Let's create characters, and weave plots, and imagine new worlds. Let's pull words from our pens and pour our hearts into the page. Let's tell our stories. Let's write some novels.

What is Stimming? 'Stimming' is a term used for self-stimulating behavior. It is also referred to as self-stimulatory behavior. And stimming is a behavior that is characterised by repetitive motions, noises or use of objects. In this blog post today I'm going to be talking all about what stimming is, why people engage in these

LinkedIn has become a serious marketing tool and your profile or post going viral can seriously help your brand and career. How? Take a look.

What are decodable books? And how do I use them? Read this blog post to find out if decodable books are right for your class!

Salut! Comment ça va? The subjunctive is a pretty hard verb tense for English speakers who are learning French so today we are going to review the regular verb form and also some irregular verbs. On commence? The subjonctif présent is formed with the root of the third person plural of the verb in the

We are making our way through the writing process and have come to the two trickiest parts- revising & editing. It always seems to hard to differentiate between the two-- during revising, I always see kids working on spelling or capital letters and the chance to really delve in and work on description and sensory details is lost. I came across some great help on Pinterest (of course!) and wanted to share my Revising (ARMS) and Editing (COPS) anchor charts with you: Analyze & Revise: Note: I didn't draw the cute guy, he's from Microsoft Clipart :) I also added the marks on the right-hand side so kids knew what to do to add (use the carrot), remove (cross off) or move (circle and use an arrow) a word or sentence in their piece. By the way, dead vs. alive words is SUCH a fun way to teach boring vs. exciting words. My boys, especially, LOVE to act out the fact that "said is dead" and hey, if that gets them to revise, I am willing to let them do it ;) Editing & Proofreading: Note: This guy is from Microsoft Clipart, too. I have also seen this done with "CUPS" where U=Usage, but that was a bit over my third-graders' heads, so I stuck with COPS and can now act like the Punctuation/Spelling/Capitalization Police if I want ;) We have a district-given "High Frequency Word List" for third grade that we use (it comes from Rebecca Sitton's 1200 High Frequency Word List). I also encourage kids to use their "best effort" spelling, especially on this first piece. As long as it's not on their High Frequency List (I have them glue that to the inside cover of their Writer's Notebooks at the beginning of the year for reference), it can be their best try and I'm ok with that. This also keeps my reluctant writers and strugglers from looking in the dictionary for one word for...the....entire.....writing...........period.... ;) And a great COPS display (that uses my favorite Scrappin' Doodles clipart!) can be found at The Eager Teacher- cuteness! What do you do to teach the difference between revising and editing?

Everyone wants lasting love and secure attachments, but sadly many people don’t act in a way that supports such. For instance, singles often engage in a pursue/withdraw dance that appears too eager or too indifferent, whereas couples frequently get caught in patterns of criticism, nagging, and whining followed by withdrawal, resent, and disconnection (or vice versa). Discover if you’re acting anxious or avoidant in your dating and relationships and how you can become secure (individually and as a couple).

Resources, tips, and materials to help you, help children with autism

In order to play an instrument, most of the time you will need to be able to read sheet music. Here I will go over how to read notes on sheet music, with examples based on the piano.

Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world- Nelson Mandela I’m so excited. Truly. I am. It’s been months since the last time I taught a class full of students. I know it’s going to be hard but I’m really willing to get back in the swing of things. I’m also preparing mater

These 5 interview tips using the DiSC profile will help you feel more confident going into the job interviews ahead.

I will 100% own the title of Slacker when it comes to this blog right now. But, I’m focusing my “A-game energy” in the classroom these days. My room will be full come Monday morning, but for now, I’m loving all the organizing, decorating, and planning that the teacher work week allows. The beginning of another school...Read More »

Despite the joys of our profession (and there are so many!), there are also so many things which can drain our energies and motivations in the classroom. One

Go beyond think-pair-share with ten discussion strategies that will engage your students in meaningful paired and small group discussions.

The BBC's Around the World in 80 Days starring David Tennant is returning for a second series. Will they travel 20,000 leagues under the sea...?

18 Petty Office Memes And Tweets Your Tormented Soul Will Relate To - The internet has generated a huge amount of laughs from cats and FAILS. And we all out of cats.

This post outlines how to compare and contrast nonfiction texts. There are activities and lesson ideas for compare and contrast activities.

We all learn a lot in our first year of teaching. Check out what I learned in my first few months of teaching! Half the year down, half to go!

Everybody in college hates papers. Students hate writing them so much that they buy, borrow, or steal them instead. Plagiarism is now so commonplace...

This Complete Guide To The Best Things To Do in Jamsil Seoul will show you the top restaurant, cafes, and what to do.

Is there anything that your customers might notice that would negatively impact their experience with you or your organization?

The Poetry Foundation, publisher of POETRY magazine, is an independent literary organization committed to a vigorous presence for poetry in our culture. It exists to discover and celebrate the best poetry and to place it before the largest possible audience.

Today, Travel Notes and Things publishes its 100th post, and to celebrate that, I want to share 5 things you didn't know about Travel Notes and Things. Whether you're a new reader, or you've been

While the data shows a clear link between city living and schizophrenia, the correlation doesn't hold for other mental health afflictions like depression. This signifies that the city doesn't necessarily have a general detrimental effect on well-being. And there's no conclusive proof...

I think that many of the people who will eventually utilize my blog will be people who are working in a smaller or home environment, I am really geared toward you. You will be looking for the best stuff for the best price, and you will also want help in getting set up (I know that is what I wanted). I want to help you save money and spend wisely. Let's start at the VERY beginning. The following is a list of Traditional Primary Language Exercises Materials (these items go along with the Primary Scope and Sequence), and the BEST places to order them. The Following Materials Come From Montessori Outlet: Sandpaper Letters - Lowercase - Print Sandpaper Letters - Uppercase - Print 2 Boxes for the Sandpaper Letter Metal Insets Metal Inset Stands Box for Metal Inset Paper Metal Insets Tracing Tray Set of 11 Colored Pencil Holders (I do have another idea for these) Holder for 3 Pencils (you should get a few. If you are teaching just a few children, get one for each) Small Moveable Alphabet - Print, blue vowel & red consonant (this link for ones to make yourself) Small Movable Alphabet Box - Lower Case Letters Blank Green Boards Green Boards with Lines & Squares Green Boards with Double Lines & Squares Wooden Boards Green Boards Stand Lower Case Double Sandpaper Letters - Print (presented after the child has learned phonetic reading and blends - not all people feel these are necessary) Box for the Lower Case Double Sandpaper Letters Small Movable Alphabet - Print, red (I have put them later since they are used during later reading - These 2 sets of movable alphabets are used for the Green Reading Series) Small Movable Alphabet - Print, black 2 more Small Movable Alphabet Boxes (I have put them later since they are used during later reading) 2 Printed Alphabet Boxes - one for black and one for red letters. This link takes you to a file I have made of the Printed Alphabet Great Prices and replacement parts are my reasons for LOVING this place. You may be able to find some things cheeper, but you probably will not be able to find replacements when you need them. Not only that, but when you need to replace your item, you can turn them in for points toward purchases, and you get points for orders placed. Fabulous all around. * Paper for the metal insets is priced absurdly through any service. It is COMPLETELY worth it to take a ream of paper to the local copy shop and pay them to cut it to 5 1/2 X 5 1/2 for you. You will save at LEAST 50% NOTE: You will not see grammar materials on this list since the Primary Scope and Sequence I use goes through age 5 and not age 6. In my manuals for Language Exercises the only grammar presentations for children by age 5 are... The First Noun Game, The First Verb Game, and The First Preposition Game. None of these presentations require the Grammar Symbols. *More for older ages later. *For the Pink, Blue and Green Reading you will need A LOT of Phonetic Objects, Objects with Blends, and Objects containing Phonograms. I have gone to all kinds of places to find my objects. I have spent time at all the local thrift shops, at hobby and craft stores and I have found a couple of online places to order from. Montessori Services and Montessori 'N' Such are my favorites. The Following Items come from Montessori Services The Red Letter Alphabet Book - I truly love this book & it's blue number companion Writing Tray With Lid The following is a list with links to Downloadable Materials I have created: (if you are looking at this blog today, many of the links will not available yet. I still need to upload them) Directions for making Wall Charts with Pattern Montessori Designs for Coloring Directions for making Large Moveable Alphabet with Pattern (this pattern is the same as Wall Charts) Movable Alphabet Pattern Pink Boxes Levels 1-6 (level 1 is objects and Movable Alphabet) Phonetic Baskets Blue Boxes Levels 1-6 (level 1 is objects and Movable Alphabet) Large Phonetic Word Cards Phonetic Command Cards Phonetic Reading Booklets Green Boxes Levels 1-3 (level 1 is objects and Printed or Movable Alphabet) Printed Alphabet - Black and Red letters 18 Baskets Phonogram Word Booklets Phonogram Word Lists Phonogram Word Cards and Pictures Phonogram Sentence Strips Phonogram Reading Stories Montessori Reading Books Puzzle Words Non-phonetic Command Cards It bears noting that I do not use the Montessori Research and Development Language Arts Manual. I have used for years and years the Language Exercise Manual from the Santa Monica Montessori Institute. All manuals can be reconciled with each other when using the materials. I will be happy to answer any questions about materials that I can. This is a list of Other Exercises for Language I have made: Go-Go-Stop Writing Letter Wall Cards Letter Books Beginning Sound Matching Mats and Picture Cards Beginning Letter Sound 'Word Walls'

The hacker group claims to know the identities of the alleged rapists, and demands authorities reopen the case

So, you want to move abroad. To Germany! I have to tell you, you’ve made a good choice. Germany is an excellent place to live. This gorgeous, livable place is one of the best in

In this post, we talk about writing sex scenes for your novels. Bear in mind that the same rules apply to sex scenes as to any other scenes.

A warm celebration of the fearless pioneer who championed journalists’ responsibility to “the whole wide world of mankind: good, bad and indifferent.”

Decorator Cynthia Weber shares how to decorate Eggs for Easter using natural dye

In honor of National Punctuation Day, my top 4 punctuation pet peeves; plus good reads from Amy Wallace, and more.

I’ll be honest…I had no idea what to post today. My creative juices just weren’t flowing. I was uninspired. Writer’s block, it’s a real dilemma. One of the best ways to get out of the writer’s block funk is to work with prompts. Kind of like if you can’t decide what to color, a good [Continue Reading...]