About Squarehead Teachers

Well, I’m a travel loving, cookie eating, bright color obsessed teacher who just can’t get enough of blogging or Photoshop. I’ve taught various grades from Kindergarten to Undergraduate courses in both in the United States and in China, teaching everything from dance and PE to English and math. I come from a family of educators, and believe that all teachers (public, private, charter and home school) are grossly under appreciated and deserve a little extra help. I started my Squarehead Teachers blog in August 2012 with the hope that I can be that extra little help that makes teachers feel a little more loved!

Encouraging Kids to Use Library Resources

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s a super cute idea one elementary school librarian did to help encourage kids to use the library’s resources. It’s name is Zoinks the Answer Alien.

Every week, Zoinks asks a question that encourages kids to do research in the library. For example, the question might be “what year was Charlotte’s Web published?” or “what country is directly north of Moldova?” When the kids find the answer, they write it down with their source and “feed it” to Zoinks. If they’re correct, they’re entered into a weekly prize drawing. Such a cool idea! (Go to the Source for more info).

Expanded Number Form Game

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Since the Common Core requires students to know various ways to write the same number, I made another practice page. This one is for 2 students to play and deals with writing expanded forms of a number written in standard form. For example, if the page says “245,” the student should write “200 + 40 + 5.” Click here for the free printable PDFs:

Expanded form battle 2
Expanded form battle 1

How Was Your Winter Break? (Report Writing Page)

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Another break away from school means kids have a lot to tell you and their friends! Help them share their fun news with this free Winter Break report printable. It’s a quick, easy way to capture memories of their holidays while doing some writing! Win-win!

Click here for the free PDF: Winter Break Write Up

Basic Fraction Practice – Winter Worksheet

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

What do you do to add some fun to your classroom after the holidays are over? It’s to early to bring Valentines into the picture, so what now? I say continue to use winter themed stuff. Because we can! Here’s my “picture fractions” worksheet for winter. Basically, it teaches kids to focus on what they have (numerator) compared to the whole collection (denominator). Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Click here for the free PDF: Winter Picture Fractions

Winter Art Projects for Kids

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Squarehead Teachers

Winter provides an opportunity to see the world in a completely different way than the rest of the year. Help children capture the wonder of winter with winter-themed art projects! Here are some of my favorites:

Snowflake Art Trading Cards: Uses watercolor and salt (source).

Owls in the Night: Uses tempera paint and cardboard (source).

Winter Tree Silhouette: Uses masking tape and watercolor paint (source).

2013 Statistical Report

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

The 2013 annual statistical report for Squarehead Teachers is out!

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. Squarehead Teachers was viewed about 330,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 14 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

New Years Activities & Printables for Kids

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I found a great page that’s got trivia, count-downs, puzzles and printables for kids! There’s always somebody who brings a kid to the New Year’s Eve party and you have nothing for them to do! Or you’re looking for a warm-up page to give your class the first day back to school… either way, this fun website is for you!

Number Forms Battle (for Kids)

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

One of the standards on the new Common Core is that students will be able to write numbers in various forms. One of these forms is to write out a number in word form. For example, the number 164 is “one hundred sixty four.” Here’s a game/activity for two students to do. They must try to get 4 squares in a row by writing the word form of the number printed in the square. Enjoy!

Click here for the free PDF: Number forms battle