The Big Marshmallow Tower STEM Challenge

A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to go into a local private school and work with some pretty amazing kids. I spent most of the afternoon with a class of fourth and fifth-grade girls and a class of eighth-grade boys. Both classes had fun putting their geometry and engineering skills to the test. Their mission-- to build structurally sound towers out of nothing but marshmallows and spaghetti noodles!

10 Tasty Children's Books for Taco Tuesday

Taco Tuesdays are a fun and popular tradition for many people in the United States. On Taco Tuesday, people will often make tacos for dinner or go out to eat them at a restaurant. Some school cafeterias even offer tacos as one of their lunch options on Tuesdays. If you are looking for some tasty children's books to read on Taco Tuesday, check out the children's books in this post!

Fun Fact: Did you know that the first Taco Tuesday dates back to 1989 when a restaurant called Taco Joe's offered a special promo for... you guessed it... tacos on Tuesdays?

25 A+ Quotes for Back-to-School

In a few short weeks, teachers will be heading back to school to prepare their classrooms for the upcoming school year. Are you one of them? Listed below are 25 motivational and inspirational quotes that would be terrific for bulletin board displays, murals, banners, etc. There are lots of good quotes in this post, so let's dive right in!

Minecraft Math: Star Ways Day Pixel Art

Star Wars Day is here again and it’s a terrific time to integrate Star Wars activities into your STEM and other technology lessons. Many teachers think of science experiments when it comes to STEM, however, STEM is not just about science. It includes the integration of math and technology as well.

Today's post is about a pixel art STEM activity that integrates students’ love for Minecraft with their love for Star Wars. It can be a challenging activity and can take anywhere from several hours to several days to complete. There is a potential for students to get frustrated with this activity, so I recommend this activity for students in the middle elementary grades and above.

Do You Speak Tree? by Josh Oaktree

In April 2021, Josh Oaktree wrote a graphic novel for children called Do You Speak Tree? Do You Speak Tree? is a wordless children's book with a powerful message to its readers... save our trees! It's about a tree named Oakie who is distraught when he sees his forest being cut down. Oakie seeks out help from his friend Art and together they organize a peaceful protest to halt its destruction. Keep reading to discover what happens next and to learn how you can use Do You Speak Tree? in the classroom.

15+ Easy Spring Crafts for Kids

Hooray! Spring is on its way! This is a terrific time for some bright and cheerful arts and crafts for kids. Spring flowers, types of weather, rainbows, insects, and animals are popular themes during this time of year. The spring crafts featured in this round-up were created by moms and teachers from all over the internet. If you see a craft in this post that you'd like to try, click on its link and head to its original website for material lists, directions, photos, etc. There are lots of spring craft ideas in this post, so let's dive right in!

How to Make an Afikomen Bag for Passover - Pesach

Passover. . . also known as Pesach. . . is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the Hebrews’ escape from Egypt. Passover lasts for seven days. During this time families have a special meal called a seder and read from the Haggadah that tells the story of how Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt and into freedom. A fun Passover tradition for families is to have a scavenger hunt for afikomen. What is afikomen? What is its symbolism? Read on to learn the answers to these questions and how to make a simple afikomen craft.

Meet the Mermaids: Hi, I'm Jenny by Lois Petren

Multicultural Children’s Book Day is an online children’s literacy event that occurs on the last Friday of every January. Valarie Budayr and Mia Wenjen created Multicultural Children’s Book Day (MCBD) several years ago as a way to celebrate diversity in children’s books while getting diverse books into the hands of young readers, parents, teachers, and librarians. Each year authors and publishers from around the world donate books to MCBD for bloggers to read and review. This year I received the book Meet the Mermaids: Hi, I'm Jenny. Meet the Mermaids: Hi, I'm Jenny... Hi, I'm Jenny for short... by Lois Petren is about a mermaid who wants to teach readers about positivity and self-confidence. Keep reading to learn more about this book!

Marlon Finds a Way by Dan Bailes

Have you ever watched a cat and wondered what is going on in its mind? Children's author Dan Bailes has! Dan Bailes recently released Marlon Finds a Way, a short chapter book about a cat named Marlon who wants to become friends with Silky the bird. Why would a cat want to become friends with a bird? What is Marlon thinking? In today's guest post Dan Bailes introduces us to Marlon, describes his book Marlon Finds a Way, and provides some discussion questions about the book you can use during your language arts lessons. Read on to learn more!

The Truck That Wanted to Be a Submarine by C. and S. Dunlop

March 17 of each year is famously known for being St. Patrick’s Day. What very few people know is that it’s also Submarine Day! Yes, there is a quirky holiday dedicated to the love of submarines. I recently discovered a cute, little book would be a fun read aloud for Submarine Day. It’s called The Truck That Wanted to Be a Submarine and is written by C. and S. Dunlop. The Truck That Wanted to Be a Submarine is about... well... a truck that wanted to be a submarine and its friend who helped it change into one. Keep reading to learn more about how you can use this story with your language arts lessons.