Hello again from Ayn at little illuminations!   We've just ended our school year and summer has officially begun! In the last couple of weeks of school, I hold parent teacher conferences and one question seems on the top of the parents' list: ''What can we do over the summer to help prepare my child for kindergarten?'' Often parents want to ...

I spent some time jotting down tips from my own experience in exploring journals in the preschool classroom.

Welcome to Kristy, from 2 Peas and a Dog, my guest blogger for today. Thanks again for such an awesome idea, Kristy. Enjoy folks! *** Need a strategy to improve student achievement? Have you tried Bump It Up Boards? They are a great visual way to help your students self monitor their achievement.     How [...]

I had an excellent Professional Development Day yesterday, on assessing writing. I’ve got so much work to do this weekend now! Don’t you just love it when that happens? You attend a PD session and by the time you get to the end, you have more questions than answers? Well, that’s the kind of afternoon that [...]

Teaching grade 7, I don’t do as many activities with my students for holidays as perhaps teachers in the younger grades. Every once in a while though, it’s kind of nice to break away from the routine a bit, and celebrate a special day. So, I have a Valentine’s freebie for you! It would be a [...]

I never ask my students the “What street did the character live on?” type of questions. I wouldn’t say that they’re a waste of time, but students can just go back to the text and put their finger on the answer. Fairly straightforward.  Most – I’d say 99% of the time, I try to focus [...]

My students are very vocal and energetic this year. Many are hands-on learners as well, and they love activities where they can get out of their seats. Rather than fight this, I’ve been trying to embrace it and to draw on those strengths and learning preferences. Well, Christmas is quickly approaching and you know what that means! [...]

Boom Writer  takes a 21st Century approach to teaching writing. #edtech #literacy  New addition to Write On! 4 Kids Livebinder This looks like a great creative writing tool. You can register your class for free and create your own class/school competitions. Students write chapters based on a story starter you provide and the class votes on ...

I’m super excited about the book that I just got Using Picture Books to Teach 8 Essential Literary Elements: An Annotated Bibliography of More Than 100 Books With Model Lessons to Deepen Students’ Comprehension. What a mouthful! The book covers: ~Setting ~Point of view ~Plot ~Characterization ~Theme ~Foreshadowning ~Flashback ~Figurative language ...

We’ve hit on a winning combination this week and discovered a super fun way to encourage lots of reading and writing. Here’s how we’re using speech bubbles to bring giggles to learning to read and write. 5 reasons speech bubbles are great for learning to read and write Using a free package like picmonkey, . . . → Read More: 5 reasons speech ...