Emails and magazines and pinterest and facebook and twitter and the newspaper are all chock full o’ great and crazy ideas for parents right now, and I’ll be honest–I’m overwhelmed.

So rather than try to do it all–and rather than ignore it all–I’ve whittled it down to 3 for real things you can (and should) do with your kids this summer.

I say ‘for real’ because how many of us have pinned 8 million things on our pinterest boards with the intention of ‘really, really doing it this summer’ with our kids?

How many magazine pages have you ripped out and shoved in a folder (or your purse) with the goal of ‘really, really making that recipe for the July 4th picnic–or whatever)?

Why are these ‘for real’? Because you’ll make habits out of them. That’s why.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• 3 For Real Things You Can Do With Your Kids This Summer:

1.  Word-A-Day Cards: Really. Check it out. Printables for your family that feature a word a day.

Talk words at breakfast. Use ‘em throughout the day.  Do it. After the initial pain of printing and cutting, you’ll have them, and  you’ll be surprised at how much your kids will look forward to them.

They’ll even get into adding their own. Soon the whole family will be involved.

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2.  Everyday Journals or Everyday Name Books:  It’s just about getting into the habit of doing something at the same time every day.

Whether it’s the name books for little guys or the journal for the bigger guys, do something. Do it after the pool or as a wind-down from camp; do it before breakfast or after lunch.

It’s something. And it totally counts.

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3.  Read: C’mon. Reading is easy.  You can read anywhere, any time, and it all counts.

Get yourself psyched for summer reading–because I get it–we sometimes have to psyche ourselves up for these kinds of things.

Need a few books to get your kids back into the reading game? Here are five books that will get them excited about reading this summer, and 10 ways to make reading a priority for your family.

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3 things. You totally have this. And if you can’t do all three? You know what? It’s fine.

Pick one and run with it.

Your kids will thank you for it.

And? When you’re really running hard and need some more inspiration head to we teach for these totally free rockstar eBooks.

Member-created and packed full of awesome ways to sneak some learning into your every day.

The post 3 for real things you should do with your kids this summer appeared first on teach mama.

Everyone wants to create a literate home–but how?

By reading all day long, every day of the week? By talking about books 24/7? By wallpapering your kids’ rooms with bookcovers?

No, no, and no.

Well? Maybe. But not really.

We will be sharing some realistic ways of creating a literate home for your family this very week–Thursday to be exact. 

Please join our good friends from PBS Kids, along with the amazing Melissa Taylor of Imagination Soup and me as we brave the twitterverse for a bit on Thursday and really breakdown the ‘how-to’s of creating a literate home.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Create a Literate Home Twitter Event:  Join us for a twitter event with amazing parents and teachers and some really special guests!

And PBS Kids is giving away some really cool prize packs!

Who: Parents, teachers, caregivers, expert panelists, and YOU!

• Amy Mascott: @teachmama
• Melissa Taylor: @ImaginationSoup
• PBSKids: @PBSKids

Special Guests: tba! stay tuned. . .

What: We will be talking about how to create a literate home for your kids
Why: Because literate homes grow literate kids!
Where: Twitter! (http://twitter.com) #booknookchallenge
When: Thursday, 6.20.13 from 9-10 pm ET
How:

1. Before the event, rsvp here: http://bit.ly/booknookchallengersvp
2. On 6.20.13, log onto twitter
3. Follow the hashtag #booknookchallenge
4. Tweet, re-tweet (RT), and tweet some more!
5. Optional: Share YOUR fave photos, tips, tricks, and ideas for creating a literate home!

Helpful hints:

• use tChat (http://www.tchat.io/rooms/booknookchallenge) to make it easier for you
• visit the panelists’ sites and bring questions, comments or concerns to the event
• visit our we teach Twitter event how-to for answers to your Twitter event questions.
• make sure you are following the hosts (@teachmama, @ImaginationSoup, & @PBSKids) so you don’t miss a beat!

We look forward to chatting with you on Thursday, June 20th, and we are psyched for a summer of fun learning!

The post pbs kids twitter event: create a literate home appeared first on teach mama.

Father’s Day is here.

Like practically tomorrow.

And with the whirlwind of the end-of-school excitement, Father’s Day often takes a back seat to. . . well, other things.

Not this year.

Even though we’re on the clock, the kids and I made these quick and easy Father’s Day Surprise Notes that I know their dad will adore.

Kid-made–all of their ideas–and totally Dad-approved–all things he will love.

But this is not your typical Father’s Day Ticket Book. We’ve been there and done that. And really? They don’t always work.  The dad in this house, at least, often forgets to use his tickets and then they go to waste.

Not this year.

New version. Guaranteed to work.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Quick, Easy Father’s Day Surprise Notes– Kid-Made and Dad-Approved: So instead of giving Dad all of the tickets at once, we’re keeping the kids in control this time.

We’ll show Dad the Dad Rules envelope on Father’s Day, but then we’re taking it back.

He sees it and then he doesn’t. Like magic.

The kids (and I, of course!) will surprise their dad every so often with a Father’s Day Surprise Ticket–fun little treats to make Father’s Day last a whole lot longer than one measly day in June.

We simply changed the wording of the tickets, added in a few more surprises, printed them off, and we’re done.

Maddy, Owen, and Cora added a few of their own–there’s a blank page for last-minute ideas–and they added a few before we sealed the envelope.

Fathers Day Surprise Tickets 2013 by teach mama

We added a few fancy stickers on the envelope, and we’re good to go.

Father’s Day Surprise Tickets . . .

. . . fun for the kids to make,

sans glue and crazy craft supplies.

And that’s it–just a quickie little way for the kids to show Dad they care!

All you need for these is imagination and a dad who can roll with the punches, handle a few good surprises, and enjoys a few creative kids!

Happy Father’s Day, dads!!

The post quick, easy father’s day surprise notes: kid-made and dad-approved appeared first on teach mama.

Hard to believe that in just a few days my kids will no longer be third, first, and Kindergartners and will instead be fourth, second, and first graders!

UN-believable.

Maddy wasn’t even in Kindergarten when I started this blog, and now she’s in fourth grade. Oh my gosh time is flying.

We will not let summer zip by us this year.  No way, no how.

Instead we will control the speed with which we move by making sure we fit every single fun thing in that we want, from the first ear of corn we eat to the last lightening bug we catch. We’re doing it.

And so can you.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Smart Summer Fun Ideas — 2013 Calendar: I shared our Smart Summer Calendar last year about this time, and it worked great for us.

I liked the flexibility it gave us because we never had specific, must-do activities each day; rather, it allowed for collaboration and weekly planning which worked better for our family overall.

 

teach mama’s Smart Summer Cal 2013 by teach mama

 

And though the big picture idea is one thing, it also helps for us to have a general daily plan–an everyday (or almost everyday) schedule even for summertime. Otherwise, it’ll all get nuts.  Kids thrive on patterns–and really? Adults do, too.

Here’s our general, and I mean general, daily plan for summer.  It will change big come the end of July, when the kids’ swim and dive seasons end:

Teachmama Smart Summer Daily Plan 2013 by teach mama

 

Really, until I share our (eeeeee!) totally exciting plan for summer reading, that’s it.

We’ll be making our summer work for us–throwing in everything fun we love, thanks to our soon-to-be-made Summer Fun Cards, the we teach summer learning eBook, our Everyday Journal cards, Everyday Math ideas, and more.

Stay tuned!

Until then, if you have a favorite summer learning resource, please do share it! We had an awesome twitter event this week, all focused on summer learning. I cannot wait to share the resources and our findings!

If you can’t wait (and I don’t blame you!) do check our pinterest board for summer cool & fun for kids or the summer learning ideas 2013 board!

The post smart summer fun ideas: 2013 calendar appeared first on teach mama.

Every home should have a cozy spot reserved for reading.

Call it what you want–a Book Nook, Reading Corner, Big Book Chair, whatever–but with a few key pieces, your home can have a kid-friendly, totally rockstar book nook in no time.

As part of a kick-off for the Pottery Barn Kids and PBS Kids’ Summer Reading Challenge, I was invited to create my own book nook.

So the kids and I put our heads together and brought together some great pieces from Pottery Barn Kids and some great pieces we had around the house and now? We have a book nook that has been busy from day one.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• How to Create a Kid-Friendly, Totally Rockstar Book Nook: 5 simple tricks.

1.  Keep it kid-centered.  If it’s a kid-centered book nook, kids–your kids–should have some say in the layout and design.  Let them choose colors, let them choose products (if possible), and let them choose books.

2.  Keep it simple.  For us, simple has always been better, and for book nooks, all you need are a few simple components:

• a bookshelf (or shelves)
• seating
• light
• comfort
• books!

3. Keep it functional. Books  nooks have to work. They need to draw in little readers like magnets. Like flies to picnic food, like moths to back porch lights, kids to mud puddles. They have to have wide open arms and willing and able to house readers at any time of the day.  They need to be usable spots for reading.

4. Keep it close.  I like the idea of book nooks being in central locations–or really close to central locations!–because I think it’s really important for parents to be able to jump in and join in the reading fun at any time.  While some think that book nooks must be reserved for tiny spaces or unused crawl spaces, I prefer book nooks to be more like constant, open invitations to cozy up and read as a family or at least with a buddy.

5. Keep it pretty. That’s right. Kids, just like adults, want to be in aesthetically pleasing places. We all appreciate beauty, and we all feel good when we’re around fresh, new, and clean things. Though your book nook doesn’t need to be brand-new, fresh out of the box, if you can add a few ‘new to you’ pieces, it will up its charm and look.  Frame a cool book cover.  Hang your child’s artwork nearby.  Keep a flower from the garden in a vase on top of the bookshelf. It doesn’t need to be super crazy fancy. It just needs to be pretty.

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To create our book nook, our family first made a big decision together: location.

Though we knew we’d have more space for really making a large reading space in the basement, the reality is that our family is always in the living room. It’s the central spot of our home.  It’s where we spend a lot of our time.

Our basement tends to be cooler, darker, and not as cozy.  It was a clear answer: our book nook had to be in our living room.

The boxes arrived, and the kids couldn’t wait to crack open our new books!

Then we made some decisions on pieces from Pottery Barn: bookcase, seating, rug, wall hangings, canopy, and books.  Maddy and I sat together for a while and chose:

• Anywhere Beanbag
• Cameron 2-Shelf Bookcase
• Chenille Jute Striped Border Rug
• Stanton Organization System magnetic boards
• Wall Decals: jumbo world map
• Canopies: rugby play tent
  
• Collectors Complete Lamp
• Sailboat Bookends
• books

Our boxes finally arrived from Pottery Barn, and we got to work.

Well, we kind of got to work. First, we did a lot of popping bubbles and trying out our new beanbag chair. . .

I was surprised at how easy it was to put together our Cameron 2-Shelf Bookcase.

Cora could jump right in and help with its constructions–no problem.

Then we started doing some furniture moving and really setting up our book nook.

My husband moved the bookcase over, and we touched up the walls.

Then he unfolded our sweet new book nook rug with some help from Brady.

We slowly added some pieces to our cozy reading corner.  First we moved in our bookshelf, then we added the beanbag chair.

Next we used a frame we had in a different spot on our house that had two slots for photos.  In it? Baby Owen and Maddy at two years old.  Time for an update.

I added two cool, totally fun Spin Art masterpieces that Maddy and Cora made at a local spring fair.  They were thrilled. And I loved how the colors tied in our new beanbag and our walls.

Fun Spin Art turned wall art. . .

Maddy can hardly wait to get settled in her book nook.

Love, love, love the Stanton Organization System magnetic boards!

In order to keep our book nook functional, we placed our Stanton Organization System magnetic boards under our newly created art work.

On them, I added age-appropriate book lists for Maddy, Owen, and Cora for summer reading inspiration.

I also included a blank summer reading chart for each child so that any time they read, they can simply add the book to their list! No searching for paper, searching for lists, or searching for their list!

Want your own copy of the summer reading book list? Download it here:  Summer Reading Book Log for little guys (bigger spaces) or Summer Reading Book Log for bigger guys (more lines, smaller spaces).

Want a few more summer reading resources from Pottery Barn Kids? They’ve got some bookmark booklists, certificates, and progress tracker posters. So great.

These butterfly pens will stay here. . .

. . . so the kids can easily update their Summer Reading Book Logs

Our super-cute butterfly pens are kept cozy and close at hand in a simple, sweet mason jar pen holder.

All I did was super-glue a tie from our rug (talk about recycling!) around the top. Cool. It brought together some of the textures in our little reading corner.

Easy way of keeping the book nook kid-centered? Frame their favorite books’ covers!

I wanted to find ways of keeping our book nook kid-centered, so the kids and I went through our many book covers (my kids always remove them!) and we chose two book covers that we wanted to frame.

We found two frames that Maddy had created at school, and we used them.

The frames had a beachy feel to them, so they went perfectly with our light, easy book nook.

Love using the kids’ ‘little guys’ as the filler for our lamp–keeps it all really kid-centered!

We contemplated several different ways of filling our Collectors Complete Lamp –we thought about using seashells, bookmarks, rocks, and more, but when I found our box of ‘little guys’, I knew that was our winner.

For years and years and years we have had a box of little guys–small figurines, happy meal toys, and favorite pocket playthings.  As Maddy, Owen, and Cora have gotten older, these guys haven’t seen a whole lot of play time.

When they saw them in the lamp? They were so happy.

And the great thing about the lamp is that it’s really easy to change out the items, which they all think is really cool.  Me too.

books, books, books!

Books. We added all of our favorite books to the bookshelf, because of course, that’s the whole purpose.

We moved a bunch of the books from the larger bookshelf next to the book nook to this shelf, and we love it. It’s much easier to see the books when they’re not all shoved together, and this way, we have tons of our favorites right here.

Maddy and Owen, though they are regularly reading chapter books, still love to sit down with a good children’s picture book–and they should. There’s no reason that as kids get older that they should give up that rich and important reading, those great stories, unforgettable characters, or amazing illustrations.  

Each time they read these books, they’ll get something different. It’s worth keeping them close.

Our finished book nook turned out. . .

. . . to be a super-awesome, frequently visited stop for the kids.

We are really, really happy with how our book nook turned out. It’s perfect for our family, and it has become a really, really busy cozy corner of our home.

Hopefully my five tricks for creating a rockstar book nook will help your family make a book nook perfect for summertime reading!  If you make one? Please do share! I’d love to see it!

Need a bit more reading corner inspiration? I’ve created a book nooks & reading corners Pinterest board for inspiration, and I encourage you to check it out!

Looking for more literacy-learning tips and tricks? Check out my literacy board–packed with tons of great tips, tricks, and ideas for literacy learning!

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fyi: I created this book nook for our family with some help (okay, and an outright invitation!) from my friends at PBS Kids and Pottery Barn Kids. 

Along with five other bloggers, I’m participating in the #booknookchallenge –where we design a kid-friendly book nook, people vote on their fave, and after voting, the winner will receive a little facetime on the new Pottery Barn Kids blog along with $100 Pottery Barn Kids gift card to give to one lucky reader!  More info to follow!

Would love it if you hit me with a vote over at the Pottery Barn Kids blog:  http://blog.potterybarnkids.com/2013/06/17/book-nook-challenge/

You can vote every day through June 23. Many thanks!

I received the pieces mentioned here from Pottery Barn Kids in exchange for participating in the PBS Kids Summer Book Nook Challenge.  All opinions are my own.

The post how to create a cool, kid-friendly book nook appeared first on teach mama.

Maybe you’ve heard or maybe you haven’t, but Target is big on giving back to the community.

So big they’re on track to give $1 billion to education by 2015.

I’d say that’s pretty big.

And as a parent and teacher and wife of a school administrator and mother of three children who attend public school, I think it’s pretty cool that Target gives back to the community this way.  And honestly? I think more people should know about it.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Target School Library Makeovers–What They Are And Why You Should Care:  Though I was able to attend a Give With Target event last spring in Baltimore and actually chat with Good Luck, Charlie star Bridgit Mendler, I had not attended a school library makeover.

So this week I did. And it was crazy. Electric. Exciting. Emotional.

Amazing.

Really, really cool, for so many reasons.

Here’s a quick vlog of my Target School Library Makeover & Meals for Minds Experience:

Did you know that:

• Target started the school library makeover program in 2007?
• since 2007, Target has renovated more than 150 school libraries?
• Target donated more than 1.3 million books to schools and students?
• more than 75,000 students have been impacted through this program but that by the end of 2013, more than 93,000 students will be impacted??

• Target team members have donated more than 107,000 hours to renovate libraries across the country?
• Target partners with local food banks for Meals for Minds and that every school eligible for a library makeover have the option of receiving a Target Meals for Minds food pantry?
• Meals for Minds gives each student and his or her family more than 22 lbs of food on a monthly basis, with 25% of the the total pounds of food to be fresh produce?

• students are also given books to take home as part of this program so they can build their own at-home libraries?
• Target gives back 5% of its profit to communities, which today equals about 4 million dollars a week?

Want more information? Check out Target’s Corporate Responsibility for Education-related giving and more information.

Take a look at all of the photos from my close-up of a Target School Library Makeover in Baltimore, Maryland:

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Want to know which books each child from this school will be taking home?

I did–and you can print the list (Target School Library Makeover Take-Home Book List) or check it out below:

Pre-K

• Bedtime for Little Bears/Love you Sleepyhead
• Clifford Firehouse Dog
• David McPhail’s A to Z
• How Kids Grow
• One Rainy Day
• The Snowy Day

Kindergarten

• Daddy Longlegs Blue
• Harry’s House
• Low Down Bad Day Blues
• MISS BINDERGARTEN CELEBRATES THE 100TH DAY OF KINDERGARTEN
• Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere
• Pizza Party
• Scholastic Reader Level 1-I Spy a School Bus

1st

• Book! Book! Book!
• Farm Animals
• It Takes A Village
• JUNIE B., FIRST GRADER (AT LAST!)
• MOUSE SOUP
• ROBIN HILL SCHOOL: ELECTION DAY
• The Blind Man and the Elephant (LVL 3)

2nd

• Barack
• Amazing Sharks
• CAM JANSEN & THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL MYSTERY
• Flossie and the Fox
• Grace for President
• HI! Fly Guy
• Ish

3rd

• Children’s Dictionary
• A TO Z MYSTERIES #10: JAGUAR’S JEWEL, THE
• Amazing Pet Records
• Donovan’s Word Jar
• JUDY MOODY DECLARES INDEPENDENCE
• Longshot
• Number One Kid

4th

• Children’s Thesaurus
• Fourth-Grade Fuss
• The Jacket
• National Geographic: Amazing Animal Journeys
• The Spray-Paint Mystery
• Stone Fox
• Who Cracked the Liberty Bell?

5th

• Webster’s Thesaurus for Students
• Call It Courage
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
• In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
• Junebug
• Lawn Boy
• Loser

6th

• Rage of Fire
• Circle of Gold
• The Circuit
• Eleven
• Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule
• The Island of the Blue Dolphins
• SOUNDER

7th

• Trouble with Mark Hopper
• Bud, Not Buddy
• Crash
• How Do you Spell Geek?
• Pictures of Hollis Woods*
• Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry
• White Fang

8th

• Wave Walkers: Pirate War
• All of the Above
• Harlem Summer
• Raven Hill Mysteries: Dead End
• Seed Folks*
• Stay Strong
• Tracker*

Sibling Books

• Goodnight Moon

PreK

• I Love You Big As the World
• Clifford Firehouse Dog
• David McPhail’s A to Z
• How Kids Grow
• One Rainy Day
• The Snowy Day
• BIG RED READER: CLIFFORD’S BEST SCHOOL DAY
• Harry’s House
• Low Down Bad Day Blues

Want to check these books out? Do it!

Or print the list and check them out another time: (Target School Library Makeover Take-Home Book List)

As one of the Target Inner Circle members, I’ve been privy to some serious behind-the-scenes with this company, and though I’ve learned a ton, I tend to share only the stuff that I think my readers—primarily parents and teachers of school-aged children—would care about.

Here’s to hoping everyone finds this Target school library makeover and the programs Target gives back to the community as worthwhile as I.  Spreading the word about these community-based programs can help support and grow them, knowing that 5% of Target’s income will go back to these programs.  Or consider recommending schools you think would benefit from the services. It’s worth it.

fyi: affiliate links are used in this post

The post target school library makeovers: what they are and why you should care appeared first on teach mama.

Sometimes it’s all we can do to just read with our kids.

And honestly? That counts.  Big time.  So we should be happy if we’re reading with our kids. Woot!

But it’s also the talking with kids about the books that really packs a punch.  The payoffs are huge for kids in terms of reading comprehension skills, listening skills, speaking skills, and more.

Not to mention by talking to our kiddos about books, we’re helping them to develop a longtime love and appreciation for reading.  And we all want that, right? Right.

So here are the top 10 ways to talk to kids about books so you have them in one happy place for your summer reading pleasure.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Top 10 Ways to Talk to Kids About Books: Get ready. It’s life changing.

1.  Make connections.  Make connections between kids and characters in the book.  Make connections between what happens in the book and what has happened in your life. Make connections between what happens in the book and what happens in the world around you.

2.  Make predictions.  Get kids thinking about what will happen in the book before they read.

3.  Activate schema. Use what kids already know to talk about topics in the book. Get their brains moving before the reading begins.

4.  Ask questions.  Model strong questioning by thinking aloud as you read.  Talk about your questions and show your child how asking good questions helps them to better understand what they read.

5.  Go on a book walk.  Sometimes, reading doesn’t have to be reading every word on every page. Book walks are a great way to talk about the book–without reading it.

6.  Make inferences. Bring together big concepts by using what you know, what you read, and what you think will happen in the book.

7.  Think deeply. Kids can really surprise you if you aim high.  Show them how to think deeply about what they read by asking hard questions and modeling critical thinking.

8.  Look at the book’s print.  Talk about the print in the book, the layout, the words on the page.

9.  Talk about the pictures.  Use the illustrations to pull together ideas, discuss the illustrator’s craft, and to strengthen comprehension.

10.  Visualize. Make mind movies, images in the mind.  Visualizing is one of the key components of comprehension; if kids can visualize, they’re most likely understanding what they read!

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This post is part of the School’s Out: A Top 10 Series by KBN,  where over 25 Kid Bloggers from the Kid Blogger Network are sharing Top 10 Ideas to do with your children over your School Break!  Many thanks to Becky from This Reading Mama for organizing the series and to Kim from The Educators’ Spin On It for setting up the collaborative Pinterest board. Here’s the Schedule of what’s coming this week:

Sunday ~ This Reading Mama | The Educators’ Spin on It | Kitchen Counter Chronicle | Rainbows within Reach | Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers | Monday ~ Train Up a Child Learn as We Go | Housing a Forest | Royal Baloo | Living Montessori Now | Tuesday ~ Toddler Approved | Play Trains! | 3 Dinosaurs | Wednesday ~ The Outlaw Mom | Teach Beside Me | Hands On as We Grow | Thursday ~ JDaniel 4′s Mom | All Done Monkey | Fantastic Fun & Learning | KC Edventures | Playing with Words 365 | Friday ~ Teach Mama | The Usual Mayhem | Nature and Play | True Aim Education | Saturday ~ Creative World of Varya | Craftoart | My Buddies and I

The post top 10 ways to talk to kids about books appeared first on teach mama.

It’s that time of year again, when the fliers start coming around collecting money for teacher gifts.  And collecting for teachers’ gifts–on top of other household expenses–can really put a strain on your budget.

Why not get a little digital with your kids this year and give words as a gift?

Words are celebrated with Wordle, and I love it.  Words are art with Wordle.

In the attempt to create word conscious, word-loving kiddos, celebrating words this way is a fun and cool way of sharing messages of thanks with people you care about.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Give Words as a Gift–Word Conscious Kids Use Wordle: I discovered Wordle about a year or two ago, and I’ve been  in love ever since.

Wordle is simply a free site that creates collages out of words.   “Word Clouds” is what they call what they create.

And you can enter single words manually or you can cut and paste a paragraph, or you can paste in a url.

I entered http://teachmama.com and I came up with the following wordle designs:

And I clicked ‘randomize’ and came up with the following design for the same url:

The more times a word is entered, the larger it becomes.

I totally love it.

So for Mother’s Day this year, along with our Butterfly Pens and Limericks for Grandma and Nanny, the kids played with words.  And with the words, we created Wordle designs for their grandmas.

Really, the whole process is so simple. I asked Maddy, Owen, and Cora to brainstorm a list of ten words that came to mind when they thought of Nanny and then again for Grandma.

Cora works on her list of words that come to mind when she thinks of her Nanny. . .

. . . and though Nanny is not tall by any means, I guess she’s tall to Cora.

Though I think this is a great exercise when talking about parts of speech, my focus for this gift of words was not to creat a Wordle of just adjectives.

I really wanted it to be more like a word splash–any and every word that the kids thought of when they thought about their grandmas.

More like a burst of happiness coming from the kids.

Maddy and Owen’s lists for their Nanny

The cool thing about this words as gifts exercise is that the kids came up with repeated words for their Nanny and Grandma, so those words appear larger on the final product.

Together, we decided on the layout we liked best, and then I clicked ‘print’.  Instead of printing, I saved the design as a pdf.

That way, I had more control over the size.  I wanted to add designs to 5 x 7 frames for the final gift; I think they turned out so cool.

Design number one. . .

. .  . and design number two. Both grandmas LOVED them!

Though we gave them as Mother’s Day gifts, I think Wordles are super-awesome for other things as well.

Consider:

• end-of-the-year teacher gifts–use student names or memories or adjectives to describe the teacher
• gifts for camp counselors
• gifts for campers–each person shares a favorite camp memory
• party favors or shower gifts
• bookmarks
• positive message reminders
• summer fun Wordles instead of summer fun cards
• end-of-summer book lists of books read
• family re-caps of reunions, vacations, or events

Love them.

We had a family meeting a few nights ago, and I made a Wordle with our highlights:

Printed it out as a pretty reminder of what we covered. . .

And that’s it.  Simple, pretty, personalized gifts for loved ones and another way to help our digital kids play with words.

Have any other ideas for Wordles? Share ‘em! Dying to know!

The post give words as a gift: word conscious kids use wordle appeared first on teach mama.

Summer. Is. Here.

And to celebrate the release of our we teach summertime learning eBook, full of tons of fun and fabulous free learning ideas to take you through the summer, we will be tweeting next week–and we want you to join us.

Not only will you find answers and ideas to summer learning questions, you’ll also have a chance to win a Highlights gift pack (woot!) and a few $50 gift cards to Target (yay!), and more.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Summer Learning Twitter Event: Prizes and Free Resources: Join us for a twitter event with the great parents and teachers from we teach and some really special guests!

Who: Parents, teachers, caregivers, expert panelists, and YOU!

• Amy Mascott: @teachmama
• Jacquie Fischer: @KCEdventures
• Kim Vij: @EducatorsSpin
• Bernadette Grbic: @Momto2PoshDivas
• Kara Fleck: @SimpleKids

Special Guests:

• Summer Learning Institute: @SummerLearning
• Highlights: @Highlights
• Melissa & Doug: @MelissaandDoug

What: #weteach members will be sharing summer learning resources, including our free we teach: summertime learning eBook
Why: To celebrate the publication of our FREE summertime learning eBook and to share ways of keeping summer learning fresh, fun, and fabulous
Where: Twitter! (http://twitter.com) #weteach
When: Tuesday, 6.11.13 from 8:30-9:30pm ET
How:

1. Before the event,make sure you are a member of we teach: http://weteachgroup.com
2. On 6.11.13, log onto twitter
3. Follow the hashtag #weteach
4. Tweet, re-tweet (RT), and tweet some more!
5. optional: Share YOUR fave summer learning resources and ideas here: http://bit.ly/wtsummerlrnshare

Resources will be added to a Summer Learning Resource Page on the we teach forum!

Helpful hints:

• use TweetChat (http://tweetchat.com/room/weteach) or TweetGrid (http://bit.ly/tweetgrid61113 just add YOUR twitter handle to the first column) to make it easier for you
• visit the panelists’ sites and bring questions, comments or concerns to the event
• join we teach prior to the event so you are eligible for prizes! (Only members can win!)
• visit our we teach Twitter event how-to for answers to your Twitter event questions.
• make sure you are following the host (@teachmama) and all of the panelists so you don’t miss a beat!

We look forward to chatting with you on Tuesday, June 11th, and we are psyched for a summer of fun learning!

The post summer learning twitter event: free resources for families appeared first on teach mama.

We’re thrilled to share that our third annual summertime learning eBook has hit the presses today!

The fab parents and teachers of the we teach forum have submitted tons of rockstar ideas for keeping summer filled with creative, unique, and crazy-cool fun from start to finish.

We’re sharing these ideas in an eBook, free to all members of the forum–and anyone can join! The goal of the forum is really to share the tools and resources we all need so that we can learn, share, and grow as parents–and teachers–for our children.

Here’s the skinny. . .

• Summer Learning eBook–30+ Free, Fun Learning Ideas for Summer:  That’s right. Free. Fun. Ideas for all summer long.

The eBook features:

• Over 30 ideas for summer learning from talented we teach members
• Craft ideas
• Cooking ideas
• Literacy ideas
• Math ideas
• Science ideas
• Focused play ideas
• Indoor and outdoor options
• Considerations for taking learning a step further

From easy, cool crafts for rainy days, to dried flower stamping or hunting through local parks and playgrounds, from creating an A to Z summer to playing sudoku on your driveway, the ideas in this book are fabulous.  Pretzel-making, learning letters and numbers, practicing computation, and developing fine motor and gross motor skills, the book has you covered all summer long.

Your kids–and you–will have a blast.  We guarantee it.

 

The great news? The eBook is totally and completely free for all members of we teach, and anyone can join the forum.

Though it is a public forum, membership is approved and some resources–like our rockstar eBooks–are reserved for members only.

 

Many thanks to the following we teach members who are contributors of this year’s eBook:

• Becky Morales, Kid World Citizen
• Bon Crowder, Math Four
• Carolyn Wilhelm, Wise Owl Factory
• Crystal McClean, Crystals Tiny Treasures
• Deb Chitwood, Living Montessori Now
• Enchanted Schoolroom
• Jackie Higgins: Ready-Set-Read
• Jacquie Fisher, Edventures with Kids
• Janine LaTulippe, True Aim Education
• Jen, Kitchen Counter Chronicles
• Karen Tripp, Teach Beside Me
• Katie Norris, Mommy with A Selective Memory
• Kim Vij, The Educators’ Spin On It
• Kristen, Busy Kids = Happy Mom
• Marnie, Carrots Are Orange
• MaryAnne, Mama Smiles
• Melissa Lennig, Fireflies and Mud Pies
• Rachel Harwood: Sun Scholars
• Shannon Beagle, Shannon’s Tot School
• Shaunna, Fantastic Fun and Learning
• Susan Case, Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers
• Susan Lipman, Slow Family Online
• There’s Just One Mommy

We will be pinning ideas and recognizing our awesome eBook sponsors on our we teach pinterest boards, so stay tuned.

Not only will the eBook contributors’ ideas be pinned, but we’ll also pin every single other submission–so it’ll be sure to be packed with cool ideas.

Join us for a twitter event on June 11, 2013 to kick off the publication of the eBook and to chat about summer learning. Here are the details: summer learning twitter event.

This will be sure to be an unforgettable summer, filled with fun learning for families!

The post summer learning eBook: 30+ free, fun learning ideas for summer appeared first on teach mama.