Dollar Store Fun!

So after attending another great workshop tonight (this time at Lakeshore) I decided to stop by Dollar Tree to pick up a few things. I love this store! They have an entire aisle of teaching materials. Shopping for bulletin board decor, stickers, posters, etc. made me even that much more excited to be able to use it all.

Unfortunately, I had accumulated loads of resources for a potential classroom over the years, but wound up donating it to another teacher. In hindsight I should have kept everything, but there's no sense in looking back on it. So now I am at the point of rebuilding what I had given away. Does anyone have any suggestions for places to keep an eye on for classroom resources, preferably inexpensive stores? I know Target displays a lot of great things right before school starts at their One Spot. I would appreciate any other ideas you can offer up!

Earth Day

April 22nd is Earth Day, although I believe that every day we should be making a conscious effort to treat Mother Earth with care.

Sometimes even the most simple acts can help. For example, I was out walking yesterday (a favorite activity of mine) and saw trash lying on the ground - an empty milk jug and a plastic bag filled with what looked like someone's lunch of chicken wings. It didn't take much of an effort to pick up the trash and deposit it in a nearby trashcan.

Speaking of milk jugs, recycled art is also a favorite of mine. Here are a few links to some great recycled art projects you can try with your children:

http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/earth-day/reusing-materials-make-new-crafts.html

http://www.kid-at-art.com/

http://www.eco-artware.com/crafts/crafts_8_00_kids.php

Happy crafting!

Every Child Ready to Read

I am a huge advocate of literacy and I like free stuff, so signing up for an Every Child Ready to Read workshop was right up my alley. I spent an evening learning about early literacy activities to share with children to help them become successful readers.

Growing up, I was fortunate to have parents who stressed the importance of reading. My mother and father instilled a love of reading within me and to this day I am an avid bookworm; however, the world is not a perfect place and not all children enjoy reading. I highly suggest signing up for a workshop at your local library. You might just walk away with some new ideas to practice at home and/or in the classroom.

Love and Logic - A Day with Fay

On Thursday, April 16th I attended a Love and Logic seminar with Jim Fay. For those of you not familiar with Jim Fay's philosophy behind raising children, I encourage you to visit his website. Mr. Fay stresses the importance of offering children choices and allowing them to problem solve on their own. I've found that oftentimes, caregivers attempt to solve children's problems (hey, I am guilty of it too), but Fay's advice is to instead "hand the problem back to the child."

I was impressed with the seminar and it was a pleasure hearing Jim Fay speak. I enjoyed the many wonderful stories that he told throughout the day and encourage caregivers to attend a conference if they are able.