A kind classroom does not happen because we hang a "Be Kind" poster. It happens because we teach kindness the same way we teach letters and numbers: explicitly, with lots of modeling and practice, and with patience when children get it wrong. Five- and six-year-olds are still learning what their feelings are, let alone how […]
Beginning-of-year assessments have a way of taking over September. Between district screeners, report card baselines and your own curiosity about where each child is, it can feel like you spend more time testing than teaching. And for a five-year-old sitting across from a new adult, being "tested" can be a lot. It does not have […]
If you could keep only one math tool in your kindergarten classroom, a strong case could be made for the humble ten frame. Two rows of five boxes. That is it. Yet this simple grid helps children see numbers, compare them, break them apart and, eventually, add and subtract with real understanding. Here is why […]
If you have ever reached October wondering why lining up still takes six minutes, you are not alone. The first two weeks of kindergarten feel like they should be about letters, numbers and getting to know each other. They are about those things. But the real curriculum of those first ten days is routines: how […]
The soft g sound is typically more challenging for students to learn than the hard g sound. The hard sound generally is taught first because it is much more commonly found in words. However, it eventually becomes necessary for young children to learn the soft sound as well. If you are preparing to teach the […]
The letter g can sometimes be tricky for beginner readers since it is one of the consonants that makes two different sounds. The hard sound, or /g/, is heard in words like girl, bag, or groggy. The soft sound, or /j/, is heard in words like Germany, mangy, and edge. These letter sounds may initially […]
Kindergarten students are lovely to teach for many reasons, but it is incredibly awesome to see the growth in the early readers! It is like Kindergarten magic! With many months of consistent and purposeful practice, that magic shines through! One of the most effective ways to build reading in the early years is to teach […]
