Curating resources & sharing stories to empower teacher & student ownership, wonder, and daring.
The days before Christmas can be pure chaos in the classroom or at home. Excitement reigns, and kids can hardly wait for Christmas to come. If you need a quiet minute, print off this word scramble and have your kids or students work through it!
As this is a free resource, please only use it for classroom and personal use.
Can you believe that Thanksgiving Day is less than two weeks away?! It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is already upon us. I’ve created a free printable activity for you to use in your classrooms or homes. Simply have your children or students write on the lines at the bottom of the page the amount of each item they find. Click on the “download” button below to save and print a copy (or two!) for the kids in your life. You can print one off and laminate it, then have your kids use dry erase markers to write the number of items they find. You can also print off several copies and use them as a counting activity in your classrooms. Whatever way you choose to use it, have fun! Please only use for personal or classroom use, and do not sell the file. Happy I-Spying!
Teaching full time can be a demanding job. Rewarding for sure, but definitely demanding. So what happens when the demands are too much and a teacher’s health is taking a toll? For one teacher, Marianne, it meant taking a step back and stepping out of the role of classroom teacher and into the role of homeschool teacher for her own children. I had a chance to ask Marianne a few questions about her experiences in both public and home school. Here’s what she had to say!
When you were teaching in the public school system, what grade(s) did you teach?
I taught a mild/moderate special ed class with kids from kindergarten to 6th grade on my caseload.
What is something you miss about teaching in a public school?
Hmm …. I miss many of my students. There were a lot of really special kiddos that I got to work very closely with. It was so fun and rewarding to see them struggle and work so hard with something and then having it click. That lightbulb moment is super amazing!
I made a lot of good friends with many of the other teachers. I miss those friendships that helped me through those years teaching in public school. I looked up to, admired and valued many of their opinions and thoughts.
What influenced your decision to leave teaching in a public school full time?
The stress, the hours, and not feeling supported by some administrators was taking a huge toll on my health. I needed to decrease my stress so that I could be healthy.
What influenced your decision to teach your children at home rather than send them to a public school?
My oldest was getting ready to enter kindergarten when we were in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic. My husband and I didn’t want her first introduction to school to be under such stressful and unknown circumstances. I have a sister who had mentioned homeschooling years before and so that thought was already there. We decided that we would try it for kindergarten and see how it went. Homeschooling ended up being a great fit for my daughter and our whole family. I loved getting to have that time with her and that I got to experience those amazing lightbulb moments with her. All the stress, hard work, and sacrifice was worth it for us. Every year we evaluate if homeschooling is still the right fit for our family and so far it’s been a yes every year.
What are some of your favorite things about homeschooling?
I have so many favorite things! I love the researching, the planning, the time spent with my kids, the crafts, the books, the lightbulb moments. It has truly been a positive experience for us. Now that isn’t to say it’s been easy or we haven’t had whining and complaining… we have oodles of that. Some days the school bus looks kind of tempting, but really when I look at the last 5 years I wouldn’t change the decision to homeschool.
There has been a recent increase in the number of students being home taught. What do you think are the reasons for this increase?
I think there are a lot of reasons. Some reasons may be because of the increase of school violence and shootings. Some people don’t agree on topics and curriculums being used. Those reasons feel more fear based, but they are reasons.
Some other reasons that there could be an increase could be just that homeschool is talked about much more and is becoming much more “normal.” I think that during the pandemic a lot of people realized that there were a lot more options available for their children’s education than they ever knew about. I think there are more resources, more coops, more groups, more options available and it is letting parents customize the education that fits best for their child.
Some people have some misconceptions about homeschool. What would you tell someone who is feeling negatively toward homeschooling?
I think I would ask the person if they genuinely want to know more about homeschooling to change those feelings. If so, find a homeschool family and ask them about it. I don’t know a single homeschool parent who isn’t willing to talk about to people. What things are specifically bothering you about homeschooling? Get answers to those questions. If you don’t really want to change those negative feelings, just leave homeschool families alone.
Lastly, what advice would you give to someone who is considering homeschooling their children?
Do it! It’s going to feel overwhelming, but there are so many people and resources out there to help if you want to. Also write down the reasons why you are homeschooling and refer back to those in the hard days that bound to come.
Thanks, Marianne! What a neat experience for her and her family to get to share those learning moments together. How cool is it that she gets to do what she loves with those she loves the most? A rewarding experience, for sure!
Any parent of young children knows the struggle it sometimes is to keep them entertained and busy. While play really is the work of childhood, some days, kids need more than just play time. So what do you do when the clock seems to be going backwards, the kids just don’t want to play anymore, and you have just about spent every ounce of energy that you have?
Three of my children are in full day school now, and my younger two are in preschool a few days a week, but there was a time not too long ago when I spent my days trying to think of ways to pass the time without screens. I had all five of my children within five and a half years, and in those early years, often found myself scouring the internet for ideas to keep them all busy.
During that time, I learned a thing or two about what works, what doesn’t, and everything in between. Since sharing is caring, I’d like to share a few ideas that worked really well for my kids: ideas that promoted learning through experience, through sensory play, and through social interaction.
Sensory Bins
Sensory bins are my favorite way for children to learn through play. They are simple to create, easy to store, and last a long time. Our favorite sensory bin was made with beans as the base. I added some cups, spoons, little shovels, funnels, and small toys, and the stage was set for hours of fun. I learned early on that it worked best to put a large sheet under the bin to make for easy clean up. The bean bin would entertain my kids for hours on end, and would entertain all five of my kids at once. Their imaginations would soar, and they would have fun learning together.
Keepy-Uppy with Paddles
Another favorite activity was making our own paddles with small paper plates and popsicle sticks or paint stirring sticks. The goal was to keep a balloon in the air, using only the paddles to keep it up. This activity promoted learning through movement and coordination.
Matching Games
Matching is an excellent way for children to learn. It requires their brain to really look at things and find similarities and differences. It lets them notice the details of something. Versatility is another benefit of learning through matching. I’ve used matching games for color practice, learning letters and numbers, and much more. It is easy to add objects to matching games to make it go along with a theme or holiday. For instance, if the pieces are small enough, I will sometimes put the pieces to be matched inside an Easter egg. This also allows for practice of fine motor skills to open the egg, then matching skills to find the proper match.
Water Activities
Kids love playing with water. While this can be a bit messier than other activities, it allows kids to experiment with the properties of water and volume. Throw some objects into a bin of water, and it suddenly becomes a game of sink of float, inviting kids to make hypotheses about each object. If it’s warm enough outside, a bin of soapy water, some old tooth brushes, and some rocks make for a fun “rock bath” activity. Freeze some small objects (animals, pom-poms, marbles, etc.) in ice cubes, give each child a cup of water and a medicine dropper and let them squirt water on the ice to rescue the object. It has been my experience that the common phrase, “just add water” works with kids too!
There are so many ways to learn and gather information. For kids who are kinesthetic learners (and even those who aren’t!), the activities listed above can help tremendously. So the next time you feel like time has stopped and you can’t make it to bed time, try one of these easy, low prep activities. Your kids (and your sanity) will thank you!