Free Journey to Christmas Clip Art Series

Follow me each week on my social media to get linked to a fantastic set of Christmas-themed clip art images for FREE! My Journey to Christmas Clip Art Series is my way of spreading the love and joy that the season of Christmas brings to everyone! This series would be the perfect set of clip art images to add some seasonal sparkle to your lessons this December.

**This free clip art offer will become inactive on 01/01/19**

Come, chime in on the Christmas fun which is already half way through. Simply click the link below to get you started.

Save money on resources

Are you looking for great offers on teaching resources this November? Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to pick up a bargain. Come visit my store for resources that were created with both the teacher and students in mind. Why not give yourself a break and take this opportunity to save as much as 10% on any of my discounted resources? 

Simply click HERE to get started on TES!

FREE Vowel Sound Poster

This is a poster that I created for my grade 4 students to review the different ways that the long sound of a can be represented in words. This idea came about as we were working on the spelling of words with /ei/ and /ie/. I think that it is a smart idea to go back to the basics to guide them into learning this often difficult concept. You can print them as posters or they make the review sheet for students notebooks. Simply click the picture below to be taken to the free resource.

Enjoy!!!

Our Class Self-Watering Project

Our class is learning all about agricultural technologies this term. One of the topics that we explored is the use of controlled technologies in plant production. I was completely fascinated by the idea of growing plants in low water conditions. In this case the self-watering system stood out as a simple yet very effective way of utilizing what little water there is available.

Self-Watering System

A self-watering system consists of two parts. An outer container that holds the water and an inner container that holds the plant and soil. A wick is used to join the parts together. The wick allows water to move upwards into the soil (capillary action) from the reservoir when needed. A self-watering system is beneficial for people who may be away for a few days because the plant does not require daily watering but instead gets its own water from the reservoir underneath it. 

In the pictures below, we planted turmeric rhizomes which I had sprouting on my kitchen counter top. Instead of discarding them I decided that we would use the rhizomes in our own self-watering planters. We will monitor their growth daily and each student will make the necessary notes in their journals. I plan to let them take the plants home after 4 weeks so that they can transplant their young plants to their own backyard. 

Take a look at this video which demonstrates how to make your own self-watering planter.

45 Flexible Seating Options for the Elementary Classroom

Are you transforming your classroom into a comfortable learning space where seating options vary? If so, then I'm sure that you are looking for flexible seating clip art to create your own classroom anchor charts. I created lots of flexible/alternative seating clip art images just for you! These images can be used to create anchor charts, seating charts, posters and plans for easy student reference. 

This set contains each of my flexible seating clip art (45 seating options) for creating flexible seating resources that pop!. All images are original and created by Nicole Hernandez. 

The seating options available in this pack are as follows:
adirondack chair
beach chair
beach umbrella
beanbag
bench
bouncy chair
bucket seat
butterfly chair
camp chair
carpet circle
classroom rug
clipboard
crate
seat
director’s chair
disc seat
exercise ball chair
floor chair

floor mat
futon
hokki stool
jellyfish seat
kid’s chair
kid’s table
lap desk
laundry basket
lowered and raised table
min stool
picnic table
pillow
round table
scoop seat
stability ball
stool
swivel chair
tent
tire seat
traditional desk
wobbly chair
yoga ball
yoga mat

I included line art versions which means you are getting a total of 90 images. The cover shows exactly what you would get at purchase.

All images are saved in PNG format (transparent background ONLY) to ensure high quality and sharp printing even when enlarged. 

You can go directly to this classroom pack HERE

If you are interested in searching all of my flexible seating graphics sets at my store: All Flexible Seating Sets 

Eid Greeting Cards

Eid ul Fitr is a holy and joyous occasion celebrated by many people all over the world. I created these half size greeting cards to help you celebrate with your students. I included a second page with an Eid message and for students to write their names at the bottom.They can be printed on colored paper for a quick and simple card or they can be printed on white paper for your students to color. 


These cards are available HERE.

4 Simple Ways to Teach Mindfulness in the Classroom

Mindfulness. It is the latest buzzword in education that many are not too familiar with, including myself. Of course, this concept came up recently in a recent google search on educational trends. Naturally, as an educator, I was curious to find out more on this frenzy, especially how it is practiced and how easily it can be taught to young children. After much reading, I have my own opinion about it but, for the sake of transferring basic information to you, I'm only going to discuss what I have found. I suggest that you do your own research :).

What is Mindfulness?

According to J. R. Martin, 1997, Mindfulness is "a state of psychological freedom that occurs when attention remains quiet and limber, without attachment to any particular point of view." It is simply noticing what is happening around you in the moment: now; how your body feels and what you see, smell or taste. Being mindful also means paying attention to what your mind is doing at the moment.

Teaching children about mindfulness is nothing new in my view. As teachers we are always guiding students toward discovering themselves, their inner being. We have always been encouraging self-reflection and promoting introspection for the benefit of our students. Let me not go off on a tangent here. Oh, yes! Like I was saying. Mindfulness is not a relatively new concept, despite what the trend seems to suggest. What is new is the focus on making mindfulness part of the curricular experience through targeted sessions in which students get an opportunity to introspect. Teaching mindfulness to students may make them less reactive to negative experiences and more likely to notice positive experiences which can help them psychologically. But you may ask the question, "How do I teach mindfulness with the resources that I now have?" or "What are some simple ways to teach mindfulness?" Well, to be honest, there are plethora of mindfulness activities that you can find across the web. Some may be overwhelming and others may be simple enough to give you a great start. A great idea is to start simple so that you can get into understanding it progressively.  Here are four simple ways to teach mindfulness to your students that I have found for you. I have created some easy visuals to help you capture the gist of it.

4 Simple Ways to Teach Mindfulness

These are four of the most simple ways to introduce mindfulness in the classroom. There are many more can work well toward getting students to focus on the present. I suggest that you explore the concept in-depth.

                 

1. Mindful Breathing 

2. Mindful Eating

 

3. Mindful Walks 

4. Mindful Coloring 

Here are some of my favorite articles to help you discover more mindfulness ideas and activities:

Mindfulness in Education

Blissful Kids

Mindfulness in The Classroom

Mindfulness in The Classroom: Does It Work?

Integrating Mindfulness into Your Curriculum

Why You Should Be Teaching Mindfulness To Improve Student Learning

How Mindfulness and Storytelling Help Children Heal and Learn

Celebrating Pentecost

At school this week we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost. Pentecost is the festival that celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit to the apostles who were gathered together in Jerusalem after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the Sunday fifty days after Easter. The name Pentecost comes from the Greek pentekoste which means "fiftieth". The symbols of Pentecost include flames, wind, the breath of God and a dove.

At our school our bulletin board was transformed into a sea of red to symbolize the tongues of fire. The tongues of fire were made with white, yellow and orange colored paper: the tips were colored with a red marker. The dove was made out of a Styrofoam plate that was cut out and assembled in the shape of the dove.

As you can see, the display is simple yet very effective. The dove was seated over the top with words underneath that took on the appearance of  a flowing, mighty wind.

My students had fun making their tongues of fire headband craft. They colored their flame shapes then mounted them on strips of paper for the headband. Each headband was fitted to each child's head and a stapler was used to secure the headbands in place. Here they are posing with their headbands. They are adorable!!!!!

They had fun as they also sang the song Fire, Fire, Fire, Fire Fall on me. Boy! They really had a great time!

I created this memory verse chart for my class. You can download it here.

5 Critical Skills for Reading Readiness

I believe that many parents today are only now realising how important they really are to the reading success of their children. If many were to turn the hands of time and go back to their child's infancy,  I believe that they would have done things differently, if they could! I always encourage my school parents to help their children at home in any way possible, but, sad to say, many are either too busy or too tired. As a result, many five-year-olds continue to struggle daily. Indeed this is heart-wrenching! At this time of year we often see the agony and disappointment on their faces as they look on at their classmates who made it successfully to another class level.

Reading readiness has been defined as the point at which a child is ready to read.  Let me just say that all children are not ready at the same time and few children come to school fully ready. According to experts a child's state of reading readiness is determined by many factors including the child’s self-concept, his or her values and attitude towards education, physiological and psychological maturity, and motivation. Many proport that there are five (5) critical skills which teachers can examine to identify those students who are ready to read. The following is a video sketch of the critical readiness skills.

Print Awareness

Letter Knowledge

Phonological Awareness

Listening Comprehension

Motivation to Read

Teaching Place Value Using Abacus

An abacus is an excellent resource for helping your students understand the concept of place value at any level. It can help them visualize the meaning of the places and internalize the grouping strategy behind it. An abacus shows clearly the two columns, ones (units) and the tens which students can manipulate themselves until they can completely internalize this concept. I have created a 2D set of place value mat and abacus cards to help with the translation from the concrete to the iconic stage of learning for students.

This is a set of abacus cards and mat for students to show the place value of tens and ones. Simply print and laminate the 2-digit number cards, abacus beads and the place value mat. Cut out the individual pieces and store in a ziploc bag.

Also included are abacus task cards for number writing practice.

 You can check them out further by clicking any of the pictures above. Check back often for more Abacus place value resources for the different levels.

Multiplication Concept Posters

I just completed my multiplication posters for helping students to grasp this concept. These display posters feature kid-friendly graphics to illustrate your teaching on this topic. Great for enhancing your classroom, for general display, or as discussion prompts, this pack supports teaching the basics of the multiplication concept and strategies for young learners.

The pack includes:

General multiplication posters

DEFINITION POSTERS for the following key mathematical terms:

array

row
column
multiply
multiple
factor
facts
multiplication tables

STRATEGY POSTERS for multiplication:

skip counting
equal groups

repeated addition of rows/columns in an array

commutative property

distributive property

To purchase this file, head to either of my shops by clicking the buttons below!

Mega March Savings at TES

Are you a first time buyer on TES Resources? If you are then here's a heap of savings for you.  For the month of March you can get 60% off your first purchase worth up to US$14/A$18 or the equivalent in UK pounds. Yes, it's true! Now is the time to march into saving opportunities and get your much needed teaching resources. You can start by checking out my shop which has over 400 fun favorable resources. Go to A Teacher's Idea TES Store now! You can use the search interface to find what you need! Happy shopping!

Sight Word Resources Must-Haves

Check out my growing list of resources that I think you must have to make sight word learning for your students both fun and meaningful!

I am super excited about this set that I updated today! Yay! I'm not done yet! I'm working on other Dolch Noun resources so check back often for updates! :)

I was featured in the TpT BLOG!!

This was featured in the TPT BLOG in the opening comments for the 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL today!!

Hooray!!!

You can check out the blog post here: https://blog.teacherspayteachers.com/100-days-of-school-activities

Here is another mini book to get your kiddos going. It's a great little keepsake for your kids to celebrate 100 days of school and the 100th day of school. This 10-page book (half pages) consists of 4 colored pages (including the cover) and 6 pages are in black and white. There is a writing activity included at the bottom of each page.