Teacher's Lesson Plans are A Million Dollar Hit

Deanna Jump is one of those creative dedicated teachers who could have gone unsung if it where not for Teachers Pay Teachers.  Finding ways for teachers who are dedicated to their work get compensated is a wonderful idea.

Where is Matt?

Get the kids, turn up the volume and start moving.  Dancing is a great way to start the New Year!  Where ever Matt goes, he is having a good time!  Are you dancing yet?


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Family Literacy Day 15 Minutes of Fun

Now that it is cold and wintery outside keeping the kids occupied is a big challenge. Maybe, it's is time to cozy up with your favorite little people for some shared reading. Canada is celebrating Family Literacy Day, and encouraging parents to spend just 15 minutes reading to their children.  They also have a list of fun projects to try with children.

"In honour of Family Literacy Day’s 15th year, ABC Life Literacy Canada is encouraging Canadian families to have "15 Minutes of Fun" learning together. Learning can happen at any time. Practicing literacy together for just 15 minutes a day has tremendous benefits for both children and parents. Here are some great ways to get started:

• Create your own comic strip about your family.
• Invent two new endings to your favourite book.
• Make up a new recipe together and post it online.
• Tell knock-knock jokes together while doing the dishes.
• Sing five songs really, really loud!
•  Invent a new game while playing at the park.
•  Read a story to your pet (or favourite toy).
• Make a paper fortune teller with eight fortunes.
•  Write a silly poem and tell it to your family at dinner.
• Log on to your favourite word game - can you beat your best score?
• Create your family tree.
• Play rhyming "I Spy" - "I spy something that rhymes with..."
•  Play a board game together.
• Text your friend and tell them about your holiday.
•  Find 15 things that begin with the letter "S".

Visit ABC Life Literacy Canada for more information.



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Happy New Year!

clarkewoodworks

    Wishing you good health, love, peace and prosperity in the New Year!


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Our Favorite Pick for Christmas - Too Many Tamales

It's Christmas Eve and we will be reading some of our favorite Christmas stories. One favorite pick is Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto.  Maria is trying so hard to be grown up by helping to prepare Christmas dinner but what happens when she thinks she has lost her mother's treasured ring in a batch of tamales.  She and her cousins learn  lesson in telling the truth and the importance of family love. 

May you have warmth and love in this season, and enjoy creating new traditions with your children. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!
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Snowflakes for Sandy Hook

Here is a wonderful project to share as a family during the holiday break. The Parent Teacher Association in Connecticut is collecting handmade snowflakes from children everywhere to help decorate the halls of the brand new school where the Sandy Hook elementary students will be returning after the holidays.

Families can brighten the day for Sandy Hook children by sending their snowflakes to :  Connecticut PTA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514 before January 12, 2013.

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Let Us Keep the Light Shinning In Sandy Hook

"The Light Shines In The Darkness and the Darkness Has Never Put It Out"

My prayers go out to all the families in Newton, Connecticut.  Words cannot express the pain, sorrow and the lost we are feeling as a community.  We may never have answers for  why this horrendous crime occurred but we can keep our candle lit. As a community there is much work to be done but for now we can be a beacon of light for our neighbors in Newton and support them in their time of mourning.

I like the idea that Karen Wolrond shared on her blog, Chookooloonks for reaching out to the families of Sandy Hook. Please share with others and let the light continue to shine:

"If anyone wants to mail sympathy cards or letters of support and solidarity to the school, the school address is: Sandy Hook Elementary School, 12 Dickenson Drive, Sandy Hook, CT 06482. Please copy/paste/share, anywhere you prefer. Prayers and sending a card may seem something small, but at least, it's something we can do."

“I think this is a stellar idea.  It's also something that our kids might enjoy doing to help process their feelings about what they hear on the news.”

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