee-zy” First Friday Giveaway
Happy Friday, y’all! How about we “eeee-ze” on into summer with an “eeee-zy” first Friday giveaway? Simply answer one “eeee-zy” question, and you’ll be entered to win a set* of ten grade-specific eUnits from The Mailbox! “Wow-ee”! That’s nearly a $25 prize! Except for our eUnits for preschool, our eUnits are aligned to Common Core…