I’ve put together some book recommendations for children and teaching books for parents and teachers, at Memory Joggers Amazon Store.  I have 6 different categories;
Writing Books for Kids
Math Books for Primary Grades
Creativity Books for Kids
Reluctant Readers
Learning Challenges
Geography, History, Social Studies

These are all books I’ve used in my teaching or recommended to me by educators.  I’ve written a review on several of them in my section called Book Reviews. I hope you’ll check out the Creativity Books for Kids. I recently read an interesting article in Parenting Magazine called, “Why Art Makes Kids Smarter.”

I’ve been concerned for a long time about the cut back of art programs in the public schools. Art, music, drama all provide access to right brain creating and learning and we need this balance of logic (left brain) and creativity (right brain).  They go hand in hand.  How can students learn about Navajo Indians without working with clay to create a pot?  Drawing a mural of the covered wagon migration of settlers across the U.S. gives us a mental picture for remembering what occurred.  Seeing how watercolor can blend and create beauty opens parts of the brain that promotes appreciation.

A friend of mine was helping me pack some boxes. He looked at the material and the box and measured carefully, using all of his left-brain capabilities.  He said only 4 items could possibly fit.  I looked at it using a right brain perspective, and realized if the material was placed in the box sideways (not the normal direction), we could get in 6 items.

My point is, that the creativity and looking at things from a different perspective is a learned skill. It is right brain thinking. This skill is nurtured when we open students’ minds to creative thinking and exploration.

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.

There’s so many ways to engage children while they’re learning. And sources abound. Like this video of Feist on Sesame Street…

[Read more →]

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.

It’s beginning to feel a little like fall here in Southern California. We don’t
have real seasons so we determine that it must be fall because all the
summer tourists have gone home! I miss the excitement of teaching full
time in the classroom. I was always as excited as the kids on the first day of
school…learning new names, discovering who each child is inside, and
knowing I may be able to influence and encourage these bright little stars!

But now, autumn means speaking at Teacher Seminars and that is always
fun for me. I love to share with teachers, the memory ideas I’ve developed
and collected. My first seminar is on Nov. 2nd and 3rd in Palm Springs, CA.
It’s the NCTM conference (National Conference for Teachers of
Mathematics). Hope to see some of you there!

I would love to hear from you. I’m always anxious to hear about some of
your memory tips and also what may be an area in which you need help.
You can comment on this blog or drop me a line at my email address:
donnalyn@memoryjoggers.com

All Memory Joggers products come with an unconditional 30-day money back guarantee.