FREE winter resources for teachers: Click HERE

Who doesn't love FREE!  Here are some FREE winter resources from Teachers Pay Teachers (click HERE): 

Most of these weekly 5 under $5 are for little learners, but one is great for Middle School!  Happy Teaching!  Click HERE.

Check out this week's resources under $5, including one of mine on grammar for 2nd - 5th grade!

Seaweed in my ice cream?

Have you ever tried to make ice cream from simply cream and sugar at home?  If so, you'll notice that it is a little grainy and icy, not like store-bought ice cream. Some ice cream contains naturally-occurring, non-digestible carbohydrate ingredients like guar, carrageenan, carob bean, xanthan, cellulose, tara gums, etc. These ingredients bind with water and distribute it during freezing, so that the frozen ice cream maintains a smooth texture. These added ingredients all have varied plant and microbial origins, but carrageenan gum itself is truly isolated from red seaweed! 

Carrageenan is a soluble fiber extracted from Irish moss, or red marine algae seaweed. It is a mixture of carbohydrates that cannot be digested or broken down in your intestines. It is not absorbed and probably provides no calories.

So, when you buy your ice cream, look to see if you are really eating seaweed!

Find other food STEM tidbits in Chef Cappy's Kitchen family cookbooks at 

www.chefcappyskitchen.com

The value of learning about number lines

In a 2016 study, researchers from the School of Psychology at Queen’s University in Belfast, found a connection between learning placement in a number line and proficiency in math in later years.  They found that the effect of number performance skills was dictated by ordering skills.  They recommended that any ordering practice, such as learning the months of the year, days of the week, and number line practice would help young students to become more proficient in math as they got older. The researchers also found that spatial representation of item order also relates to ordering and comparison skills. (Source: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2016.1246577)


So what does this mean for you and your students?  Since the number line develops learning by giving students another look at number relationships, here are some ideas:

1. Place a number line on their desks (a ruler will do!)
2. Post a number line above the whiteboard or chalkboard.
3. Hopscotch is a fun form of the number line – encourage them to play that outside.
4. Teach sequencing frequently using shapes, numbers, colored cubes, and other aids.
5. Use a blank number line (division lines but no numbers) and ask students to develop their own number line that doesn’t need to begin with 1.
6. Ask students to find number lines outside of the classroom (They may need help recognizing other forms of number lines – like plants in a garden row). 
7. Remind them that number lines don’t always need to be horizontal.  A growth chart is a good example of a vertical number line.

Now sift through the Teachers Pay Teachers resources for the use of number lines.  But if you don’t want to use worksheets and packets, go to my resource, Ducklings in a Row – a fun PowerPoint were the ducklings must insert themselves between other numbered ducklings to form a complete line from 1 to 10.  Also included is a Teacher’s Guide to help with identifying the unique personality traits of each duckling.  

Enjoy your number lines throughout the year!

Follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers at All-American Teacher Tools, on Facebook, and this Parent-Teacher-Child Blog.

NEW PowerPoint on ordinal numbers for young learners in Pre-K to 2nd grade.  Watch each duckling struggle to get into the right place in line.  The ending will surely please you!  Also included is a comprehensive Teacher Guide about character education because each of the 10 ducklings has a different personality trait.  Find it at Teachers Pay Teachers

WOW! New posts for this week from expert teachers! All under $5!
http://www.thebestofteacherentrepreneurs.net/2019/11/wednesday-weekly-5-under-5-11619.html

9 Ways to Raise an Optimist

9 Ways to Raise an Optimist

We live in a hectic, stressful, political world that makes it easy to be pessimistic and depressed. However, these attitudes aren’t helpful and can actually be harmful. All parents wants their children to be happy, healthy, and optimistic about their future, but sometimes they can lose sight of how to accomplish that state of mind. Kids who are often sullen and dejected can eventually end up depressed, so it’s important to do what you can as a parent to help prevent that from happening. Here are 10 ways to make sure you are raising an optimist and not a pessimist.

1. Affection – The first step is to show your children tons of affection. Knowing they are loved and cared for is a big part of helping kids deal with adversity. Failures in life are easier to take when children know they are loved unconditionally and without judgement.
2. Praise – Always praise your child’s accomplishments and be specific when you do. Give them feedback that links their achievements to what they did to accomplish it. An example would be to state how all the extra studying paid off with a good grade on a test.  That is better than simply saying, "Great job, keep up the good work."
3. Monitor – Pay attention to what your child is watching on television, the games they play, and the books they read. You should monitor their activities to make sure they’re not exposed to too many bad influences. Also, make sure they’re not attempting to accomplish too much, as taking on more than they can reasonably handle can set them up for failure.
4. Be an example – Children will often mirror their parent’s attitudes, so be a good example. Kids will only learn to be optimistic if you show them how. Parents who are continually complaining or are pessimistic will pass those traits on to their children.
5. Reinforcement – When your child expresses optimism, be sure to comment on their great attitude. This positive reinforcement will put the emphasis on the desired behavior instead of focusing on the negative.
6. Accentuate the positive – When something bad happens, always try to find the bright side. If bad weather cancels an event, find something fun to do instead. Accentuate the positive by commenting how you wouldn’t have had so much fun if the picnic wasn’t cancelled.  During the 9-11 terrorist attack, the positive people would say, "Look for the helpers" so the children would focus less on the evil in the attack.
7. Minimize failures – Losing a championship or failing a test may seem like the end of the world, but children don't see it that way. Parents can raise optimists if they are successful at minimizing failures or by putting them into perspective. Show your children that there is always something to be learned from failures. 
8. Promote success – Encourage kids with age-appropriate activities they are able to excel in to promote success. Having unrealistic expectations only sets children up for failure, so make sure they’re not trying to do too much, especially at your request.
9. Laugh – The best way to encourage an optimistic attitude is with lots of laughter. Teach children how to laugh at themselves and not take everything so seriously. Laughing is the best way to diffuse a troubling situation.

Life is full of challenges and failures, so an optimistic attitude will go a long way to help your children deal with problems as they grow up. As adults, having this optimism will be an important way for them to achieve success and bounce back from failures. A positive outlook will help them in personal relationships and they can lead happy lives with better mental and physical health.

Remember: Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.

Happy Parenting!

My TpT site is called All-American Teacher Tools for a reason!  I have introductory PowerPoints and a Student-Directed Learning project for EVERY state in the union plus DC.  Here is a link to Missouri, but you can search for your state, too!  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Missouri-History-PowerPoints-and-Project-Based-Learning-Packet-4841217

Surprise!

Surprise is a fun word.  It implies fun, fantasy, festivity, frivolity, and even maybe a bit of frolicking!  Bring the element of surprise into your classroom, your work environment, your students' homes, and even your own home with these easy suggestions:

• Establish a Surprise Friday with your students.  List the accomplishments they need to complete in order to enjoy the surprise.  The accomplishments might involve positive comments to other students, curriculum completion goals, or an average test grade (average all student grades to avoid singling out an unprepared student) of 80 or above.  Then figure out some surprises: Group game, music time, free play, bring in a guest speaker, plan a field trip together, group discussion on a fun topic, etc, etc, etc.
• Boost teacher morale by starting a simple Surprise Monday.  This might involve a raffle jar with a prize of a gift card to (shhh... it's a surprise - Starbucks), perhaps.  Put a sign-up sheet next to your first surprise explaining the system so other members of the faculty, administration, and support staff can bring in their own surprise that does or does not need to include a raffle jar.  
• Surprise parents with a Good Work card.  Make them up ahead of time with a fun border, space for a student's name and reason for the card, and your signature.  you might even send home a letter to the parents ahead of time letting them know that at some time during the school year, their child may receive a Good Work card and to be prepared with a small "surprise."  Keep track of who gets a Good Work card so everyone will get at least one of your surprise cards.  
• Plan for a monthly surprise activity at home.  Don't let your family members know what will happen - simply tell them all to be available at a certain time on a specific day.  What might you do?  Family game night with prizes (the prizes make the difference!), a short family outing to a destination everyone will enjoy, a treasure hunt on a nature walk (better than simply walking in the woods!), and a family movie night with popcorn and movie-style candy (well, maybe not candy, but that would be a surprise in some families!).

Remember, whatever you plan should be a surprise - known only to you until the event.  Hints are allowable, but don't make them too obvious.  I think you'll find that the element of surprise will appeal to everyone. Warn everyone that not all surprises will be outstanding but they will be surprises, nonetheless!

To find some activities that will surprise and amuse your students, go to my Teachers Pay Teachers store.  Some of my resources are free like this one to show your students how to make a pop-up greeting card for a friend or family member: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Create-a-Pop-up-Rainbow-Card-for-Senior-Citizens-589990

Please post comments if you try this activity or have something to say about surprising those around you!

Helping Stressed Kids

I found a great website that offers a variety of resources for parents and teachers of stressed children: https://stressfreekids.com/

It's $5 Wednesday again!

More teaching aids under $5!

Wow!  Five more resources under $5 - check them out, including one of mine on creating board games with your students!  Click HERE

Check it out - a FREE customizable digital random name/number/chore generator for teachers or parents: https://www.classtools.net/random-name-picker/   AND, when the name has been chosen, you can delete it from the list!

What an awesome article - text parents regarding their children.  It's more than just homework reminders! https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/09/12/mom-text-message-texting-reading-app-kids-school/2139639001/

5 Steps to Creative Classroom Projects

Have you ever noticed that someone else's class has developed much more creative writing assignments, science fair projects, or fundraising strategies?  Well, either that person is extremely lucky, extremely gifted in motivating his or her students, or simply using proven methods to stimulate creativity.  Chances are, that person is simply familiar with the 5-Step Creativity Process.  Here's how it works:

1. Immersion - Immerse your students into the topic in a very superficial way.  That might be by inspecting magazines, listening to music, even tasting the food related to a specific topic.  In step 1 there is no judgement or thoughts toward preparing an assignment.  For example, if you want your students to eventually create a project or write a report on some aspect of the Rocky Mountains, you might watch a video or movie (if you have time) set in Colorado, listen to John Denver's Rocky Mountain High, and possibly make a cooperative collage of pictures related to the Rocky Mountain on your bulletin board.

2. Incubation - Send your students home without homework. Let them go to their sports practice and piano lessons.  In the back of their minds will be their vision of the Rocky Mountains from your class. This is an extremely important stage because you students' minds need to relax before even beginning to create a project on a related topic.

3. Brainstorming - This is the fun stage where you and your students list everything and anything related to your topic.  It might be a list of subtopics, different ways to present their assignments (remember to encourage the use of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences!), or even how to organize a group effort. After brainstorming for a reasonable amount of time, cross off all the ideas that are unusable (aka really stupid!) until you come up with the best.  Remember, no idea is a bad idea in Step 3.

Do you see how much time you have spent from the minute you decided to have your students do a project on the Rocky Mountains, to the time when they will actually begin to create their projects?  This is what some people call "planning to succeed."  Whether you are in business and are looking to develop a new product, or in the classroom and looking to create a new way of learning a topic, the time leading up to the actual "workshop" is just as important as the creation itself. 

4. Creation - Now your students are ready to dive into their individual topics.  You'll find that the student who went home after Step 1 to her piano lesson may create a song that goes with her assignment.  Or the sports player might come up with a new game to play with the entire class that teaches the topic in a fun way.  Watch your students become animated and excited when they immerse themselves into your topic.  Gone are the days when teachers had to do all the work - preparing a lecture, developing a test, and then grading that test.  With this process, the students do all the work - after you set up the initial framework and grading rubric.

5. Presentation - In the final stage, students will cement their learning into either a passive or active presentation to the class. Passive learning involves creating a poster or diorama.  Active presentations include a PowerPoint presentation or organizing a game.  Remember - not all students like to be in the front of the classroom.  

In the words of Frank Oppenheimer, founder of The Exploratorium in San Francisco, "The best way to learn is to teach."

See some of my resources use this process:

• The Stone Age - A project-based learning unit for grades 4-8.
• Ancient Egypt - A project-based learning unit for grades 4-8.
• Fantasy Genre Writer's Workshop
• Mystery Genre Writer's Workshop
• Six Steps to Writing Blockbuster Nonfiction - FREE!

NEW! Weekly Wednesday 5 under $5 from Teachers Pay Teachers:  Click HERE

Teachers Pay Teachers - a sampling of resources under $5 - for many levels of education! 

http://www.thebestofteacherentrepreneurs.net/2019/09/wednesday-weekly-5-under-5-9419.html

Do you have your bulletin board ready yet?  No? Great!  I have a solution for you... My Character Education Bulletin Board Discussion Starters will give you a fresh topic every week for Friday afternoon discussion.  https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Character-Education-Bulletin-Board-Discussion-Starters-672539

Hey, Teachers,

Enter to win free stuff at Teachers Pay Teachers!

Become a TpT seller and join The Best of Teacher Entrepreneurs Marketing Cooperative at http://www.thebestofteacherentrepreneursmarketingcooperative.com/2014/01/the-best-of-teacher-entrepreneurs.html.  

And while you're wandering around TpT, visit my store.  I have something for everyone - all grades and all subjects: All-American Teacher Tools

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FREE summer reading for you and your children

Get ready to be entertained while you educate your children.  Woody's World -the story of a boy during the Great Depression is a fictionalized account of my father's escapades growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, as his family went from comfort to poverty in a few short months.  Beginning with his carefree life with his friends, Woody's World takes readers on a trip through 1929 and 1930 as Woody evolves into a responsible member of the family while his father travels away from home to find work.  Sometimes his adventures are a bit dangerous, sometimes involve political commentary as his friend becomes hurt by Jim Crow Laws, and at other times they are funny. Picture an overturned train loaded with live pigs while Woody tries to bring one home so he can have real meat for dinner - yes this actually happened! In fact 90% of the events depicted in this book actually happened.  See the above link for a complete list of topics covered.

I offer this FREE to my parent and teacher friends for your summer enjoyment, but also so you can see how this might be used in your classroom or homeschool.  I have developed a complete 8-week learning guide for differentiated instruction that will help you to develop interesting plans and activities for your students.  The learning guide is available HERE.

After you run this valuable resource through your board (if necessary), the paperback books are available directly from me for $8.00 each plus shipping.  For more information, contact me through my store, All-American Teacher Tools (click on Ask a Question) - just trying to eliminate spamming from my email this way!

After you read this fun book, please post your comments so others can have fun, too!

5 Ways to Have Educational Summer Fun

Summer is a time for de-stressing, relaxing, and doing fun family things that aren't timed or graded!  However, it can be a time when your children gain the most hands-on education.  Here are five ways to help your children to learn while maintaining that relaxing summer atmosphere.

1. Plan trips to museums  The key word there is "plan."  That doesn't mean you have a timeline from getting up in the morning to making it home in time to make dinner.  It means this:  Go to the museum website.  See if they have any resources for teachers.  They may have a ready-made scavenger hunt you can print out before you leave.  If not, make your own from what you see on the website.  Check out when they have special programs and sign up ahead of time to avoid disappointment.  Create extension activities for your children to do when they come home to further explore what they have experienced. Offer a reward for completing that extension activity! Here is an example of one outstanding museum with resources for parents and teachers: The American Museum of Natural History in New York City.  You may be in the Midwest, but you can probably find a similar museum in your area within a day's drive.  
2. Give each day of the week a label.  Monday might be physical activities like hiking, swimming, or bicycling.  Tuesday could be "Invite a Friend Day" where you and your child (alternate weeks for each of the kids in your family) where you and your child plan fun, educational activities for the day.  Wednesday might be designated as "Take a Trip Day" where you find a new place you've never visited.  On the way, find objects along the way that answer specific questions.  What do I mean?  Check out this FREE resource: Summer STEM Travel Fun downloadable booklet. Thursday could be Board Game Tournament Day.  I don't think that requires any additional explanation!  However, you might trade board games with a friend or neighbor so you have new games to play.  The library is a good resource for checking out new games, as well.  And Friday might be philanthropy day where you and your family decide to do something for someone else.  There are a bazillion ways you can teach your child to care for others - visit a nursing home, clean up a park (remember to use rubber gloves), visit an animal shelter, etc.  Find out where there are needs in your community and fill them.  Here is a helpful resource: Helping Kids Help.
3. Speaking of libraries, this is an oldie but a goodie - visit the library.  Most libraries have summer programs that include story time for younger visitors, library scavenger hunts, and reading challenges for older kids.  If your library doesn't participate in any of these (gasp!) or you live too far from the nearest library, The American Library Association has you covered.  Leave yourself plenty of free time (does that even exist when you have kids?) to explore the resources and set up your own reading adventure.
4. Cook with your children to teach them lifelong skills.  Today's schools have all but eliminated the expensive Family Consumer Sciences curriculum, so it is up to the parents to help their children carry on the tradition of preparing family meals efficiently.  Everybody should participate in the preparation.  Sound like mayhem to you?  Not if you're organized.  When each member of the family, from Grandma down to the two-year-old who likes to stir, buys into the healthy meal or snack you have prepared, everyone benefits.  To help you, go to Chef Cappy's Kitchen, where you'll find a cookbook and accompanying stuffed bears and puppets to help younger children wait their turn.  
5. Finally, remember to designate a technology day.  I know that sounds counterproductive, but you can't rip the devices from your kids' hands cold turkey.  If they know they can count on you to not disturb them from their games all-day-long, they will be more likely to cooperate with the other days where you have educational things planned.  As a side note, you could create a poster board labeled, "Things I learned from technology today" to encourage your kids to find something educational on their devices!  Give each child a different colored marker to record their findings.

Summertime is fun time and can also be educational time with a little planning by the whole family!