If you missed Part 1 and Part 2, you may want to read them before reading this post. Part 1 looked at the differences between the way American parents and educators seem to view outdoor play for children in contrast to the way it is viewed...

There is an attribute that lubricates relationships and mechanics of home and classroom. It allows learning to flourish and exhausting power battles to diminish. The word itself sounds austere, yet it shows up in small ways, multiple times...

Stimulating, productive discussions are among the most rewarding classroom experiences for both teachers and students. But making them happen can be challenging. I’m not sure which is worse: the excruciating silence of unresponsive...

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Students with dyslexia see things backwards. This is the most common myth about dyslexia—that something is wrong with the eyes or the vision portion of the brain. While legitimate vision problems do exist, they are not the cause of the...

Photo by David Fintz on Unsplash Every teacher has seen the sentiment that the best months of the school year are June, July, and August. Every teacher knows the inaccuracy of the witticism but there are ways that we can use June, July,...

With this post, Lucinda begins a series of stories of Christian martyrs and heroes from the past. We hope you will be inspired by these histories and perhaps find them helpful in preparing for school devotions. Year: 203 AD Place:...

Since I love to hear others recommend books or other resources that have helped them grow as a learner and teacher, I offer this post. Good classroom management is a much-discussed subject—one that teachers continuously try to understand...

“Somebody will have to be killed before they change it” This statement came regarding an intersection that has been the site of several accidents. Wouldn’t it be nice to change it BEFORE someone is killed? Could we do that just for one...

First graders have interesting answers to this question: What is an ideal teacher? I had to first explain what ideal means. We discussed ideal as meaning the very best . So, what makes the very best kind of teacher? The first answer given...

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash One of my first-grade art projects involved sprinkling dry tempera paint on wet paper. The children enjoyed the project, but the result was a horrible mess, a frustrated teacher, and likely an annoyed...

Blue plaid for first-day dresses, carefully sewn by loyal mothers. Blue for vibrancy, excitement, stability: the color of winners. Blue for the verity of friendships forged in school days. Blue for fidelity, honor, courage at beginnings....

Image by congerdesign from Pixabay Imagine asking your students to raise their hands if they think they can read. If you aren’t teaching kindergarten or first grade, I’m guessing most, if not all, would raise their hands. Now imagine...

“We need a break. I am hoping for snow days. I need to recharge. It is a long time from Christmas until Easter – especially this year when Easter is later.” This was a discussion topic among teachers recently. Sure, we love our jobs, and...

Photo by Stefan Steinbauer on Unsplash Imagine with me a walk in the woods or along a path in a state park, carrying a foraging basket. You bend to pick a purple violet, marvel at its velvety petals, sniff its sweet scent, and then you...

Private Anabaptist schools function with relative freedom, which includes the ability of parents and teachers to decide to individualize instruction at an intense level. Within the public school, some individualization can happen within...

Image by Gvantsa Javakhishvili on Unsplash Imagine this scenario: You want to be the leader of a new civilization on a beautiful island in the South Pacific, so you apply and get accepted to this position. You hire a personal tutor to...

I love books. I could dream them and wear them and eat them for breakfast. I have a special place in my heart for children’s books. But the hardest age for me to find appropriate reading material for is the emerging reader—the child who is...

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel of nations; He...

Two plus two is not five? That's so obvious! For our students who struggle with math computation, however, this is not so easy. My first blog post introduced Rekenreks , a great resource for your first grade math class. Today I want to...