Shakespeare has been dead for over 400 years, but his plays are still being put on every day by theatre companies all over the world. If you’re not sure where to start, this flowchart can help you decide which play you should see first. The flowchart, from artist Mya Gosling at Good Tickle Brain, starts […]

No more boring book reports! Check out 26+ FUN, creative and unique book report ideas and free printable projects too!

Reading books and singing is key to language development, and it’s the same for teaching English… Here are the 15 books I use the most.

Last Thursday was my regular weekly storytime — and I had choosen to do my theme with play and pretend, choosing all different kinds of books. First up, I read “Knuffle Bunny” by …

Kids will love learning about the USA for Kids with these free printable United States of America for Kids Books to color, read, and learn!

In the play Fences, which was written by August Wilson, Bono, Gabe, and Alberta are all very important people in Troy’s life. Bono is Troy’s best friend, and through him, the reader learns that Troy is a very strong character. Through Gabe, people can see some of the guilt Troy has inside. Alberta helped Troy

Looking for some Pippi Longstocking activities to go along with your favorite book? We've gathered 10 MUST-TRY activities to take you on your own adventure!

Hundreds of high-quality short play scripts for elementary school students. Download a pdf script today!

1-2-3 Come Study 2D Shapes With Me Woo Hoo! I just finished the final packet in The Kissing Hand "triolgy". Technical issues had me nearly throwing my computer out the window. I'm sure some of you can relate with how frustrating it is when a glitch happens, causing a gnashing of teeth and ripping out of hair. Arggg! Any hoo, I have managed to peel myself off the ceiling and will endeavor to try and post this really cute Kissing Hand-inspired Shape Packet before something else happens. If you've read the adorable book The Kissing Hand, by Audrey Penn, then you're familiar with Chester, an anxious little raccoon. Since he is such an endearing character for children, I thought I'd incorporate him into some fun hands-on shape games & activities. The packet reviews the 2D shapes: circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, pentagon, octagon, trapezoid, rhombus, star & heart, simply choose which ones you want your kiddos to learn. I've included a variety of activities including a trace & write mini booklet, several craftivities, shape word cards (with and without the shapes on them), as well as several shape games with different options for playing. There are also posters, pocket chart cards, a shape “slider” that’s a fun way to whole-group assess, plus a variety of worksheets; including a graph, & ones that review attributes and spatial directions. The two raccoon crafts are extremely versatile. Teachers can use them as anchor chart-posters, bulletin boards, a fun way to individually or whole-group assess, as a game or independent center activity! In the first raccoon shape craftivity, the eyes, nose and bows (for a girl raccoon) or bowties (for a boy raccoon) take on the various shapes. I've also made a student-one, where children just change the nose. In the next photo is "Bandit" wearing all the different shaped masks. You don’t have to use wiggle eyes, but I thought they added that finishing touch, and made the raccoon look more realistic. Not sure why the color looks sort of blue instead of gray like the others. Chalk it up to more cyber craziness beyond my ken. You can also use the bowties & bows from the other raccoon for more options for Bandit. Students could also place the pocket chart card with the shape name above or under the raccoon as a center activity. Review the various shapes as a whole group, by passing out the masks to your students. Show the word card, or ask for a shape. The child holding that mask comes up and places it on the raccoon. I used magnet dots on the back of Bandit to stick him to my whiteboard. I used Velcro dots on the masks. Once Bandit is wearing a shape mask, ask children what things he sees that are that shape. For example, he’s wearing the rectangle-eyed mask and sees a door, window, Kleenex box, book, piece of paper etc. To celebrate getting ready for back-to-school, this 65-page raccoon-themed packet is on sale for just $3.95. Click on the link to pop on over to my TpT shop to have a look. The packet matches The Kissing Hand Literacy packet & the "Where’s the Raccoon?" packet, which were featured in other blog articles this past week. If you're a follower, you know I always post a FREEBIE in each blog article. Today's is the shape slider from the packet. I've also included "slider strips" for upper & lowercase letters, numbers & skip counting. I hope you find it useful. Click on the link to grab it. As for me, I'm escaping for some much-needed sanity far away from my computer. Wishing you a stress-free day filled with giggles galore. "Do what you love; love what you do." -Unknown

Use this free printable book report sandwich idea to recall what you read. Print in black / white or color and use with elementary age kids.

Using games is the best way to teach, review and practice vocabulary with ESL learners. I've found that playing simple games with my students provides amazing vocabulary retention. The best part is that your students will have a great time while playing! Any teacher can tell you that worksheets and monotonous repetitions of vocabulary in

Make learning FUN with 2000+ Free Preschool Worksheets! Cute alphabet, math, science and themed printables for preschoolers.

I've been blogging about teaching multiplication lately, and have mentioned playing a game called Sparkle as part of our memorization process. Today I thought I would explain how we do this in my cla

Counselors near and far have been excited for the arrival of Disney Pixar’s movie Inside…

Now that my new air conditioner is installed and up and running (YES- I lost air at the start of the summer! EEK!), and I've gotten my fair ...

Discover goal-setting tools for every entrepreneur personality type to help you formulate business goals, develop good habits, and stay on track.

In his new book, MIT professor Mitchel Resnick lays out a vision for encouraging creative thinking, based on his research into what he calls Lifelong Kindergarten.

Looking for a fun game to play to practice book care? I've got you covered! This traditional memory matching game includes a PDF with the following book care rules: I will wash my hands before reading. I will keep my book in a safe place. I will keep my book away from food. I will keep my book away from drinks. I will keep my book away from pets. I will keep crayons away from my book. I will keep glue away from my book. I will keep markers away from my book. I will keep my book in a dry place. These cards print pretty big - I like to print 2 sheets on a page so they print about half the size! I like to cut mine and back with different colored construction paper before laminating! This keeps students from seeing through the paper and helps keep each set of cards organized! Connect with me on Instagram by following me at: https://www.instagram.com/the.funbrarian/ If you find an error or need something added, please contact me! I can update and add to any products. Contact information is included. Don't forget to receive TPT credits to use towards future purchases by providing feedback on your purchase!

Juliet believes girls like her - girls with arthritis - don't get their own love stories. She exists at the edges of her friends' social lives, skipping parties to play online chess under a pseudonym with strangers around the world. There, she isn't just 'the girl with crutches'. Ronan is the new kid: good looking, smart, a bad boy plagued by guilt over what happened to his brother Ciaran. Chesslife is his escape. Juliet thinks Ronan thinks someone like Ronan could never be interested in someone like her - and she wouldn't want him to be anyway - he always acts like he's cooler than everyone else. Little do they know they've already discovered each other online, and have more in common than they think . . .

We are always inspired to do fun crafts and learning activities whenever we read some of our favorite children’s books! Here is a list of activities we’ve come up with inspired by popular children’s books (alphabetized by title). (Book titles are affiliate links.) Be sure to follow our Children’s Book Activities Pinterest board! …