Month: November 2024

Truth and Reconciliation Day holds profound meaning, but for young children, it can feel like a heavy topic. However, this day gives us a valuable opportunity to begin teaching our students the foundations of respect, kindness, and understanding differences. At the heart of this message is the idea that every child matters and that every child deserves love, safety, and family. Why It Matters for Young Learners In the classroom, Truth and Reconciliation Day is a time for reflection, but it’s also a time to start important conversations about how we can learn from the past and build a kinder future. While young students may not grasp the full weight of history, they can certainly understand concepts like fairness, love, and the importance of treating others with kindness. By planting these seeds early, we help create a future where everyone feels valued, heard, and cared for. How We Can Approach…

October brings all kinds of excitement to the classroom, but not everyone celebrates Halloween. That’s why I’ve created a fun, inclusive way to mark the end of the month—a Pumpkin Party!  A Fun, Inclusive Celebration Rather than focusing on Halloween, we celebrate the end of October with pumpkins! It’s an engaging way to bring seasonal fun to the classroom while ensuring that all students feel included. Everyone loves pumpkins, right? Hands-On Pumpkin-Themed Activities At our Pumpkin Party, every activity is hands-on and skill-building! Here are some favorites from past years: Pumpkin Bowling for gross motor skills Exploring the Inside of a Pumpkin for sensory play and curiosity-driven learning Drawing on pumpkins with whiteboard markers (they wipe off!) for fine motor skills Pumpkin Geoboards to develop fine motor control Pumpkin Letter Matching for literacy practice Weighing and Measuring Pumpkins to explore math concepts And of course, Pumpkin Art for a creative…

If you’ve ever taught two languages in the same classroom, you know the STRUGGLE IS REAL.  Teaching two sets of students in two different languages is already challenging enough, but doing it in the same classroom on alternating days adds a whole new level of crazy! Switching between French and English can make it difficult to stay organized and keep lessons cohesive, and I was feeling overwhelmed by the constant shift in focus. Although it can feel like too much at times, over the last 2 years, I have learned the key that has made all the difference. The Key: Streamlining To overcome this, I realized the importance of streamlining my resources. That’s why I started creating materials that work in both French and English. Having resources that seamlessly transition between languages has been a game-changer for me! This approach not only saves me time but also ensures that my…

Keeping little ones engaged throughout the school day can be a challenge, but one thing I’ve found that has saved my sanity is integrating movement into our daily routine. Movement helps students burn off energy, refocus, and stay engaged with what they’re learning. Here are my top 5 ways to incorporate more movement into your classroom: 1. Incorporate Simple Exercises Between Lessons A quick burst of movement between lessons can do wonders for resetting student focus. Seriously, almost every 10-15 minutes we are up and moving, exercising or dancing our wiggles out, before continuing our work! 2. Use Movement-Based Games to Teach Concepts Turn your lessons into movement-based games! Whether it’s hopping from one letter to another in a literacy lesson or jumping to the correct number during a math activity, physical involvement in the learning process helps students retain information better. Plus, they love it! (It does get a…