When I was teaching Reading Recovery, one of the great lessons I learned as an educator, parent and co-existing human being in a world of social beings, is that we can not assume that others think the same way we do about anything, reading included. WHAT I LEARNED FROM PARENTS OBSERVING READING RECOVERY LESSONS: As teachers, meaning can feel like the 'given' part of reading. Part of the Reading Recovery program included inviting parents to … [Read more...]
8 ways to help students with social and emotional regulation (and still have time to teach!) Part 2
This post is the second of two posts about helping students with social and emotional regulation. To read Part 1, please click here. In the first post, we discussed 1) communicating feelings, 2) social / emotional language, 3) incorporating feelings and emotions into other curriculum areas and 4) Making connections between feelings and behaviors. Over my 21 year career, I have worked with many young children who struggle with anxiety and … [Read more...]
8 ways to help students with social and emotional regulation (and still have time to teach!) Part 1
Dealing with issues related to social and emotional regulation have become a part of everyday life for many teachers. Here are the first 4 of 8 ways to help students with social emotional regulation (and still have time to teach!) 1 Teach and regularly support your students' journey in learning to communicate their feelings. Remember that when you plant a seed, you must put in the time and care with the faith that there is growth happening … [Read more...]
Fun activities for sorting syllables, seasons and more – through play!
Do your students know how to break words down into syllables? Do they know how to sort? These two skills are essential for early learning as they are part of building a strong base for concepts coming up in language, math, science and making sense of our general world. Learning by being involved in an active, social, non-competitive and fun play activity is very effective. Kids' feel confident, have a positive attitude towards learning and are … [Read more...]
Happy New Year: Gratitude for what was, goals for the year ahead!
Happy New Year, my friends! I hope you have enjoyed the holiday season, and are filled with a sense of gratitude as I am while I sit here writing to you today. Just five years ago I accidentally stumbled into this TpT world via a Facebook group, as a parenting and lifestyle blogger. Posts from my teaching life had been taking over A Vision For Our Kids, so I opened That Fun Reading Teacher as a side blog. I had started to feel unworthy of the … [Read more...]
Fun ways to seize teachable moments with K-2s this holiday season!
The holiday season is indeed the season of abundance and gifts, and while the abundance in schools may come in the forms of chaos, germs, behaviors and lost mittens; the gifts come in teachable moments that the Winter holidays provide! From learning about how others celebrate the season, to having a true purpose for writing, discovering math concepts, and for those of us who teach in Catholic and Christian Schools, learning about the … [Read more...]
Announcing the TpT Cyber Sale 2017 and 3 chances to win $100 gift cards!
Hello my friends! I hope you are well! It's suddenly holiday season again, and I am writing to let you know that Teachers Pay Teachers big Cyber Sale starts tomorrow! With up to 25% off site-wide, this is a great opportunity to clear out those wish lists. My own store is set at 20% off for the sale, with the other 5% coming from TpT when you apply the promo code: #TpTCyber17 . Here are a few items that may be helpful as you as you plan for the … [Read more...]
5 simple ways to help kids communicate their feelings
When kids are comfortable with communicating their feelings, they often end up communicating what they most deeply need. When their feelings are validated, the groundwork for self-regulation is being put into place. And so, fitting emotional literacy naturally into a child's life early simply makes good sense. Here are 5 simple ways to help kids communicate their feelings: 1. Communicate feelings yourself (and encourage role-models to do so, … [Read more...]
Happy Halloween!
;) Ida Mae … [Read more...]
Children’s Thanksgiving stories that model an attitude of gratitude!
Happy Thanksgiving! Tis the season of gratitude. If there is one thing I have learned from being a human being, it's that personality traits / emotions like gratitude can be nurtured by exposure to models of that trait / emotion. I am grateful for these three Children's Thanksgiving stories that model an attitude of gratitude! The Thankful Book by Todd Parr Told from a first-person perspective, the 'any-kid' narrator starts the story off … [Read more...]
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