Engage your students in great lessons using these videos for teaching figurative language! Check out the Top 5 here and save time searching!

Sometimes students lose focus when reading class literature. Read about strategies that help! How to Have Every Student's Attention Reading Class Literature

Here's a template for all your hangman playing needs! Of course, you don't need a template at all. My kids and I have played hangman on various bits of scrap paper found in my purse, including receipts! But having a template is fun too and helps when playing with younger kids. The version above includes the outline of the hanged dude and outlines for letter blanks. These make it easy for kids to trace. The version below has no outlines which allows players to make longer words, phrases, or even more complex hanged dudes! Hangman really is a game of unlimited fun! If you need directions on how to play Hangman, About.com has thorough instructions. Just click on the Hangman templates, and you can download them from GoogleDrive. After downloading, feel free to print them as many times as you like!

*Avery Binder with Clear Cover (We use 1 inch binders in my room)*Small Avery UltraTabs*Large 3 x 3.5 inch Avery UltraTabs*3 Ring Hole Punch*Avery

Sing, sing, sing! I want my students to experience beautiful, in-tune singing and I am always on the lookout for songs with solos. I know students are more successful in pitch matching when they sing unaccompanied and have opportunities to sing alone. While I use several songs with solos in the primary grades, I don't use as many in the older grades. Here is one that has been very successful with my older students. I often start with several knots tied in the rope so that a few students are singing the solo, (which cuts down on the initial fear factor for the singers.) I learned this song from my wonderful Level III teacher, Liz Arcaro. Once a student has sung a solo (or duet, or trio, depending on how many knots I tie in the rope,) they go to a barred instrument and accompany with a simple bourdon on C and G. What are some of your favorite songs with solos?

Summer is a time of reflection for me. How about you? I was reflecting today about a term I recently read about called "Toxic Behavior". Hmmm. I decided to revisit the definition of "toxic". www.toxicavengermerchdise.com TOXIC - def. 1. containing or being poisonous, 2. extremely harsh, malicious, or harmful, 3. relating to or being an asset that has lost value. Synonyms: poison, injurious, malignant, unhealthy, hurtful. Lord knows, I don't want anything to do with anything that is toxic. Is there anyone who would like to be described as having toxic behaviors? I think not. Do people with toxic behaviors exist? I believe so. Now, being honest to with myself......have I ever exhibited a toxic behavior? Yes. I mean, yes. We all have at one time or another. None of us is immune. But most people are evolved, balanced, aware, and it happens only rarely in their lives.* Toxic behaviors are damaging. They are attached to a harsh word like "toxic" for a reason. They can cause havoc and chaos within a group of people who work together. We all make mistakes. But, a person with consistent and perpetual toxic behaviors can make you want to retreat to your classroom or even find another job. Toxic behaviors damage relationships, professional success, and the well-being of the individual behaving this way, and to everyone around him or her.* * Quoted from "6 Toxic Behaviors That Push People Away: How to Recognize Them In Yourself and Change Them" by Kathy Caprino, Int'l Women's Coach, Speaker, & Writer But, let's shine the light on the darker side of the coin. Perhaps YOU are the cause of a toxic behavior. If so, know that you are doing more damage to yourself than anyone else. This is not an easy thing to reflect upon. The reality of admitting you are "the cause" of toxic behavior can be a bitter pill to swallow. But the sooner you reflect upon it, the sooner you can neutralize it. Keep this in mind: toxic behavior is negative emotional energy in motion. Whether you are the giver or receiver, it drains energy and adds stress to you and all who are affected. So what is the solution? I wish I came up with this myself, but it was listed in the comments to the original article about this topic. "Environmental pollution does harm biological life. Negative, reactive, and defensive behavior does not happen in a vacuum. The solution to achieving the right ecology is the generosity of understanding, support, and love." - Dennis Brinkley Ecology....I love it! Plant kindness. Nurture it while it grows. Water it. Shed light on it. Fertilize it. But keep in mind....pestilence will kill it.

Part-singing is one of the great joys of choral singing. The challenge of singing an independent line and that satisfying feeling of creating harmony and musical interest is both fun and motivating for singers (of all ages!). But how do you teach that?

Teaching similes and metaphors is the first step in moving your students beyond literal meaning and teaching them to mature as writers. Students need to see and hear figurative language many times before they will use it in their own... #ELAlessons #fifthgradesimiles #howtoteachfigurativelanguage

There are so many excellent movies for kids that teachers can and should show in class. Here are 6 Reasons to Show Movies in Class (without feeling guilty)

Teachers like starting the school year feeling well-prepared and confident. Read about 5 Strategies for a Solid Start to Your School Year

Math centers make me leap with joy, and so this blog series is a blast to write! Today we are talking about math center schedules. If you missed any of the other posts in the series, you can click below to get caught up. Part 1: Why You Need to Have Math Centers Part 2:

Teaching similes and metaphors is the first step in moving your students beyond literal meaning and teaching them to mature as writers. Students need to see and hear figurative language many times before they will use it in their own... #ELAlessons #fifthgradesimiles #howtoteachfigurativelanguage

Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of

Song Index

After working with my students with this reciprocal teaching framework for the past month, I realized that they need a lot more expli...

This sixth grade teacher discussed the use of a clipboard system to help manage classroom behavior...

the powerpoint is here

I used to do a grammar club at lunchtimes. I've had a few requests from chln to bring it back! This is year 5 :)

Today one of my kindergarten classes earned their very first free day in music. I'm sure it sounds crazy, but our free days are actually ...

Being a teacher is tough work. These memes sum up some of the situations we deal with on a regular basis. Which ones can you identify with most? Copy Machine Problems: Staff Meetings and Inservice/…

Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of

I started back to school this past week with my kids on Tuesday. I had such a great first week and I am so excited to be back making music with them. We spent our first few days going over music room rules and procedures (click here to see rules post), emergency drills, and jumped right into making music. Can I just say that I LOVE pinterest! I found so many great ideas for back to school games through Pinterest as well as from Susan during Level 3. I thought I would share some of the really fun ones that the students enjoyed our first few days back: "Up The Ladder" is a great game for learning the names of your new students. "Down, Down Baby" is from the Amidons. SO FUN! Apparently this is a favorite, because it's being sung on the bus! Hickety Pickety Bumblebee is a fun one to use with K/1. In first grade you could review four voices with "can you sing (whisper, call, speak) your name to me". With kindergarten, it might be a bit intimidating to ask them to sing their name to you on day 1 of music, but let's be honest we are still learning all their names several weeks into the school year. Pull this out with them a little bit later (maybe after you have presented the four voices) and do this then. Mamalama: I learned this in Level 3, and we take it a bit faster than in this video, but it is SO FUN! I even had a student get the last part after just a few listenings. CRAZY! What are some of your favorite first day songs and activities? Still looking for ways to set up and decorate your room? This music room decor catalog will give you lots of idea, plus a back to school tip on each page!

Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of

Teachers like starting the school year feeling well-prepared and confident. Read about 5 Strategies for a Solid Start to Your School Year

My grade 4 students are preparing to go to the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra concert at the end of the month. The orchestra will be playing the Ode to Joy movement from Beethoven's 9th. Today The kids listened to the piece and we talked about what instruments we heard, if we recognized the melody, where have we heard it, etc. Then we learned the melody on the boomwhackers! It was so fun and the kids really enjoyed playing a recognizable piece on the boomwhackers. I found this great Smartboard resource from the Smart Exchange. Click HERE to grab the free download! Thanks to amcastle for submitted this great resource. Look at their other resources on the Smartexchange! I also love showing fun video covers of the orchestral pieces we have listening to and learned about. Here is a fun one that uses Ode to Joy! Do you have any gems for helping to teach any Beethoven pieces? - Steph

Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of

I've been asked to share my assessments and those that I use. Assessments are snapshots of a child's current ability to perform a certain skill. This can show normal development, regression or advancement in the different areas. It can also identify areas of concern or where additional support may be needed. Providers see children for many hours every day, can compare them to current and former students, and see them in a variety of motor, cognitive and emotional/social situations. Often providers are the first to notice a potential developmental issue. Assessments give an additional, unbiased, tool in determining developmental growth. Parents are often resistant to being told that there may be something wrong with their child, even if they feel in their gut that this is true. Please seek assistance in presenting concerns to them, and do so delicately and factually, without opinion or unprofessional diagnosis. If not trained, then please do not rely on any informal assessment as an indicator of developmental concern. If you feel there is some indication that a child is delayed, then please provide the parents specific things you have observed and assessment results, and encourage them to ask their pediatrician and/or to take their child for professional assessment. In the United States, developmental screenings are free through the school districts and if concerns are found, resources are made available for professional interventions. These are the types of assessments I utilize and have included below: Developmental Profiles ASQ Journal Assessment Preschool Skill Assessment Reading Assessments Multiple Intelligence Assessment Giftedness Assessment Autism Assessment ADD/ADHD Learning Styles Assessment Personality Assessment Since my formal education is in Human Resources, I have master's level classes behind me in creating, implementing and utilizing assessments. I'm sure that's why I have always used them since doing care. It was just something I KNEW to do. HOWEVER, please keep in mind that every child is different, develops at a different rate, and has personality traits that drastically impact each one's progress. Additionally, children often take two steps forward, one step back, a cha-cha to the left, and a polka to the right as they meander or zip or leap along the path of development. That path, though, is linear. All children follow a very prescribed path of development. Only their steps along it vary. Note as well, that a child's brain focuses on EITHER motor skills or language skills at any given time, and not both at once. For most children, it switches between the two skill sets regularly, so that their motor and language skills stay in relative sinc as they mature. Some children, though, may be so focused on one or the other that they become exceptional at motor skills and seem delayed in language, OR they become exceptional in language and seem delayed in motor skills. When the brain is focusing on one area or the other, a child may seem to LOSE some of the other set of skills. For instance, they can stop speaking as well or as often when learning a new motor skill. Or, they can seem to become clumsy as they focus on new language skills. This is normal. As long as a child is noticeably progressing in one area or the other, there is usually no reason for concern in the pre-school years. DEVELOPMENTAL PROFILES Developmental profiles specify the type of development that is usually observed in an average child at a specific age in the areas of motor, cognitive, language and social/emotional growth. As I said, development is linear. Children normally progress at a very steady pace along the developmental path. That progress can be assessed through developmental profiles/checklists. Mine are set up for 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 year evaluations. Since mine are a compilation taken directly from three texts, I can not publish them. However, there are others out there available for your use. While mine are much more in-depth than this one from Syracuse University, I think it is a WONDERFUL one for providers to use, especially since it is based in part upon ASQ and is relatively short and easy to complete. If you would like to explore the subject more, and create more in-depth assessments like mine, this is the book that I own and would HIGHLY recommend. It is pricey, but you may be able to get your local library to purchase it for you to borrow. Since this was a text book I had when I went back for some Early Childhood Education college credits, it's simply just what I have always used. I felt it was important that I make my own developmental assessments that went farther than age 5, since my students have historically had skills FAR beyond what was covered in a normal checklist. Hence the need for me to have profiles up to age 7. My current pre-k students are 4-5 years old and are working at a 2nd grade level. I've been able to track that advanced progress since they arrived as babies, noting skills they may be accomplishing one to two years ahead. For instance, little Miss H just turned 3, but has been swinging independently on a swing for over 6 months. That is a developmental checklist item for age 5. By having all the developmental profiles/checklists, I can mark off that skill and the date at which I first observed it and the date when I viewed it as mastered. 16 Gestures by 16 Months "Research with young children indicates that the development of gestures from 9 to 16 months predicts language ability two years later, which is significant because preschool language skills predict academic success. Find out what gestures children should be learning each month from 9 to 16 months. By 16 months, children should use at least 16 gestures." 9 months: give, shake head 10 months: reach, raise arms 11 months: show, wave 12 months: open-hand point, tap 13 months: clap, blow a kiss 14 months: index finger point, "shhh" gesture 15 months: head nod, thumbs up, hand up 16 months: other symbolic gestures like high 5, fist bump, etc. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/baby-and-toddler-milestones-16-gestures-16-months ASQ Unlike the developmental profiles/checklists that you can use at any time and track progression over the years, the Ages & Stages Questionnaires are very simple, accurate professional assessment tools conducted at very specific ages. ASQ certification is being offered to child care providers through a very short training session. This is one of the assessments most often performed through the school districts and is offered by some pediatricians. Even if you aren't trained, this one is pretty idiot-proof, and this link has them all, 2 months through 5 years, broken down by 2 month intervals through age 2 and pacing farther out through age 5. It also includes a listing of intervention activities. It's a good one for the parents as well. Some states mandate that the ASQ be conducted by child care professionals on the children in their care. I can see this being expanded to other states. JOURNAL ASSESSMENTS Scheduled journaling provides a snapshot of a child's fine motor and cognitive advancement. We journal every Monday starting as soon as they can hold a crayon and not eat all of it. They draw a picture and when done, I ask them to tell me about it and journal their response at the bottom. Above my desk I keep these two assessment matrices for reference. From HeidiSongs: From Susan Donley: This topic was covered thoroughly in my writing post, so you can get more information there. For assessment purposes, though, I am looking for leaps in development as they start including in their drawings lines, circles, shapes, letters, recognizable figures, recognizable scenery, signage, notes, etc. and assessing whether their progress is in line with development for their age. PRESCHOOL ASSESSMENTS My initial preschool assessment was based upon the first one my son had received from kindergarten. Since my goal was to have my students kindergarten ready when they graduated pre-k, I felt that was a good starting point. Since then, it has been DRASTICALLY overhauled, since I teach a lot of skills that were not on it. Even now, I am tweaking it to add even more skills that these children are accomplishing that previous students have not. It is always a work in progress. The Progress Report, cutting assessment sheets, and all master assessment sheets are available for FREE via my TPT Store. On the back side, I have the children draw a self portrait and write their names. On the side, I note the physical features they point out. The goal is to have a self-portrait with at least 5 identifiable features before kindergarten. At the bottom, I have room to make notes. I also do 2 cutting assessments. The second one, is a cut and paste activity. On this one, in addition to the cutting, I am assessing their placement choice in how they utilize the space given on the assessment sheet. To do these preschool assessments, I have master assessment sheets that I have in a binder, such as this one for identification of numbers 1-20. We do these over several days, and I always ask if they WANT to do them and let them choose which area they want to do. Between subjects, I ask if they wish to continue. I make it pretty fun, and they like to show off what they know. If they get them all correct for two assessments in a row, I consider the item mastered and will not assess it again. On the Progress Report form is a place for how many of the 120 graphemes the child knows I did not include a list. If you know what it is, then you probably don't need one, and if you don't, then you probably need to read up on it some. Debbie Hepplewhite has a good listing of the 44 phenomes and 120 graphemes to reference. Most of these are covered in the Now I'm Reading! series that we use. She also has some wonderful teaching resources at her website Phonics International. Additional information is included with the file. It is a Word file, so you will need that program to open. READING ASSESSMENTS I use the emergent reading program I Can Read! by Nora Gaydos and am aware of where the children are at any given time while doing this program. Once completed, they move on to more advanced readers. While Grade Level Equivalent and Lexile scores of the books they read can give some indication of a child's reading level, often at the preschool level they simply prefer books with more pictures, or books of a certain genre, or to not push themselves. So, their actual reading level can be masked. The reading program All About Reading just happens to have FREE reading assessments for each of their levels, pre-reader through level 4. I just tested one of my pre-k students by having her read all of the bold words and phrases in a particular assessment and checking the other criteria against what I have observed her knowing. It was a very good tool. The assessments are about half way down the page. Sonlight curriculum also has a good reading assessment. It is a single assessment that builds in complexity until the child reveals their level. There are two reading assessments available on A2Zhomeschooling.com. One is the San Diego Quick Reading Assessment Test. These tests are simple read throughs until the child gets stuck, and that shows their level. KINDERGARTEN READINESS ASSESSMENT If you are simply wondering if a child has all the components in place to be successful in kindergarten, there are many checklists available for this assessment. This one from Education.com seems to be pretty inclusive. Just Google "kindergarten readiness checklist" for a ton more options. MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENT All children have different strengths and weaknesses. Laura Candler has a FREE multiple intelligences assessment available at her TPT store. I used this on my son and it was nice to have my suspicions confirmed. It's easy to use. Mrs. Hugh's Place also has several downloadable pdf files on multiple intelligence. GIFTEDNESS ASSESSMENT It is often not possible to assess for giftedness in the preschool years and most school districts will not do so until at least half way through first grade. Usually giftedness shows itself through speaking and reading at a very young age in comparison to the norm. However, this chart gives some other good indicators as to whether a child may be gifted. Here's an on-line quiz that asks questions about 2 year-olds to determine potential giftedness. There is also a post on this site where I discuss the differences I see in normal vs. advanced vs. gifted preschoolers. AUTISM ASSESSMENT Early signs of autism can often be detected in infants as young as 6-18 months. For example, if a baby fixates on objects or does not respond to people, he or she may be exhibiting early signs of an autism spectrum disorder. Older babies and toddlers may fail to respond to their names, avoid eye contact, lack joint attention (sharing an experience of observing an object or event by gazing or pointing), or engage in repetitive movements such as rocking or arm flapping. They may play with toys in unusual ways, like lining them up or focusing on parts of toys rather than the whole. - Autism Science Foundation An early assessment tool that can be used as early as 6 months is the head lag assessment. The link includes information and a video of how it is done. While this is not at all something that I would discuss with parents or use as a basis to form a strong opinion, in doing this at 6 months, I can see if there is an issue with motor control, work with that, and if it doesn't correct, then I keep in the back of my mind that this could be a potential issue. Many providers wonder if a child is showing signs of potentially having autism. Again, most parents do NOT want to hear that there may be something wrong with their child. This is more to make sure that YOU are possibly on the right track and can begin to make note to the parents of specific, observable behavior that may indicate an issue. This is the full FREE Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers. ADD/ADHD ASSESSMENT This is a fairly comprehensive questionnaire, by Dr. Amen on his site Soul Healers, that determines the 7 types of ADD/ADHD a person can have. The questions are relevant for children to adults. LEARNING STYLE ASSESSMENT While I try to incorporate ALL learning styles into my teaching, if I feel that I'm just not reaching a particular student, I will do a learning style assessment to ensure that my methods are appropriate for that child, or if I need to tweak my teaching to better address that particular child's learning. This one is from Scholastic for ages 3-5 years old. PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT I LOVE this Harkey-Jourgensen Early Childhood Temperament Sorter for ages 4-8 personality assessment by Parenting by Temperament. I think every time I've done it, it has come out spot on for the child. It uses the same types as the Myer's Briggs Personality Type that is usually given in corporations. It just gives an additional insight into a child's temperament and the website is excellent for guiding you when your personality may not be the best match for the child in your care, and how to handle issues that may arise. It is also good for parents who may have a personality type drastically different from their child. They can see that their child is different, not JUST acting up. There is also a teen and adult version, also FREE. RESOURCES: Phonological Awareness has games to teach specific sounds. Reading Rockets has excellent information on how to read so children will learn. The Child Whisperer 4 personality types of children. Tags: reading, assessment, preschool assessment, infant assessment, toddler assessment, infant, toddler, parenting, child care, preschool, pre-k, daycare, developmental assessment, teaching, why is my toddler, is my toddler,

After using Whole-Brain Teaching rules for 8 years I gave up them up and here’s why. Like many of you I fell in love with Whole Brain Teaching. It is engaging and aligns so easily with who I am as a teacher. Like all teachers however, we need to stay fresh. We need to be continuously reflecting on our practice. As I began planning last year I started

Hello, this is Lindsay Jervis, from Pursuit of Joyfulness and Lindsay's Kodaly Inspired Classroom (on facebook). “The most important thing is to actualize the instinctive love of the child for singing and playing, to realize the changing of his moods through the songs, his feelings, his experiences. . . in other words, to bring about the miracle of music.” (Adám, in The Kodály Concept, 1966, p. 2) But HOW do we keep them singing as they get older? I really do believe that the love of music and singing must be something that is instilled from a very young age (most likely before they even enter our classrooms) because of the exposure to music and their musical experience in the home, but that being said, I do believe what we do once them come to elementary school can have a profound impact on what they think of music and music class and whether they WANT to continue in music as they go on through schooling and life. With the little ones, I have always felt this comes easy. Song, stories, and play are so much a part of what they love to do. With the old grades (I'm thinking 3rd-5th), you have to carefully select music, games, and activities that have just the right amount of challenge to peak their interest, keep them engaged, and meet their skill level without becoming too difficult that they give up and become frustrated. In my psychology of Music Ed class last semester we talked about the inverted U - as the challenge goes up, the performance and enjoyment of the students goes up until they reach their skill peak. After that peak, students feel stress, anxiety and give up on the task or "think it's stupid". This is where it is really important to know where your kids are at and select appropriate songs for them. The songs cannot be too babyish (even if the students really are beginners and need to practice things like steady beat and basic rhythm or tonal patterns). I still really consider my older students to be older beginners. I started at my school three years ago and my kids had NO method of reading rhythms or pitches when I got there, so that coupled with my maternity leave my 2nd year there, and they are still not quite up to speed, but that is ok. It is better to go at the pace of the students and do developmentally appropriate literature than push ahead for the sake of staying "on grade level". Here are some songs and games that I have done with my students. In some of these cases, we have used them to isolate rhythm or melodic concepts, but some we have used purely for the joy they bring students while participating. If you find a song that students can't wait to sing/play again- it's a GEM! Hang onto it! You know this one is a gem when I have 5th graders still request it every time they earn a free day. The game is very simple. Students are seated in a circle with their hands behind their back. One student is "it". I call it the "detective" with the older kids and for some reason that is cooler than "it". The first time we play I go around the outside of the circle with a key hidden in my hand. I hide the key in someone's hands. Once I have made it around the circle once, I stop and the detective gets three guesses to try to figure out where the key is. This song is great for older beginners because of the easy rhythms, it is also great for teaching re. With my older beginners I started melody with mi re do instead of sol-mi. Pre-made visuals for this song available here. This song is great for teaching sixteenth notes and the game is a lot of fun. Set up students in a double circle. Inside circle will move clockwise, outside circle will move counterclockwise during the song. Select two chicken farmers. They stand facing away from the circle on opposite sides of the circle. All students in the circles join hands and teacher selects one "window" in each circle. On the last word of the song (I only use verse 1 when playing the game), the selected partners hold their arms up to create a window. The two farmers must race, only going through the "open windows" to get to the middle. I usually borrow a rubber chicken from my PE teacher to throw in the middle. The kids think it is hilarious. This play party is played in longways sets with two lines facing each other (typically one line of boys and one line of girls). Verse 1, the first girl skips around both lines and back to her place. Verse 2, "pretty little Susie skips around set and boys line follows until all are back in their places. Verse 3, cast off, or "peel the banana", head couple forms an arch at the bottom of the set and everyone goes under the arch and the song starts over with a new head couple. Use when preparing and practicing tiri-tiri. If you would like visuals and assessment tools like the one below for this song, you can find some here. I use this song when preparing and practicing tiri-ti. I have one person travel around the circle with two envelopes. Ones says "Ida Red" the other says "Ida Blue". Inside each envelope is an action like crawl, skip, gallop, twirl, crabwalk, hop on one foot, etc. On the last word of the song, the person with the envelopes stops between the two closest people and hands an envelope to each. They take out one card then when I say go, they race around the circle performing that action. If I feel one has an unfair advantage (like crab walk vs. run), I can make one go around twice. The winner gets to be "it" and the game resumes. This one is great for low la! The following two songs were a lot of fun for my fifth grades to create an arrangement of for our Fall Program last year. We used these plus "Who Has Seen the Wind" and added ostinato patterns and added Orff instruments. Each class was responsible for arranging how they wanted to perform the song. They might have chosen to singing sing just the ostinato, then add the melody, then sing and play on barred instruments, and then sing a capella as they traded spots with the next class who was moving onto the barred instruments. It was different for each class and it allowed for them to take something that we were working on in class, take ownership and polish it so that it was something we could present to parents. I used Mamalama strictly for the joy of it last year. It was a great "ice breaker" game for back to school time. My kids loved the challenge of learning the words. I had one girl nail it the first week, which was really cool. You could use this in prepping for fa but it is probably not one that I would use to present fa. This is another one that was played for the joy of it. My kids aren't to low ti yet and the syncopated rhythms are a bit above my kids, but they still need to sing and play this hand clapping game because it is fun. Here's a video of the hand clapping game:

Music class is an active, engaging, and joyful experience! This is especially true when our musical activities are grounded in creative and intentional teaching strategies. One of the most important teaching strategies has to do with teaching the difference between steady beat and the rhythm of

Grammar is one of those subjects that kids typically don't enjoy. It's really not that much fun. I was probably one of the weird ones in school that actually enjoyed grammar. However, as a homeschool

There has never been a better time to take up a new hobby.

Punctuation comprises certain marks that show the relationship of words, or used to place emphasis on words.

Reading with a pen in hand. Questioning as you read. Responding to a text. Whatever name we give it, annotating is one of the best reading tools we can give to our students. When it becomes habit…