By Rachel Lynette
The quote below is located in the restroom at the Horses Mouth Bookstore and Internet Cafe in Buffalo, Texas. If you were here, as I am (far from my home in Bothell, Washington), you would not need to read it backwards because it is located on the wall directly across from the mirror, so of course it is reflected backward, which is forward to the reader.
Yes, you have a portable DVD player (your vehicle may have even come with one), and yes, your kids have a wide array of handheld video games. And yes, making use of these devices ensures a quiet and peaceful ride. It also ensures that your kids’ brains will be on autopilot and that no interaction of any depth will take place. The alternative? Make a
In addition to Minds in Bloom, I am also a Top Ten seller on teacherspayteachers.com. I specialize in creating ready-to-use materials that can be implemented with little or no teacher preparation. My offerings are all highly rated and reasonably priced. I have included a little information about each set of materials here, but there is much more information available, as well as free preview pages
Welcome! I’m so glad you are here! Minds in Bloom started as a place for me to share strategies and ideas for teaching creative and critical thinking skills, and while that is still and important piece, it has blossomed into so much more. At this point, about 3/4 of the posts here are written by guest bloggers in the field of education. This has resulted in
Here are some fun Thanksgiving analogies to use with your students. Thanksgiving : November : : Valentine’s Day : _________ pilgrim hat : head : : pilgrim shoes : ______________ turkey : bird : : yam : ______________ parade : watch : : food : ______________ kind : helpful : : grateful : _____________ empty : full : : apart : ______________ Thanksgiving : Thursday
Here is a link to A Turkey Knocked on My Back Door from Gettin’ Creative. It has the lyrics and a video of a child singing the song, which is great for learning the tune. My daughter brought this song home in second grade. She is in eighth grade now, and I still make her sing it!
Your students spend a lot of time looking at the front of your classroom, so it is important to make the most of that space. This is valuable real estate, so think carefully about how you want to use it. In most classrooms, the central feature is the whiteboard. If you are one of the lucky few that is blessed with an Interactive White Board
Traditional group brainstorming usually involves a leader fielding ideas and writing them in list format. However, you can use Post-It notes to make group brainstorming more personal and interactive. In addition, the Post-Its method allows you to easily organize ideas once they are all given. You could use this process in several ways: To solve a classroom problem; e.g., Our book nook is in a
Would You Rather – Thanksgiving Edition This conversation-making, thought-provoking, debate-initiating SUPER FUN game is the perfect activity to get your students in the Thanksgiving spirit! You can use these questions in so many ways! But whichever way you choose, your students are sure to have a blast! Grab these FREE Google Slides or Kahoot game to use these questions! Our Best Would You Rather Questions
A very long time ago I read something in a parenting book (of course I can’t remember which one) that said that we as parents should allow our children to do risky things, even those things like tree climbing that scare us half to death. Further, this author said never to tell a child to be careful. The reason given was that by telling our
The two main challenges with a classroom library seem to be making it cozy and inviting yet easily accessible, and keeping it organized. Here are some thoughts on both. Make It Inviting Most kids love cozy spaces. Ideally, your class library should be in a corner of your room, away from the door and the sink. A rug is a must. Bean bags, big pillows,
According to this article from Prevention Magazine, the best time of the day for creativity is 9:00-11:00 in the morning, while 11:00-2:00 is a great time to solve difficult problems. With that in mind, seems like it makes sense to start the day with a quick, creative activity – perhaps a journal prompt or a waker-upper and then move into language arts with math just before or
Your child (or student) comes to you with a picture she has just drawn. You look at it and say something like, “Wow, that’s beautiful.” Then, you put it on the fridge. And that is pretty much it. While there is nothing wrong with this scenario, if you want your child to think critically and creatively about her art, you could use this opportunity to
You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky Mistakes are the portals of discovery. -James Joyce A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. -George Bernard Shaw In school, the right answer is so often required that children do not learn to value the wrong one. In fact, many children have learned that
I stumbled on this video last night. I love his speaking style, and he makes some really good points, one of which is how schools value “the right” answer so much that we make kids afraid to be wrong. Often, those who have done great things have been wrong quite a few times before they were right. Risk-taking is an important aspect of creativity. When
So, you are stuck in a very long line at the supermarket behind that woman who has 65,000 coupons, most of which are expired, but she is insisting that the checker call the manager, and your 4-year-old is getting whiny, and your 6-year-old is getting grumpy, and you are really wanting a hot bath, but there you are in the checkout line with a cart
