The process of sitting still and being with our emotions can be extremely uncomfortable. Many of us choose to either avoid our feelings or instantly react to them without thinking, so it can be quite overwhelming in our meditation practice when we’re put in a position to just observe them as they ar
Creating a vision board can be a surprisingly effective way to focus your intentions. Dr Tara Swart, author of The Source, explains how.
This product contains two separate Google Slides assignments, one with questions from Ch. 17-22 and the other from Ch. 23-29.Part Two of Educated finds Tara moving to BYU to start her new life, while simultaneously being tethered to her family and Buck's Peak. The questions in this activity ask stud...
A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in THIS post how I would be taking a giant step forward in “stepping up” my sight word instruction this upcoming year. Not that I need to “teach” sight words any differently, but offer continuous and hands on ways for my kiddos to practice them. Another area I will be offering...
My Life As a Teacher!
THE FREEBIE LIBRARY Welcome! EVERY file on this page is absolutely free! This page is worth bookmarking and revisiting frequently, as I upload new free downloads weekly. Be sure to check out the spotlight free downloads. SIGN UP FOR WEEKLY FREE DOWNLOAD REMINDERS HERE. Tips for accessing freebies Access this FREE set of comprehensive phonics assessments....
As PE teachers, one of our main goals is to keep kids as active as possible throughout class. Kids want to be challenged and love a good competition. These past few weeks, the Hula Hoop Showdown activity has been so … Read More
This has been a crazy few days. I haven't been able to take pictures of any of the things I've done this past week at school, but I have been looking at my pictures from last year to refresh myself and wanted to share a couple of things. The writing bulletin board was all ideas that my last years class came up with. We were reviewing for FCAT Writing and were talking about all of the things we had learned. They came up with the helpful hints and some of our favorite figurative language and verbs and such. Our explosion of better word choice. We came up with better ways to say things and discussed them and then wrote our better words on bright pieces of paper. So fun! Writing Review Bulletin Board. Planning pages and helpful hints. Transitions, Verbs, Figurative Language, Openings and SWBST. Expository planning visualization. We do an Oreo lesson at the beginning of the Expository unit to stress that it's just like a double stuffed Oreo. There needs to be 2 reasons or examples and support for both of those! Narrative planning visual. Metaphors and Idioms SWBST. I'll have to look and see if I have a picture of an anchor chart we made using this concept. Strong verbs, the kids came up with all of these examples. We took a day to brainstorm what the students thought was most important in their writing and then they came up with the examples and I typed them up and added the pops of color to display in the room. It's always good to use the students' input and have their ideas validated by making them into a great learning and review tool. I shared what we made with the other 4th grade classes too, so their work was shared with the whole grade level. I will definitely be doing this again this year!
Do you want to escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, but not to a place that is too quiet and boring and where there is nothing to do, see, or…
Download Your All Feelings are Okay Printable Activity HERE or click image above. All Feelings are Okay Have you heard th...
Little Minds at Work FirstieCurriculum BUNDLED Resources by Tara West This is the complete bundled Little Minds at Work first grade curriculum by Tara West! I wanted to offer an easy, one click download for those interested in purchasing all of my first grade curriculum programs! Please note the included packets below! This bundle is designed for the standard first grade classroom and easily adapted to fit a guardian-led homeschool setting! If inquiring about this bundle for a homeschool setting, feel free to email me directly with any questions at [email protected]! >>> This program does not contain my Guided Phonics + Beyond SOR reading curriculum. Please email me for information on why this is an important approach to reading vs. guided reading! [email protected] How will I access my curriculum? Within the bundle you are given a PDF file with all first grade curriculum programs listed. You will simply click to download each onto your computer! This works great if you are a school district and you are purchasing multiple licenses! If you should ever need updates to a packet or a packet is added you again will be able to download this PDF and access the material. What curriculum programs are included Calendar: FirstieCalendar Reader's Workshop: FirstieLiteracy® Guided Reading: Guided Reading Literacy Intervention: FirstieStart, Firstievention® Grammar: FirstieGrammar Math: FirstieMath® Math Intervention: FirstieMath®Intervention Phonics: FirstiePhonics® Content: FirstieScience®, FirstieSTEM, Health,Social Studies More information is needed! I completely understand that this is a HUGE purchase and you might have questions! Simply shoot me a quick email to [email protected] and I can address those questions! I also have several resources that will assist as well! You can view my freebie FirstieCurriculum Map which shows all of the programs mapped out for the year. I am a district... do you accept PO's Yes, TPT offers PO sales! You can read more about those HERE! I teach Kindergarten! You can view theKinderCurriculum Bundle Questions? Please email me at [email protected] Would you like to receive notifications for my newly released packets and upcoming sale? Be sure to FOLLOW ME here on TPT! **Join my private Facebook Group to join fellow Pre-K, Kindergarten, First Grade and Second Grade teachers that use my curriculum! Collaborate, chat and share ideas with like-minded teachers! Join the private Facebook group H E R E! Visit my blog Little Minds at Work Follow me on Facebook
Suggestions for how teachers in all subjects can guide students to learn to love reading, and how parents and administrators can help.
Yesterday, I taught my students the joy of stretching sentences. I made up a worksheet for them to complete and then we shared our work with the class. You can download the file here! Any feedback you have would be greatly appreciated!! I began the lesson with an Anchor Chart demonstrating how to stretch a sentence. After the kids understood what I wanted them to do, they each wrote their own. I had each student share their sentence with the class. They did a really good job and really understood the lesson. I then was faced with the challenge of how to display their work?! Half-sheets aren't always the easiest to hang up in a nice looking way. I decided to go the route of a quilt. Since we did this on 9/11, I was in a very patriotic mood so I went with red, white and blue and stars for the display! I love how it turned out. This is the worksheet I made. Be sure to download it! Anchor Chart Close-up of finished worksheets. While we read the sentences they wrote, I called each student up like it was a game show! I would call their name and say that they were the next contestant on "Stretch That SENTENCE!!" and the other kids would say it with me... So fun!
Did you know that understanding the difference between thick and thin is like having a secret superpower for kindergartners? They need to le...
I never get tired of Pinterest. There are so many great ideas, and it’s just fun! Here are some of my favorite finds as of late… Use clips to connect the letter cards to make words. Als…
Westover grew up without going to doctors or attending school, and now has a Ph.D. from Cambridge.
Feeling stuck with functional activity tolerance interventions? We cover activities from low to high level to increase activity tolerance.
TheraNest's Therapy Tools and Resources center provides everything you need to run a smooth mental health practice. Check out our therapy note templates and more.
Mental Models, how to think about things, schema. . Began, January 2020, a new Sunday School class, Pastor is instructor, reading the Bible in a year. Never done it. No clue how to 'think' about Bible passages, stories. . With assigned workbook, study bible inherited from my dad, educated/wise instructor, a small start, for my new Mental Model: What Does This Mean To Me?. Ha ha ha, sick with flu for weeks, slow recovery, Sunday School classes/Church Covid cancelled, behind in reading. . Before the world stopped for Covid, in bed on Sunday nites, I would think, What Does This Mean To Me? . Best Mental Model ever, this lone question, What Does This Mean To Me? Any topic, combined with serious inquiry. . Did you already know to ask this question? . Gardening. Why didn't I know this Mental Model at the front end of Gardening? Instead, it was full passion for all that was loved, disdain for gardens whose style I did not like. Taking everything, in the order passions reigned. No regrets for those decades, blessed they passed away, and, like Elaine Stritch, I'm Still Here. . At the front end, I did not like this style Garden Design, below. . Now? Understand its layers of being. Contrasting shapes bring drama, romance, interest. Cone shapes draw eyes to the sky. Wise choices within the shapes give year round interest, deer proof, no disease, drought tolerance, wet tolerant, no chemicals, less maintenance, lowered HVAC bills, higher property values, more pollinators, scent, backdrop to your life, with your family, friends, pets. . When love has run out. When energy is lost for anger. When fear topples away. When you'll never get what you've most wanted and the moment of realization is clear. You know your story, the inner dialogue, was too small. . Aren't those the best moments ever? Freedom. How many times, being Icarus, do we each have? . Pic, above, here. . I began gardening with Top Down thinking. A small Mental Model to bring into adulthood. . Bottom Up thinking. "The most vivid part of the mind bubbles up through sensation and new experience when unencumbered by analytical thought." Daniel Siegal. . Pic, above, here. . Shapes not just of plants, are important, below. Shape of your entire property, home, Garden Design. Mount Vernon, below, a painting done not long after Washington died. This shape, low meadow with wild wood, creates maximum pollinator habitat. Important why? Increase crop yields by 80% . Food to survive, and thrive. . Pic, above, here. . Shapes creating architecture, below. Rooms, doorway, enfilade, hallway, walls, ceiling, floor, thresholds, art on the walls. . Pic, above, here. . Bottom up thinking, is new thinking, gifting grace, beauty, and transcendence. . "I know the world is bruised and bleeding and though it is important not to ignore its pain, it is also critical to refuse to succumb to its malevolence." Toni Morrison . After the grand you-do-you, what then? What plinths to use, mental models for the most serious journey of your life? Tilting at windmills is the gift. Choose your windmills wisely, What Does This Mean To Me?, then, tilt with everything in you. There be your transcendence. . Fortunately, John Muir asked, What Does This Mean To Me? And wrote his answers. "“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees.” Muir, who came to California seeking the solitude of nature, decided to stay—dabbling as a glaciologist, a wilderness activist, and a writer who published persuasive ecological articles with a quill made from a golden eagle feather found on Yosemite’s Mount Hoffmann." From National Park Service, here. . For every person reading, "Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees.", asking themselves, What Does This Mean To Me?, will be unique answers, no matter the millions asking. . Garden & Be Well, XOT
My Life As a Teacher!
