Halloween Art: Pumpkins and Misunderstood Critters

 

TOP 10 EASY HALLOWEEN BAT CRAFTS FOR KIDS

https://artsycraftsymom.com/top-10-easy-halloween-bat-crafts-for-kids/

Bat Facts for Kids | Classroom Edition Animal Learning Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVirIPOqC1A

PAPER BAG PUMPKINS

HTTPS://CRAFTPROJECTIDEAS.COM/PAPER-BAG-PUMPKIN-FAVOR/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez1fYMjOpP4

Black Cat Paper Strips - Halloween craft ideas for kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez1fYMjOpP4

Are Black Cats Unlucky? - Simon's Cat | LOGIC #13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVOVKHQ0N4I

DIY: Spooky Pine Cone Spiders!

https://www.bargainmoose.ca/guides/diy-spooky-pine-cone-spiders-234411

Spiders for Kids | Educational Science Videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRZcbeCSoYQ

HANDPRINT RAVEN CRAFT

https://iheartcraftythings.com/handprint-raven-craft.html

Ravens and crows - the most intelligent birds in the world (animal documentary in HD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Td-S0fTIGY

Fall Leaf Craft Owl

https://jdaniel4smom.com/2013/10/fall-leaf-craft-owl.html

Owl Facts for Kids

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbvzxiV1zcY

This looks so cute.

What About AI in Education? Pros and Cons

How to help your students use AI without losing the learning

https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/learning-artificial-intelligence

How AI Can Foster Creative Thinking in the Classroom and Beyond

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2024-09-18-how-ai-can-foster-creative-thinking-in-the-classroom-and-beyond

Using AI to Encourage Productive Struggle in Math

https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-ai-encourage-productive-struggle-math-chatgpt-wolfram-alpha/

What AI is doing to young brains

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2026/09/ai-brain-development-youth

5 Engaging AI Classroom Activities to Try With Your Students

https://www.edutopia.org/article/5-engaging-ai-classroom-activities-try-your-students/

Teachers save time with AI. Their students  may pay the price

https://hechingerreport.org/proof-points-ai-in-teaching/

AI in K–12 Education: The Good, the Bad, and the Guardrails to Consider

https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/ai-k-12-education-good-bad-and-guardrails-consider

What Worries Me About Teachers’ Use of AI

https://www.edutopia.org/article/teachers-use-ai-3-troubling-patterns/

New Interesting Education Articles Around the Web

 

At Long Last, Reading Scores for Younger Students May Be Rising

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/at-long-last-reading-scores-for-younger-students-may-be-rising/2026/09

New law could make more substitutes available for California classrooms

https://edsource.org/updates/new-law-could-make-more-substitutes-available-for-california-classrooms

How Forward-Thinking Schools Are Shaping the Future of AI in Education

https://www.edutopia.org/article/how-forward-thinking-schools-are-shaping-the-future-of-ai-in-education

When Words Aren’t Enough, Creative Tools Can Help Grieving Students of All Age

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/66629/when-words-arent-enough-creative-tools-can-help-grieving-students-of-all-ages?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=20260920_News_MindShift_Newsletter&utm_content=20260920_News_MindShift_Newsletter+5643311449

Workplace supports: Trouble with reading and writing

https://www.understood.org/en/articles/reading-writing-workplace-job-supports

Mzteachuh: Creating a Joyful Classroom

 

Emotional Safety: Students require a welcoming environment where the teachers  are happy to see them each day. The procedures and activities are kind, non-threatening and available for acceptance and success. 


Curiosity and Acceptance: Students have the ability to question, imagine, and use flexible thinking. When comfortable to experiment and find answers for themselves, they develop productive struggle in a positive experience.

Play and Creativity:

When you integrate games, role-play, arts and movement the brain triggers a chemical boost that increases motivation, attention, and perseverance.

Social Connection; When students feel secure with social interactions through shared tasks and play with peers, and also confident to interact with adults then there is a positive emotional environment. Students feel confident to enjoy their school day.

Identity and Relevance:

 When classroom activities and lessons connect to students' experiences and real-world experiences, learners feel validated and the group may share  familiarity.

And don't forget...


Humor: Students love to expect a joke on the board and waiting for the punchline, the cheesier the better. Puppets for the younger kids. And don't neglect the 'teachable moment' of something surprising for a laugh, even if it is a little embarrassing for the teacher.

MzTeachuh: Learn About Frequent Disabilities in School Children

 

Developmental Disabilities

https://www.cdc.gov/child-development/about/developmental-disability-basics.html

• Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions due to an impairment in physical, learning, language, or behavior areas.
• These conditions begin during the child's developmental period, may impact day-to-day functioning, and usually last throughout a person's lifetime.
• Most developmental disabilities begin before a baby is born, but some can happen after birth because of injury, infection, or other factors.

What are developmental delays?
https://www.understood.org/en/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-developmental-delayshttps://ncld.org/understand-the-issues/specific-learning-disabilities/

What are Specific Learning Disabilities?

Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs), commonly referred to as learning disabilities (LD), are brain-based disorders that affect an individual’s capacity to excel in specific academic areas. These disabilities manifest differently but primarily affect reading, writing, and mathematical skills. Here are some of the most common,

https://ncld.org/understand-the-issues/specific-learning-disabilities/

Your chances of knowing someone with learning disabilities are very good. Did you know?

https://ldaamerica.org/support/new-to-ld/

5 Strategies to Help Neurodivergent Students Find Success in Math
https://www.edutopia.org/article/supporting-neurodivergent-students-math

Complete Guide to Dyslexia

https://childmind.org/guide/parents-guide-to-dyslexia/

A Writing Prompt to Really Get To Know Your Students

 Three Things I Want You To Know About Me
I came up with this prompt while teaching high school, but it works with younger kids, too. It gives the students a choice of what to comment on, and allows them to use their own voice to tell it like it feels. You may learn a lot about music, sports, and their dog; but sometimes you will also learn about very serious topics like family crisis or illness. And at times the school can help the families. But you will know the students better, especially if you actually read the essays and comment on them. The kids feel very validated, and more willing to write the remainder of the year no matter what the topic.

Jim Abbott of the Yankees, pitching a no-hitter.

I especially enjoyed when the students shared their dreams for their future. You would be amazed how many major league baseball players (of the future) were in my seventh grade classes. Far be it from me to say otherwise. Who knows, anyway? If Jim Abbott, who had only one hand due to a birth defect, became a major league pitcher, shouldn't I be like his grown-ups and be filled with encouragement?

Late Summer: Vivaldi and Vincent Van Gogh

 

Poppies and Butterflies Van Gogh

The intensity of insects buzzing, the sirocco searing across your face. Flowers bloom then fade daily. Can music sound like the dizzying daze of summer? Vivaldi thought so.

Antonio Vivaldi - Summer (Full) - The Four Seasons 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY1p-FmjT1M 

(P.S. Don't forget to hydrate. Just listening to this can make you thirsty.) 

And also...

Vincent van Gogh's Sunflowers With Vivaldi's Summer 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZtZTxkGtwI