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What shape is your bubble wand? Children and making choices
From the Early Years photo cache (click on the pics for more). The children were happy that I had enough of each color pipe cleaner (known as “fuzzy sticks” nowadays) that everyone could choose their favorite color. We wanted to make bubbles and ...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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For a project I’m working on, I wanted to revisit what I know about cooperative learning. When I Googled the topic, among the many resources I found was one from a professional development series Concept to Classroom, produced by Thirteen Ed O...
By Mary Bigelow
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It seems like it’s getting harder to motivate students. What can we do? — Roseanna, Beaverton, Oregon I’ve found we cannot motivate others; motivation comes from within the individual. We can threaten, cajole, plead, or reward stude...
By MsMentorAdmin
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Can you tell that it will rain soon by the way the air smells? Do you like the smell of snow? I like the way the air smells just as a badly needed rain begins—it makes me think of the earth exhaling as the water soaks in (but this could be a miscon...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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It’s not hard to get young students interested in the earth sciences that explain and describe the world around them. And yet for many students, the upper elementary and middle school grades are the last time they’ll be exposed to earth s...
By Mary Bigelow
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When I saw the theme for this issue, Teaching with the Community, what came to mind was students visiting community resources such as museums, zoos, and parks on field trips or students and teachers using the community as a classroom. But the article...
By Mary Bigelow
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This may seem like a simple thing, but I get requests for a considerable number of letters of recommendation every year. I suspect you do, too. I almost always say yes–partly out of being somewhat flattered, I’ll admit, but also because t...
By AnnC
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Handouts about science to share with families—add your favorite resources
“What kind of science do you teach young children?!” people sometimes ask when they hear that the preschool curriculum includes science. Being able to share how the science activities are age appropriate, lay the groundwork for deeper understandi...
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Easy clean up tip for fine-grained materials
Here’s a tip for simplifying the clean up of dry, fine materials. Put a smooth cloth down under the item, such as a Tenebrio beetle container or a tabletop sensory box....
By Peggy Ashbrook
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Have you had any experience with partnerships between K-12 teachers and higher education faculty? We’re thinking of writing a grant proposal for this type of project and we’re open to suggestions. — David, Springfield, Massachusetts...
By MsMentorAdmin
Blog Post
This is a timely theme, considering that 2009 is the International Year of Astronomy. And this month’s Science Scope is full of relevant teaching ideas and lots of background information, such as simulating the vast spaces in the solar system, ...
By Mary Bigelow
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Our principal has started doing 5-minute “walk-throughs” in our school. What can she learn from such a brief classroom visit? How should I prepare? — Rose, Burbank, CA...
By MsMentorAdmin
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Online forums—communities that inform our practice
I like to visit other classes and learn what other teachers are doing—but not much time is allotted in a preschool budget for such networking....
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
“Kazoo” is a cool word and playing one is an easy way to ‘feel’ sound. Kids think so too, judging from the comments I hear from parents the day after their children bring home the kazoos they made in school. Here’s one:...
By Peggy Ashbrook
Blog Post
Classifying Classification describes how a team of first-grade teachers examined their own instruction in classification and how it related to their state standards. Check out the rubric they created and how it could be adapted for older students....
By Mary Bigelow