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teach mama

helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
home / reading / comprehension / connecting

connecting

high interest reading: skylanders books

high-interest reading: the skylanders book series

    My boy loves his Skylanders. So much so that if given the chance, his recipe for a life of pure happiness would be: Skylanders …
Read morehigh-interest reading: the skylanders book series

3 ways to talk to your kids about books

I remember a time, not so long ago, when Maddy, Owen, and Cora would talk to me for (what seemed to be) hours upon end about things. Just anything.  …
Read more3 ways to talk to your kids about books

best of teach mama countdown: #9 — building words, names

This post, which rolls in at #9, continues to surprise me with the amount of hits it gets. Maybe it's the title: word building, name building (and …
Read morebest of teach mama countdown: #9 — building words, names

learning during read-alouds: making back-to-school connections

Today I sent the big O-man off to Kindergarten and Maddy off to second grade, and I absolutely cannot believe it. If I think about it too much, I …
Read morelearning during read-alouds: making back-to-school connections
learning during read-alouds: making connections and questioning (with siblings!)

learning during read-alouds: making connections and questioning (with siblings!)

    We have been putting in a lot of pool time lately, but we've also been spending a boatload of time indoors--staying cool in …
Read morelearning during read-alouds: making connections and questioning (with siblings!)

cars 2: what you should do before you see the movie

Ka-CHOW! Have plans to see Cars 2 anytime this summer? Want to know how you can throw in a little bit of learning--and I mean a little bit--before …
Read morecars 2: what you should do before you see the movie
learning during read-alouds: making connections

learning during read-alouds: making connections

My kiddos are huge fans of popping pop beads, stringing beads, connecting nuts and bolts, and just sticking things together. Not only are these …
Read morelearning during read-alouds: making connections

making connections with nonfiction texts (and our new turtle friend)

Between the insane weather we've been experiencing over here (tornadoes! wind gusts! rain, rain, and more rain--and then the next second--sun!?), …
Read moremaking connections with nonfiction texts (and our new turtle friend)
bring books to life in the kitchen | cora cooks pancit | international literacy day

international literacy day: cora cooks pancit

    September 8th is International Literacy Day (hooray!), and although we've been busy re-arranging our house (believe it) and …
Read moreinternational literacy day: cora cooks pancit

telling stories with norman rockwell paintings

I have always been intrigued by Norman Rockwell's artwork. When I was young, his Girl at Mirror (1954) spoke to me so personally about the battle …
Read moretelling stories with norman rockwell paintings
make connections with poems we love

making connections– with poems we love

    Lately, we've been so busy. May flew by, like it always does for us--a blur of end-of-school activities, yard work, picnics, park …
Read moremaking connections– with poems we love

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Hot off the presses!

I've been working CRAZY hours because I'm prepping for a launch in the next two weeks. G U L P!

I'm SUPER excited, and I know you will be too.

Read more here: https://take5.teachmama.com/

#linkinbio #teachmamatake5 #bestoftheweb #take5 #coolestclubintown
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Loving my new St. Patrick’s Day 🍀 tee and eyeing about 5 others I totally want!

Remember—the more we can get our kids reading, the better! 

So find a fun and festive shirt for everyone in the fam and teach kids phrases like: 

🍀 Saint Patrick’s Day sparks JOY

☘️ Happy Go Lucky

🍀 Team Irish

☘️ Lucky Charm

🍀 Irish I was a little bit taller

☘️ Here for the shenanigans 

🍀 Lucky mama

☘️ A wee bit Irish 

and more!

Right now on Zulily you can grab tees, hoodies, dresses, pj sets, tank tops, slouchy tees, sweatshirts, sweatpants, and more starting at under $20!

Check them out: zulily.gfpv.net/rnegED

#stpatricksdaydecor #linkinbio #saintpaddysday #familyfun🍀 #irishkids #zulilypartner #raiseareader
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If you have not yet met the Buddha Board, today is your lucky day.

The Buddha Board is the ideal way to help kids find focus and to relax, and honestly every family could use one.

I would do anything some days to bring a little big of peace and calm–and zen–to our home. 

With a Buddha Board always out on a shelf, we are always just minutes away from unplugged focus and relaxation.

Have you tried one? 

Here are the deets:
https://teachmama.com/help-kids-focus-and-relax-with-the-buddha-board/

#linkinbio #buddhaboard #calmyourmind #mindfulmoments #unplugged
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Doesn’t it seem like time has become a crazy mashup of virtual-hybrid-normal-life, scattered with the *occasional* bright spot—with an overload of disappointment, confusion, and uncertainty? Like it’s hard to pinpoint what happened exactly last spring or the summer before last or even last fall?

It’s all kind of a jumbled mess?

It feels like that for me. 

But I know this for sure: spending time with these women is truly good for my soul. It’s what my heart needs. Time slows down. I can breathe. 

And it’s what I’m betting everyone needs right now—some time with good friends—sister bffs—friends like family. 

No matter what is going on in the world, these women ground me, help me feel more centered, and fill my heart with so. much. joy. 

I walked Louie this morning with what felt like lighter steps and a bigger smile on my face, and I know it’s because I spent time with beloved friends last night. 

Friends, listen to me: It’s EASY to want to hole up right now and not do much of anything—it’s dark by 5pm, it’s freezing out, it’s grey and gross outside, and we are all so tired. But one night this week or next, call a pal. 

Make plans for coffee or a meal together, and just RECONNECT with some friends. Put on a little lipstick. Dust off that bottle of perfume. Wear a big sweater over a tee shirt and leggings and put on fun earrings. It’s not that hard, but it makes a difference. 

I guarantee it will be exactly what you need and you will move forward the next few days with a brighter spirit. 

Love you, @jessicamcfadd @justicefergie and @sandie_chen so, so, SO MUCH. And love Evie too!! 

Let’s get another date on the calendar stat. 😉😍

(Of COURSE we made beautiful @eve.mcfadden pose with us last night after her dance class because we are her bloggy aunties and have known her since she was 2yo and we love her like our own.)

#wwh #bff4life #ogbloggers #sisterfriends
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Thank you @delegateericluedtke @senzucker @delegatepamqueen for meeting with Maryland @MomsDemand volunteers to discuss how we can work together to end gun violence in our communities. 

JOIN US at our next event by texting READY to 644-33 to get involved in your community!

#MDGA22 #MDpolitics #MomsAreEverywhere #DoSomething #SaySomething #BeTheChange
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As a @MomsDemand volunteer, I just met virtually with my #MDGA22 legislators to work to keep our state safe from gun violence. 

I told @delegateericluedtke @senzucker @delegatepamqueen that:

- In 1999, I was teaching English at Wilde Lake HS in Columbia, MD when the Columbine HS massacre took place. I vowed then that I would do everything I could to prevent something like that from happening again. I thought: There is NO WAY this will happen when I have children in school. Laws will change. Surely we will protect our children better.

- In 2007, I had just had my 3rd child, and a month later, the VA Tech shooting took place. I watched the news in horror and thought, please, please, PLEASE let smart people make laws to prevent this from ever happening again. PLEASE. 

- In 2012, I had three kids in elementary school--K, 1st, and 3rd grade, and my husband was an admin at a different school. That same year, 20 children and 6 adults were shot and killed at Sandy Hook ES. I joined @sandyhookpromise as soon as it was created. I thought: THIS will be the last one. No more senseless, preventable deaths.

- In 2022, just last week, at Magruder HS, where I once taught English and where my husband coached soccer, there was another shooting. This time with a ghost gun. Every day, I send my 3 children off to high school 10 minutes down the road from Magruder HS, and every day, I plead, pray, and beg God to keep them safe. 

They should not fear for their lives when they walk into school each day, nor should ANY child, any teacher, any administrator, or support staff. Schools should be safe places.

Today, we asked #Maryland lawmakers to prioritize legislation to prohibit the manufacture & sale of ghost guns: do-it-yourself weapons that can be downloaded or purchased online, bypassing the background check system that keeps us all safe. 

Please do the same. Join your local @momsdemand or @studentsdemand 

#UseYourVoice #DoSomething
#MDpolitics #MomsAreEverywhere
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Although I can’t be in Annapolis today, this Maryland @MomsDemand volunteer stands with those there in urging my legislators to protect our state from ghost guns. #MomsAreEverywhere #MDGA22 #MDpolitics

Want to get involved? 

❤️ visit momsdemandaction.org

❤️ share ANY and ALL @momsdemand @studentsdemand or @everytown posts

❤️ share any and all #MDGA22 #MDpolitics posts 

❤️ join this movement and make a difference!

#DoSomething #SaySomething #BeTheChange #EndGunViolence
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🔥 Hot off the presses 🔥

Take 5: here's what happened to me, and here's where we're going. . .

Excited about big things happening over here in 2022. 

Things may look a little different as we release and share, but if you want to stay ‘in the know’, subscribe here: https://take5.teachmama.com/

#herewego #thescoop #herearethedeets #linkinbio
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Time for your New Year’s Family Interview! 

If you haven’t done it yet, it’s OKAY. We are all feeing a little bit behind already this year. 

Be good to yourself. 

Love your people well. 

Head over and grab your *new and improved* New Year’s Family Interviews here: https://shop.teachmama.com/product/new-years-family-interview/

#newyearinterview #familyfun #easytraditions #linkinbio

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