October 22, 2024 · curriculum
I couldn’t resist writing about Filipino American History Month as I have SO MANY great books to recommend. Before you start reading all of the books, however, don’t forget to look at a map! First, make sure students know where the Philippines are (and clarify the spelling of the Philippines and Filipino), but also look at some maps like this showing where the largest Filipino populations are in the United States. You can also talk about migration generally and ask students what they notice or might theorize from these maps. Make sure you explain what the month actually is or ask students to share what they know or have experienced: Filipino American history month . Some other great videos: Lola's Work - StoryCorps Why Is It Called Filipino American HISTORY Month? Celebrating Filipino American History Month with unique flavors Books!: I am a huge Erin Entrada fan! Gabby and I read Hello
Filipino American history monthbook recommendations
December 15, 2023 · book review
For the littlest ones (babies/toddlers!): 1. How We Eat by Shuli de la Fuente-Lau - we love food in our families (and together as a duo)! This book nails it for us for the content and especially for the inclusion, the real photos of sweet kiddos and their diverse families enjoying food in so many ways. This one is fantastic for the baby who is enjoying looking at faces AND will be fun and has tons of content to talk about together for years to come. (The 4 year old has this book memorized and went through a phase where he read it almost every day before bed!) 2. Dog’s First Baby / Cat’s First Baby by Natalie Nelson - We were gifted these last holiday season and I love them. POC mamas, cute brown little babies, simple images, simple text that delivers and adorable message. Refreshing from what has been out in the board book market and a great gift for the families you know with pets! 3.
book recommendationsbooksboard booksbaby booksbaby gifts
August 18, 2023 · back to school
All photo credits from Goodreads.com It always feels like I (Nina) blinked and back to school is upon us again all of a sudden, but this summer time passed even faster than usual. I don't know how we are here already - it still feels like it should be July to me! And so many of my teacher/school friends are already back at work somehow. If you already started school or went back to work, hope you are having a smooth as possible start to the school year. This will be my second fall in a row out of the classroom, and while I have some adventures coming up that I’m excited about (more about that in a future post) and love the extra time with my little ones, it is always bittersweet as Teacher New Year is so exciting, nerve-wracking, and just so many emotions as once. I may not be planning back to school read alouds for my own classroom, but I’m still excited about lots of new books! Here
back to schoolbeginning of the school yearread aloudbook recommendations
March 27, 2023 · book review
This cover image and all in this post are from goodreads . Find us on there if you want LOTS of book recommendations. BABY BOOKS I LOVE THEM BABY BOOKS I LOVE THEM Baby baby baby books.. I looooooove them. (sung to the unicorns I love them song from Despicable Me) No one will get this reference but this is how my brain works, alas. We’ve had 3!? New babies in our lives this Spring. All nearing the 2 month ish mark and I feel that means it is officially time to start overwhelming their parents with board books. I joke!! Sort of. In the world of all the baby crap and the ways people can be supportive postpartum, baby gifts can be more fraught/annoying/clutterful than helpful. Quick tips if you are gifting to postpartum loved ones (from my perspective and my perspective only!) Food- always helpful. (groceries, bagels & fixings delivered to their house, Spoonful of comfort soup, a takeout
book recommendationsboard booksbaby booksbaby giftsbooks
March 1, 2023 · curriculum
Happy Women’s History Month! We last wrote about how we recognized Women’s History Month in the classroom in 2018 when we were co-teaching in 3rd grade with this post: Womyn's/ Womxn's/ Women's Herstory Month . All of those books are still wonderful and the general tie ins with other subjects, March Book Madness , and celebrating International Women’s Day are all things I would be bringing into my classroom if I was teaching this year. I also am intrigued by the FairPlay Home (Eq)uity Tool Kit . I haven’t used this myself and still need to investigate more, but love the idea (and the tagline “Close the Chore Gap!”). Instead of stopping at acknowledging women’s invisible labor (or expressing gratitude to all the amazing women in our lives), let’s teach kids to be aware of it and think critically about it. You know kids will find a creative solution to the “chore gap” and be reflective
Women's History Monthwomenmonthfeminismbook recommendations
June 17, 2022 · curriculum
My former co-teacher’s “shelfie” from the fall of 2020. She created it digitally, but you can also use paper! We wrote about some of the ways we set students up for summer reading a few years ago, and I still am not a fan of forced or assigned reading. There is research that reading logs actually reduce students’ motivation to read and negatively affect their attitudes toward reading . And honestly, they are just annoying! Imagine having to log how long you read and how many pages you read when you are reading before bed to relax. This applies to summer reading as well. Assigning a book or list of books students must read takes the joy out of reading. It’s much better to give them freedom and encouragement to find something they want to read and (hopefully) enjoy it! This has been a long, hard year for teachers, so it’s also really important that you find your own summer reading that is
readingsummersummer readingbook reviewbook recommendations
May 15, 2022 · national month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I almost didn’t start writing this post because I don’t know what to say or recommend. While these ideas from a previous post still stand, none of them can combat the serious issues teachers and students (and families) especially are facing after over two years of intense challenges and tragedy. So many families are struggling with grief , teacher stress and burnout is rampant, and new guidelines recommend that all children 8 and older should be screened for anxiety due to pandemic effects. None of my suggestions or ideas can “fix” this situation. So many factors are outside of our control, but what you can try to do is take care of yourself as much as possible. If that means taking a break from teaching or looking at a new school or new role, so be it. During the worst part of the pandemic for me, I found taking short walks outside could help me
Mental Health Awareness Monthmental healthbook recommendationsendwriting
May 1, 2022 · national month
Happy May! Teachers (and students!), you are so close to the end of the school year. Before the school year ends, it is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! This year, more than ever, it is important to uplift and share AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) voices as w e are facing a huge increase in hate crimes and anti-Asian sentiment . The Library of Congress hosts this site with lots of teacher resources, both historical and current . Another helpful resource is Standing Together from the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center which addresses the need to stand together against rising racism, hate, and violence. This site also provides facts and resources . Newsela has a lot of articles and text sets that would work for AAPI Heritage Month depending on what you want to focus on. Also, make sure you look at a map! It’s always helpful to talk about what “Asian” actually means,
Asian American Heritage Monthrepresentationbooksbook recommendationspicture books
April 17, 2022 · holiday
April is flying by, which means it is almost Earth Day! I’m a proponent of including conservation and environmental responsibility in our learning as naturally as possible (shout out to the Science teachers at my school who do some amazing work with students covering water testing, erosion, soil analysis, invasive plants, and more). However, it’s always worth acknowledging Earth Day and joining in the celebration. We wrote a post last year with some Earth Day picture book favorites, and here are a few more options for this year. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney: I’ve had this book since I was a child and now have a t-shirt to match! It’s worth a read for the gorgeous illustrations alone and is also a great goal setting/resolutions read too. However, make sure you address the “Indians” her grandfather was carving to put in front of cigar shops. It’s a stereotypical image of American
Earth Daynatureearthscienceread aloud
March 22, 2022 · current events
Happy Spring! Before we move on to April, don’t forget that March is Disability Awareness Month. I also saw that both Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and Students with Disabilities Awareness Month are in March as well. I recently discovered that March is National Noodle Month , too, so lots to cover this month. Disability Awareness Month has been celebrated since 1987, and like all awareness or heritage/history months, it really is just a reminder that disabilities are part of life and our teachings, materials, and classrooms should reflect that. So while we are close to the end of the month, the reminders and materials below are really for every single day. This year, I have been thinking a lot about people who are immunocompromised, at high risk for COVID and/or can’t safely get vaccinated and how mask mandates are ending and many people seem ready to move on. My child is
disabilityrepresentationDisability Awareness Monthableismbook recommendations