Welcome teachers!
This is a special section for you. Please feel free to check in anytime to look for new and different spins on some of our old standby topics. New tips keep coming! Start at the top to find the newest ones and then keep scrolling down.
Please note that parenting tips are available at
The Monday section is filled with parenting tips. Tuesday has play-and-learn activities for babies and toddlers. Wednesday gives parenting techniques.
Technique 30 – Be a part of the solution.
Gaining cooperation in the classroom is always important. The quicker you gain it, the faster and more efficient teaching becomes. Participation turns out to be a successful key. Here are a couple of examples that use the process:
If you want your students to get ready for a new task, you can say something like,
“Clear off your desks, and I will set up the computer and get out the crayons.”
Then when the first step is accomplished…
“Take out your pencils, and I will get the scissors.”
If you want your students to put the shelves in order, you can say something like,
“Gather all the equipment, and I will pile up the books.”
Then when the first step ins done…
“Find all the puzzle pieces, and I will collect the papers.”
Insight… Your participation gives your students the message that you are on the same team. It gives the idea of working together, and your children will really like that.
Mother’s Day!
A Humble Beginning…
In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared Mother’s Day as a national holiday. Flags were flown to honor mothers who had lost their sons in war.
An Amazing Transformation…
In 2012 children everywhere in our country will celebrate Mother’s Day, one of our most important national holidays. Cards and presents will be made, and just about every mom will get treated to a wonderful meal out.
Being a mother has never been easy, and still is not. As times change the job changes, but one thing stays the same. Love! Every mother has it, and each mom uses it in her own way to make life as good as possible for her children.
Have fun as you prepare with your children whatever special Mother’s Day treat you are planning!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Welcome May! A Proverb about Peace
May Day was established to celebrate the coming of spring, and Mother’s Day was created to honor mothers. With May Day behind you and Mother’s Day ahead, I wish you a “light in your soul” to enjoy all month. Here is an ancient Chinese Proverb starts with that “light” and ends with “world peace.” Share it with your children in your own special way.
If there is light in the soul,
There will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person,
There will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house,
There will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.
Technique 27 – Be a person, not a god… by talking about your childhood.
Here are some fun ways to start:
- I was named after…
- My grandpa always…
- My brother and I liked to play…
- My favorite chore was…
- I never liked when I had to…
- My favorite toy was…
- I wanted to grow up to be a…
- I always wished…
- I listened to music on a…
- The first president I remember was…
Insight…
Share with your students real thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Then watch your relationship grow!
Tip 37 - Teach your students how to have a positive point of view.
Take turns with your students starting sentences with the words “I like…” If you play this game at the end of the day, change your starter words to “I liked…” and have fun reflecting on the day. Here are some examples for both your beginning and end-of-day games:
Beginning
* I like cream cheese.
* like riding my bike.
* I like coloring.
End-of-Day
* I liked when you put the words on the board.
* I liked when you watched us on the slide.
* I liked when you played Bingo with us.
Insight…
Once you start playing this game, you will probably think of more and more things you both like. Probably you will find more and more time to play this game like… while waiting for a doctor’s appointment, riding in the car, or even at the dinner table. Here’s a real bonus! As you continue to play, you will probably become more appreciative of each other and more content in general.
Is it Earth Day or Birthday?
Earth Day is one way of saying happy birthday to our world. While April 22nd is not the day the earth was born, it is the anniversary of the day in 1970 that the United States took on the global awareness to make one day each year a reminder that the earth is a precious gift of life. The message was so well-stated and so well-received that we still have that day today to remind us to take care of what we all share together–our wonderful planet.
Therefore, just as you celebrate each child’s birthday this year, set aside April 22nd to celebrate with your class another year of our collective lives. Talk about all we have accomplished so far as a society and have fun as you think up new and different ways to help our earth continue to flourish for many years to come.
Happy Earth Day!
Tip 36 - Teach your students to think about peaceful places.
Have fun describing for them peaceful scenes for them to envision. Here are some examples:
- A beautiful valley filled with magnificent flowers, all glistening in the sunshine.
- A silvery lake at night sparkling with the reflections from a gorgeous full moon.
- A jagged coastline full of splashes from forceful waters brushing up against it at the end of the day.
Enjoy making up some of your own.
NOTE: Some of your students may even want to draw some of them.
Insight…
The best things in life are free, and that includes thoughts. Who would have thought of that!
Peaceful thoughts are little gifts you can give to your children any time during the day.
Technique 24 - Change the environment.
Yes, distracting the child is the name of this game. It works! Often it is the easiest way to nip a difficult situation in the bud. Here are the basics:
* Remove the child from the situation.
* Enrich the present surroundings.
* Remove whatever it is that seems to be causing the trouble.
* Replace the difficulty with something more functional.
If all else fails, talk to your child about the situation and figure out together how to set up the situation so that both of you will feel satisfied.
Insight… It only make sense to set up yourself in an optimal way. More often than not, there are several choices for intervening. Once you hit on the right solution, you are likely to notice a very big difference. Fighting a situation takes a lot of unnecessary energy. It is only fair that you have your full capacity to be positive, warm, and supportive.
While swimming up stream is difficult, going with the flow always works well.
Technique 23 – Be a person, not a god.
Present yourself as a real person to your children. Share real thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Feel free to make mistakes and also to follow up with sincere apologies. Besides expressing yourself, seek your students’ thoughts, feelings, and ideas as much as possible.
Insight…
Baby talk is out. Adult talk is in. With this style, you show your students respect.
“In like a lion and out like a lamb!”
What to do? Here are some ideas.
- Take turns acting like a lion and then like a lamb.
- Find pictures of lions and lambs.
- Draw or color lions and lambs.
- Eat lamb food like lamb chops or lamb stew.
- Talk about lions and cubs and sheep and lambs
- Make animal sounds like roars and baas
- Have fun with rhymes like “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
- Make words out of the letters of M A R C H.
Don’t forget! You can always march to the beat of a different drummer.
Technique 22 – Believe in your student.
Believe in your children, and they will believe in themselves.
Insight…
Believing in your students has far-reaching effects. If you believe they will succeed, they are likely to do it.
Tip 20 – It is better to tell a child that he or she can play with a toy after a classmate has finished with it than just to say that he or she cannot play with the toy.
Insight…
As you build your daily relationship with your students through interactions, you are being positive. You are focusing on what your students can have as opposed to what they cannot.
February! Sing a Valentine’s Day Song
Singing with hand-motions has a wonderful way of bringing joy to children.
Here is a well-known song that has been delighting little ones for generations. Say or sing the words together. Be sure to add the hand motions as indicated.
If you all end up liking this song a lot, make it your Valentine’s Day tradition.
Skidamarink
Skidamarink a dinka dink (Wiggle your arms and fingers.)
Skidamarink a doo (Wiggle your arms and fingers.)
I love you. (Hug yourself or hug each other.)
(Repeat)
I love you in the morning (Bend at the waist and move your arms from side to side.)
And in the afternoon. (Stand up straight. Put your arms out straight, and then move them from side to side.)
I love you in the evening (Make a big circle over your head.)
And underneath the moon. (Move your big circle from side to side.)
Ohhhh (Move your hands quickly down to your sides.)
Skidamarink a dink a dink (Wiggle your arms and fingers.)
Skidamarink a doo. (Wiggle your arms and fingers.)
I love you. (Hug yourself or hug each other.)
Repeat whole song as often as you like.
February! Month of the Heart
You say “February,” and I say “Valentine’s day.”
You say “February,” and I say “American Heart Month.”
You say “February,” and I say “Kind heart.”
No matter you or I say, February is the month of the “heart,” a full month (all 29 days) to fill with
- Love
- Health
- Helpfulness
Write these word in big letters on separate cards. Display them prominently in your classroom. Talk about their meaning and make words out of their letters. The more creativity you put into each one, the more you and your students will get out of them all. Enjoy!
Label Jars! Not People
How sad it is that the “autism” label has hit the news related to school funding. This kind of label which is given out by a doctor should be treated like any other diagnosis–privately and with dignity. Whatever teaching, therapy, or enrichment is recommended is fair game, but the term “autism” is definitely not a word that should be shared with a young child or anyone besides the immediate family and anyone with whom they would like to discuss their situation.
While labels carry with them limitations, children carry with them individuality, hope, drive, and enormous amounts of energy that can be directed in joyful and positive ways.
Any child who we label as “autistic” has differing combinations of the problem and to different degrees. Each and every child, with or without a disability, is born into the world with his or her own unique set of abilities and challenges. It is those abilities and challenges that should be the focus of any and all talks about school funding.
Technique 17 - Listen and communicate in fun and easy ways.
Your part of the conversation should be made up mostly of open-ended questions that will stimulate your children to talk. In addition, it should have nurturing words and sounds like “good, oh, really, hmm, etc.” to encourage them to keep explaining more to you.
Here are some basic questions you can ask.
With the word “what” there are questions like
* What happened?
* What did you think about that?”
With the word “how” there are ones like
* How did that happen?
* How did you do that?
With the word “why” there are
* Why did you do that?
* Why did you say that?
These are open-ended questions that will not lead to yes or no answers.
Insight… Did you know that effective listening comes in a 70:30 ratio? That means listening about 70% of the time and talking about 30% of it.
Tip 27 – Tell your children what to do, and stay away from what not to do.
Here are a few examples of guidance that works:
- Walk in the hallway.
- Put your books on your desk.
- Sit up straight.
- Write with the pencils.
Here are some examples that have no effect at all:
- Don’t run in the hallway.
- Don’t leave your books on the floor.
- Don’t slouch.
- Don’t write with the pens.
“What to do” is the magic!. “What not to do” just does not work.
Insight… It is very important to choose your words wisely. Your children will hear the pro-active part of what you say.
A New Way to Look at an Old Idea!
How much fun is that!
Kudos to Trader Joe’s for giving us a creative brown bag idea! The next time you shop in Trader Joe’s you will notice that right on their brown bags are child-friendly directions for making cheerful decorations.
Using their guidance you will be able to make festive chains and novelty gift tags to use all winter long. You can even cut apart the bags and use them as homemade wrapping paper. If you have only one or two bags, you can make templates out of the patterns and trace them either on brightly colored paper or on paper that your children can color brightly.
Even though the holidays are over, you now have another resource for enjoying creativity and the “gift of giving” all winter long. Share this idea with your parents. In addition, refer them to December! The Art & Science of Giving on Wednesday Evening Wine for even more creative ideas.
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