Hannah's Reading Room

  This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep th is blog going.  One of the first things I noticed, when I became a teacher, was how confusing our language can be when students are learning to read and write. There are so many homophones, homographs, and multiple meanings for the same words, that it can confuse even the most well-read individual, at times. I created this set of 222 most commonly confused words with religious schools and homeschoolers in mind.   One way to use this product would be for the teacher to use them as a border around the classroom.  With full-color photographs, chosen to help illustrate each sentence, it is a teaching tool that can build your student's faith, while teaching them how to use the words appropriately in their writing and comprehension, during reading. Another way to use these would be to create a classroom reference binder that would allow the students to access

  This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep th is blog going.  One thing that I have learned in teaching children to become writers is that many of them just don't know where to begin.  Writing is a chore because they feel that they have nothing to write or that their writing will be unfairly critiqued.  Writing is a vulnerable activity.  We all know that practice makes perfect.  That is why I believe that getting children in the habit of writing every day is a worthwhile use of your time.   I also believe students need a safe place to write where they do not have to worry about being graded.  This is a win/win for both teacher and student.  You get your student to write every day, but you don't have an extra paper to grade.  Simply look to make sure they wrote, and encourage them to read it aloud to someone.  It could be a friend, parent, or teacher, or they could read it aloud to themselves.  Ha

  This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep this blog going.  With the movie now out,  I HEARD THE BELLS , this is a wonderful unit study to either add to the watching of the film or just to do a hymn study with.  The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and the writing of this hymn are sure to stick in your student's minds. Learn about the tragic circumstances that led Longfellow to write this beautiful hymn.  Compare and contrast different belfries.  Go on a field trip to find church bells in your town. Have a bell pepper taste testing, learn about the reasons church bells have rung throughout history. There are many subjects included in this curriculum.  There is a reference to the Civil War, as that is in a verse that is normally removed from the song.  I hope you will find this study helpful for you and your students. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Singing!

  This post contains affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep this blog going.  We have been having such a great time using this Christmas Countdown each day.  It is the first thing my students do each morning.  It is so fun to see what they write each day.  They are making beautiful keepsakes while practicing their writing. For each prompt, there are supporting questions to help get the ideas flowing. If you are seeing this post and it is not Christmas time yet, you can still add it to your wishlist on my  Teachers Pay Teachers Store .  As always, thank you for stopping by and Happy Writing!

© Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not,  when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Henry David Thoreau " Walden, or Life in the Woods " © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com The Delavan Memorial Arboretum is a beautiful spot in Delavan, Wisconsin that I love to go to.  It is beautiful any time of year and has a lot to offer.  I am always surprised at how many local people don't even know it exists.  There are lovely walking trails, a lake for fishing or kayaking and a wide variety of trees.  There are benches for bird watching an arbor for outdoor weddings and scenery that changes from week to week.  It is located at 440 North Terrace St. in Delavan, WI.   © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com The arboretum is located along the northeast shore of Lake Comus which is a great place for fishing, canoeing  or kayakin

This post contains Amazon affiliate links.  I receive a small commission if you purchase from my links.  Every purchase helps keep this blog going.  © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com This past week, my friend and I took a road trip to  Woodstock, Illinois   to see what we could discover on a very cold, blustery, winter day.  Because of the freezing temperatures, we didn't plan to spend much time outside, just mostly photographing from the car.  We found a lot of neat things, so come along as I share some of my favorite things we saw.  As usual, you may purchase any of my photos by clicking on the copyright link underneath each photo. © Hannah Babiak/Dreamstime.com We weren't quite to Woodstock yet when we found this adorable Christmas tree farm.  I believe we were in Harvard, IL at this point and the  vintage Ford truck almost buried in the snow says, "Wild Pines" and has a Christmas tree in the back all covered with snow.  We loved the teal color and it reminded me of