It's been a little while since I last posted as I have been busy tracking down some of the books on the Notables List for Book Week 2016 and I have been successful so I am currently reading through some of the older reader books.

But this post is actually about something else! Art smocks and aprons...Do they do the job in your classroom?

One of the most difficult things I faced when learning Japanese in school was remembering all the Hiragana characters. We didn't start learning a second language until grade 6 which I strongly feel is far too late. For me all the characters looked a bit alike and even if I remembered what it looked like I couldn't necessarily remember what is sounded like.

After watching some students struggle last year with the same problem I wanted to come up with a way of having information about the characters but also how to write, spell, recognise...the character. I think in part the way I was taught - confronted by an entire table of Hiragana characters was just too much. Kids need focused attention on each character - not just to recognise and say but write and put it in words to see why they need to know it.

CBCA announced this morning the Notables List 2016 (also known as the Long-List) for Book Week. I will detail the books in their nominated categories into separate posts to make it easy to find the relevant grade levels. This is a list of books, brief details, and summary.

CBCA announced this morning the Notables List 2016 (also known as the Long-List) for Book Week. I will split books into their nominated sections into different posts to make it easy to find the relevant grade levels. This is a list of books, brief details and summary.

Please note: Most of these summaries are from the publisher websites as I am yet to read any of them myself and will need to start tracking a copy down. Stayed tuned for the book reviews to come over the next several months for a better look at the books.

CBCA announced this morning the Notables List 2016 (also known as the Long-List) for Book Week. I will split books into their nominated sections into different posts to make it easy to find the relevant grade levels. This is a list of books, brief details and summary.

Please note: Most of these summaries are from the publisher websites as I am yet to read any of them myself and will need to start tracking a copy down. Stayed tuned for the book reviews to come over the next several months for a better look at the books.

CBCA announced this morning the Notables List 2016 (also known as the Long-List) for Book Week. I will split books into their nominated sections into different posts to make it easy to find the relevant grade levels. This is a list of books, brief details and summary.

Please note: Most of these summaries are from the publisher websites as I am yet to read any of them myself and will need to start tracking a copy down. Stayed tuned for the book reviews to come over the next several months for a better look at the books.

CBCA announced this morning the Notables List 2016 (also known as the Long-List) for Book Week. I will split books into their nominated sections into different posts to make it easy to find the relevant grade levels. This is a list of books, brief details and summary - stayed tuned for activities to follow!

Many times we can forget that if we all make small changes these lead to big changes. In terms of helping planet Earth if each classroom in the world made small changes to their everyday classroom routine the planet could be helped greatly.

Here is the first simple change of behaviour you can make in your classroom to start helping save Earth - everyday, not just on Earth Day.

It's one thing to what to have students outdoors and learning about the world around them in a garden setting. It's quite another thing to have everything organised to ensure things run smoothly.

With Earth Day just a couple of weeks away it might be time to reflect on how you could incorporate some garden/plant life activities into your classroom or homeschool program.

Here are a few thoughts about the garden types I've seen and worked with and how to organise a little garden tote bag with everything you need in it!

Song: Saltwater
Artist: Julian Lennon
Year: 1991
Nationality: British

Classification: Fiction
Theme: environment, future