Joyful Pathways to Accelerated Literacy

Nellie Edge Blog

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Settling-In Time Sets the Emotional Tone for the Day

September 29, 2023

Settling-In Time Sets the Emotional Tone for the Day: Developing Friendship, Responsibility, Self-Motivation, and Collaboration Skills

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30 Essential Handwriting Lessons

No Time for Isolated Kindergarten Handwriting Lessons?

September 17, 2023

30 Essential Handwriting Lessons Build Sentence Writing Stamina and Fluency for Writing Workshop Why Is Good Handwriting Important? Updated September 2023 No time for isolated handwriting lessons? Want to build stamina and fluency for writing workshop? This research-based handwriting model is NOT mindlessly tracing over one letter! You will ACTIVELY ENGAGE your students as they […]

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Kindergarten lessons: Teaching “Thank You” and Developing an Attitude of Gratitude

The Simplest Way to Build a Happy Classroom: Teach Gratitude!

September 6, 2023

Learning to Express Gratitude Is a Year-Long Theme: We Sing, Sign, Spell, Express and Write “Thank You.”

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The Poetry “I Can Read” Notebook Tradition is Treasured by Parents and Children

August 31, 2023

The Science of Reading Supports a Comprehensive Approach to Early Literacy. The science of reading supports more than systematic phonics mastery, it includes building vocabulary, comprehension, and oral language fluency. This is especially critical for emergent bilingual students who need more practice using language with Total Emotional Body Response to Language (TEBRL) strategies.

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How to keep joy alive in the Kindergarten classroom all year long!

10 Ways to Keep Joy and Social Emotional Learning Alive!

August 28, 2023

Our job as teachers is to create a feeling of belonging and joy so children will love coming to school and thrive as responsible learners and good friends.

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Kindness and Good Behavior Can and Must be Taught

August 22, 2023

Developing Social Emotional skills, a growth mindset, and love of learning underlie everything we do! Create joyful pathways to accelerated literacy and honor the whole child.

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Welcome Families with a Customizable Monthly Learning Calendar

August 14, 2023

Give Families Actionable Resources to Support Literacy Let your monthly calendar be a gentle reminder for families to sing, talk, dance, and read with their children every day. Tell stories Explore nature Memorize and recite rhymes Talk about “kindergarten kindness” Develop social emotional and self-help skills Our work in establishing and supporting meaningful family learning […]

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Begin Your Kindergarten Year with 10 Memorable Traditions

August 7, 2023

We begin the year with Mother Goose Rhymes to effortlessly give children the rhythm and sounds of the English language and to introduce them to “Just Right: I Can Read!” Little Books which they can use during “Read to Self” Time. Marie Clay’s research reminds us that “Rhymers are readers.” Using classic Mother Goose little books is a research-based approach to simultaneously build phonemic awareness, oral language fluency, reading skills, and delight!

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back to school in kindergarten classroom

How to Have the Best Kindergarten Back-to-School Night Ever: Family Scavenger Hunt Step-by-Step

August 1, 2023

Families’ first visit to kindergarten is organized, purposeful, and inviting “Sunflower Children” and warm-hearted Katie Nelson welcome each family as they arrive. The environment is carefully prepared to introduce literacy routines and involve Parents as Partners. Children sign in on their first “Name Ticket” with guided help from Mom or Dad. They put their finished […]

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How Do Kindergarten Teachers Create a Culture of Writers?

July 25, 2023

It’s early October and kindergarten children are learning the joys of writing for real world purposes. Writing and reading fluency with a growing collection of high-frequency “heart word” sentences is our next important learning target.

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teaching pencil grip

7 Kindergarten Name Writing Tips with Family Practice Book

July 18, 2023

Helping you involve parents with learning Updated July 2023 I am remembering again how challenging and important it is to teach good name writing from the first days of school. Why not ask “parents to be partners” at spring registration? Our FREE resources may help you! Kindergarten-age students, in classrooms or at home, represent a […]

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12 Favorite Kindergarten FREEBIES on TPT

July 11, 2023

These quality resources now include lessons, best practices, and authentic kindergarten writing and art samples—and there are more coming!

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teaching pencil grip

Weekly Focus: Ten Tips for Teaching Handwriting Grip

July 5, 2023

Updated July 2023 Two of the foundation skills for kindergarten teachers to introduce during the first busy weeks of school are good handwriting grip and efficient name writing. 1. Determine a child’s handedness. Ask parents. Watch the child with manipulative toys. Notice which hand the child uses to pick up crayons or small pencils. Help […]

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Publish Children’s Books and Celebrate Young Authors

June 21, 2023

Publish Children’s Books and Celebrate Young Authors: This is one of the best things we can do to build an “I can do it” mindset!

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Did You Miss Any of These Nellie Edge End-of-School Year Blogs?

June 12, 2023

 We love to search Pinterest for the best kindergarten writing and early learning resources we can find to share with you our Nellie Edge seminar participants and online friends.

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