Introduce graphs for kids by starting with the simple bar graph. The height of each bar gives information, helping the children notice which columns have more objects and which columns have fewer objects. Bar graphs also help children sort and organize information. Stage one - Just like teaching any concept to this age group, children learn as they describe, explain, and consider ideas with ... continue reading...
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INVESTIGATING SQUIRRELS
One crisp autumn morning, the father of one of my students brought in a box containing branches and leaves. Curled up in the center were three baby squirrels. The dad told us that the mother squirrel had been killed by a car and that he was taking the babies to a wildlife rehabilitation center. The babies, born pink and naked, had some fur on them so he thought they were about a month old. The ... continue reading...
TIDAL POOLS
What lives in tidal pools? Although tidal pools are complex environments, it is easy to focus children's attention on discovering and observing characteristics of a few tidepool animals and plants and their survival requirements. Start the unit with a collection of dead and dried shells, crabs, limpets, barnacles and other items that children can touch and examine. Tips for teaching about ... continue reading...
ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES
Various educational curriculums use the acronym, CARE, standing for complexity, aesthetics, responsibility, and ethics when teaching environmental education activities. Helping children understand that there are many ways that they can participate in making the earth a healthier place to live, by planting a tree seedling, for instance, can have long term consequences. Below find a brief ... continue reading...
VISITING TIDEPOOLS
Pre-trip planning: 1. Check the tide charts before setting a date. For the safety of the children it is important to choose a day and time with a very low tide. Tidepools are rocky pools on the shore which are filled with seawater and many of them only occur at low tides. Tides listed in minus feet are the lowest. When looking at a summer tide chart, remember to check to see if it is adjusted ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN PATTERN ACTIVITIES
Teach children to recognize, create, copy and extend patterns using games and activities. Preschool and kindergarten pattern activities can be taught in short five-minute segments and with games such as "Copycat" and "What's Hiding?". Use the correct pattern block names as the children are involved in activities and games and they will soon start using pattern block vocabulary. Give children ... continue reading...
TIDAL POOLS - ZONES
What do I teach about tidal pools? Tidal pools form as the tide comes in and traps ocean water, plants and animals in crevices in the rocks or beach. Twice a day when the tide goes out and then in, pools of sea water are left in the rocky pockets along the shore. Tidal pools can be small, shallow puddles found high up on the shore or huge, deep pools nearer the sea. The animals and plants in ... continue reading...
LITERATURE BASED EASTER CRAFT
Combine scraps of construction paper, a child's imagination and inspiration from the "Runaway Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown and watch kids create unique literature based Easter crafts. The one below with the pop up bunny was designed by a five-year old. Instead of providing your students with ready made worksheets for crafts, art or literature, let them use their resourcefulness to create ... continue reading...
WHO LET THE GIRAFFES IN?
Teach successfully - a child's perspective When my granddaughter was six, she told me that a man from the local hydro company had visited her school during an assembly. His topic was, "How to save energy". She and a group of other children had heard his instructions, "to shut the doors so the giraffes don't come in". They had all been a bit puzzled about it. She said there was ... continue reading...
HANDS ON MATH ACTIVITIES
Children need to have hands on math activities that incorporate their senses, that require them to touch things, experiment and make observations, and that allow them time to investigate a concept further. Teaching math with worksheets does not encourage divergent thinking or risk taking. It leads children to think that there is only one way to complete a task and that there is only one right ... continue reading...
6 WAYS TO HELP CHILDREN MAKE FRIENDS
Learning how to be a good friend involves body language skills, basic friendship skills such as offering to help or share, as well as conversational skills. These skills do not come easily to all children (or adults!). Kids need to learn the words to say to enter into a group of children already playing, to know how to invite others to play with them and to figure out how to settle problems ... continue reading...
BRINGING NATURE INTO THE CLASSROOM
Nothing beats the benefits students gain from learning outside but if that's just not feasible, bringing nature into the classroom gives children opportunities to value animals and plants. It gives kids time to wonder and ask questions and inspires them to investigate further. Once you get organized for bringing plants and animals inside and discover how motivated children are by ... continue reading...
TIDE POOLS
What are tide pools? Tide pools are rocky pools filled with seawater near oceans. They can be small, shallow puddles or huge, deep holes. These habitats are called tide pools and are filled with many plants and animals. Although this environment is complex, young children can focus on learning characteristics and names of a few tide pool animals and are fascinated by the variety of plants and ... continue reading...
HOMESCHOOL PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM
There's a lot to consider when buying a kindergarten or preschool curriculum. What's included in the kit, what is a typical day like, what will my children learn, will I receive any support are all questions that you may be thinking about. Some will be wondering if it is necessary to buy a homeschool preschool curriculum (or kindergarten curriculum)? Questions such as, what do I need to teach ... continue reading...
BEST TEACHING METHODS
Keep motivation intrinsic Young children are generally motivated to learn about everything. Unless they have been made fun of regularly, when investigating or presenting their knowledge, they usually have a strong desire to find out and share information. One of the best teaching methods is to motivate children by modeling enthusiasm and curiosity. Motivation comes from within (intrinsic) and ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN SOCIAL STUDIES TOPICS
Teaching about the following four kindergarten social studies topics helps children become thoughtful, responsible, and active citizens, and helps them be able to see situations from other people's viewpoints. Students learn to identify a variety of roles and responsibilities in their environment as well as gaining an understanding of their roles as members of society. They are ... continue reading...
LEARN TO APPRECIATE PARENTS
In your efforts to become a successful teacher, it's key to appreciate parents and to learn to work them. Often new teachers feel nervous about having parents in the classroom but remember, the parents are nervous too. You'll probably have to guide them in their roles, to begin with. (see more on this below). Parent helpers are an invaluable resource, are enthusiastic and many will help with ... continue reading...
RECYCLING FOR KIDS - 2
Recording recycling experiences A "Recycling for Kids", investigation offers many opportunities for young children to record their experiences and observations. After taking a week or two sorting, counting and weighing classroom recycling and trash (read post here...), students may want to complete the following activities. Hopefully your students have a compost to investigate at the school or ... continue reading...
DRAWING FOR KIDS
Step-by-step drawing continued - completing the pictures After completing the first page of step-by-step drawing, which teaches children how to make the basic circle shape and how to divide their page, then go on to the next step, teaching them to draw a picture in each box using the shape they just learned to make. Demonstrate one step of each picture at a time, and check often to see that ... continue reading...
STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING
What is step-by-step drawing and why do we teach it ? Also known as directed or guided drawing, it is a process where children (and adults) are provided with step-by-step instructions to help them draw a picture of a specific thing. Many children arrive at school in September and draw with great confidence but there are always some who say they don't know how to draw and are reluctant to ... continue reading...
ART FOR CHILDREN - 8 SKILLS FOR SUCCESS
Many young children start daycare, preschool or kindergarten without basic art skills and have not had opportunities to explore art projects or products. Students entering a school environment may get frustrated when they see their peers' successful creations while the ones they make fall apart or do not meet up to what they are trying to achieve . Teach these 8 basic skills to help your ... continue reading...
LIGHT SCIENCE FOR KIDS
Introduce light science for kids with fun activities and experiments. As children explore making reflective collages, peep boxes, and participate in straight line and blocked shadow experiments their vocabulary of light science words will increase. They'll discover the differences between transparent, translucent and opaque as they play with colored papers and / or make a colored paper ... continue reading...
LIGHT SCIENCE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
Introduce color and light science activities for kids during the winter season. Lights are everywhere, and papers, ribbons and objects that glitter, sparkle and reflect are easily available. Give students plenty of hands on experiences by collecting or borrowing flashlights, LED lights, a lightbox (plastic, not glass), kaleidoscopes, electric tea lights, prisms and transparent plastic ... continue reading...
ART PAINTING IDEAS - TORN PAPER
Looking for new art painting ideas? Torn paper art is an uncomplicated and creative art idea for kids.Children explore shape and the processes of painting and stencilling using their imaginations, experimentation, and purposeful play. It's a 2-step process as there is drying time in between. The end results will all look different. As this is a messy art painting project, it works well to ... continue reading...
REMEMBRANCE DAY FOR KIDS
It can be a challenge to explain Remembrance Day for kids to understand it. The complicated subject of war, the debt civilians owe soldiers for their efforts and sacrifice will most likely be investigated more thoroughly in the older grades. The apple stamp poppy art lesson below is a good introduction to the subject and an excellent follow up after you have read a few books to your students ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN MATH MANIPULATIVES
Kindergarten math manipulatives help educators present math concepts in ways that make sense to young children and that are mindful of their natural inquisitiveness. Math manipulative is just a fancy way of saying math equipment. Kindergarten math manipulatives provide a hands-on way for children to discover, explore and learn math concepts. Math manipulatives encourage tactile learning ... continue reading...
ART EDUCATION BOOKS
Looking for art education books that cultivate creativity and the development of skills? The following 6 books not only do that but also introduce children to a variety of tools and materials.They provide you with ideas to ignite children's imaginations and show you how to introduce new techniques, artistic styles and artists in ways that keep children interested. Art education books generally ... continue reading...
LIGHT AND COLOR INVESTIGATIONS
Young children begin to observe light and color at an early age. They notice sunbeams shining through window panes, rainbows from prisms and beveled mirrors in their homes, and are curious about reflections from shiny objects as they play outside. Kids discover how to make shadows with their hands on a sunny day and how to make new colors by playing with paints. They peek through colored ... continue reading...
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT TIPS
When I first started teaching, I found an old book, published by a grade one teacher in the 1950s. I don't remember the title of the book or the author's name but I do remember that it was double spaced, rare for a book back then, and I also remember being impressed by a simple classroom management tip she recommended. The teacher said she kept a checklist of student names on her desk and ... continue reading...
COUNTING ACTIVITIES
A terrific way to introduce counting activities to the class is to read,1, 2, 3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle. His beautiful picture books have the qualities required for preschool and kindergarten children. In this story, brightly colored animals are riding on a train to their new homes at the zoo one elephant, two hippos, three giraffes, all the way up to ten birds. This story shows all the ... continue reading...
TEN TERRIFIC MATH MANIPULATIVES
The following 10 math manipulatives are not only great for teaching math concepts and vocabulary, they also encourage imaginative play and exploration. Young children need hands-on interaction with 3-dimensional math manipulatives when learning math. Using math manipulatives makes it easier for kids to discuss their math thinking with you and their peers, encourages them to ask questions, ... continue reading...
VETERANS DAY ACTIVITIES
On Veterans Day, Americans thank and honour the men and women who serve and have served in the military. Veterans Day is observed on November 11th of each year and used to be called Armistice Day. It's an opportunity to teach children to thank those who have protected our freedoms and remind them of the sacrifices made by veterans and their families. Children learn, through activities, ... continue reading...
REMEMBRANCE DAY ACTIVITIES
Find Remembrance Day activities such as bookmarks, vocabulary, counting activity, links for teachers and parents, and books below. In Canada, people thank and honour the men and women who served in the military on Remembrance Day. It is celebrated on November 11th of each year. (American? Check out the Veterans Day page...) Canadians wear a poppy to honour those in uniform who have ... continue reading...
ART HISTORY FOR KIDS
Art history for kids can start at any age. Teaching art history helps children appreciate both art and the artist. The more children view works of art by great artists, learn details of the artists' lives and participate in activities and discussions about them, the more meaningful the art will become. Having large images of art displayed low enough for children to touch and closely look ... continue reading...
ART EDUCATION LESSONS
Begin art education lessons by teaching your students basic art skills and organizing your art supplies in a way that makes less work for you. Many young children have not had opportunities to explore elementary art materials and benefit from having daily art experiences. Children who express themselves with art gain small motor skills, gain confidence, practice making decisions, and transfer ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN MINI-BOOKS TIPS
Kindergarten mini books are a quick way for children to explore new ideas and enjoy stories. Sending the books home after using them at school, let's parents share in their children's new knowledge. Besides developing literacy skills, mini books are also useful for prompting children to think about and understand the concept of sequence. Children put the pages in the correct order, either by ... continue reading...
MORE PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
Young children enjoy picture books about everyday objects and experiences. They like text with good rhythm and word repetition and love funny characters. The following picture books for children are suitable for 3 - 7 year olds. Choose picture books that tell a good story and they will inspire children to draw, to create characters with art materials and to act out the stories. Provide ... continue reading...
SUPPORT PARENTS
Help your student's parents or guardians feel supported by helping them recognize the important roles they play in modeling learning and thinking skills in their children. Show them how children learn with concrete materials by referring them to a sample math lesson with manipulatives. Keeping them informed of what is going on in the classroom with an easy to read calendar to post on the fridge ... continue reading...
APPLE THEMES - MORE MATH & LITERATURE CONNECTIONS
Investigating apples with an apple theme works well in late September and early October. Add to the math and literature connections found in the post, "Ten Apples Up on Top", with the great story, "Caps for Sale", by Esphyr Slobodkina. Caps for Sale is a folktale and subtitled, A Tale of a Peddler, Some Monkeys, and Their Monkey Business. Instead of balancing apples on top of his head like the ... continue reading...
TEN APPLES UP ON TOP ACTIVITY
Connecting math and literature enhances students' mathematical understanding. "Ten Apples Up On Top", by Theo. Le Sieg's (Dr. Suess) is not only a fun story, it also helps students practice counting and increases number sense. This is a terrific story about animals balancing apples on their heads. It's funny and children love it. The characters become quite competitive as the story progresses ... continue reading...
RESPONDING TO READING - KINDERGARTEN
Responding to reading is a fun and creative experience for children. Instead of relying on worksheets about the picture books you read to them, open up the imagination station, encourage process art and you'll be surprised at the unique creations the kids make as they respond to stories. After reading a story through a number of times, discuss the images and how the artist created them. Take ... continue reading...
TEACHING WITH MATH MANIPULATIVES
Teaching with math manipulatives helps children understand math concepts. Hands on learning, or learning by doing, keeps your students' attention as they naturally want to play with and explore objects. When children can touch and move manipulatives or real things when learning new skills, their senses are involved in the learning experience. They notice, experiment, question, and connect ... continue reading...
TEACHING MEASUREMENT SKILLS
Teaching measurement skills using inquiry play-based activities with open investigations, explorations, and small group, guided instruction, are best for young children. Kids learn as they talk about and consider ideas from their immediate surroundings. As they observe you comparing different heights of towers of blocks to a classroom chair will spur them on to experiment on their ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN NUMBER SKILLS
Children as young as two years old are developing an intuitive sense of number. Although they may not know how to count or understand what the words mean, they may be able to recognize a group of two or three objects. As children get older, they can recognize more objects in a group and can picture the group of numbers in their minds. As they develop more number sense, they learn that it ... continue reading...
TEACHING PATTERNS IN KINDERGARTEN
There are many opportunities throughout the day for teaching patterns in kindergarten. Children learn to recognize, create, copy and extend patterns through repeated daily activities. Integrating five-minute patterning activities into your daily schedule is not only fun for children, but also helps them to be aware of patterns in their daily surroundings. Any sets of shapes, numbers, ... continue reading...
TEACHING SYMMETRY
When teaching symmetry to young children introduce new vocabulary with hands on activities. In math, symmetry means that one shape becomes exactly like another when you move it in some way: turn it, flip it or slide it. When teaching beginners, show them that shapes on one side of a line are the same as on the other side of a line. Young children begin to understand the concepts and ... continue reading...
PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN DRAWING TIPS
As much as I love providing process art activities for preschool and kindergarten children, at times, I also want them to produce semi-recognizable pictures to illustrate class books, math, and science recording sheets, and occasionally for topic based bulletin board displays. This can be a challenge with young children who rarely think about their finished products and are, without a question, ... continue reading...
HOW TO TEACH KINDERGARTEN AND PRESCHOOL MATH
Teaching kindergarten and preschool math concepts require much more than handing children math workbooks or worksheets. Children begin to understand symbols and abstract concepts only after experiencing the ideas on a concrete level. Children need to have math experiences that incorporate their senses, that require them to experiment and make observations, and that allow them time to ... continue reading...
COOKING IN THE CLASSROOM
Thinking of adding cooking to your curriculum this year? Read below for successful cooking in the classroom tips, plus discover the benefits for your students. It can be daunting to think of cooking with 15 – 20 children. With the following suggestions and a little organization, cooking can be an easy learning experience for all. 1. Keep it simple! Forget about complicated recipes or about ... continue reading...
THANKSGIVING FOR KIDS
The Thanksgiving literacy activity below helps focus children's attention on being grateful. It's easy for children to be self-centered in a world full of consumer branding and commercials. Reading books about being thankful and collecting food and mittens and hats for the less fortunate makes children more aware of the needs of others. Buying a family livestock or chickens through agencies ... continue reading...
TEN STEPS TO TEACHING WITH MATH MANIPULATIVES
Step 1. Although it's tempting to have all your math manipulatives set up and ready to go in September, it's easier to train your students to clean up and learn routines when you put out a few tubs at a time. As children learn to care for each set of materials. then introduce more. Step 2. When teaching with hands-on materials, teach the children the correct names for them and the classroom ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN MATH - FRACTIONS
When teaching kindergarten math - fractions, it's not necessary to teach symbols such as 1/2, 1/3, 1/4 or to teach advanced vocabulary like equivalent, numerator and denominator. IT IS BENEFICIAL for young children, if fraction math lessons offer opportunities for them to develop a fraction number sense. Before they are able to do operations (adding, subtracting...) with fractions, they ... continue reading...
PRESCHOOL THANKSGIVING CRAFT
Children love festive days. This easy Thanksgiving potato turkey is always a class favorite. The children are proud to take home a center piece for the Thanksgiving dinner. Teaching children about gratitude is an ongoing process and Thanksgiving is an excellent time to teach them about being thankful. Model being thankful in your classroom. Let the children hear you saying, "I am so thankful ... continue reading...
PICTURE BOOK ILLUSTRATORS
Becoming familiar with the works of award-winning picture book illustrators is helpful when you're looking for ideas and inspiration to create and teach art lessons. Looking at picture books is a great way to introduce students to art and to inspire them to create their own works of art. Using picture books when you teach art, contributes to a child's awareness of the elements of art and the ... continue reading...
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PICTURE BOOKS FOR CHILDREN
If you're looking for picture books for children that hold their attention, the following have been a hit over and over with children throughout the years. Kids love the rhythms of great stories accompanied by bright, colourful illustrations. Children enjoy responding to literature by creating story characters, then acting out the stories, both of which add to reading comprehension. Reading ... continue reading...
KINDERGARTEN READINESS SURVIVAL SKILLS
Kindergarten readiness is not only about identifying numbers and letters. Although many children starting preschool or kindergarten can recite the alphabet, print numbers, and letters and count to 10, there are other skills necessary to survive in a classroom. A child who has had opportunities to be independent, to listen and follow basic directions, to solve problems, to lose games ... continue reading...
ART HISTORY FOR CHILDREN
Introducing art history for children will motivate them to explore art materials and experiment with different ways of making pictures. Displaying art history samples that focus on color, shape, texture, and line will encourage children to express themselves creatively. With kids, it's all about the process of making pictures, not the finished product, so make art history part of their ... continue reading...
PHONEMIC AWARENESS
Phonemic awareness is the recognition of basic speech sounds. Phonemic awareness activities help young children know that words are made of sounds. It is the skill of noticing, thinking about and working with individual sounds in words. Separating a spoken word, like cat, into three distinct sounds (or phonemes) requires a child to exercise phonemic awareness. As children learn to hear, copy ... continue reading...
ATTRIBUTE BLOCKS
Before trying the attribute block activities below, give children lots of time to play with them in an unstructured way. Some students will use them for make believe type of activities and others will use them in a more traditional way, trying to make patterns with them or sorting them by size, shape and color. Attribute blocks are math manipulatives that have four different features. These are ... continue reading...
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