Arkansas History Teacher Workshops

Local news: Arkansas History Workshops Arkansas teachers are required to have two hours per year of professional development in state history. Join me for your two hours on May 9th at Pages of Parenting bookstore in Fayetteville. You'll get practical, hands-on, frameworks-based activities that you can use, as well as all the juiciest stories in Arkansas history. I'm a certified Arkansas History Teacher Trainer, former Education Coordinator of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, one of the authors of the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, and a fun person to spend your two required hours with. Saturday, May 9 9-11 am, grades 1-3 1-3 pm, grades 4-6 It's a mere $25, and school purchase orders are accepted. Pre-registration is required. Sponsored by Pages of Parenting and A Plus Educational Supply. Call 582-3139 to register for either session. Meanwhile, check out lots of great Arkansas History links and Lesson Plans.

I keep hearing that there's extra money for teachers in the stimulus package. What's up?

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes more than $100 billion in direct education funding for the next two fiscal years. $44 million of this will be available in the next 30-40 days.

This money funds a lot of different things: Title I, Special Education, Technology Grants, Teacher Incentive Programs, and more.

Sometimes applications are required, and some have deadlines. Lots of supplemental materials are eligible for funding. Ask your local school leadership for details on local plans, but this is also a great time to get your ideas in!

Check amounts for each school district.

And here's some more detail:
Title I, Part A grants to school districts

IDEA, Part B grants to states and preschool grants

The State Fiscal Stabilization Fund

I need a pick me up! What's new?

It's the end of the year, we're giving tests, the kids are fidgety, and we need something to perk up the classroom.

Copernicus has a wonderful new pointer, the Pick a Pointer, that will help. It includes a finger, a feather, a word swatter, and a word frame.

Use it with your Copernicus Rack, your smart board, pocket charts, Power Point presentations -- you name it! The kids will get a little help with paying attention, and you'll get a lift of spirits.



Write this into the comments section of your order at A Plus Educational's online catalog. It's $19.99 -- a small price to pay for an end of the year pick me up!

What's good for spring decorating?

How about a new Weather bulletin board?

I love the Weather Frog, and Scholastic has done a new Weather Panda, too.

Teacher's Friend Weather Accent Punchouts are versatile enough to use for interactive bulletin boards, as manipulatives, or for big books.

I'm sick of winter, and my classroom! Isn't there something really new?

Yes! Check out Carson-Dellosa's new Pop-It decoratives for something really different.

Click on the picture for more details or to order them from A Plus Educational Supply.

There are also flowers and pumpkins and snowmen -- oh, you didn't want to think about winter any more, right?

What can I do with the kids in this weather?

The weather has been unpredictable, ranging from unsettled to horrible.

What can you do with the kids when they can't go outside?

Sand and water tables are a great choice. A Plus Educational has lots of choices, all of which can be shipped directly to your facility.





Let's start with the traditional table -- only better. This one has storage bins, deep trays to limit spilling and splashing, and wheels for easy movement. Pull the bins out to fill, dump, or clean them.


Delta Moon Sand is better yet. It vacuums easily from the floor, clumps easily for pickup, and doesn't stick to hands. Great for kids with sensory issues, and it's gluten and latex free for allergy concerns.

Click on the pictures for more details.

What's great for Valentine's Day?

We're all ready to quit thinking about ice and snow and perk up our classrooms with some heartfelt treasures.


The Valentine Bears is a great book! A collection of lesson plans to go with it can be found at Freshplans, and Hotchalk's new Valentine's Day technology lesson plan uses this book.

Avoid sugar troubles by giving your students "Valentine from your teacher" pencils
or special Valentine's postcards.

These by Susan Winget are great for any age.


Valentine's Jingo is a great twist on classic bingo. Perfect for class parties.



And finish it off with a great Valentine's Day bulletin board set.