Lucy's Mask by Lisa Sirkis Thompson

The school year has started and things are looking different than they had in the past.  One of the most obvious changes is that teachers and students must wear facemasks when they are in close proximity to other people.  In some school districts, they are required to wear them at all times besides lunch and break.  By now, most people are used to wearing facemasks.  They may not always want to wear masks, but they do so because they know it's the right thing to do.  

There will be days when students... and teachers... will feel frustrated by having to wear masks for so long.  They may take off their masks and not want to put them back on.  It's normal for them to have those feelings, but not OK to act on them.  If this happens and tensions start to rise because of it, sometimes taking a break and reading a story can help.  Lucy's Mask by Lisa Sirkis Thompson is a fun, lighthearted story that reminds children why it's important to wear their facemasks and even lets them know they can be superheroes when they wear them!  How fun is that?

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10+ Children's Books about the Chinese Moon Festival

xī wàng míng yuè néng bǎ wǒ mén dě zhù fú hé huān lè dōu dài gěi nǐ.

希 望 明 月 能 把 我 们 的 祝 福 和 欢 乐 都 带 给 你。

May the full moon bring blessings and happiness from our home to yours!

It is almost time for the Chinese Moon Festival, also known as the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.  This festival is always celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when there is a full moon.  On this special day, people gather with friends and family, give thanks for bountiful harvests, and say prayers for a good future.  It's also a time filled with colorful lanterns, music, games, and... of course... mooncakes!  Read on to discover 10 children's books about this joyous occasion.

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Does Halloween Candy Sink or Float?

It's only September and the stores are already gearing up for Halloween.  Shelf after shelf after shelf is loaded up with bags of Halloween candy waiting for you to buy it and take it home.  Of course, we can eat the Halloween candy or pass it out to trick-or-treaters, but we can also use it to teach little ones about one of the basic fundamentals of science... does it sink or float?

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How to Make a Paper Bag Pumpkin

 When I was little, my father taught me and my brother how to make paper bag pumpkins.  They were fun and easy to make.  We used them as a centerpiece for our dining room table, as decorations for autumn and Halloween, and as simple toys to play with.  Read on to learn the three steps to make your own paper bag pumpkin!

This is an updated version of a blog post I wrote in 2015.

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How to Grow Celery from Scraps + STEM Activity

A couple of years ago I had an interesting conversation with my second and third-grade class.  We were having a conversation about edible plants and some of the children were grossed out when they made the connection between vegetables and the plants we eat.  Carrots are roots?  Gross!  Lettuce is a leaf?  Gross!  Celery is a stem?  Gross!  My students truly did not know where their vegetables come from.  They knew that vegetables come from the grocery store, often in cans and freezer bags.  They knew they could find fresh vegetables in the produce section... but most of them did not know anything more than that.  To help your students make the connection between plants and the foods they eat, you can use their food scraps to grow veggies in the classroom.  Keep reading to find out how.

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Fun Facts About Rhinoceroses

September 22 is World Rhino Day. World Rhino Day was started in 2010 by the World Wildlife Fund as a way to celebrate the rhinoceros and to teach people around the world about them.  Several species of rhinoceros are critically endangered and need our help.  Read on to learn some fun facts about these amazing gentle giants and how we can help them.

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10 Children's Books About Rosh Hashanah

Shanah Tovah!  It is almost time for Rosh Hashanah... the Jewish New Year!  Rosh Hashanah will begin this year on September 18th (on the eve of Tishrei 1) and will last until September 20 (after nightfall on Tishrei 2).  It is a time of celebration and introspection for the Jewish people.  Listed below are 10 fiction and non-fiction books about Rosh Hashanah that your students may enjoy.

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What is a Word Spree?

One of the first writing assignments I have my students do at the beginning of the school year is something called a word spree.  A word spree is a short, 10-minute assessment that checks students' abilities to recall words they already know by heart. . . or in more professional terms. . . how many words they can control with automaticity.  (Automaticity comes from the word automatic and refers to the ability to do things without occupying the mind, without thinking about them.)  To do a word spree, all you need is a blank piece of paper and something to write with.

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Dirty Socks STEM Experiment: How Do Seeds Travel?

In an earlier post (What Happens When You Plant Birdseed?), I described a science experiment in which some children in the neighborhood and I grew plants from birdseed this summer.  The children 'discovered' that birdseed can produce plants and those plants are able to grow and thrive.  In this blog post, I will describe another science experiment involving seeds.  This time we are going to learn about how seeds can travel!

Right Now, I Am Fine by Dr. Daniela Owen

There is a lot of talk these days about mindfulness.  It's the latest craze in health and wellness.  We see memes about it on social media, books about it in stores and libraries, videos about it on YouTube, etc.  We often told to be more mindful and to help our students and children become more mindful.  But what does that mean?  What is mindfulness?  Why is it important?  How do we do that?  Right Now, I Am Fine by Dr. Daniela Owen answers these questions and more.  Keep reading to learn Right Now, I Am Fine.

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