The Oddball, No Equipment Needed
Guest Author: Ashley Sollenberger, Elementary Physical Education teacher, Amber’s brother Big spaces! The setting for The Oddball is a neighborhood park. I teach in a large gymnasium. Both are big spaces. This past summer I branched out and lead some author visits to local daycare centers and early learning centers. I read in classrooms or […]
Do Understand what a Product SDS Is?
If you’re teaching in a school, your home, or a local studio, you want to be sure that you understand what’s in the art materials that you, your students, and your kids are using. If you work at a school it’s likely that your school requires you to have the product SDS ( we’ll get […]
Where to host your videos for your flipped classroom
When I started teaching online 3 years ago, while there was a lot I wasn’t sure about, I did know that I needed to take advantage of the power of video, something that I’m still exploring and working to improve upon. If you’re going to use video in your classroom, or give the flipped classroom […]
How to get kids Writing..
So you’ve been told that you need to incorporate more writing into your lessons, and you’re thinking, I don’t have time for that. Maybe you do, and maybe, just maybe you can make it so that your students enjoy it as well. The exercise below is like whisper down the lane but with pictures and […]
Imagination as a Learning Tool
The winter Olympics have long since passed, but the snow covered ground reminded me of this lesson filled with imagination that my brother my created. While most of my lessons and writing focus on the art classroom ( because that’s what I teach), it’s also important to remember that creativity and imagination can be wonderful […]
What’s the Point
What are you actually doing when you’re writing lesson plans, correcting papers, and grading projects? What are you really doing when you’re scrounging for supplies because your budget ( okay, you don’t even have a budget) never covers everything that your students need. What are you doing when you spend your summer going to professional […]
A complete guide to stocking your Art supply closet
After a year and half, our little yard is no longer a big pile of dirt, it has a patio, flower beds, and grass is growing!! These things are excited in and of themselves, but the really excited part is that means that it’s time to add all of the fun details….. DECORATE… and, well […]
Why multitasking allows excellence to develop
One of the largest drawbacks to teaching in my elementary school is that the students leave by the age of ten. This is akin to planting your yard with beautiful bulbs in the fall, carefully selecting the location for each one, preparing the soil, purposefully placing the bulb in the ground and waiting for spring. […]
Booby traps in the gym, and untraditional medical techniques
Booby traps in the gym I have a certification from the American Red Cross in first aid, I am CPR certified and I can use an AED. All these things are of great importance should I ever be faced with a real emergency, but no one has ever taught me how to deal with the […]
The Minimalist guide to physical activity for kids
On Friday of this past week, I decided that I needed a new game to play; therefore I decided to spend some time with myself thinking. This proved to be a well-timed decision as the ideas flowed immediately, and I was able to vastly improve and activity known to my students as Honeybees. Creating a […]