Hi friends,
How are you? After a bout of cold, gray, blustery snow, and rain in the weather, we considered getting out for a nice meal. We thought about getting a bite to eat and having a car picnic. This got me to thinking, about a great idea for today’s writing prompt. There are many kinds of meals. A quick sandwich at home alone can be a meal. A buffet style banquet can be a meal. Meals come in all sizes, smells, and shapes. Meals can be ritzy restaurants with black ties and evening gowns or picnics in jeans and a t-shirt on a beach. Meals can be created out of all kinds of foods and ingredients. With some meals the best parts are the aromas and smells that mingle in the atmosphere around you as the meal is cooking. If you are anywhere in the area, you can get a delightful whiff of the meal to come. It sets the stage for an enjoyably delicious meal. So, with this in mind, your assignment is to write a description of your ideal meal. Where is it? Is anyone with you? Who? What is the setting? What is the meal? What are your surroundings? How does it feel? What is the occasion? How does it smell? What do you hear? Are you talking with someone? What are you saying? What are you thinking? Paint a picture so detailed that anyone who reads your description can just feel, taste, smell, hear, and experience everything that you do as if he or she was there with you. I can’t wait to read or hear about your descriptions. Maybe you should just tell me about them at first. If you send them to me, I might gain fifty pounds. Ugh. And, I don’t want that. Maybe I can read the descriptions of one or two people. (If you would like me to read yours, contact me. I will see if I have time and can afford to gain a pound or two. LOL.) Thank you for being here. I appreciate your kindness and support. If you are finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with your friends, family, and coworkers. Did you know that DUO Inspirations has more to offer in the way of education? Please, check it out both here and on Pinterest. If you haven’t done so already, please consider signing up to receive the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other content in your inbox. DUO Inspirations is committed to helping others teach and learn.
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Hi friends,
How are you? Today, I am going to post about a new subject… art. I enjoy being artistic and creative. Lately, I have been sketching or creating things digitally quite a bit. As a matter of fact, I have created a new product, the “Art Ovals Packet”. It wasn’t long ago that I took a portrait drawing course and I was drawing ovals quite frequently to practice drawing faces. That is what gave me the idea for this product. I knew there must be a way to do the practice without always drawing the ovals. Then, I got to thinking about other uses for ovals in both art and education. These ideas were some of the ideas behind the “Art Ovals Packet” by DUO Inspirations. As a teacher, homeschooling parent, or artist, I bet you can come up with uses for ovals as well. Some of the ideas I came up with for using the ovals are: Easter eggs... You or a student can draw and color different Easter egg designs. Students can color the eggs. Then, students can compare and contrast each of the eggs he or she drew or tell you which is his or her favorite and why. 
1-to-1 Correspondence (such as counting petals)… You or a student can write numbers in the ovals and then students can draw and color items in each oval to correspond with the number. 
Faces… You or students can use the ovals to draw various faces or to draw the same face over and over again for muscle memory. At the end, the faces can be evaluated for which is the favorite.
These are just a few snippets of the samples I did for the “Art Ovals Packet” by DUO Inspirations. (I sketched samples to complete each page of ovals.) The ideas listed here are only a few of what I included in the packet note. I included twenty activity ideas in the “Art Ovals Packet”. So, what is included in the “Art Ovals Packet” by DUO Inspirations? *A product note to educators, parents, and artists for possible uses for the ovals *One page of four blank large ovals *One page of nine blank medium ovals *One page of twenty blank small ovals *One sample page of the four large ovals with sketched Easter eggs *One sample page of the nine medium ovals with sketched flowers showing number of petals matching the noted number to show 1-to-1 correspondences *One sample page of the twenty small ovals with sketched faces If you are interested in purchasing the “Art Ovals Packet”, please click the link below. 
Now, it is your turn.
Thank you for being here. I appreciate your support and kindness. I would really like to read your ideas for oval uses. I know as an educator, a life-long learner, and a creative person, I am always looking for new ideas. I can imagine that others would like to read your ideas as well. Please, feel free to comment here or contact me about this or any education topic, idea, suggestion, and request. I am happy to hear from you. If you find value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with your friends, family, and coworkers. Some of them will appreciate it if you do. And, if you haven't already done so, please consider signing up below to receive the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content in your inbox. Thank you. 
Hi friends,
How are you? Today, I would like to talk about two important words in motivating students to learn. Do you know what those words could be? Do you use these words in your own learning? Do you use these words in your teaching? The two words help pique interest and gets the imagination flowing. These two words help drive curiosity and thought. They aren’t difficult words, but they are catalysts into some pretty powerful learning. Have you guessed the words yet? These two words are… v v v v v v v I wonder… Yes, the two words of “I wonder” can do a world of good for helping a person to learn. They can go a long way in teaching a person to learn more things and to become life-long learners. These can drive people to want to learn. They inspire people to think, research, try, experiment, and to do various things. Here are some great ways to use the words, “I wonder”: *I wonder what would happen if… *I wonder how much _____ it would take to ________. *I wonder why that happened. *I wonder why the author wrote it like that. *I wonder what would happen if I changed this one thing. *I wonder what would happen if I did _____ to that. *I wonder who was the first to _______. *I wonder what they had to do back in the day instead of _______. *I wonder who invented the ________. *I wonder how high I can stack these blocks. *I wonder how many card tents I can set up to create a domino effect before one of them falls. *I wonder how many verbs I can name. *I wonder how many words I can make out of the letters in the word transportation. *I wonder what type of soil makes plants grow better. *I wonder if I could make a ________. *I wonder if I could be a _________. *I wonder how I would feel if __________. *I wonder if __________ or _____________makes a better insulator. Do you wonder? If so, what do you wonder? Are there any wonder examples that you could add to the list that would make great teaching tools? Do you teach others to wonder? (I can’t wait to read your answers to some of these questions. I wonder what they will be. LOL.) The ability and trait of wondering are fabulous assets to learning. “I wonder” are powerful words that can motivate people to learn and encourage them to try new things. I hope as a learner you will try them and I hope as a teacher (and role model) you will show others how to use these two words. They will greatly benefit both learning and success. Now, it is your turn. Do you wonder? What do you wonder? Do you teach others to wonder? Do you agree with the importance of wondering? What are "I wonder" statements would be great examples of teaching tools? Please, let me know in the comments or feel free to contact me. I can't wait to read your answers. I wonder how many of you find value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations. I wonder how many of you will share the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, so others can find value in it as well. LOL! I hope it is you! And, I really appreciate you being here and all of your support. Also, if you haven't already, you may want to consider signing up below to get the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content sent straight to your inbox. 
Hi friends,
How are you today? If you have been reading the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations for a while, you know that I try to give writing prompts about once a month. I know how difficult it can be to come up with writing ideas at times. Even as I was trying to decide what to do for this writing prompt today, I was having trouble with coming up with a topic. However, I finally came up with one. Yesterday, I was wracking my mind to come up with a topic. I wasn’t feeling up to par and I was tired. It was raining out and I was craving some sunshine. No ideas were coming to mind. I was complaining a bit in my mind about the rain and then thought that I should have a writing prompt about the rain. So, I started to think about some memories I had about the rain. I remembered stomping in puddles when I was a small child, trying to walk around the many puddles when I was a bit older, wearing self-made rain coats out of garbage bags on a trip with my parents when I was a bit older, and singing in the rain and having the time of my life as an adult. Yes, I have many more memories about the rain. I am sure many people have memories of rain in which they can turn into a story. It can be a fictionalized story or a true story based on your experience. It is up to you. You can also choose to create an entirely new story all together. Your assignment, if you choose to take it is this: Write a story in which rain plays a prominent part. It can be a memory and true story of something you experienced or something that is completely made up. It can include people or animals as characters. Your story can be cute, funny, serious, scary, nonchalant, or evoke any emotion you would like. Now, it is your turn: If you try it, I would enjoy hearing from you. Let me know what you think and how you enjoyed the assignment. Also, you can tell me a sentence or two about the story. Leave a comment or feel free to contact me. I haven’t mentioned it in a while, but did you know that DUO Inspirations is on Pinterest? Feel free to check it out here or explore the DUO Inspirations website. Also, if you haven’t done so already, please consider signing up below to receive the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content in your inbox. Thank you. 
Hi friends, How are you today? I hope you are well. I want to talk with you about giving students some choice and responsibility in their learning. This also includes helping students set and reach goals. You may find this difficult to believe, but I even did this when I was teaching kindergarten. Yes, even my kindergarteners had a choice in what their learning goals would be. I think I did this weekly. I would ask each student about his or her goals. At first, some students weren’t sure what to say. Yet, as time went by, all students could tell me something. In the beginning, I might give them a few examples, like… “Do you want to learn a new letter or two or do you want to learn to count to ten?” I didn’t start this from the first day. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks into the school year or more, when I had some idea what each student was capable of doing before I asked him or her to set a learning goal. I wanted to make sure that I had some idea how to guide him or her, before I asked someone so young to do something that some adults haven’t mastered. After I met with each student to help him or her create his or her learning goal, I wrote a short note home. It went something like, “Dear parent, ___________ has chosen to learn ___________ for his/her learning goal. You can help him/her to do this by _____________. Thank you for your help in encouraging your child’s learning progress.” Not only did I tell parents the goals their children had chosen, but how to help their children achieve those goals. Some parents may try to leave the teaching to teachers. However, they may be more apt to become involved in teaching their children if they knew how to do it. So, I gave specific guidance to the parents as well as the students in how they can achieve those goals. If there were any learning aids that I had to send home to help each student achieve his or her learning goals, I did that as well. I wouldn’t send home a bunch of expensive things. Mostly, they were handmade flashcards or activities that I had prepared ahead of time. Students and parents seemed to like this practice. It helped build relationships with them. It also helped to know that I was including the parents and students in the learning process. I wasn’t trying to dictate everything that is learned and how it is learn or by whom. I really enjoyed having students choose some of his or her own learning goals and encouraging parents to help him or her achieve them. I enjoyed the relationship building and I enjoyed how much more motivated students and parents seemed to be. I also like that it was helping students not only academically, but also in the skills of goal setting and achievement. Note: Older students could write his or her their own learning goals. Then, the teacher could write a little note at the bottom as to how the parent could help him or her achieve those goals. When a student reached a certain grade, maybe high school, he or she can write his or her learning goals and do the work to achieve them independently. Now, it is your turn. I am glad you are here. Thank you for joining me. Do you help students set learning goals? What grade do you teach? What is your procedure? Do you get parents involved? Please, share your experience with us so we can learn. Please, comment below or contact me. I am always looking for your ideas, suggestions, questions, and requests. I am committed to helping others teach and learn. Please, check out all the education pages and educational resources that DUO Inspirations offers. Thank you. Are you finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations? If you are finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with friends, parents, teachers, and family members so they can find value in it as well. If you haven't already done so, you may also want to consider signing up below to receive the Education Blog and other education content in your inbox. I won't overwhelm you with emails. Emails come out most Wednesdays for the Education Blog after it is published. 
Hi friends,
How are you? Today, I would like to talk with you about learning bookmarks. Have you ever used them? Learning bookmarks are bookmarks that do more than holding the reader’s place. Learning bookmarks are mini activity pages to help the reader get more out of the book and become a better reader. There are many styles and sizes of learning bookmarks. Some have questions and activities about characters. Others have questions and activities about plot, setting, or other aspects of the book. There are learning bookmarks that also have spaces for the reader to ask questions, make notes, write down vocabulary words, make connections, and such. (DUO Inspirations currently has the latter for an educational resource and product.) The newest learning bookmark by DUO Inspirations has three activity spots. In each spot, the reader can write the page number and choose to write a vocabulary word, ask a question, make a connection, or write a note about what he or she likes in the book. I like the flexibility in the newest learning bookmark. It is nice to have a resource that can be used in multiple ways. What do you think? The Learning Bookmark by DUO Inspirations is also a great resource for readers of all ages. The idea of a learning bookmark is the ease of use and availability. That is a bookmark is right there with the book. So, instead of having to find a notebook, piece of paper, or computer, the reader can make notes or ask questions right on the bookmark. The Learning Bookmark is blank on one side. (Although, it could be printed two-sided.) On the blank side, the reader can draw an illustration based on the book or decorate it in a personal way. Another great idea would be to print it on cardstock and laminate it. That way, the bookmark can be used multiple times for multiple books. The reader can then use a dry erase marker on the bookmark. If you are interested in purchasing a Learning Bookmark by DUO Inspirations, you can press the link below. 
Now, it is your turn. I am so glad that you are here. I hope you are enjoying and finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations. I would enjoy hearing if you have used learning bookmarks before. Have you used the Learning Bookmark by DUO Inspirations or other learning bookmarks? Do you and your students enjoy them? Do you use them for your own reading? What kinds of activities are on the learning bookmarks that you use? What type of activities would you like to see on the next learning bookmarks by DUO Inspirations? Please, leave a comment or feel free to contact me. If you are finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with friends, coworkers, and family members, so they can enjoy it as well. Also, if you haven't already done so, please consider signing up below to receive the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content in your inbox. Thank you. 
Hi friends,
How are you today? I hope you are well. I know you must be tired of Covid and looking for new ways to save time and still be the teacher you want to be. An important part of that is parent/teacher communication. So, how do you keep in touch with parents now? How often do you let parents know how their child is doing? When I taught kindergarten, I sent home communication every day as to how each child was doing. Sometimes it was difficult to find the time to send home a communication for each child every day. Sometimes I would do it during nap time, sometimes during specials, and sometimes I would do it during lunch. Sometimes it was just when I found a few minutes here or there, I would fill out the form that went home for communication. For kindergarten class, often a communication home would consist of a star, smiley face, sad face, or straight-line face. Sometimes, a student might get an angry face going home as well. This would quickly tell parents how their child was doing. There were days, when I was busy and the face or star was the only communication. Although, when a child received a sad face or angry face, there was always an accompanying explanation. On days when I had a little more time, I liked to include a note of praise, especially during times of success after extreme difficulty. I also wrote reminders on days before a field trip, inclement weather, or something out of the ordinary. The daily communication was in addition to a monthly newsletter that was sent home. The monthly newsletter was more general though. It let parents know the kinds of things that their children would be doing as well as any upcoming events for the month. 
This is a daily communication sheet that I recreated from memory of what I sent home daily with students. They liked to see how they were doing by looking at the child friendly communication sheet. The parents enjoyed getting a little idea of how their child was doing each day. I enjoyed it, because I could tell a parent so much with just a face or quick sentence or two in a note.
Feel free to download this sample and use it yourself. I would be happy to hear how you, your students, and your parents like it. The good thing about a form like this, it can be easily transformed so you can add other features for quick communication. I may do that at some point. I may create some other daily communication sheets for parent/teacher communication. What do you think? If you need a daily communication sheet to fit your needs, please feel free to contact me. Thank you. Thank you for being here. I hope you are enjoying and finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations. If you do find value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with friends, family, and coworkers. Also, if you haven't already, please consider signing up below to receive the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content in your inbox. 
Hi friends, How are you today? When I was teaching kindergarten, my students enjoyed being able to be helpers within the classroom. This is a good practice, because it gives students a sense of pride and responsibility. It also let’s students find out first hand that doing things for others, helps you build a sense of community and friendship. Do you use classroom helpers? What kind of helpers? What kind of jobs do your helpers do? Each teacher and class has their own ways of doing things. Each has their own jobs and ways of distributing the jobs. Some teachers create general jobs like “classroom helper” and some teachers create very specific jobs like lines leader, caboose, door holder, paper distributor, etc. DUO Inspirations created some Classroom Helper Badges that you can use. In the package is also a set of “Blank Classroom Helper Badges” that you can laminate and write the name of the classroom helpers you would like to use. Here are some sample badges: 
The “Classroom Helper Badges Set” consists of 12 helper job badges: 2 “Classroom Helper” badges, 1 “Paper Distributor” badge, 1 “Door Holder” badge, 1 “Line Leader” badge, 1 “Paper Collector” badge, 1 “Morning Meeting Helper” badge, 1 “Encouragement Leader” badge, 2 “Cleaning Helper” badges, 1 “Floor Monitor” badge, and 1 “Homework Helper” badge. It also contains a set of 12 “Blank Classroom Helper Badges” so you can write your own helper names on them.
The “Blank Classroom Helper Badges” can also be used for name tags in the first few days of school. I’m sure there are other uses for them as well. I really like it when a resource has more than one purpose. It saves time and energy in creating separate resources for different purposes. If you are a preschool teacher, you can also find some clipart depicting the jobs and glue them on the badges before you laminate them. Or, you can put some sort of color marking on them that matches them to your big classroom job chart, so students can match the badges to the chart to know their jobs. 
If you would like to check out the "Classroom Helpers Badges Set", please click here. Also, if you have any questions or comments concerning the "Classroom Helpers Badges Set" or any other educational request or concern, please feel free to contact me. You may also want to explore DUO Inspirations' other educational resources as well.
Now, it is your turn. Thank you for being here. Do you teach in the elementary grades? Do you have classroom helpers in your class? What jobs do you have for your classroom helpers? I value your opinion and ideas. Please, feel free to share to let others learn from your experience and knowledge. Thank you. If you find value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with your friends and coworkers. Also, if you haven't already, please consider signing up to receive the Education Blog and other education content in your inbox. Thank you. 
Hi friends, How are you today? Education Blog by DUO Inspirations has another writing prompt for you today. I hope you enjoy it. It is a blustery winter’s day where I am. Have you experienced a cold and blustery winter’s day before? The wind is blowing and the cold artic air is frigid. Even inside the house where it is warm, my nose and fingers are cold to the touch. Since today is a cold January day, I thought that today’s writing prompt should be one associated with a cold winter’s day. Truth be told, as I am writing this, I could use a writing prompt. I am not sure which prompt I should give. That is one of the reasons I like to provide writing prompts. I know that even seasoned writers find writing prompts helpful at times. LOL! Okay. Here is your assignment if you wish to take it. (Yes, I just came up with it, through God’s inspiration, right now.) Imagine that is a cold and blustery day. Describe the day well. Describe some plans you had for the day that may or may not be ruined by the harsh winter weather. You can either be yourself or be another character, maybe even an animal. Or, you could be a made up character. Now, tell the story so we know how or why the weather could ruin your plans. Then, show us the outcome. Did your plans work out in the end? Were your plans changed? If they were changed, did you like the new plans better or worse than your original plans? Now, it is your turn. If you choose to use this writing prompt, I would enjoy hearing how you like it and how it worked out for you. Please, comment below. I would also be interested to know whether you are a writer, parent, teacher, homeschooler, student, or what. Thank you. If you are finding value in the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations, please share it with your friends, coworkers, and family. Thank you. I appreciate it. Also, if you haven’t already, please consider signing up for the Education Blog and other education content to be delivered right into your inbox. 
Hi friends,
How are you this week? I hope you are doing well. Today, I would like to talk about word sorts. There are many kinds of word sorts: by sound, be singular and plural, by tense, by part of speech, by syllables, and more. Word sorts can be written or physical and both are important. Not only do word sorts address multiple learning styles, but they also address multiple levels of learning. Word sorts don’t just utilize factual learning, but also ask students to analyze as well as compare and contrast. It is helpful to encourage students to develop higher levels of learning. DUO Inspirations now has a word sort product, “The Nouns and Verbs Word Sort Set”. The Nouns and Verbs Word Sort Set contains three regular noun and verb sort pages, plus a bonus noun and verb sort page for written sorts. The bonus page has three categories: nouns, verbs, and both. (Some words can be both nouns and verbs.) Also, included in the set are noun and verb cards that can be used for physical sorts. I like The Nouns and Verbs Word Sort Set, because it can be used in different ways. It also contains words that are often and not so often used as both nouns and verbs. This also gives students an opportunity to make a case and explain why they chose a particular category for a word. So, this not only helps with parts of speech skills, but also debating, analyzing, comparing and contrasting, and speaking skills as well. Also, even though this word sort product is called The Nouns and Verbs Word Sort Set, the many word cards can be used for other kinds of sorts. All you would have to do is make your own category cards. I like it when a product has multiple uses and addresses multiple skills, don’t you? If you are interest in The Nouns and Verb Word Sort Set, you can check it out here or purchase it now: 
Now, it is your turn. I am thankful that you are here and would like to know your thoughts as well as your experiences. Do you use word sorts? What kind? Please, comment below or feel free to contact me. If you find the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations valuable, please share it with your friends and family. Also, if you haven't already, please consider signing up below to get the Education Blog by DUO Inspirations and other education content in your inbox. Thank you. |
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