Today is Albert Einstein’s birthday and Celebrate Scientists Day! The pairing of the two is not coincidental. Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. He was a professor in many European cities before he renounced his German citizenship for political reasons and moved to the United States, where he ended up teaching at Princeton….
I’m planning an international trip in October. I go through an interesting mix of emotions when planning a big trip, and this trip is crazier than others because Covid is thrown into the mix. If you could chart my highs and lows during planning, it would look something like this: Excitement! List making. So many…
I’m currently renovating my house. So to save money, I decided to do part of the renovations myself. I’ve scraped popcorn ceilings, removed wallpaper, sanded and painted cabinetry, and a variety of other jobs that make me value having someone come in to do the work for me. Despite being tired of the process, I…
I’m hoping to travel overseas in the future, and I’m ready to go! I’ve been watching travel news like a hawk, hoping that long distance air travel will be allowed and that attractions will be open once we get to our destination. So I’m going to put some good travel vibes out there with free…
April 5 is Read a Road Map Day! It’s a random “holiday,” to be sure, but even with today’s GPS technology, map reading is still an important skill to have. We all should take a moment though to give thanks that we rarely need to unfold a state road map anymore. (I never could refold…
We made it to 2021! 2020 was definitely an unusual, heartbreaking, and stressful year. But for me it was also punctuated by moments of beauty and kindness. I hope you felt those moments as well. That’s why I think it would be interesting to do this activity with your students: Sum up 2020 using a…
Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo! And although many of us in the United States think the holiday celebrates tacos and margaritas, that’s actually not the case. (Although it is a good excuse to have tacos and margaritas!) Cinco de Mayo commemorates the defeat of French troops at the Battle of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City. …
The end of the school year is a good time to bring out activities that are BIG on both fun and learning. That’s why it’s a good time for paper airplanes! These folded creations have come a long way. I recommend having students create three different options (geometry, spatial skills) and then flying them to…
I live in an area that has an abundance of ponds–and thus an abundance of frogs. This time of year the cheeping, croaking, and peeping is deafening. I love it! It’s not uncommon for me to have one or two of the cute little buggers attached to my living room window like funky decorative clings….