Wolfe Stew

(Updated 9/16/2022.) Happy National Encouragement Day, Leaders! If no one else has encouraged you today, we want to be the ones to do it. We know you. You work hard. You toss and turn at night thinking about how to reach that one child. How to present the learning in yet another way so they will finally understand it. How to connect with him so he knows you care. We appreciate you. We appreciate all the time and energy you spend trying to reach these littles. Thank you for ALL you do!! If you're looking for a new practice technique, check out what we have for you. Perhaps it will encourage you to look at practice in a new way. We call it, "Who Will Win?". It is low prep and easy to explain. Learners spin, then perform an action you choose. Continue until one of the actions reaches the end of the race. This action is the winner! For us, (Kindergarten - beginning of year) our learners spin a sound, trace it, say it while they trace it, then spin again. They contin...

Welcome Back Leaders, This one is for you leaders of our older learners.  I don't know about you, but one of our favorite ways to practice math skills is by playing games.  The game we're serving up today is Multiplication Bull's Eye, originally crafted by Everyday Math .  This game helps learners practice estimating products .   Estimation. Such an important but often overlooked skill.  Estimating helps us make reasonable decisions quickly. Also, it aids us in deciding whether an exact answer makes sense. Help your learners build this reasonable decision-making tool by challenging them to a game of Multiplication Bull's Eye. Gather a deck of cards, a calculator and a die. Print off the instructions and you are ready to go! To play, you will roll the dice to identify your target product range . Next, turn over four cards. Use the four cards to make a factor pair with a product that falls in your target range. Did you hit your mark? Use a c...

(Updated 5/13/2022) Happy Monday to You, Leaders! I hope your weekend was restful and you’re stepping with energy into another week.    Last week, we shared some ways to bring fall leaves into learning .  Then, on Sunday our church delivered a message rooted in trees. I never interpret the interconnectivity of random events randomly. I choose to see them as God's design.  But I don't want to stop there. I want to give God the recognition for the connection. In response, I'm sharing the connection with you today because the main point of the message was that we are stronger in community .  That is how God intended us to live.   The prop from nature that the pastor used to demonstrate God's desire for our interconnectivity was redwood roots.    When one redwood tree is sick, all the other trees stop growing and send their nutrients through the root system to the sick tree to help it heal.    Moreover, if the tree is to die, many new tr...

(Updated 5/12/2022) Confession time, Leaders.  I finally gave in.  I brewed my first pot of pumpkin spice coffee today, my home has fall scented plug-ins both upstairs and down, and my sister brought me my first pumpkin latte.  Fall is in my heart (even if it is not officially fall outside) and, oh, how it fills my spirit with joy! Quick Links for You: Fall Learning Activities Silas' Story Silas' First Mission: Books for his Bag Fall Learning Activities If you are looking for fall themed activities, be sure to check out the " Going on a Leaf Hunt ," and " Fall Leaf Decorations that Teach! " posts.  "Going on a Leaf Hunt!" suits primarily primary learners, while "Fall Leaf Decorations that Teach!" adapts to most age groups. Meet Silas Last Friday, we introduced the first character in our STEAM Team: Silas.  If you have not met Silas yet, go meet him .  You'll need to know his story before you progress further.  Mission 1:...

Welcome Fellow Cooks to the Academic Kitchen! Fall is nearly upon us!   We want to help you prepare for it by dishing up seasonal cuisine to delight your taste buds and soothe your cravings.  And what better way to do it than to spruce up your classroom with some fall leaf decorations? But these aren't just any fall leaf decorations. No. These decorations require learning!  Fall Leaf Decorative Teaching Menu: Capitalization Rules Displayed on Leaves (The original idea with our added model.) More Decorative Teaching Ideas for Elementary and Middle School Fall Leaf Decoration Display Suggestions   The Wolfe Stew  Printout ( Complimentary. All these ideas and more in a convenient printout .) Capitalization Rule Fall Leaf Display  Today, we’re sharing (and adding our own flavoring to) an idea from Mary McMillan in her book, Classroom Starters for Any Occasion. McMillan suggests making a leaf necklace to review capitalization rules.   After mak...

(Updated 5/5/2022) Listen Leaders, I don't know about you, but I (the Mrs.) am a lover of all things fall.  The crisp morning air.  Corn mazes.  Pumpkin patches.  Pumpkin everything (Yes, I am one of those people).  Soups and *ahem*  stews.  The smell and look as the leaves change color and begin to fall.  So, knowing it is right around the corner has me more than a little excited.  And then, it will be  the perfect time to "[Go] on a Leaf Hunt." If you have not read the book  We're Going on a Leaf Hunt  (links to Goodreads ) by Steve Metzger and you lead littles in grades K-3, now is a suitable time to read (or reread) it.  Read on for short descriptions suitable for leaders and littles. The Book Menu for Leaders We're Going on a Leaf Hunt In this piggyback book to "We're Going on a Bear Hunt," Metzger takes us on a fall adventure.  March in rhythm as the story weaves us over, through, around, and acros...

(Updated 9/9/2022.) Good Afternoon Friends, Welcome back to Wolfe Stew! We are glad you are here! Come on in. Get comfortable. Put your feet up and take a moment to stew on this... 72% of employees say the most helpful part of their career is receiving corrective feedback. In fact, more employees prefer corrective feedback to praise ( Zenger & Folkman, 2014 ). We all want to be better at what we do; it is part of human nature. If we are going to do something, we want to do it well. You, Leaders of Littles, serve a key role. You are the first "employer" your little has. They want to do well, but they need your guidance on how to do it. Feedback is your opportunity to guide them. As leaders, we all know how important feedback is, but sometimes it is pushed to the side. We have meetings to attend, lessons to plan, materials to organize, emails to return, papers to copy, and on and on and on... We want to encourage you to take a moment and give feedback a mor...