Thought for the Day

"If you would thoroughly know anything, teach it to others."
Tryon Edwards 

   

"We learn by teaching."
James Howell 

Reading and Drawing- a Great Relationship

Parents and teachers alike all wish to instill a love of reading in their students. But sometimes the child isn't the most willing participant. In steps a great graphic book (with kid-friendly storylines) such as Jeff Kinney's "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series.  If your child hasn't seen the movie, or read the books, it's a fun-filled story of Greg Heffley, who despite all his good intentions, can't seem to break free from his wimpy persona.

To learn more about the Wimpy Kid series and learn how to draw the fun characters, check out the brief instructional video below:

 

And check out the link below for a set of 5 books in the "Wimpy Kid" series.

This Date- Ideas for Celebration

Calendars are a great way to get ideas of how to celebrate the little things with your children or kids in your classroom,  but when your free calendar only lists the major holidays, or when you forget to look up the info on the internet, a book can be a great place to look for ideas for ways to bring a little fun into what could be a boring school day. In walks the great book "On This Date: A Day-by-Day Listing of Holidays, Birthday and Historic Events, and Special Days, Weeks and Months".

If a website with the info is more your thing, consider visiting http://www.brownielocks.com/month2.html for a list of many of the major holidays for the 2013 year.

Learn Sign Language At Home

Interested in sign language? 

I've been interested in learning more about sign language ever since I learned the motions to the song "Jesus Loves Me." To that end, I joined the sign language club in high school, purposefully watched the TV shows on PBS with a sign language interpreter, and took free classes in college just to learn more. I even taught my children basic signs when they were babies, and encouraged them to watch educational sign language shows as well.

Maybe you've just become interested in sign language, or maybe you want to introduce your family or students to this form of communication. Either way, check out the some of the great resources listed in THIS ARTICLE, which can help you learn sign language in the privacy of your own home.