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Saturday, June 25, 2011

Eric Carle's 82nd Birthday-June 25th


 
"Eric Carle (born June 25, 1929) is a children's book author and illustrator who is most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated into over 50 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle has illustrated more than 70 books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 103 million copies of his books have sold around the whole world."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Carle  Eric Carle Info
Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/authors.htm

July 4th Crafts, Projects, Activities, Ideas









Sunday, June 19, 2011

Motivating Kids to Improve Their Math Skills


Motivating Kids to Improve Their Math Skills

Adults need to be motivated to give to the best of their ability, children are no different. This is the way we were created, to motivate and be motivated. It's like the engine driving the car. Kids are the same. Their engines need fuel, oil and water too. Motivation is the fuel to appreciation.

Play games

By making math interesting you can motivate your kids to enjoy math. Use the ability of games. Chess will teach them to plan strategies, to quickly calculate or divert. Making there minds sharp at reaction and quick response. All essentials to doing math. Even something like playing ball are teaching your child math skills and exercising their minds.

Real world exposure

What about trips to museums, history halls or even a field trip. A field trip can become a stepping stone to overcoming a confidence problem and motivate a kid to enjoy life. Self confidence goes a long way in the world of math. A playful and relaxed environment makes learning so much easier.

Long term memory

The use of arts can be irreplaceable. Drawing can motivate your kid to using math in a fun and innovate way. It will also develop long term memory. By repetition problems and solutions are embedded into their minds, and extracted when necessary, thus building a good long term memory.

Setting goals

Helping your child setting a goal to work towards will motivate them and help them to achieve their goal. Without vision a nation perishes. Even in something mundane like math, you need to set a goal and have a vision. Start with small steps. After achieving it move to a higher level. It will teach your kid to work towards something and they will feel inner satisfaction in doing and achieving their goals.

Surf the Internet

Allow your kid to surf the internet. There are so many websites and blogs available with math help and projects aimed specifically at developing and growing in math. Many of them have fun games and activities for kids to participate in.

Reward system

What about a wall where they can stick their achievements. A special place above the fireplace or mantle. Somewhere where they can see what they have done, and that you are proud of them. Children want to be appreciated and accepted for who they are. This will motivate them for doing it again and again.

Self study

Use history to entice them by taking a map or atlas and teaching them how to read maps, find location information or even have a look at distances or weather patterns to different continents. This way they are exposed to the world but also learning mathematical skills.

Music

Math can be fun. Let your child take up music lessons. For instance, guitar, piano, keyboard or even drums. They will not just acquire another skill but learn math in a way that they don't even realize. Every form of music needs some math skills.

Stories

Make use of a story program. Through the use of stories kids are learning the fundamentals of math. They are enjoying the story and math becomes something sought after. Every child enjoys a good story!

Create a space for them

Give the child a place that belongs to them, where they can go and do homework in an organized way. Most kids just lie on the bed or floor and listen to music while studying. A little corner with a desk and space to put up essentials against the wall will motivate them to study.

July Events, Holidays, and Celebrations

"All Events, Holidays, and Celebrations of July"

  • Better Grammar Month

  • National Recreation and Parks Month

  • July 1st - The Battle of Gettysburg

  • July 2nd - Amelia Earhart Disappeared

  • July 4th - Independence Day

  • July 11th - World Population Day

  • July 14th - Gerald Ford's Birthday

  • 2nd Week of July - Authors Week

  • July 20th - First Man on the Moon

  • July 26th - The FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) was Founded

  • July 26th - New York Becomes a State

  • July 27th - Impeachment of President Richard Nixon Begins

  • July 31st - The First U.S. Patent is Issued. National Patent Day

  •  
    National Hot Dog Month - Do you love hot dogs? Everyone loves hot dogs and July is national hot dog month so you know what that means it is your job to eat as many of those yummy hot dogs as you can! Do you want to know more about how the month of July became National Hot Dog Month?
    National Recreation and Parks Month - Can you think of anything better to do in the month of July except spend it playing in a park or fishing with your Dad? Maybe even, catching a glimpse of some amazing wildlife while the adults set up the picnic?
    Source: http://www.teach-nology.com/monthly/july/
    More July Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/summerfun.htm




    Wednesday, June 15, 2011

    Father's Day Books


    Father's Day Books:
    Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss
    Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer
    Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
    Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
    Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary
    The Sick Day by Patricia MacLachlan
    Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
    A Cloak for the Dreamer by Aileen Friedman
    The Day I Saw My Father Cry by Bill Cosby
    The Berenstain Bears' and the Papa's Day Surprise by Stan and Jan Berenstain
    Happy Father's Day by Mercer Mayer
    My Father Knows the Names of Things by Jane Yolen
    Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine by Evaline Ness
    Dad's Dinosaur Day by Diane Dawson Hearn 
    You Can Do Anything, Daddy by Michael Rex
    I Love My Daddy Because...by Laurel Porter-Gaylord


    Father's Day Resources-Themes-Activities-Ideas

    June Day, Weeks, Month Celebrations-Themes


    June - Carnival and Circus Month
    June - National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month
    June - National Dairy Month
    June - Father's Day
    June  - National Iced Tea Month

    June - National Hugs Week

    June - First Day of Summer

    June - Student Safety Month

    June - Week of June 14 National Flag Week

    June Resources 

    Quotes and Inspirations for Teachers!



    "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." - William A. Ward.

    "Students don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." - Anonymous

    "Teachers affect eternity: no one can tell where their influence stops." - Henry Brooks Adams
    "Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition." - Jacques Barzun
    "A good teacher is first a good student."
    "Children are like wet cement, whatever falls on them makes an impression." - Haim Ginott
    "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
    "The man or woman who can make hard things easy is the educator." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
    "If kids come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job easier. If they do not come to us from strong, healthy functioning families, it makes our job more important." - Barbara Colorose
    Always remember: Think Twice before you Speak or Act!

    Wednesday, June 8, 2011

    National Zoo and Aquarium Month




    National Zoo and Aquarium Month


    ~ AQUARIUM MONTH BOOKS~

    Grades Kdg – 4

    The Aquarium by Jacqueline Laks Gorman.
    The Aquarium/El Acuario by Jacqueline Laks Gorman.
    Aquariums by Jill Kalz.
    Fish by Helen Frost.
    Fish for You: Caring for Your Fish by Susan Blackaby.
    Iris and Walter and the Field Trip by Elissa Haden Guest.
    Let's Go to the Aquarium by Cate Foley.
    Pet Fish by Robin Nelson.
    The Wild Side of Pet Fish by Jo Waters.
    Grades 5 – 8
    The Amazing Book of Fish and Ocean Creature Records: The Largest, the Smallest, the Fastest,
    and Many More! by Samuel G. Woods.
    Amphibians by Peter Murray.
    Aquarium Fish by Mary Bailey.
    Blue by James DeVita. 2001, Laura Geringer Books.
    Caring For Your Fish by Lynn A. Hamilton.
    The Case of The Mossy Lake Monster And Other Super-Scientific Cases by Michele Torrey.
    Chang and the Bamboo Flute by Elizabeth Starr Hill.
    Fabulous Fish by Alvin Silverstein.
    Freshwater Fishes by Judity Jango-Cohen.
    The Great Shark Mystery by Gertrude Chandler Warner.
    Keiko's Story: A Killer Whale Goes Home by Linda Moore Kurth.
    Let's Go To Chicago! by Karen Strickler Dean.
    Lu & Clancy's Secret Languages by Louise Dickson. 

    ~ ZOO MONTH BOOKS~

    Grades Kdg – 4

    Animals in the Zoo by Allan Fowler.
    City Zoo Blizzard Revue by Barbara Crispin.
    Day in the Life of a Zookeeper by Nate Leboutillier.
    Gorillas and Their Babies by Maria Johnson.
    Happy Birthday to You, You Belong in a Zoo by Diane Degroat.
    Monkey Baby Grows Up by Joan Hewett.
    What Do You Do at the Zoo? by Susan Goodman.
    Wild About Books by Judy Sierra.
    Grades 5 – 8
    Akiko and the Intergalactic Zoo by Mark Crilley. .
    Animal Watch by Susan Ring.
    Benno's Bear by Naomi Flink Zucker.
    Big Cat Conservation by Peggy Thomas.
    The Case of the Clue at the Zoo by Judy Katschke.
    Danger at the Zoo: A Kit Mystery by Kathleen Ernst.
    Giraffes/Las Jirafas by JoAnn Early Macken.
    Lunch at the Zoo: What Zoo Animals Eat and Why by Joyce Altman.
    Notes From A Liar And Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko.
    The Panda Puzzle by Ron Roy.
    A Stranger At Green Knowe by Lucy Maria Boston.