Bring the Snow Inside – 7 Ways to Incorporate the Blizzard Into Your Classroom

January 27, 2016

Winter Storm Jonas left us here in NYC huddled up for the weekend, baking cookies, snuggling on the couch, and watching Alan Rickman movies in memoriam. But schools were back in session again on Monday, despite sometimes impassible sidewalks and questionably plowed roads in some of the outer-lying neighborhoods. So since the snow is everywhere, … More Bring the Snow Inside – 7 Ways to Incorporate the Blizzard Into Your Classroom

5 Ways to Integrate Food In the Classroom.

January 13, 2016

For 13 years, I taught in the “hard-to-staff” neighborhoods of the Bronx. My students were hungry, traumatized, and VERY under-exposed to language and language-building experiences. How do you have a conversation about adjectives with students whose only real exposure to them is “bad” and “good,” and maybe “hot” and “cold”? But even if your kids … More 5 Ways to Integrate Food In the Classroom.

3 Arts Integration Resolutions (for Procrastinators)

January 5, 2016

Okay, this was scheduled for last week, but, you know, holidays. I hope you enjoyed yours – mine were fabulous and full of board games. We’re still in the first week of January, so still plenty of time for some New Year reflecting, right? And by now we’re all (hopefully) over our hangovers and a … More 3 Arts Integration Resolutions (for Procrastinators)

Holiday Trash to Holiday Treasure: 5 Projects to Keep the Kids Busy Over Break.

December 23, 2015

Winter break is nearly upon us, and all us parents want is a way to keep the kids busy until we can cart them back off to school. Here are a few ways to recycle your holiday trash into creative projects for the kiddos. 1. Recycle those last scraps of wrapping paper into origami ornaments. … More Holiday Trash to Holiday Treasure: 5 Projects to Keep the Kids Busy Over Break.

21 Great Picture Books to Get You Through the Holidays – With Bulletin Board Ideas!

December 12, 2015

Hey ho, hey ho, ’tis the season for generosity and sharing, so here’s a bonus blog post to help you get through those last couple weeks of the holiday season before break. A word of caution: holidays deal inherently with peoples’ religious and family beliefs and traditions, and thus need some sensitive handling. For this … More 21 Great Picture Books to Get You Through the Holidays – With Bulletin Board Ideas!

Time Travel, Cont’d: Chinese Painting and Proverbs.

December 8, 2015

Returning to our unit on time travel, we moved on from Ancient India to Ancient China, where we spent two one-hour sessions. The focus for the first lesson lesson was Chinese painting: 1.Chinese painting uses “echo lines” (my term) to reinforce visual flow, especially in landscapes. 2. The Chinese consider the empty space to be … More Time Travel, Cont’d: Chinese Painting and Proverbs.