Kindergarten

Visual of class handmade brown bags displayed on the top of a library shelf with several children's hands dropping their Valentine's Day treats into them. Title of post is featured.

Valentine’s Day Kindergarten Ideas: How to Promote Great Friendships and Meaningful Writing

Valentine’s day kindergarten ideas come and go. Over 30 years of teaching, I’ve definitely seen them all! During that time, I realized that some Valentine’s Day kindergarten ideas were much more substantive and long-lasting than simply one chaotic day of giving store-bought cards to each other and gobbling as much candy as possible.  Even young […]

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Visual of a close-up look at a child's portfolio booklet with blog post title

Kindergarten Self Assessment At Its Finest: How to Accomplish Unforgettable Student Led Conferences

Through reflective kindergarten self assessment practices, young children can design and accomplish life-changing student led conferences for their parents. The power of reflecting on our past coupled with creating goals for the future transformed and invigorated my classroom. For more than 20 years, I worked alongside almost 500 youngsters as they uniquely planned for their

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Visual of a conference table set with child-written "welcome" sign, display board students collected of soil samples from different places, a child's handwritten portfolio booklet, and a candle. The title of the blog is posted in the visual.

The #1 Surprising Truth About Amazing Student-Led Parent Teacher Conferences

What are student led parent teacher conferences? Exactly what they sound like.  In individual conferences: Students reflect across the year on the powerful learning that changed them.  Parents sit in awe.  Teachers support children as needed. Discover the secret of student led parent teacher conferences and how to successfully pull them off! Since 1999, I

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Visual of a school garden showcasing children's winter decorations.

Your School Garden: How Can You Actually Live Your Best Life There this Winter?

No one could believe where my 20-year tradition of decorating our school garden came from. After all, who would ever dream a family tradition that my mother started over 50 years ago could still impact children these days? Mom had no idea she was engaging in inquiry based learning with her 5, 8, 10 and

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Visual representing "What Inquiry Based Learning Is About" showcasing kindergartners using water droppers throughout their school garden

What Inquiry Based Learning Is: How Could Thoughtful Kindergartners Impact a Village?

Join my kindergartners as they discover what inquiry based learning is. It started with a simple water dropper on the first day of kindergarten. Shuffling twenty-two droppers into outstretched hands, I asked the kids to explore the garden using the droppers and pointed to some scattered water buckets. They rushed off, excited to be first

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