There are two major obsessions that have taken over my household lately. If you’ve read any of my blogs in the past few weeks, you probably know that one of the obsessions is Hamilton the musical. The other is…(drum roll, please)…the electoral college. Yes, that’s right, the electoral college, also known as that map they […]
By Sue Gagliardi Looking for a fun and engaging resource to bring literacy to life in your classroom? Try children’s magazines! Magazines are a wonderful supplement to classroom instruction. Students are exposed to a wide variety of texts and lots of interactive content. From stories, poems, and action rhymes to nonfiction, crafts, puzzles, and […]
What do the following words have in common? Providence Squalor Barter Reigned Destitute Restitution If you said they are all slightly uncommon words that should be part of an educated person’s vocabulary, you are correct. If you said they are all words of the ilk that might show up on an SAT […]
Today is my daughter’s first day back to school. Like millions of other kids around the country, she gathered her new school supplies, stuffed them in her new backpack, crammed in her spotless lunchbox (complete with an adorable lunchbox note, natch) and staggered out the door, totally weighed down by the sheer amount of stuff […]
I have a love-hate relationship with the concept of allowance. I love the idea of letting my kids manage their own funds: it gives them a realistic sense of the value of money and what things cost, and it teaches them how to save for things that are important. And I really love the idea […]
August 28th marks the 53rd anniversary of the March on Washington. This momentous event involved more than 200,000 protesters participating in a political rally that resulted in key gains in the struggle for civil rights. It is where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I have a Dream” speech and it is an iconic […]
Every year about this time, we residents of the planet Earth get a visit from the Perseid Meteor Shower, a light up the sky event caused when the pieces of comet debris from a comet named Swift-Tuttle heat up and burn out (at a rate of 37 miles per second!) as they enter the Earth’s […]
Hello from “Horse Country ” also known as Middleburg, VA. For those who are unfamiliar, Middleburg is a tiny little town in the outskirts of suburban VA that has become a mecca for anyone who wants horse statues, horse clothes (both the kinds you wear decorated with horses, and clothes literally FOR horses), horse shoes, […]
By Denise Yellen Ganot It is that time of year again. Summer is drawing to a close and kids and adults alike are starting to think about heading back to school. At this time of year, change is imminent and unavoidable. As children move up to the next grade they are bound to encounter […]
Cricket Media and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage are pleased to cosponsor the 3rd Annual Global Folklorist Challenge. This contest connects kids from 8 to 18 with tradition bearers in in their communities, providing young people with opportunities to tap into knowledge and skills that have been passed down from generation to generation, and giving the tradition bearers themselves a chance to tell their own personal stories. […]