Children’s learning through design

I love creating engaging resources for students. Bringing creative design thinking into the classroom is something that is that little bit extra fun for me. Also, I know the value of introducing young students to design problem-solving tasks and how much fun it is! Designing and planning is something that can benefit all students. Students who usually take part and perform at lower levels might find these activities not only engaging and fun but they may also learn and grow in their confidence. 

When using design in the classroom or at home it is important to give the students space and time to explore and ponder. Support them to develop their creativity while designing  a Haunted House - perfect project for October. A willingness to explore is important when using design activities. These type of activities provide students with a chance to imagine the world from multiple perspectives.

Looking for information and using this information to design an animal habitat, healthy grocery store, doctor or dentist’s office  create a rich learning opportunity where students can use a range of interesting materials to build stunning displays. They might explore novel and exciting ways to use materials when building, creating and decorating various spaces for humans as well as animals. Stimulate your students' development by providing a range of materials and topics where they can playfully learn about the world. 

Check out my architect fact booklet and my holiday design projects - designing Christmas,  New Year’s Day or the Day of the Dead (El Dia de los Muertos Ofrenda). Let your students discover the joy of creating and designing this fall! 

All products are found in my store.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher

Looking for Fresh Ideas?

October is such a great month and I have picked a couple of exciting activities to make this fall extra special.  Our students are settling down to routines and procedures, which means that you can plan some fun activities and embrace this glorious month. 

Some students love measuring pumpkins and counting the seeds in apples. But some students love learning about spooky things. You can combine this love of spooky things with learning about animals. Students will enjoy learning about animals and if you introduce them into the activities the interest in the tasks soars. The October animals are unique and even spooky. Bats and spiders might be scary but they are also fascinating creatures that provide inspiration for research, story writing and drawing. 

Make sure that your students learn all the drawing tricks so that they can decorate their work and your classroom with spooky animals, witches, ghosts, and haunted houses. Designing a haunted house is one of the most popular Halloween activities. Students develop several important skills apart from having lots of fun when they plan and decide how to build a haunted house. There are two different templates to choose from so it is easy to differentiate the learning. 

Get your students excited about reading and writing using a Write the Room activity. The included mini word wall can be used during writing and reading. The word wall contains an array of useful words for October's spooky classroom.  

Have a thrilling, creative and fun October! 

All products are found in my store:

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher

Weather

Stormy skies, sunny and windy! Adults love talking about the weather so giving your students the words to describe all kinds of weather is a great way to include kids in adult conversations. Helping kids to observe the mix of events that happens each day outside the classroom is a nice start to the day. The weather can quickly change and observing these changes for just a minute or two will help your students to increase their weather related vocabulary and also develop an understanding of the science behind these changes.

You can include weather words and activities throughout the year. Weather is different in different parts of the country and the world. A fantastic chance to include a bit of geography into the daily weather observations. You can make a weather journal where kids draw or describe the daily weather. Use the How to Draw Weather resource to inspire your kids to draw. They can also use their drawing skills when working on the Weather Fact Booklet.  This booklet is filled with interesting facts. Your students can fill the booklet with their own findings and decorate the pages with their  drawings. There are also plenty of pages for coloring in. 

Use weather themed BOOM™ cards to further support the learning. These digital task cards give your kids visually engaging and interactive learning.  You can alternate the individual learning session with math or reading cards. Digital cards are also great for center work. Celebrate the changes in weather with some happy learning! 

All Products are found in my store. 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher

September BOOM Cards

September is such an exciting month to teach! Kids are looking forward to the new year and you have lots of energy to plan new and engaging activities. Planning lessons is such a fun thing to do. But it is also very time consuming to create quality lessons. Using interactive, gamified learning resources such as BOOM™ cards with audio will free up time that you can spend on creating you own lessons. Students can work independently, or the cards can be used in groups. The versatile digital cards are easy to set up.

Printed task cards are a great learning tool where you can include all sorts of activities. Boom Cards™ are digital task cards and just like printed task cards you can teach a wide range of concepts . Start the first week of September by using All about Me cards. The first set contains cards related to character education. Your kids will enjoy activities related to what they eat for breakfast and their favorite afternoon snack. The cards are a great way for you to learn more about your students. 



The second set has activities that introduce math concepts. You will learn even more about your students as well as having the chance to make a quick check of their skills. Use the Ready, Set, Learn resources to get an even better overview of the kids’ skills. Perfect for the second week of September. You can select a resource that focuses on math skills or reading, or both! The Boom™ Cards are self-marking, your kids get feedback right away and it is easy for you to keep an eye on their progress as they work on the different activities. 

I love thematic teaching! The theme for September is often Apples. Thematic teaching is a great chance to include science, art, math, reading, social studies into the classroom. Kids will love having a thematic block each day, and using Apple Math and Apple Reading Boom™ Cards is a fun way to learn some core skills. I hope these ideas will make planning  go smoother and that 

September will be great month! 

All products are found in my two stores:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher 

https://wow.boomlearning.com/author/thebeezyteacher

Knowing Your School

How are your kids feeling about the new year? Excited? Looking forward to a new start? Nervous? Not sure what to expect? Scared of not finding things?

Getting to know your students and friends are familiar back to school activities. These are important, but also it is vital to let kids explore the school environment. Use a design school project to teach kids about the designated areas for carpet time, independent work, and play areas. The beginning of the year is exciting, scary and overwhelming, yet, learning about where things are makes the kids feel more confident. 

A kid’s learning environment is the place in which they learn. A positive learning environment can support kids to flourish. A learning environment consists of three components - the physical, social and emotional environment. Often, we place little focus on exploring the physical environment, yet, particularly at the beginning of the year it is vital to give kids the chance to explore and learn about where things are.  

Exploring the design of the classroom is a great way to begin the start of the year to ensure that the kids’ feel safe and secure. Learning to draw things in the classroom is a useful skill that will further enhance the learning about the school environment and what makes a great classroom. Get ready for an exciting school year, filled with confident kids who are ready to learn! 

Products found in my store:

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher

August 2023 Products

Start the first weeks of school off right by promoting curiosity. Choosing exciting topics and resources prepare kids for a successful year of school. Focus on activities that are educational and that help to ease the kids back to learning, but also include creative elements. Designing a school is a project that could ignite lots of discussions. Exploring ideas related to where to find things in the school is an essential part of the first days at school. Using a fun activity will not only help kids to adjust to the school environment, but the project will also give them plenty of chances to mix art and scissoring skills. 

Following the kids' progress throughout the year as they grow in confidence in their drawing skills is exciting. There are ‘how to draw’ resources that teach drawing skills in simple and easy to follow steps. Start the new year by using a How to Draw Back to School booklet and ask the kids in your class what else they would love to learn to draw. 

Use a Journal to support kids that are travelling to record their experiences. Using a journal gives kids the chance to explore their adventures at a deeper level as compared to writing a short essay about their summer holiday. A great way to explore landmarks, food and culture.

 Grandparents Day is celebrated in the beginning of September so using a booklet towards the end of August gives your kids an opportunity to explore the special bond with the older generation. 

Creating memories of the first day of school is common. You can combine this activity with snapshots from the last day of school. Your kids will make a lovely memory that shows development that has occurred during the year. Kids go through amazing growth during a year, and it is easy that these changes go unnoticed if you meet a child every day. A lovely way to record and celebrate changes. Welcome to a new exciting year!

 

Products can be found in my store!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Thebeezyteacher