5 Beautiful Valentine Books for Primary Kids

Inside: 5 Valentine book reviews with lots of follow-up suggestions. Hello!  I have a sweet treat for you today. I found 5 of the loveliest Valentine books for your kids or your primary classroom. The children in your life are sure to love these stories. Be sure to read to the end for links to some tried and true Valentine … Read more

The Book of Joy

Inside: Book review of The Book of Joy This blog will be seven years old later in the year and while I’ve always posted reviews of children’s books and occasionally professional books, I’ve never written a review of a book that I’ve read for my own personal enjoyment. I love to read a variety of genres–though I lean towards modern … Read more

Sadie and the Snowman: Review and 6 Free Activities

Inside: Book review of Sadie and the Snow, plus lots of related activities. I’m sharing one of my favourite winter books this week. TITLE: Sadie and the Snowman AUTHOR: Allen Morgan ILLUSTRATOR: Brenda Clark PUBLISHING: 1985,  Kids Can Press AGES: 3 to 7 TOPIC: Winter, Snow, Seasons OPENING: One cold winter day, Sadie made a snowman in her back yard. … Read more

Christmas Poetry Roundup: Ten Free Poems

Inside: 10 free Christmas poems, perfect for primary students. Hi Friends! I thought I would round up my Christmas poems and put them in one blog post. It’s fun to have a varied collection of poems this time of year. Our guided reading lessons often got missed in the busy-ness of the days leading up to Christmas, but I felt … Read more

Are You My Mother? Book Review

Inside: Book review of Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman. Hello! It’s Perfect Picture Book Friday and I have an oldie but a goodie to share. Are You My Mother? was first published 57 years ago! I discovered it early in my teaching career and read it many times over the years. TITLE: Are You My Mother? AUTHOR: P.D. … Read more

Where Once There Was a Wood: Book Review and Poems

I’m a big fan of Denise Fleming and own several of her books. This one is a favourite and is perfect to read on EARTH DAY! Title: Where Once There Was a Wood Author: Denise Fleming Publishing: Scholastic, 1997 Theme: Environment, Non-Fiction Ages: 4 to 8 Opening Lines: Where once there was a wood, a meadow, and a creek … … Read more

Paint a Poem Book Review

Hi Friends, I was going through some of my teacher books today and came across this treasure by Moira Andrew called Paint a Poem. Some teachers tend to shy away from having their young students write poems, but it’s not all that hard, especially if you loosely follow a writing frame and do lots of up-front idea loading. And when … Read more

Remembrance Day Bookmark Freebies

Inside: Free Remembrance Day bookmarks This Saturday, November 11, is Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the U.S. I’ve made up some bookmarks for you to use in your classroom.  As you can see, there are two coloured versions, and two black and white versions for your students to colour as they wish. DOWNLOAD: REMEMBRANCE DAY BOOKMARKS The … Read more