It’s October—my favorite month! Why? Because it’s cool, colorful, and a little bit creepy. I’ve already started preparing for this lovely month by decorating my house for Halloween and watching my favorite horror movies. (Each year, my husband and I create a list of movies that must be watched by October 31.) While looking through…
This Saturday, September 23, 2023, is the first day of fall. And I am absolutely ready. I think a lot of you feel like I do. I’m tired of my summer clothing, I’m completely over sweating and bug bites, plus I’m really looking forward to wearing a snuggly sweatshirt. Bring on the chilly weather! You…
Do you hear that collective groan? That’s your students. They’re aware you’re reading a blog about informational writing. It’s rare to find a child (or an adult) who gets excited about informational writing. But we both know that it’s an important skill. It’s rare to find a career that doesn’t involve some sort of writing…
When I was growing up, my family had definite holiday traditions. I appreciated them when I was younger and even more now that I’m older. Family traditions give children a sense of consistency and community. For Thanksgiving, my extended family on my mother’s side would gather for the holiday meal. (My cousin would always bring…
Recently, I saw that there was an unofficial holiday in November titled, “I Love to Write Day.” Now I know that as a teacher you want every single day to be “I Love to Write Day!” And that’s tough, because many youngsters find writing to be frustrating and/or dull. Fortunately, we have lots of writing…