LessonSense.com: Worksheets, crafts, lessonplans, printables, flashcards, games and other free resources for kindergarten, primary / elementary school teachers and esl learners

All-day kindergarten in Canada

jeroen — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 07:46:52 +0000

In February of this year, Canada’s education minister Shirley Bond announced that her ministry would investigate the cost and feasibility of offering all-day kindergarten. At this moment in Canada, all-day kindergarten is only available for aboriginal, ESL and special-needs children. The plan would mean that full day kindergarten would be available to all five-year-olds by September 2009 and they [...]

Obama and McCain on education

jeroen — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:47:42 +0000

Coming Tuesday is election day in the US, I don’t think anyone failed to notice that. Both Obama and McCain are mainly focussing on the financial crisis and the war in Iraq. These are also what most voters claim to be the most important issues facing the US at the moment. With the campaigns hardening, [...]

Halloween and autumn ideas

sanne — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 07:57:38 +0000

It’s that time of year, autumn is here again: The leaves come falling down and Halloween is also around the corner! This is just a short reminder that our autumn and Halloween pages are filled with fun stuff to do during this time of year. So if you want lesson suggestions or just some general activities [...]

Computer games and childrens’ math skills

jeroen — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:04:13 +0000

Can playing computer games improve childrens’ math skills? Researchers in Scotland (link) found out that playing Nintendo DS’s Brain Trainer significantly improved the students’ test scores. Students aged nine and ten completed math tests before the nine week project, and then again afterwards. All the childrens’ scores were higher, but those using the trainer improved by 50 [...]

Autumn photo flashcards

sanne — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:53:43 +0000

There are new autumn flashcards available for download on the autumn worksheets page. The flashcards are made with real photos. Have fun!

Laptops for kindergarten students

jeroen — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:23:25 +0000

A new pilot has just started in Canada (link) to supply 4 year old kindergarten students with laptops, to be used in the classroom. During the pilot, the computers will be used “in both reading circle and outside the building to explore nature”. Huh, what is that I thought? Exploring nature with a laptop? Anyway, the people [...]

Starting kindergarten later

jeroen — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:50:31 +0000

There is a growing trend towards starting kindergarten later, sometimes at the age of 6 or later. Most parents who hold their children back at home, do so because they think their child is not ready for kindergarten. In their opinion, their child will be stronger (socially and emotionally) and smarter if they wait longer. A [...]

Teaching statistics

jeroen — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:37:23 +0000

I was looking for information of teaching jobs on the website of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and found some interesting statistics that I wanted to share with you: In the USA, of all occupations in the elementary and secondary school category, there are 64,000 preschool teachers, 160,000 kindergarten teachers, 1.4 million elementary school teachers, 640,000 [...]

Audio cassette tapes in the classroom

jeroen — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:46:28 +0000

Last week I posted a message about the utilization of new media on primary/elementary schools. I then thought of some reasons why the usage of internet and computers is still relatively small. After speaking with some teachers, I found out there are at least two other good reasons: 1) Money. Let’s face it, although governments all [...]

New media in your classroom

jeroen — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:21:19 +0000

I read a newspaper article today here in the Netherlands about the usage of new media in primary/elementary schools. Although the article mentioned a distinct rise in internet and computer use in general, it is currently only used in 26% of all schools. Granted, it has risen from 15% last year, but I still think it’s [...]