Reggio Inspired: Math
Yet another peek into Rosa Parks Preschool: Canvas board number frieze with real objects showing quantity. And, of course, the glitter! I love these little silver buckets of counting objects. Notice the tubes above with the number labels? And all these cool rocks. ...
Reggio Inspired: Families
There were some wonderful ideas for incorporating the families' presence in the classroom environment at Rosa Parks Preschool. I think it is so comforting and homey for the children to see their families displayed in the classroom. It makes a strong statement of...
Reggio Inspired: Birthday Traditions
In these Reggio inspired classrooms - each room develops its own birthday tradition. Here is one classroom's documentation on how the traditions are formed: A peek at birthday traditions: IDEA 1: I adore this idea! Notice in the first photo there are empty hoops...
Reggio Inspired: Color
Woot! Day two of my sneak peek into a local Reggio inspired preschool, Rosa Parks. The quality of classroom environment in this school is off the charts. Today I am going to share a few of their color ideas. Simple canvas boards with color collections. I love all...
Reggio Inspired: The Alphabet
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Resolutions: Day Five
Soul Food Nourishing ourselves is vitally important to a fulfilling year. It is crucial to being a teacher with vitality and inspiration. True nourishment is found in the tiny details of life. We can bring moments of grace into our daily lives. One of my favorite...
Inspired Money for Teachers
I can not begin to express how much renewal and knowledge I gained in my two Fund for Teacher's fellowships. It was life changing at the very least. This grant is tailor made for teachers who are looking for a specific type of professional development - heartfelt...
Resolutions 2013: Day Four
HABITS Fuel Goals. . . Pesky habits! When I hear the word habit - I think of all my bad habits. But in reality - there are many more good habits than bad. Habits are nothing more than the behaviors we repeat over and over again. In fact, a habit is a behavior...
Resolutions 2013: Day Three
------------------------ your beliefs become your values your values become your thoughts your thoughts become your words your words become your actions your actions become your habits your habits become your destiny Gandhi ------------------------- Values-Based...
Resolutions 2013: Day Two
One Word There is something about the start of a new year. It holds such power and possibility. Ending one year and beginning another is such an incredible opportunity. I can't imagine not seizing the vast open space in front of me - a whole year! As an artist -...
Resolutions 2013: Day One
A Five Day Series on Creating Your Year What, exactly, is a resolution? defined: resolution 1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination. 2. A resolving to do something. 3. A course of action determined or decided on. Resolution defined is the act or...
Snowball Village
Last week I taught two classes for a new local museum. My featured projects for both days - little habitats. I have rarely seen a child who does not adore the task of creating a miniature world. There is this amazing ability of a little world to pull the...
Elves and the Shoemaker
This is one of my favorite Holiday stories. It highlights the gift of giving without expecting a return for your generosity. Here are some key hands-on links to tie into your learning stations. (Click on green links for instructions). These are very engaging...
Gingerbread Baby Goes Around the World!
I love this idea! Susan, from River Bliss, has the Gingerbread Baby go around the world. Susan explains, "Throughout the month of December, we receive a letter, postcard, or email nearly every day from the gingerbread baby telling us about various multicultural...
Soulful Sunday
The Call of Teaching I will never forget the moment I was called to teaching. I was pregnant with my third child and decided to give my hand at volunteering in my son's kindergarten class. The first time I walked into the classroom a rush of knowing filled every...
Leaf Lanterns Tutorial
You are currently reading our archived blog. While these older posts may not reflect our current vision and direction, we encourage you to visit our new website at wunderled.com to explore our latest, updated content. There, you'll find a wealth of valuable articles,...
Thankful Turkeys
This is a simple project. All you need are four simple items: brown construction paper colored copy paper clothes pins download of the hand and leaves: CLICK HERE Cut out brown thankful hand. Write four things you are thankful for - one on each leaf! Cut out the...
Soulful Sunday
Yesterday I was reading a book (Linchpin) by Seth Godin and had this ah ha moment. It is a book about business and as I read - I realized I was reading about the state of education. I just had to share it. Listen to this (I will be replacing the word "business"...
A Reggio Inspired Classroom
I recently had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful Reggio inspired teacher, Mrs. Foshee. Her room was fab! Here is a sneak peek: Here is her number line. Love, love it! The number is constructed out of tacks and yarn. Love the nature items. The letters were created...
Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater
“Experts in literacy and child development have discovered that if children know eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they’re four years old, they’re usually among the best readers by the time they’re eight.” [Fox, M. (2001). Reading Magic. San Diego,...
Dem Bones
My kinders loved learning about bones. Here are some of the ideas I found online (links below) and of course, a Fairy Dust idea! I love this idea from Dilly Dali. For instructions: Cotton Swab Bones This would be so great to build as a class. Instructions at: ...
Leaf Sewing!
What you will need: Leaves, hole punch, child' plastic needles and yarn. This one of my favorite fall activities! There are two ways to do this! Hole Punched Leaves Using a hole punch - make holes around the edge of the leaf. Or let the children make the holes....
Artist Study: Willem de Kooning
"Light in August" 1947 In a recent museum class I taught - we explored the world of the gray scale and the work of Willem de Kooning. We looked at several examples of de Kooning's work and identified the values lightest to darkest (the gray scale). STEP ONE: Make...
Free Storytelling Cards – Three Pigs
I am so excited to share a free set of storytelling cards for the story of The Three Pigs. This set includes word cards as well. To access this free set - go to the Fairy Dust Teaching Facebook page! Enjoy!
5 Great “Where the Wild Things Are” Ideas
Who doesn't just love "Where the Wild Things Are"? This is a wonderful book to bring a good dose of art. Just watch the story come alive in your classroom. . . IDEA #1: Wild Things Cardboard Tube Puppets For more information go to: Funderberg IDEA #2: Have a Wild...
5 Great Puppets to Make
PUPPET #1: Paper/Cloth Rod Puppets These are wonderful for retelling fairy tales. For more details go to: We Bloom Here PUPPET #2: Popsicle Paper Puppets This is one of my favorite ways to make puppets - let the children draw them! They always turn out so adorable...
5 Great Math Ideas
IDEA #1: King and Queen of Measuring This is so cool! There are many ways to present this to meet specific ages. I love the idea of the crowns and even doing non-standard measuring! For more details go to: Deceptively Educational IDEA #2: Measuring Playdough Worms...
The Never Ending Story. . . .
Here is a little gold nugget I use in my classroom. I tell an ongoing story that lasts all year long. It is a simple tale about a Mother, a Father, a Sister, a Brother, a Cat and a Dog. I do not use names - just Mother, Mom, Father, Dad, etc. - as using these terms...
Getting Your Groove On! Dance!
Dancing is one of my most powerful weapons against the lack of recess. We dance and everything works better. Yesterday I shared my "Dance Off" technique. Today I want to share my "Dance Circle." Dance Circle Instructions Gather everyone onto the carpet standing on the...
Dance Breaking! Move it!
One of my favorite movement tricks is what I call "Dance Off." At some point during the day - during table work, maybe centers, walking down the hall - who knows when this special moment will come. . . . We break into dance! Yup! I turn off the light and say "Dance...