October 8 is International Observe the Moon Night. Take a few moments to gaze at our lovely moon, and encourage your students to do the same. Consider a few of these awesome lunar activities that also support writing and math skills as well as science. (I know it can be tough to get science…
first grade
Picnic Pests!
Chances are, if you had a picnic or a cookout for this past holiday weekend, you ended up experiencing some ants or other buggy guests. (They all seem to gang up on me whenever I’m outside. Bugs think I’m delicious.) To commemorate our uninvited picnic pests, I’ve made this sassy ant headband! I keep picturing…
Got a Green Thumb?
I’m working on my green thumb. I recently planted tomato, basil, and jalapeno pepper plants in a huge pot on my back deck. Plus I’m putting a flower garden in the middle of my front yard! I have no idea what I’m doing. Truly. It’s all trial and error. Every day before I leave for…
Lost-and-Found: An Observation
One of the most traumatic events of my young life occurred in first grade. One day in the middle of autumn, at dismissal, I watched a classmate disappear out the door wearing my snorkel jacket. We both had them; many in our school did. Ours were both navy blue. But as I stood holding my…
Easing Parent Concerns Over Common Core
Last night I attended my youngest son’s first-grade open house. It was held in the school’s media center (what we used to call a library), not in the classrooms, and served as more of an explanation about the differences between kindergarten and first grade than a meet-and-greet. The open house introduced me to a first-grade…