Archives October 2022

Looking for hand sewing projects to make a cute Zenkidu? We have the cutest one to try with your kids! It is so easy and this Zenkidu is adorable. Plus, this fun hand sewing project will teach kids important life skills as well!

Simple Hand Sewing Project To Do With Your Kids

Want to sew this simple hand sewing project with your kids? It’s easy. Learn how to thread a needle, sew a running stitch and you’re ready to go. Eight simple steps, and Zenkidu could be yours.

What Is A Zenkidu?

If you’re unfamiliar with what a zenkidu is, a zenkidu is simply a soft plushie. You’re essentially make soft, cuddly, fun plushies!

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Supplies Needed

How To Hand Sew A Colorful and Soft Zenkidu

Step 1

Take two 12″ squares of

Back again, this time with the 2nd Grade November Morning Bins! As the year progresses, I’ve made sure that your students will continue to have a good start to each day. These morning bins offer hands-on practice for previously introduced skills.

Is your morning routine a bit chaotic? Do you feel like you are wasting the first 10 minutes or so of the day? Do you panic when you realize that you forgot to print out some type of morning work for your students? You are not alone and we all hate it! Many teachers struggle with implementing productive morning routines, but I have a solution for you!

Simply put, our students come into the classroom with a lot of different needs. Some are not quite awake and need a little time to settle in before they start their day. Some students are super social and want to interact with

/ August 1, 2022

National Happiness Happens Day has occurred on August 8^th every year since 1999 as an awareness day to promote and boost happiness in all forms. From cherishing the things we already have to the appreciation we give to others, this day is all about letting happiness flow in all directions by smiling more and encouraging positivity in our everyday lives.

National Happiness Happens Day serves as a reminder to not only share our happiness with others while giving others the chance to express theirs, it’s also about not letting bad days get in your way of being your best self. We at Unicorn Jazz love to celebrate National Happiness Happens Day as the core theme of this awareness day falls so in line with the moral tales found in our stories – spreading happiness in ourselves and to others while keeping a positive mindset, especially

You guys. This book. The Perfect Child, by Lucinda Berry messed me up. Let’s just get right into it.

6-year-old Janie (who looks more like she’s a toddler because of malnourishment) is found wandering alone & abandoned in a parking lot and covered in blood. She’s taken to the hospital for treatment and when it’s time for her to be discharged, she’s released into the foster care system. She’s adpoted by her attending surgeon, Christopher, and his wife Hannah and their idyllic life changes in a heartbeat. Janie isn’t the perfect child they’d always wanted and the nightmare begins.

Let me just say right off the bat that this book is beyond disturbing. It will NOT be a book for everyone. If you’re not a fan of the evil child trope, you won’t enjoy this one. And if you’re triggered by instances of child abuse and endangerment, just

PBL Spotlight: 5th Grade Restaurant Math Tipping Guide

by Drew Perkins, Director of TeachThought PD

Every year since their kindergarten years I have extended my offer to teachers of my daughters to help out in any way they might find useful. Some of them have taken me up on my offer and asked me to chaperone a field trip or help with some minor classroom activities on special occasions, and I was happy to help.

But I was ecstatic in 2017, when my oldest daughter’s 5th-grade teacher, Kristen Rowling (now Taylor) asked me to collaborate on some PBL planning and co-teaching. What we came up with together was a relatively short project that incorporated an authentic audience and a product that helped her contextualize a need to learn how to mathematically work with decimals and percentages in meaningful ways.

This project isn’t meant to serve as an exemplar–for that please