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!

Paint A Pig (Craft Project)

Posted on June 1, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Paint a pig printable Here’s a fun, easy craft project that’s simple enough that my kindergarten kids figured it out with hardly any help. Each kid decorated their pig however they wanted. Then they told each other a story about how the pig came to look the way it looked. The stories got pretty wild (which is the fun part). You could even go on to focus on adjectives that describe the pig, nouns the pig likes, write a story about the pig, etc. Have fun!

Click here for the free printable: Paint a Pig – Printable

Here’s a fun song that goes with little piggies:

“Five Dancing Piggies” (“Five Little Monkeys” tune)

Five little piggies dancing in the dirt,

One fell down and he got hurt.

Mama came running from across the farm

And put that piggy inside the barn…

Repeat until no piggies are left.

No more piggies dancing in the dirt,

They all fell down; they all got hurt.

Outside, no piggies can be found.

They’re all indoors, safe and sound.

Teaching Kids Healthy Eating Habits

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

It’s hard to teach kids healthy eating habits, but teaching kids about health is part of most state standards. In California, for example, nutrition and physical activity is taught starting in kindergarten. But how do you do this while juggling everything else you’ve got to do as a teacher? Here are some helpful resources:

My Pyramid– Make your own individual pyramid based on your age, gender and physical activity level

Super Tracker – Sign up for a free account and track your nutrition, physical activity, set goals and look up nutritional information on all kinds of foods using the Food-Pedia.

Teacher Stuff– curricula and lesson plans on nutrition

Literature– Great list of kids books about food, physical exercise & nutrition

Free graphic organizers from Zaner-Bloser

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Wow. I’m bummed I just now found this (since it only goes through May): Teacher Appreciation week at Zaner-Bloser! Here’s their free download of 42 graphic organizers! Thanks for all you do, teachers!

End of the Year Round Up

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

The last day of school’s kind of a bust. You can’t really do anything productive since the kids are completely wound up (and you’re probably busy packing up your classroom for the summer). So finding non-crazy (but still fun) things to do is hard. That’s why many teachers do some kind of end of the year review project where kids can capture a snapshot of the year. in a fun way. So without further ado, here’s my “end of the year round up” page:

Summer Reading Chart

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Summer! The time everyone dreams about all year long. It’s the time for swimming, ice cream cones and forgetting everything you learned in school the year before. Wait!? What!? That’s not how summer should be! Summer should be a time when kids (and adults) continue to learn and explore the world around them. If that’s too tall an order, at least read. That’s bare minimum.

Every summer there are a number of programs with rewards systems set up to help keep kids reading and learning. Two notable summer reading programs are the Scholastic Summer Challenge and Barnes and Noble Summer Reading. Many local libraries have something every summer too.

Here’s my printable summer reading chart to help kids set and track summer reading goals. I chose to track Monday through Saturday. Older kids should read for longer periods of time than younger kids. Ask your child’s teacher what a reasonable daily goal is for your child.

To motivate your child, have them choose an activity to do the following week if they meet their reading goal. The top line is for your child’s name. Use stickers, smiley faces or anything else to mark down each day they accomplish their reading. Happy summer!

End of the Year Book (10 Page Printable)

Posted on May 28, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I love reading my husband’s end of the year books from elementary school. They absolutely crack me up! So I made one in case you didn’t have one. Here are 10 printable pages to use the last week or the last day of school to review the year and make a fun memory for kids to read years down the road. Congratulate yourself- you’ve made it to the end of the school year!

Click here to get the End of the Year Book- PDF

Here’s what the pages look like:

Teacher Memes/Cartoons – 13

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Grass Heads

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I just saw one of the cutest ideas ever over at Rainbows Within Reach: grass heads! Maybe you remember Chia Pets from back in the day, but these are way cooler because each one is a kid! It would be cool to try with a variety of plants so the hair turns out different in each one…

Take a picture of each child and tuck it in the cup before filling it with dirt. I’d recommend laminating them first so the water inside doesn’t make the ink run (or just attach the picture on the outside somehow). Then plant your seeds and give them some TLC. What a cool spin on growing plants in cups!