Holiday Season—Lily and Isaiah Count the Days

Opening an Advent Calendar is a tradition in our household and yesterday, December 1st, was the day to begin taking turns for 5-year-old Lily and 10-year-old Isaiah.

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Thanksgiving Postscript

Though Thanksgiving is a week past and even those delicious leftover sandwiches are now a fading memory, I wanted to share a wonderful Thanksgiving story as part of our continuing “developmental book swap.”

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May Day: The Children’s Gift of Glee!

Toward the end of a busy yesterday at school, leaving a staff leadership team meeting and heading back to my principal’s office with a long unfinished list in my head, I noticed a child knocking frantically on the nurse’s office door surrounded by a group of four or five giggling companions.
I then heard an adult [...]

A Valentine’s Day Assignment

(Thanks to Fifth Grade Teacher Amy Bernard  for her “friendly letter lesson” from Loser,  for inspiring this idea!)
Here’s a little fun twist for Valentine’s Day that you may or may not have tried: A quick contest, open to any student in the school (or by grade level, etc)  to promote empathy and understanding.
RULES: Students may [...]

Joy

During the frantic holiday season let’s pause once in a while to watch the children in their moments of sheer joy beyond the moment of opening gifts or our viewing them through the lens of a digital camera.
We see the word JOY everywhere during the holidays. After all, it rhymes with …__ __ __, a [...]