Find our favourite things to do in Berlin with your kids, rain or shine and make your family holiday a success. Plenty of activities to do.

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13 amazing art projects to do with kids. Painting activities, constructing activities. Small art projects to do with kids. Inexpensive and very creative.

Most parents use a reward system for kids, from potty training to chores. Here's why you shouldn't reward kids (and what to do instead).

Last week was pretty crappy week, as weeks go. A perfect storm of a bunch of far-from-perfect situations, and let’s just say better times have rolled down in our home. We were prepping for my son to start 1st Grade today. In addition to panic attacking while trying to sort a online account for his milk […]

Understanding characters can be tricky! Learn my favorite strategies for helping students master character traits and changes.

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We have survived 4 months of ice and snow with little kids inside! As a stay at home mom with a 2 and 3.5-year old, we have had to figure out some indoor activities for toddlers to help me (and them) not go crazy! We live in a two bedroom apartment so you can picture

Paid vs. unpaid chores? Should you pay your kids for chores or not? Here are the pros and cons of paying your kids to do chores!

Can little kids do yoga? Yes, even toddlers can learn fun yoga poses to help with movement skills and spatial awareness.

Contents IntroductionChild DevelopmentHonest CommunicationCompromiseParent-child RelationshipSeeking Professional’s helpMental IllnessApprise them the risk of lyingConclusion Introduction Almost all teenagers tend to lie, although they know that it is not the right thing to do. Teenager lies in order to get away from the responsibility to deal with, set by them, or to save themselves. At times many

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Learn why kids get constipated and how to help them safely and naturally. #constipation #naturalremedies #constipationremedies #kidfriendly

Wondering what to say and do during writing conferences with your students? In this post, I explain how often to confer with students, what a conference includes, and more!

If you are looking to create a functional communication system for your autistic child at home, why not make a homemade PECS binder? You can use picture cards for autism printables to make a binder

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Spend a day with kids in La Jolla, plan some simple activities and you will have a great time. Here are my recommendations!

Middle School Rewards Are you searching for a way to motivate your middle school students? Found a way to track positive behavior but not sure what to do now? Treasure box? No, that's too elementary. Prizes? No, that's too expensive. Reward coupons are the way to go! Your students will love the opportunity to be rewarded with things that matter to them. Plus, these no-cost options will cut down on the amount of money you need to spend on your classroom! Or, really, just allow you to spend it on other things because let's be real, you'll probably need more pencils or tissues soon! Check out the reward coupon options I provide my students: 1. Choose your seat for the day This is one of the most sought-after rewards in classrooms with seating charts. If you do not use seating charts, you can still use this reward; simply let students choose the type of seat they sit on. If you are REALLY flexible, you could even let your seat (at your desk or anywhere else in the room) be a choice. 2. Free assignment pass My students LOVE this reward. It becomes especially popular close to the end of the grading period. Weird, right?! #procrastinatorsunite 3. Assignment extension This one can be really helpful for student-athletes. In my 7th grade classes, it's often their first time trying to balance practice, games, AND school work. I'm thankful that my school supports students' interests but still holds them accountable. 4. Extra credit points I find it funny that the students who like extra credit the most, are usually the ones who don't need it! Don't tell anybody, but I was that kid! 🙋 5. Drop the lowest grade Some teachers use this practice routinely, but if you don't this can be a great reward. You may want/need to add some qualifying information to this reward; like it must be a daily grade, not a test or project grade. Please make sure you abide by your district/building policies regarding grades. 6. Work in the hallway This is a reward because of the freedom. Middle school students love to feel free, like they have control, and that you are not watching their every-single-move! 7. Listen to music while working This reward is easy if you are in a district/building with 1-1 devices or if you are a little more lenient with your cell phone policy. I do include a couple of qualifying statements with this reward - It can ONLY be used during independent work time and the student MUST have headphones. Image by Karolina Grabowska 8. Work with a friend Who doesn't like to work with their friends?! The social aspect of middle school life is central. Sure, this probably shouldn't be redeemed on test day, but on daily work, why not? Clipart from Pigknit 9. Bring a snack to class I have a snack DRAWER in my desk, so I am definitely not opposed to snacks in the classroom. I know some people worry about mess, if you are one of those people...add some guidelines to this reward. 10. Bring a drink to class I would recommend that you tell your students that their drinks should have a screw-top lid. Less chance of spillage. Image by Kaleb Tapp 11. Chew gum in class Gum is precious commodity. I don't know about your school, but at my school, if you are the kid with gum, you are the most popular! 12. Eat lunch in the classroom This is something that often happens at the elementary level, but sometimes we forget that older students want to build those connections with adults too. 13. Wear a hat in class At the middle school level, you may not have the authority to say that a student can wear a hat all day long, but the hat reward can be redeemed when that student is in your classroom. 14. Take off your shoes in class I know some people find this gross but think about how you get comfy. I don't know about you, but one of the first things I do when I get home is slip off my shoes! Image by Jacob Owens 15. Free time A free time reward can come in many formats to fit your classroom environment. Some free time rewards I have used include time to read a personal book, draw, play on technology, play board games, do puzzles, and just time to chat with friends (as long as it doesn't interrupt the rest of the classroom. You can purchase a set of ready-made reward cards from my Teachers Pay Teachers store - Here

Houston moms who gathered for a protest for sending their kids back to school asap were joined by Grim Reapers that were glad to keep them company.

Have the ultimate Cochem trip with this guide of all the best things to do in Cochem so you can see all the top attractions in Cochem Germany

Sticks are a wonderful medium to craft with - an such an inexpensive craft resource to get hold of. Let these 10 Stick Craft Ideas inspire you.

Art Teachers, in your Art Classroom you’re always going to have students finish before the rest, fast finishers, so let’s take a look at some ideas or routines that you can build into your classroom so that students know what to do when they’re done so they don’t have to ask you and so that you don’t have to instruct them on what to do EVERY time.

Picture this: You have your centers set up and your small group lessons are planned. The kids are working on their reading and literacy center tasks. You're focused on your small groups. You give yourself a pat on the back because everything is running so smoothly! At the end of the week, you collect their literacy folders, which hold all their written work for the week, and their learning journals. When you sit down to go through the folders and journals you notice the written work is uh . . . let’s say, not up to the quality you expect. You wonder, “What were they doing all week?!” Even if you’ve taught the routines and your literacy block runs smoothly unless you have high expectations and a way to keep kids accountable, what’s the point? That’s when center and reading tasks turn into busy work, and nobody has time for that. I have a few ideas for ways to hold students accountable for the high expectations you set. I firmly believe that expectations are pointless without the accountability. I’ve divided the tips or suggestions between the three reading tasks and three center tasks that I use during my literacy block. Every classroom is different, so feel free to take, use, or modify any of them to implement in your classroom. One other note, I've never found anything that works every year with every class. Each group of students is different. The accountability checks I did one year might not work the following year. As with everything else, teaching is about making adjustments for the students’ needs. My goal was always to foster independence and a habit of doing their best on every task. Once the expectations and accountability checks were established, I was able to focus more on the content of their work. 1. Journal Response One of the most difficult literacy tasks to check is independent reading. How do you know if they are really reading? One way is to have students write a short journal entry. The entries can be a short summary of what they read, a topic chosen from a list, or focus on a specific skill. For example: Write about the characters and how their words or actions affected the plot. You need to do a lot of modeling of the exact format you expect for the journal entry. Here's a free set of reading response stems you can use in your classroom. 2. Accelerated Reader (AR) Quiz I like this program for one reason -- it held my students accountable for their independent reading. It is NOT a great way to check a higher level thinking skills, but it is a good way to quickly and easily know if a student has read a book. I talked to each student at the beginning of every quarter to set goals. The reports made it easy for us to check progress. 3. Buddy Check-in In a couple of my centers, students read with a partner. Part of the expectation is that they keep each other on task. I choose the students for each partnership carefully so I can set them up for success. In my fluency center, the students write a comment or two about their partner's reading and this serves as the check. If there is a problem in the partnership, students can talk to me about the issue and I can help them work on a solution. Buddy Check-in is also a way to recognize students who are focused, polite or helpful buddies. 4. Discussion Monitor One of my reading centers has groups of 2-4 students reading an assigned text. As they read, they stop and chat about the text. The discussion is focused on a reading skill we've been working on in our whole-class lessons. Each student has a thinkmark with reminders about the skill. It helps them stay focused on the purpose of the discussions. One student can be assigned the discussion monitor for the day or for the week. The monitor makes sure the readers stay on topic and prompt students to give complete and thoughtful comments. At the end of the daily discussion, the monitor fills out a simple rubric/checklist about the group members' participation. 5. Switch and Check One of my favorite ways to hold students accountable for centers with a written task was to assign them a checking partner. When both students finish the task they switch papers and use an answer key to check the work. This worked well for written center work because I rarely took grades on this work. 6. Star Student I've seen this idea used in different class situations. I like to use it during literacy block because it's an easy way to give recognition to students who are doing what they're supposed to be doing. Sometimes I was looking for a student who had over-all good behavior during our literacy block. But sometimes we had a focused behavior for the day or week. During literacy block I make a mental note of students who are on task, working quietly, keeping their area neat and organized, helping others, etc. At the end of the block, I would choose one student to recognize as the Star Student for the day. I would write the student's name on a small display at the front of the room. Sometimes I would put the name in a jar for a drawing at the end of the month. Click on the image to download this Star Student sign you can use in your classroom!

Unmotivated students are common in the classroom, even at elementary levels. How can we as teachers motivate students to be excited about learning?

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Regret. You know the feeling. You wish you hadn't slammed that door. You wish you'd used a nicer tone of voice. You know you need to be sweet, but you're just not feeling it. Some days everybody in the house is miserable just because you're a grump. You know […]

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Figuring out how to stop a toddler from hitting is no easy task! And if you are a first time mom, it's even more shocking. Right up there with with potty training kids who won't poop on the toilet and getting your toddler to stop whining. How you help your child stop hitting will look

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Customized routine charts for kids

Hey everyone! It's Anna from Hanging with Mrs. Hulsey! The school year is officially in full swing-- and my students are definitely feeling more comfortable with me and each other! One thing I've decided we need to focus on more is our classroom community! Here are some quick ideas to help you promote a positive climate in your classroom! Use Team Builders Team building activities are easy to implement! They don't take a lot of time, students find them to be engaging, and they are often FREE! Here is a quick list of some of my favorite student team building activities: Human Knot (Students stand in circle, reach for hands of people across the way, and then they must untangle themselves without letting go. This can also be done as a spiderweb using a ball of yarn) Tallest Tower (Divide students into groups and give them supplies like straws, tape, blocks, etc. The team that can make the tallest tower wins!) Minefield (Set up a "minefield" that students must navigate a blindfolded partner through) Hula Hoop Pass (Can be played whole class or in teams. Students hold hands and must pass through a hula hoop as quickly as possible) Switch Sides If... (Use a chalk line, rope, or tape line. Have students stand on one side of the line. Read off items like "switch sides if you like to bake", etc.) The internet provides an infinite source of team building activities! I've included a few links below: http://www.ventureteambuilding.co.uk/team-building-activities/ http://www.momjunction.com/articles/team-building-activities-will-keep-kids-busy-summer_0074763/#gref http://mommieshobbies.blogspot.com/2014/01/switch-sides-if.html?m=1 Hold Morning Meetings Time is precious in my classroom because we departmentalize. It feels like we are always on the go. However, I feel that even something as small as a weekly morning meeting would help my students develop a more positive feeling toward one another. You can read more about morning meetings for older elementary students here! I also love this product from TPT! Write Daily White Board Messages I think this is a such a simple way to start the day off with a positive vibe! The night before (or morning of) write a simple prompt on the white board/chalkboard and have students respond on the board. This will foster another sense of ownership and community. You can find white board messages by searching google or Pinterest! Here are some quick ideas to get you started: 1 Thing Wednesday-- name one thing we've done this year that you'd like to do again! I Think I Can Thursday-- what is one goal you want to achieve this year? Flashback Friday-- what is one new thing you have learned this week? Write a compliment for a classmate by their name (no repeats!) Name 3 traits of a great friend What is your favorite book you've read this year? Thankful Thursday-- what is 1 thing you are thankful for? Make it Monday-- what is 1 thing you've always wanted to create?' Top 2 Tuesday-- write your top 2 favorite things about the school year so far Compliment Circles This activity would pair well with morning meetings! You and the students sit in a circle with everyone's legs out straight. Begin the compliment circle by giving a compliment to someone. Once someone has been complimented they cross their legs. Compliments continue until everyone has received 1. I think this is a great way to encourage students to see each other in different ways! Create a Kindness Board I created this one for the visual it would provide to my students. Plus, I wanted them to point out kindness when they see it in others! This one is easy to implement: 1. Print out the letters and hang on a wall or bulletin board. 2. Print the "caught being kind" strips on various colors of paper (I used Astrobright paper). 3. Cut the strips apart and keep on hand for when students catch others being kind. 4. When students experience a kindness or act of friendship, they come and ask you for a "caught being kind" strip. They write down their experience. 5. Start a paper chain and add a new link every time someone catches others being kind! You can find this HERE in my TPT store! Here is another type of board with a similar theme (kindness): You can find these fall themed board HERE in my store! I hope you found these ideas to be useful to implement in your classroom! If you have any questions-- feel free to leave them in the comment section!

We want to serve but the little ones pose a very real challenge. How can you serve with young kids? What are some easy things to do? This post has practical tips and more fun ideas!

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