What is the PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest
and who can enter?

It’s a Contest for all kids in K-3rd grade who want to write and illustrate their own stories. You can submit your story for judging, and a chance to win local and national prizes in addition to having your story featured on this website! Plus, everyone who enters gets a Certificate of Achievement. The PBS KIDS GO! Writers Contest is produced by WNED-TV, Buffalo/Toronto and PBS.  Details: CLICK HERE

This is an Early Bird announcement (prepare) the contest will officialy open in Jan 2011 at site above.

Nominations are now open for Yes I Can! Awards
CEC’s Yes I Can! Awards honor students with disabilities who have excelled. Awards are given in nine categories, and every student nominated receives a certificate of achievement. Nominations are due Oct. 22. Find out more.CLICK HERE

MrsP.com is holding her second annual  “Be a Famous Writer” contest for children beginning September 1st. The contest will open for submissions on September 1st and will continue to accept submissions through October 15th 2010.

The contest is open to all children ages 4 to 13 — and stories will be judged in two age groups:

1. four to eight
2. nine to thirteen

Stories may cover any topic, fiction or nonfiction, and should be between 250 and 1,000 words. Read the rest…

As we know, the Internet is a great place to find information on anything that sparks your curiosity. Likewise, the web is a great resource for students, but they need to know how to evaluate what they find and discern the good from the bad. That’s where we come in as teachers. And to help us help our students, Microsoft offers us a free 37 page ebook titled Developing Critical Thinking Through Web Research Skills. The ebook presents strategies for teaching Internet search skills and strategies for evaluating information. The ebook also links to many additional resources for teaching web search strategies. There are strategies and resources appropriate for students from in early elementary grades through high school included in the ebook. As you might expect, the ebook is heavy on references to Bing and other Microsoft products, but overall it is a good resource worth your time to download and read.

The internet is a great instrument for learning, so check out Kids.gov for a fun, educational and interactive site that’s safe for your kids. They’ll find great information on history, science and other subjects for their class reports and projects.CLICK HERE

Sometimes it can be hard to get the kids to settle down and do their homework. Experiment with ways that work with your kids to make sure their homework gets done. You can sit with them and do similar work-balancing your checkbook or reading-while they do theirs. And when they ask for help, provide direction, but not complete answers. When they start a report or need to study for a test, set them up comfortably so they can plan their drafts and study in a quiet area. CLICK HERE

• While you can’t protect your kids from everything, you can help them recognize and effectively deal with bullying of all types, including cyber bullying over the web. If someone is trying to bully your children, tell them to stand up for themselves politely, not to bully back and to tell an adult as soon as possible. (2 sources)    Click here and CLICK HERE

There are a lot of activities you can do at home to help your kids succeed in the classroom. When emptying the dishwasher, have your kids sort the dishes. This helps increase their attention to detail and their ability to recognize differences and similarities between things. To improve their listening skills, hide an object and give them precise directions to find it, or have them close their eyes while you make noise with different items that they must identify.    CLICK HERE

The America the Beautiful Quarters Program, new in 2010, brings selected national sites to this popular circulating coin.  Fifty-six different designs make up this series (one for each state, the District of Columbia, and each of five US territories).

For educators, the United States Mint offers free lesson plans (for grades K through 12) based on the new quarter designs.  What a great opportunity to connect history with the coins in the very pockets of your students! All information: CLICK HERE

Tallahassee, Fla. – Instead of asking a room full of adults how to get teens’ attention, is going straight to the source by asking middle and high school students for their ideas to help promote the program. Florida KidCare is the State of Florida ’s health insurance program for children under 19. Read the rest…