Looking for a way to build intention and reflection into your day? Try taking a page out of Ben Franklin’s book! He began each day with a morning question: And ended with an evening question: You might ask children to quietly visualize themselves “doing good” or invite them to turn and talk with a friend […]
Archives for 2017
Christmas Kindness Countdown Calendar
It’s so easy to find yourself at the end of December asking, “What did we actually accomplish this month?” So this year, I decided to be a bit more intentional about the holiday hullabaloo and created a Holiday Kindness Countdown Calendar that would encourage kindness and a season of giving. Preparing for the Countdown During […]
Exploring Needs and Wants in Kindergarten
November began with an opportunity to participate in our school wide Helping Hands Drive and to live out our Positivity Project motto, “Other People Matter.” Kindergarten got involved by “advertising” the drive over the school announcements. Since we were collecting toys, clothing, and food, it was a great opportunity to teach children the difference between […]
Our Kindergarten Friendship Feast
Inside: This post explores ways to focus on friendship and unity at Thanksgiving, with a friendship feast, where children work together to make a friendship fruit salad. Why a Friendship Feast? It can be tricky to know how best to approach Thanksgiving due to its complicated history. I decided to have a friendship feast with […]
5 Steps to Teach Number Writing Using Formation Rhymes
Inside: Follow these 5 steps to teach number writing using formation rhymes that follow a fine motor path. Don’t Forget to Teach Number Writing! It’s so easy to fast forward through math instruction and forget to spend time on number writing, only to find yourself reteaching “3” in the middle of a place value unit. […]
Positivity Project: Open-mindedness
I went into this week unsure of how I might introduce this character strength to kinders, but was pleasantly surprised at how quickly they grasped it, especially as it relates to trying new things. We began by listening to Green Eggs and Ham and the children named foods they have been “close-minded” about. One little […]
Positivity Project: Curiosity
The first character strength introduced with the Positivity Project is curiosity. This was a great one to begin the year because it provided opportunities for us to explore children’s interests and model a curious disposition (I wonder…) from the get go! While “wondering aloud” can be done with any read aloud, here are some […]
Co-Created Kindergarten Class Rules: Can We Do Whatever We Want?
Inside: Here I share an inquiry journey, that led to a set of student-created class rules in kindergarten. It All Started With a Question At kindergarten orientation, I asked, “What do you want to know about kindergarten?” There were a lot of typical questions about the bus, lunch, toys, and where they would sit. […]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 6
- Next Page »