Welcome to Education to the Core’s Children’s Book Author Spotlight. This is a series of blogs that will highlight a specific children’s book author. Share their stories, their books, their love.  It is my goal to not only highlight some amazing authors but share some great resources and how to pair their books with engaging […]

So your students now recognize their letters and associate these letters with their sounds (phonemic awareness). And, they are beginning to grasp that sounds can go together to make words. As a teacher, you are ready to launch your kiddos into the world of reading. But if you are anything like myself and other teachers, […]

Did anyone else ever play “I Spy” during long car rides when you were a child?  I am sure your family played the “Quiet Game” in the car!  You know the one I am talking about… the person who stayed quietest the longest would win!  No?  Just my family played that with me? That’s okay, […]

“Rainy Days and Mondays always get me down” as The Carpenters once sang.  Well, for me they are half right.  The latter part on Mondays definitely gets me down!  I used to dread Rainy Days because that meant we weren’t able to get outside to release some of that bundled-up energy, however lately with these […]

English Language Learner (ELL) students do not necessarily learn differently than other students. However, they can have specific educational needs. The term, ELL, refers to a student who does not speak English as a first language.  They typically come from non-English-speaking homes and may need modified instruction and additional support in English and other subject […]

The weather is getting warmer and our students (and us) are getting restless. We have had to pull out all of the stops this school year and really dig deep to keep the school year running smoothly. But, for the first time in forever, the weather is on our side and we can finally take […]

2022 is the year of Equity for me.  Part of finding and incorporating more equitable practices in my classroom is ensuring that I allow my students access to multicultural texts.  It is my goal that they not only see themselves in the stories that they read but also be exposed to other cultures.  Spring is all […]

Although Earth Day is Every Day in my mind (right?), the official annual date of April 22nd is approaching fast! I love teaching my kids to appreciate and take care of our Earth. But, there are so many ways to get students active in keeping our Earth sustainable; how can you ever narrow it down […]

It is that time of year! The time when we are tired, and the students are restless. It has been a long one for both the kids and us! To help teachers out, we came up with 25 Tips to Survive till Summer Break! As always, the teachers in our Fearless Facebook Kindergarten, Fearless First […]

Quiet time is a purposeful and peaceful way to recharge mid-day. It’s even great for teachers to take that extra couple of minutes to recharge as well! If you don’t do quiet time right now, or you’re looking for fresh new ideas to spice up this section of your day, here are 12 quiet time […]

Spring is in the air and I am ready to bring out the fun science projects, read-alouds, and outdoor activities. This time of year has us wearing many hats and needing a variety of activities for our students. Our folders contain review activities to get us ready for the end of the year testing, quiet […]

How do you check for student understanding?  As educators, we are constantly checking in with our students.  Perhaps you are already including some type of K-W-L chart, pre-test, formal assessment, or even a check-in throughout the lesson.  We are constantly checking for understanding.  One of my favorite ways lately to check for understanding is the […]