(Picture is Jeff Williamson's workshop: Strumming, Drumming and Ringing) It is hard to believe that spring is almost here and the hustle and bustle of the end of the school year is rapidly approaching. Things are winding down for the workshops offered at NJAKE. There are only three left on our calendar and all offer some great opportunities for enrichment, fresh ideas, and ways to spark interest in children during the trying end of the school year weeks ahead. NJAKE has al

My friend, Jackie Mancini, has taught 3rd grade for several years. We used to walk every morning in the summer and talk about our ideas for the coming year. One year she told me about a book on building positive comments and actions as a way of filling a person’s invisible bucket (think self esteem and well being) and that of other people’s, too. She had been unhappy with her prize box and the way children would work for a prize, but it did not promote the sense of teamwo

There are many things to either love or hate about the internet, but one of my favorite things is the sharing of web pages with friends. Sharon Dougherty shared a post from Heart Centered Rebalancing. Since it is children who do the teaching in this small exercise and we all have experienced the power of teamwork or community in some way, I include it here. An anthropologist proposed a game to the kids in an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit near a tree and told

Last week the topic was teamwork, not competition, among the adults in our school settings, but teaching children to work as a team is even better, since children are willing to try and are not set in their ways. How do you help children see everyone as valuable and able to contribute to the class or “team?” This is an important question to ask yourself, since it impacts on all facets of learning and growing together in your class. It is hard work to make everyone feel saf