Enriching Young Minds & Hearts - Page 2 of 3 - Meeting the needs of all learners

Using Highlighters as a Math Strategy

January 29, 2018

Using highlighters is one of my all-time favorite math strategies. It is hands-on and helps students hone in on exactly what the problem is asking them to do. Maybe it’s adding color to their problems. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s helping students focus in on the problem. Or both! The best part is that it can be used anytime,… Read More

Acting Words Out; A Reading Strategy

January 22, 2018

Movement, action, excitement, pretending, play; all things kids love. When we can incorporate these things into learning to read, we’ve hit the memorization jackpot. Engagement instantly goes up and retention of information skyrockets. To top it all off, having students performing actions while practicing the words they are learning helps their brains to recall the information they have learned. Add a… Read More

Giving Compliments; A Classroom Management Strategy

January 15, 2018

They say compliments go a long way and it’s oh so true. While giving compliments can seem more like positive praise and classroom community building, it also works wonders for classroom management. Below are a few different ways you can incorporate giving compliments in your daily classroom routine to not only provide that positivity and community, but also foster safe,… Read More

How to Increase Reading Fluency and Stop Sound by Sound Decoding

January 9, 2018

C-a-t. Caaaaat. Cat. For those of use teaching our students and children to read, the sounds above are so exciting to hear! We jump for joy, give them as much as praise as possible and instill in hem how proud they should be for learning to read. Fast forward a few months and these same actions are less exciting and… Read More

5 Student Created Name Tag Ideas for Any Grade

January 4, 2018

` After almost two decades of writing out name tags serveral times a year for my students in primary grades, I was ready for something different when I moved up into the world of upper grades. I wanted to take a new approach with different, creative ways that my students could create their own name tags and take ownership over their… Read More

Homemade Gifts from the Heart; The Good, The Bad & The Happy

December 26, 2017

I am the first to admit that I am no Betty Crocker. At times, I try to harness my inner Martha Stewart, but…well, let’s just say that doesn’t quite work out either. This fact of life has never really bothered me. We’ve gotta know what our strengths are, right? And after all, that’s what restuarants and bakeries are for. At… Read More