Science Journals

Before our first science experiment, I have the children decorate the front of their science journals. We will be using these to record our observations during science time.

Supplies: Composition book, hot glue gun, paper glue, buttons, ribbons, markers, paper, and any other recycled materials

Process: Have the children pick out their paper and guide them to tear it down so that it will fit the cover of the composition book. Let the children glue it to the front cover. Glue another piece of paper to the top of that. Have the children place the items they want onto the cover of the book. Take the hot glue gun to the book and hot glue it into place. Using hot glue will make sure that the items won't fall off later.

Teach Well: Try not to move the items to where you may want to put them. Remember to let the child express themselves how they wish in art.

Good Night Gorilla!

Read Good Night Gorilla, watch Scholastic's video, and go on your own walk through the zoo!

Supplies: Stuffed animals that you may find at the zoo, clipart keys, a 3x5 index card for each animal, & markers

Process: Use clipart of a key and make several and cut them out. Color each index a different color. Color a 3x5 index card to match each colored key. Then place your stuffed animals around the room an index card at its side. Hand out enough keys to the children so that everyone has an even amount. Take a walk around the room and together find an animal to let out of "its cage." Match the key with the colored index card and have the child with that colored key "unlock" the animal. Let the child carry the stuffed animal around as you go walking through the "zoo."

Teach Well: Keep the animals and keys out at center time. You will be surprised how the children act out the story. Add blankets and pillows to the center so they can pretend to be the zoo keeper and zoo keeper's wife.

Creation Inspiration

When choosing Bible curriculum, I have my favorite company that I love to use. Group Publishing is hands-on, out of the box, fun, experiencal, and I have taught Sunday School with it for four years. But, I had never used it at home because it didn't seem very economical to purchase curriculum for home use. But, I couldn't find anything that could compare and stumbled onto Group's digital downloads.

I needed enough activities for several weeks on Creation. Group's Hands-On Bible curriculum is doing Creation for their fall quarter. So I purchased the first three weeks and had enough at-home activities to teach for a month!

Teach Well: Using digital downloads is a great idea for any teacher wanting some inspiration and out-of-the-box ideas to make your Bible time unique.

Learning Spanish: Colors

I think it is important for my son to learn another language. I didn't learn a second language until high school. It wasn't easy for me either. I think if I was introduced to the language early I could of caught on faster. In the school that I taught at, there was a Spanish teacher that would come into our class and teach. I am beginning to teach my son the same lessons that she taught.

I thought I would share with you some sites that I found helpful and fun to teach colors in Spanish. Using technology is great for teaching a foriegn language. I am learning right along with my son since I have only graduated Preschool Spanish. ;)

Here is a great game to help with learning the names of the colors. Here is a video to help too.

Welcome to School Winners!

Winners for our giveaways were randomly picked and are listed below!

Westwillow Designs Alphabet poster goes to -

Nick and Jessica Gray said...


What a great idea hanging this in a room. By looking at this everyday, Korissa can see the ABC"S daily and eventually pick it up. Gonna have to make one of those! Awesome Idea thanks!

Goodnight Gorilla wooden set from Mama Kopp Shop goes to -

The Ericksons said...


These wooden characters are so cute. Plus, love Good Night Gorilla!

A felt set or fingerplay glove from StressLESS Teaching Resources goes to - 

Jennifer said...


Felt boards are so much fun. We have one, and don't use it enough.

If you won, email me with your name, what item you won, and mailing address to davenjen@wbcable.net. Thank you again to our sponsors!

StressLESS Teaching Resources Giveaway!

If you are returning for our week long celebration welcome back! If this is your first time check out this post, and this one for another chance to win!

Today's giveaway comes from StressLESS Teaching Resources, a great Etsy store for teachers! I love this felt board set that goes with the book Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. We are going to be reading this book this month. I love how interactive the book can be in a classroom setting. How much more interactive will it be with this felt board set?!

Give each child in the class a character (if your class is larger read the story again) and when you get to their animal have them come up and place it on the felt board. Leave this set out after reading the story so that the children can do the story again during center time. Make sure to keep the book at the center so that the children can read it to themselves or a friend.

A little about Tanya and her Etsy store: My name is Tanya Winters and I am an Early Childhood Educator in Maryland. I hold a Bachelor's of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education and a Master's of Science Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. I am a trained Reading Recovery Teacher and I have taught grades kindergarten and first. Moreover, I have functioned as a reading specialist--training teachers and instructing elementary aged students. I have also worked with students with special needs and have assisted in developing Individualized Educational Plans (IEP's). Currently, I am homeschooling my 3 children, Autumn(5), Caleb(3) and Aaron(1). In addition, I am newly an adjunct professor of early childhood education at a community college in my area. That's right, you've guessed it...I LOVE EDUCATION!!


In developing my teaching resources, I draw on the 18 years of experience that I have educating children. I utilize my skills as a highly qualified teacher to develop educational tools that are developmentally appropriate and excellently constructed. It is my goal that a mom experience NO STRESS while using my educational resources to homeschool her little ones.

To win a felt piece or fingerplay glove from StressLESS Teaching Resources leave a comment in this post. All the comments for each post will close September 15th, at midnight Pacific Standard Time.

Teach Well: Keep the book at the center so that the children can read it to themselves or a friend.

Good Night Gorilla!

Welcome to another day of giveaways! This month we will be reading Good Night Gorilla and doing a fun "walk through the zoo" activity to go right along with it. Wouldn't it be great to have this wooden set, from Mama Kopp Shop, to use in the classroom or at home when you walk through the zoo?

Comment on this post to try and win this beautiful wooden set! Comments close on September 15th, at midnight Pacific Standard Time.

Lorilee Kopp, the owner of Mama Kopp Shop, is a mother who stays home with her kids to ensure they have a unique educational experience. She says, "This is the love of my life, being home with my children. Next is my love to create. I love being part of heirloom toy making. I am very proud to be part of it and so proud to make things for families all over the world. I strive to tempt imagination in children as well as adults. It is important to me that each piece be made as perfect as can be. I use quality, natural materials. And hold close to my wooden art waldorf traditions. And if I can sneak in a little educational element I will." Visit her blog, Live n' Learn for those "live creatively and homeschool."


Teach Well: Tempt imagination in children.

Welcome In the School Year Celebration!

Today begins the week long celebration leading up to Teach Often's Beginning of the School Year Kick-Off! Join me all week for ideas for the month of September, great teaching product, and prizes. Who doesn't like prizes? ;) You have a chance to comment on each post for each prized listed. All the comments for each post will close September 15th, at midnight Pacific Standard Time.

Next week opens the door to new ideas and possibilities in the classroom. There will be great ideas to bookmark or write directly into your lesson plans for the next day! Aren't you excited? I know I am!

I teach thematically, and September's theme is The Zoo. We learn about our Zoo Phonics friends, letter recognition, colors, school safety, and learn how to use our classroom.

A modern way to displaying the alphabet is by using one of these posters, from Westwillow Designs, in your classroom or at home.

Sonya, once a teacher herself is now teaching her two children at home as a stay-at-home-mom. She designs beautiful pieces of art as her creative outlet. You can find more of her designs at her Etsy shop, Westwillow Designs.

You can add this poster to your classroom or child's decor by leaving a comment in this thread.

Curriculum and State Standard Questions

Whether or not you decide to order a preschool curriculum through companies like Zoo Phonics or Abeka. You first need to know what your preschool state requirements are. Some states, such as Oregon, doesn't have state standards for preschool, although it is possible that might change soon, states like Washington do. To find your state go here.

There is a list for Early Education Foundations, from three to five year olds, for the state of Oregon that can be found here. This is what I go by, which is similar to my report card. When you find your state's benchmarks you can go ahead and order your curriculum. (This is of course if you are teaching your child from home although some Early Educators have to create their own curriculum.)

I wanted to share with you my favorite can not live without teaching matrials. I love our local teaching store to find some of these items.

1. Mailbox Magazine is filled with fun hands-on activities to go with most of my themes. I love their fun ideas. Plus, they never grow old. I have even found some at garage sales that I have picked up and they are just as awesome as the new ones.

2. Zoo Phonics is an amazing product! Even if you can't afford the set (cause I know I can't) ;) look on Ebay or Craigslist for those that are selling theirs. You can also start off with the video and a set of flash cards to begin your collection. Let me just say that I have seen three year olds reading because of this program. It is a guarenteed to work product!

3. Find a book that can help your child with their writing skills, like this one. Try and get one that you can make copies of. This way if you have any other children in the home you can re-use it year after year.

4. If you didn't want to follow my Bible teaching plan but wouldn't mind a great Bible curruiculum, start easy with Mary Rice Hopkins' product. I have used all of her curruiculum to go with her music and it is great!

5. For gross motor development I can't live without my Aerobic CDs. Such as this one, this one, and this one.

I will share more of my favorites as we go along but these are my must-haves before the school year starts.

Teach Well: Be prepared with your teaching supplies and books before school begins. This way you can look it all over before the first day!

Schedules and Creative Spaces

The best way to begin preparing yourself for teaching next year is with your schedule. When are you going to be teaching? Is it in the morning or does your child do better in the afternoon?

Then, decide what you are going to be teaching. My scope and sequence helps break down what I teach, when I teach it.

To give you an example, I copied my own schedule below:

Morning Preschool Schedule

8:30-8:45 Opening/Free Center Time

8:45-8:50 Clean Up

8:50-8:55 Pledge of Allegiance

8:55-9:15 Circle Time/Calendar
· Wednesday Discussion
· Thursday Math Concepts
· Friday Science Enrichment

9:15-9:30 Bible/Verses

9:30-9:50 Jamboree Time (Gross Motor Play)
· Aerobic Wednesdays

9:50-10:00 Drinks/Bathroom Breaks

10:00-10:20 Activity Time
· Wednesday Letter Readiness/Zoo Phonics
· Thursday Spanish
· Friday Computer

10:20-10:45 Snack

10:45-11:00 Story Time

11:00-11:20 Craft

11:20-11:30 Clean up/Song Time/Pray/Line up/Dismissal

The next step to preparing for the school year is by making creative spaces for learning. Whether you are going to be teaching from home or in the classroom, creative spaces help children experience learning in a unique way. To see a great example of that take a visit to Megan Powers' classroom, Scholastic's 2009-2010 Kindergarten Teacher Advisor.

Below is a video of her classroom. Check out her spaces!



If you teach from home you can easily create these learning spaces. Later in the school year, I will show you some of mine to get you even more inspired! Make sure to visit Megan's blog through out the year to get even more ideas!

Teach Well: Create creative spaces in your home or classroom. Don't worry... it's ok to be inspired by another teacher like Megan!

What to Look Forward to this School Year

As the summer comes to an end and the beginning of the school year gets closer, parents and teachers alike anticipate the first day of school. I get excited about pulling the September's boxes that have been stored away for a year; decorating our creative spaces; collecting items needed for our crafts; and the best part - new school supplies!

These last few weeks of August, I will be sharing with you what you will have to look forward to at Teach Well, Teach Often. This site has been created for inspiring teachers and parents alike. For those parents that are homeschooling their preschooler, these next few weeks will help you prepare for the months ahead.

I teach thematically. You can take a closer look at one of my themes here. To look at the entire school year's themes and activities, click here for my scope and sequence.

I am looking forward to the fun we will have with our children this school year! Keep checking back this week and next to help you prepare for the year and for some great give aways to add to your classroom at school or at home!

DIY Puppet Stage

It's time to get your classrooms or creative spaces ready for the school year to begin. Why not add your own puppet stage in your dramatic play area? My friend, Rebekah, over at Yeebird posted this great idea from Country Living Magazine. Hop on over to get the instructions. It would look great in your dramatic play area along with these puppet holders.

Teach Well: You don't have to buy new fabric if you have some at home! Make a patchwork stage or paint onto muslin for a one-of-a kind look!

Flubber Fun

I love unique sensory experiences! Small hands need to explore and keep busy. This recipe is not for shaping but for exploratory purposes only. Our local dollar store and Target carry this flubber pictured below but you can make your own easily at home.

Supplies: 2 cups white glue, 1 1/2 cup warm water, food coloring or non-toxic liquid watercolor; 4 tsp. Borax, and 1 1/3 cups warm water

Process: Mix glue, 1 1/2 c. warm water, and food coloring together. Mix Borax and 1 1/3 c. warm water together. Add Borax mixture to the glue mixture and stir with your hands as quickly as possible to get the borax solution and the glue solution to bind. (Use latex gloves to protect your hands from the liquid watercolor). Mix until all the water has been Incorporated into the mixture.

Some things to remember when using Flubber. Flubber does not come out of carpeting if dry. It will stick to clothing and hair, but can be soaked to remove.

Teach Well: Use flubber in a sensory table. With older children use straws to blow bubbles in the flubber. Use scissors to practice cutting skills over a tray.

Gone Fishin'

Supplies: Die Cut Fish & Sticky Hands

Process: Place fish in the middle of the table or circle. Give each child a sticky hand. Have them use their sticky hand and swing it toward the fish. When it lands have them reel in the fish by pulling the sticky hand back toward them. Have them count how many they caught.

Teach Well: Let each child keep their sticky hand. Use a Ziploc to store them and place in their backpacks. Use this idea when teaching about Miracle of the Fishes during Bible Time. It's a great hands-on approach for this story.

School's Out

Woohoo, school's out! When you think of your summers as a child what do you think of? One summer, while I was growing up, my mother started us all on a reading program. She rewarded us for every book we read. I would have to admit that I did not enjoy reading until then. It was because of my mother's reading program that I love books today.

Check out this article from Scholastic on how to encourage your reluctant reader. "So how do we parents turn our children from novice or even struggling readers into kids (and later, adults) who will consistently turn to reading as a source of pleasure? There are several rules of thumb that the experts agree are building blocks to raising enthusiastic readers." To read the rules click here.

Whether you begin your own reading program at home, like my mother, or join a local one instead, you are helping win your child to reading. Don't know where to start? Try Scholastic's Summer Reading Challenge. When your child has checked the list off have them collect their reward!

Teach Well: Building a reader today grows a reader for a lifetime.