Teaching kids how to be generous is a compilation of the activities and lessons that are found in my character building education series. It’s this time of year where we hear a lot of “I want…” statements from our kids. I would hate for Christmas time to be centered around teaching my kids to be...Read More

Teachers can use these 15 friendship books and videos for the classroom to teach kids friendship skills: how to make friends and how to be a good friend.

I love learning about arrays because they are so visual which allows for a lot of really fun rectangular arrays activities and practice! I l...

Do you want to start creative writing lessons with your young students? Why not include a variety of personification writing exercises that your pupils can use to enhance their writing at a young age? Personification is assigning human qualities or characteristics to a non-human, such as an animal or an object. It's a fantastic language technique to improve your kids' writing! If you're planning to initiate the study of figurative language technique of personification to your students, you've come to the right blog. Read along to discover more about PERSONIFICATION! 4 BENEFITS OF USING PERSONIFICATION IN YOUR WRITING STYLE Personification in writing has a major influence since it gives a non-human thing more life and vitality while also emphasizing a human quality. The major goal of adopting this technique is to seize the readers' attention and emotional support while making the entire piece stand out and be noteworthy. Here are some interesting reasons of teaching the basics of personification to your students: 1. Stimulate The Learners' Creativity In The English Language Children will sow the seeds of imagination and they will be able to identify figurative speech better when they are familiar with words of personification. They will be able to point out some everyday examples of personification they'll hear people say, or see in a book. The more familiar they are, they are able to craft their own sentences in due time! 2. Know The Real Meaning Of What Is Being Said Or Written The lack of understanding and using figures of speech leaves the reader confused or clueless about the real meaning of a text. so utilizing personification in the classroom can enhance the students' learning and understanding. Students can mix up literal combination with the figurative meaning. This could result in the student feeling frustrated and lacking confidence in their ability to use the English language and this is what you need to avoid. 3. Make It Easier For Kids To Easily Get A Connection Personification is a fun form of figurative language that is used to grab the readers' attention and is a great way for students to form a connection with the things which are described. It has a vividness and a brilliance that will draw readers in and make them remember the text for a long time. 4. Appreciate Different Styles of Writing Adding personification in the writing style enhances the beauty and enhances its flavor. It makes the sentence deeper and leaves the reader with a sense of wonder which develops kids to think out of the box and explore more. It brings life to the words used by the writer and in return, your young learners may mimic this style as they are fully engaged. HOW TO ENGAGE KIDS IN THE CLASSROOM WITH PERSONIFICATION It might be a bit challenging teaching kids about this specific figurative language. You may explain that personification is a type f figurative language that can be found in poems, songs, and stories. You can even explore personification by tackling poems and stories, and letting them identify which statements are the figure of speech. Just look for examples where something that is clearly not a person has been given human emotions. Try to come up with common examples that they've probably heard of and are easy to understand. Then use a text or poem and see if children can find any examples of where personification is used. Tell students that authors use personification to help their readers picture something more vividly. Provide an example for students (e.g., "The wind howled in the night.", "My flowers were begging for water." and "The thunder was grumbling in the distance.") You may point out the figurative meaning instead. Another great way to get pupils to start thinking about personification is by asking them to look at a specific object. Then get them to see if they can think of ways to compare it to a person. Studying personification is one of the best tools of all time in helping children understand the writer's message better. This creative figure of speech gives poetry or stories interest and fun. Wanna try using this in your class? Here are some Personification Winter Writing Prompts that you can use with your students that are perfect for the season. This is ideally for 2nd-4th grade students and are great writing lessons to use in January, February, winter, or anytime of the year! These 30 personification writing short stories about their snowflake personification character are a great approach for kids to comprehend and create stories that aren't about the real world but instead are set in an imaginative world. Figures of speech are widely used, across all forms of language expression. Be it in written or spoken form, in formal or informal structures or in standard speech or in slang, the use of the various figures of speech is common. The importance of learning and using them is indeed beneficial for every child to be able to jumpstart their speaking, writing, and reading in English. Let's try different approaches to engaging and motivating our pupils. I hope you like reading my blog as much as I do! Enjoy your PIGARRIFIC week and look forward to the upcoming blog. 🐷

Resources, links, and a few Pinterest fails from our week learning about Holland (the Netherlands.)

If you want to teach your little ones about the concept of opposites you will want to check out these fun opposites worksheets and activities.

Teaching fractions with hands-on manipulatives and activities helps students develop a conceptual understanding that will endure.

The Month of December is such a busy and fun time! I don't want learning to take a backseat, so I made some FUN-filled NO PREP Packets for the month of

1-2-3 Come Travel Around The World With Me! Woo Hoo! Having spent over 200 hours researching & creating, plus a small fortune on graphics designing things, I’m so excited to post this jumbo “labor of love”, "Travels Around The World" packet, which features the awesome talents of 38 clip artists! This super-fun packet is extremely versatile, as everything stands alone, so you can mix & match creating a unit that is tailored specifically for your class, or use pieces and parts with lessons you already have implemented. I think my students, favorite part of our Travels Around the World is making the cereal box suitcase, which can be done in class or for homework. The sky's the limit of how you want to design them. We add 2 file folders to make a drop down interactive "briefcase" of sorts, which includes a pocket for their passports, tickets and boarding passes. The extra files are a great way to keep everything neat & organized and provide space for them to glue on a variety of activities that we do. My kiddos absolutely LOVE collecting the "suitcase stamps/stickers" to decorate with. They get a few to start out, then receive more as we travel to the various countries. Others I use as a motivational & behavior modification incentive, which is very successful. Another huge hit is making a passport. There are 4 options, including a passport specifically for "Christmas Around The World" traveling, as well as a huge variety of passport stamps, which they also enjoy collecting. The train tickets and plane, bus, & boat boarding passes. are also a huge hit. Via a letter, students are invited to come travel with the gingerbread man, who makes a speedy tour guide. "Gin" keeps them apprised of places they should visit by sending postcards. I had an absolute blast designing these from real photographs & stamps from those countries. There are 3 from each country, as well as "color me" postcards, so that students can practice "point of view" writing in a fun way. A set of gingerbread-themed posters announce where children will be traveling and how they will get there. The 6 countries included in this packet are: USA, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, Italy & Germany. I've included a variety of maps, which come in color to use as posters, plus black & white for students. They come labeled & unlabeled, so you can use them as an assessment tool as well. My personal favorite activity, is the "Snap & Scrap" journal, with a Christmas-themed page, as well as a generic counterpart. I've included several pages of interesting information about how each country celebrates Christmas, should you want to do the "Christmas Around the World" theme. The "snap" part, is a camera craft featuring a lens "booklet", with pictures specific to that country. You can opt to do just the camera(s), or hinge them with a piece of tape to the "scrap" page, so that it flips over to reveal the information underneath. Each country also comes with factual information, which is incorporated in the "Fan Of Fun Facts For _________" craftivity. The title is a double play on words, for the craft opens like a fan, and students quickly become "fans" of these super-interesting facts. Later, check comprehension by playing "Name That Country?" by reading a fact and having students tell what country it came from. "I Spy A Country" is another game you can play to help reinforce map skills. Teachers jot down 3-5 clues on the poster, then students write down their dated-answer on their worksheet. X number of correct answers and they receive a "super spy" stamp for their suitcase. I've also packed in a lot of travel-themed writing prompts, such as making an itinerary, which provides a vocabulary building opportunity. Students can also do a "Sightseeing Check It Out Then Check It Off" list, flag booklet, and travel journal. There are several options for the travel journals as well, from a "color me" text it page, to a cut & glue class-made book. They are different enough so that you can do them all, or pick & choose what's appropriate for your kiddos. The beauty of this jumbo packet is that it's very versatile, so you can mix & match things to do individually, as a whole group, with a partner, in small groups, or for homework. The projects can also supplement other geography activities you already have implemented. Besides social studies, many items practice a variety of other standards like graphing, weather, telling time, comparing & contrasting & research, with a bit of math tossed in for good measure. There are also a variety of ways to use the packet. Teachers can give the information, or students can pick a country and research it independently. The "Travel Bucks" are a fun way for students to give their presentations, as they become "travel agents", who share highlights about their country, in the hopes that their fellow classmates will use their travel cash to buy a trip from them. Top sales certificates & suitcase brag tags add to the fun, and are a wonderful incentive. An easy-peasy writing prompt for any age, is the "ginger-gram", where students fill in the blanks with a country they would like to live in, as well as one they would not. Older students can explain why. Another simple writing activity is the "Travel Quilt" craft, which practices adjectives in a unique way. Even younger kiddos can do this, and completed projects make an awesome bulletin board. The "Peace is in our hands" craft, is also quick & easy, with lovely results making a terrific hallway display. This craftivity really helps children wrap their heads around the "big picture" of their "personal geography" and their cut out hand prints add that keepsake, finishing touch. I've included a poster for the center of your display, as well as a suitcase sticker kiddos can earn upon completion. Because my kiddos are learning about seasons, weather and appropriate clothing to wear, I designed the "Pack It Up" suitcase craftivity; where they color, cut & glue various clothes suitable for a particular country, to a "suitcase" page; while older students simply list the items they want to take. The suitcase opens to reveal several pages of the different things they packed for the various countries that they visited. Besides a “Christmas Around the World” theme, you can use this unit all year long, as I have matching generic counterparts. Start whenever you want, then in December, board the “Holiday Express” & add the activities of how these countries celebrate Christmas. Lessons are easily diversified for various classroom abilities & grade levels. Simply pick what’s appropriate for your kiddos. "Travel Tweets" are also an interesting way to get students enthusiastic about writing, as is the "Welcome To Our House" booklet, "Airport Adventures" and "Whooooo Do You Want To Travel With?" color-me worksheets. Besides black & white versions for students, I’ve included colorful templates, so you can quickly make samples to share. There are also graphs, Venn diagrams, posters, a song, and some worksheets, which can also be used as assessment tools. As you can see there's a ton of fun for you to choose from including some puzzles. These come in color for an independent center, as well as BW so kiddos can make their own, as they practice recognizing & sequencing numbers from 1-10, or skip counting by 10s to 100. Click on the link to zip on over to my TpT shop to take a look. Travels Around The World. Today's featured FREEBIE comes from the packet and is a "Merry Christmas From Around The World" poster and coloring card, which includes an alphabetical list of how 28 countries say "Merry Christmas" , with 4 links to other websites with more countries. Well that's it for today. Thanks for stopping by. My feet have hit the floor running, as there is much to do, and not enough time in the day to get it all done. But I will endeavor to slow my pace and enjoy the journey, making sweet memories, as we decorate our blessed home for Christmas. Wishing you and yours a special day. "Maybe Christmas" he thought, "doesn't come from a store." "Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more!" -Dr. Seuss From "The Grinch"

As a first grade teacher, we spend A LOT of time working on retelling skills. With lots of practice and constant retelling instruction throughout the year, I

Today I have a quick Christmas/winter themed activity you can use in therapy or centers to address regular -er and -est comparatives and superlatives. Simply print, laminate (optional) and cut out the cards and have your kiddos sort them on the included sorting mat. Enjoy! Click here for the free download! If you need a […]

It is time to take off and fly high in the clouds with this exciting new Airplane For Kids activities pack. Not only will you find airplane coloring pages, you will also find many airport

Doctors, nurses and surgeons are very important members of our community helpers. This adorable printable pretend play kids doctor kit includes fun doctor games for kids, worksheets, doctor coloring pages and more. This would be

Teach kids to recognize gratitude and be thankful by doing this thankfulness paper chain with them throughout the month of November.

Here are some fun and easy physical and chemical changes activities for 5th grade.

ALL ABOUT FRIENDSHIP Friendship and conflict solving skills are so important to teach our kiddos. Our job is to teach them important social skills. They need these tools to ensure successful relationships with their peers and adults. It is tricky, but it can be done! I am sharing some

This week I tried something new with the vocabulary in the story. I got the idea at a First Grade Conference in December. The student writes the vocabulary word in the middle of the sheet and then there are four things to do with the word. We completed two of the boxes together as a class and they finished the last two boxes independently. The kiddos sure had a great grasp of the vocabulary after this. When we read the story they had fantastic comprehension.

Find 6 ways to make vowels fun in the primary classroom including ideas for song, interactive notebooks, games, tech, and more.

Build a marshmallow and toothpick tower for a fun and budget-friendly way to explore STEM with kids. Free printable.

Discover 10 magical homeschool Christmas ideas that will make this holiday season unforgettable! From creative crafts to festive activities!

We share with you these emotions and feeling worksheets PDF, have fun coloring the emotions with these simple exercises.

easy toddler counting activities ideas (play based!)

Help your little one build logic and reasoning skills with a tangram puzzle! He'll re-create this picture using the geometric shapes of tangram pieces.

Come Follow Me for Individuals & Families 2023 New Testament Lesson 51 December 11-17 "They Overcame...by the Blood of the Lamb” Digital Download

Check out these adorable December Kindergarten worksheets for the month of December. Count, color and read with fun winter favorites.

I'm having a hard time believing that it's December!!! First, we went to Disneyworld for Thanksgiving so it doesn't feel to me like we've had that holiday yet. Second, it's SO WARM here in Colorado. In fact, many of the days that we were in Florida it was hotter here at home! But, the show must go on and I must accept this is actually December, right?!! So, I'm teaming up with my friend Aileen Miracle of Mrs. Miracle's Music room to share some things we're doing in our classroom this month. I do have some traditions that I do in my class every year that I love to keep from year to year and I thought I would share some of them with you, as well as some of the new things we're doing this year. The first is the holiday version of Bow, Wow, Wow, called Ho Ho Ho. If you don't know the song or dance, it's really sweet and the kiddos eat it up! Formation: single circle, with all students facing a partner. Action: Phrase 1: pat partner's hands three times (on the text, "Ho, ho, ho!" Phrase 2: pretend to be looking at Santa Claus Phrase 3: trade place with partner (I have them place their hands on each other's hands or hold hand. Phrase 4: pat partner's hands three times and jump a half-turn on the rest so that they are facing a new partner. I love doing this with my first graders and I've also done it with my kinders, as well as my 2nd graders (for 2nd grade it's a great prep for re in that nice descending line of mi-re-do at the end. For the firsties, it's great for rhythm and for my kinders it gets them up and moving in a single circle with partners. With the kinders I start with one partner and model the dance as the rest of the class sits down. Then we add the jump turn at the end. With that the student that was my partner and I both have a new partner. This cumulatively goes until the whole class is up and moving. If there's an even number of students I set out so that they all have a partner. The next activity that I LOVE teaching my students each year are the dances to Jingle Bells. Here are my 5th graders from last year performing a concentric circle dance: I also do a dance with my littler students that is very similar, using a parachute. They all hold onto the outside of the parachute. On the verses they go with their right foot "heel, toe, heel, toe- slide, slide, slide slide (to the right)." Then they do the same thing to the left and then repeat the whole sequence. On the chorus, they touch their toes three times, touch their knees three times, touch their waist three times (all while holding onto the parachute), then lift the parachute over their head. I call a color and students holding that color turn in place. As they get better at it I do let them run under the parachute and switch places with the person across from them. Speaking of parachute, here's another activity that I do with the Trepak from The Nutcracker: We've been known to throw plush snowballs and other fun things on the parachute and bounce them off... it's great fun! To keep students reading, writing and practicing I'm diving into a few of my sets. Here's my 2nd graders reading "Reindeer Flying Lesson" PDF from this set, while adding body percussion and movement: And here's my 3rd graders practicing ti-tika via part work with my Nutcracker Rhythms Game that is in my Christmas Around the World set: Speaking of the Christmas Songs Around the World, we were using some of the games and songs from that set today when my 5th graders recalled learning "Caga Tio" last year and they got the biggest kick out of it. If you don't know, it's a Catalonian song in which the children feed the Yule long nugget and cover it with a blanket during the holidays and on Christmas Eve they sing a song while they strike the log with a stick. If they did a good job taking care of the log, feeding it and keeping it warm with the blanket, the log will have "pooed" gifts, which are left under the blanket. There's actually a recording of Nora Jones singing this song. The boys think this video is a riot! And then you really have to watch this little, they're singing a different version of the song: And with Star Wars coming out with a new movie we're also doing RHYTHM WARS!!! My kids LOVE these and I know they are as excited as me about the new movie: My son and I actually have tickets to go see it on December 14th, the night before it opens. We think we're pretty cool, lol! I hope that December brings you a lot of joy and good times in your classroom! If you're looking for some easy, fun go to games, check out my Reindeer games: And you want to make planning easy, grab this set that has games for the whole year round! Have a GREAT week everyone!

During our study of day and night, we have fun working with black and white - at the science table, the art table, even the sensory bin!

Each year I try to find creative ways to invite my students into the Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. The trouble is that the normal suggestions for adults are not always practical for kids- they often are not in control of things like their own finances, time, and travel. So I asked my students- How can YOU give and pray and fast this Lent? Because it is the Year of Mercy, I knew that I wanted to frame their suggestions around the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. The kids worked hard over the course of two days to come up with a list of practical ways kids could live out the works of mercy. I took their great ideas and organized them a bit into a printable for each set of works of mercy. Then, because a dear friend gave me this stellar bobble head of Pope Francis (because what Catholic classroom doesn't need a Pope bobble head???), I was able to set up this little "Lenten Acts of Mercy" station in our classroom. Posted are the two lists created by the kids. They are being challenged each week to live out one of the Corporal and one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy. This is pretty perfect since there are just about seven weeks in Lent :) I added two jars labeled for the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, red beads in a bowl, and a sign saying "Be merciful as your Father is merciful." When they feel as though they have performed an act of mercy, they can add a bead to the jar. There are no goals, no counting, no prizes, etc. I told the kids I had no plan for how long it would take to fill up a jar, and if they did fill one, we would empty it and start all over again. Too often kids (and adults) are caught up in the what's-in-it-for-us mentality. This is just a gathering place for some accountability and reminders about our project- a little action that will help make the invisible visible. :) You could try something like this yourself in your classroom or home. This lists can be printed below, both with our ideas as a list or blank so you can fill in your own. The USCCB has some great lists for the Corporal Works of Mercy and the Spiritual Works of Mercy you should check out as well. Click here for the Corporal Works of Mercy List: Click here for the Corporal Works of Mercy blank page: Click here for the Spiritual Works of Mercy List: Click here for the Spiritual Works of Mercy blank page: You might also like these Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy coloring pages and mini books: Corporal Works of Mercy Spiritual Works of Mercy

We started lesson 14, Isaac, the Son of Promise, by talking about the promises God had made to Abraham. (You can read about Lesson 13 here.) We then had a brief discussion about how sometimes we have to wait to receive the things promised to us. Perhaps we are promised a holiday or a special […]

4 Engaging One Day Activities Relationship Building % %

Hey bloggy friends! Long time, no see! Let me tell you, getting into the groove of this year has been C-R-A-Z-Y! After 3 weeks of gatheri...

Practice sorting natural vs. man made resources in this great science activity! This can go great in a morning tub or a science center. Other Science Sorting Activities: Renewable and Nonrenewable Resources Living and Nonliving Things Needs and Wants

What's better than a FREE 55 page Holidays Around the World Passport? Links to all the songs, videos and brain breaks you need for your entire holiday unit!

What is CUBISM? THE ART MOVEMENT Early 20th Century Paris, France Who stARTed CUBISM? Pablo Picasso and George Braque Pablo Picasso Cubism Portrait Georges Braque Cubism Portrait To capture the idea of Cubism, try to understand that it is seeing one object from multiple perspectives at one time. Imagine me taking a picture of a student from the front, back, and side. Then I take the tangible pictures of them and cut them up into pieces. I rearrange them in a different order, then draw the new arrangement. There may be 3 eyes, 2 noses, and features from different angles... but that is the point! My definition. Creating like you are seeing something as if it was in a shattered mirror. Things are shifted, titled, and out of order. Notes from my Journal: MANY ARTIST HAVE BEEN INSPIRED BY CUBISM KatoCreative.com Brenda Kato She used to teach High School and Elementary Art like me, but is now a successful freelance artist, children's book illustrator and more. I may like her portraits more than Picassos! Cubism Portraits TEACHER EXAMPLES CUBISM PORTRAIT COLLAGE This is a cubism self portrait collage. I drew my eyes, nose, lips, and things I use often scattered on paper. I drew some on other pieces of paper too & pieces it together, CUBISM PORTRAIT DRAWING 1. On 12 by 18 white paper, divide the area into a variety of sections using a pencil. Have 10-15 areas somewhat evenly drawn out. 2. In each section, draw at least 2 eyes (each from different angle), 1 nose, 1 mouth, and an ear. They can also include parts of hair, neck, chin, cheeks, accessories, but do not need to include body parts below the neck. 3. Emphasize the pencil lines with either a sharpie, other markers, or use a harder line of whatever they are coloring with. This is keep the details they worked so hard on from disappearing after the coloring process. 4. After emphasizing, color using a theme (blue period, rose period, neutral tones, or abstract colors). The above examples of mine is sort of a cubist self-portrait drawing using crazy abstract colors. I tried to keep things in the relative area they are naturally in. This example of mine is using more neutral tones and it is harder to see who the person is in the portrait. This is because the features are more various and jumbled around in the composition. ARE YOU READY? Before you begin, practice each facial feature seperately. GO HERE FOR HELP https://tabithaannthelostsock.blogspot.com/2023/10/drawing-face.html THE HANDOUT Plan it Out… Here are some STUDENT EXAMPLES High School Beginning Classes Jaidyn Short, 9th grade Jaycee Maag 9th grade Jannette M. 9th grade Daisy M 9th grade Krissie Barker 10th grade Eduardo 10th grade Estrella 10th grade. Kenzie W. 10th grade Jasmine and Kendra Hollins Sawyer 10th grade. Grayson-9th grade Natalie- 9th grade. Maisy 11th grade Kelly H 9th grade Elian 10th grade Josie Hornsby 10th grade. Victoria O. 10th grade Trestin 9th grade 6th grade art Angel Suarez Haley Ackerman Dacy Moss Josh Matthew Taylor Casey Stubblefield