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Fancying Up Your Bulletin Board Letters
I know you’ve seen them on your social media feeds. And I know you are thinking, these are adorable but I don’t have a cricut® and I am not going to buy a cricut® and so I will never be able to make these beautiful bulletin board letters. And then you hang your head and think about all the other things that you don’t have in your life, like a Ford Mustang convertible, an Instapot, a private jet and Tieks. (I really want a pair of Tieks). (Disclosure: Some of links below are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if…
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Black Pioneers You Should Know: Daniel Hale Williams
This is an idea for a simple Black History age appropriate project for Kindergarten. Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a pioneer in his field, being only the second doctor to successfully complete an open heart surgery. Students make their own medical kit bag as a way of recording facts.
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The Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos are sometimes referred to as a Mexican Halloween, but the truth is that the holidays are closer to Thanksgiving than Halloween! Read more about this joyous celebration of life and find activities to engage your students in this bright and seasonal holiday.
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Black Pioneers You Should Know: Garrett Morgan
If you've hear of Garrett Morgan, you might think that he invented the stoplight. That's not strictly true, but the inventions he patented are ones that have evolved to become life savers today. Read more...
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Black Pioneers You Should Know: George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver was an expert in the field of botany, helping farmers make the most out of their land, and finding uses for their surplus peanut crops that they used in crop rotation. Whilst not the inventor of peanut butter, George can be credited with popularizing a large variety of peanut products we have today. Learn more about him here.
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Black Pioneers You Should Know: Bessie Coleman
When you think of female aviation pioneers, almost certainly you think of Amelia Earhart. But what of Bessie Coleman, the first African American female pilot who had to learn French in order to apply to a French aviation school because no school in American was willing to teach black women. You can learn more in this post.
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Black Pioneers You Should Know: Madam CJ Walker
Sarah Breedlove, better known as Madam CJ Walker, is America's first female self-made millionaire. She grew up in poverty and by the age of 20 was a widowed woman bringing up a two year old daughter alone. To try to make money she took in laundry. Due to a scalp condition, Sarah began to lose her hair so she started experimenting with some of the laundry chemicals she has used, hoping to find a cure.
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Black Pioneers You Should Know: Dr. Mae Jemison
Mae Jemison seems to be one of those kind of cool people that you wish you could've met when you were younger. She is inspirational to me now as an adult, and I think as I child learning about her and her achievements may have led me down a different path, one which I thought was unattainable.
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Camping Themed Classroom
(Disclosure: Some of links below are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Every summer I would spend hours perusing pinterest for the perfect classroom theme for the school year. So different choices, from llamas to cacti and even farmhouse! (I’m not sure that a Chip and Joanna Gaines shiplap classroom is particularly inspiring for students, but then again, each to their own!) But the themes I love are the ones that have legs and can be revisited year after year. And the decor that I always come back to is camping. Here…
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Kindergarten Addition and Subtraction
What are some ways of practicing with addition and subtraction that you use in your classroom? Using hands-on manipulatives are the most concrete way of showing addition and understanding that combinations of numbers equal a new total. (Disclosure: Some of links below are affiliate links, which means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.) Manipulatives that my students always enjoy counting with include mini erasers, beans, counters, compare bears and candy corn or popcorn (I give each student their individual bag of the latter and they are allowed to eat at the end!) I love open-ended opportunities…
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Easy Father’s Day Craft
I always feel that dads and other important males in our students lives get a little bit left out of the parenting celebration. In my school district school is out roughly two weeks before Father's Day, and it ended up being forgotten in the hustle and bustle of field day and parties for many years. But then I realized that this craft was the perfect activity for the last days of school when you are scratching your head to find engaging assignments for your students.
