Wolfe Stew

(Updated 12.30.2022) Greetings Leaders, Welcome to Wolfe Stew !   We are glad you chose to spend National Math Storytelling Day with us!   A day that combines literacy and math, what a fun way to approach math for our learners who are more literary minded. One of my favorite math books is Math Curse by Jon Scieszka (links to Open Library ).   I read it with my niece in fourth grade.   She shocked me when she used the escape plan from the book as her own in a hypothetical situation imposed upon her by the Mr.   Without hesitation, she responded to the scenario of being locked in a cage with, “Oh, that’s simple.   I’ll take a piece of chalk and break it in two.   A half and half make a whole.   I'm out.”   I died laughing.   The Mr. chuckled too.   I don’t think he was expecting her to stand tall in the face of his scenario of doom.   What math books or math storytelling have you used with your learners?   It is so fun seeing them connect with and live in the world of n

(Updated 9/1/2022.) Leaders, Can you believe that OCTOBER is less than a week away?  Where has the time gone? To help you with your October learning, we're serving up An Idea for Every Day - October 2019 Edition.  For each day in October, we chose a national day to celebrate from nationaldaycalendar.com .  Then, whip up multi-grade activity suggestions with selected link pairings. Many of these activities require little to no prep, while others need some advanced planning. Consider printing this calendar and keeping it near where you plan to spark ideas.  Or, bookmark the link for easy access. This image is non-interactive.  Find the interactive calendar at the link below. Click Here to Get an Idea for Every October Day There are a lot of reasons to celebrate October.  Sure, there are the expected ones - Columbus Day and Halloween - but did you know there is also Techie Day, Mental Health Day, and Color Day?  October is going to be fun, leaders!   We hav

(Updated 9/30/2022) Happy First Official Day of Fall, Leaders! Autumn Equinox Ponderings Perhaps today you talked about the meaning of the first official day of fall with your learners. You discussed the autumnal equinox, and how the seasons occur because of the tilt of the earth on its axis and our shifting position relative to the sun. Perhaps, you also used our  Autumnal Equinox Manipulative  to explain how right now the day and night are pretty close to the same length, but day will soon start getting shorter. If not, think about adding it to the menu for tomorrow. What a blessing to be able to share an example of God's perfect timing with our learners. God LOVES math, and is the science behind it.  :) I have to say, there's nothing like that gorgeous fall weather to make your spirit soar. Fresh, crisp morning air. Leaves starting to change color. School settling into a steady routine. Plus, it's stew season! Fall Leaf Decorations for Name Recognition I

(Updated 9/29/2022) Leader, are you ready for this? The third activity with Silas, our Scientist,  awaits.  To prepare for this one, you'll want to tie your sneakers, fill your water bottles, and do some stretches.  That's right, it's time to get active.  We're taking it to the streets. If you've already read our Meet Silas story, you know that in it Silas makes a narrow escape. We want you and your cadets to experience that narrow escape along with us. Lead your cadets as they use the design process to engineer an obstacle course based on story details.  They'll develop cooperation, evaluation, comprehension, and design skills along the way. After your cadets improve upon and build their blueprints, get ready for action!  They will become Silas as they live out the most riveting part of the story.  Will they escape?  Or will the bot beat them? Whether successful or snatched, cadets must debrief on their experience, and we've provided

(Updated 9/23/2022) Have you read The Big Five  by Bella Makatini yet?  If not, we recommend you check it out. When you do, be prepared to invite these charming creatures into your lives. If it doesn't have you hooked just from the bright illustrations on the cover, then wait until you read what is inside.  It's a charming story about a boy, Danny, and his grandfather. While spending a week together, Danny's grandfather teaches Danny about the "Big Five" animals of Africa. Its simple text makes it ideal for younger grades, but do not let that stop you from using it with older learners. Today we're serving up ways for you to enjoy this book with your Preschool, Kindergarten, or First Grade learners. But soon we'll be delivering methods for grades 2 on up. You see, here at Wolfe Stew, we believe that every ingredient holds value, it all depends on how you plate it! When you come on safari with Wolfe Stew, your learner will: Act like an anima

(Updated 5/27/2022) Autumn is officially a week away. I mean, I have already been celebrating it, to be honest. But the day that scientifically makes it autumn is a week away. What makes it officially autumn? Well, the autumnal equinox, of course! Mark your calendars, (well, they probably already are) and add a seasonally relevant activity to the lesson books. Note Fall's Official First Day  for upcoming years: 2022 September 22 2023 September 23 2024 September 22 2025 September 22 2026 September 22 To help you in your autumn commencing celebration activities, we've gathered several options for you. We'll start with the one I'm adding to the ranks. It's a paper plate manipulative that will help your learner explain the autumnal equinox . Follow these six steps. Then stew on some of my ideas for differentiation. 1.  Gather (or color/paint) a light blue and dark blue paper plate. 2. Decorate the paper plates to represent day and night. (These parti

(Updated 9/22/2022) Meet Silas Leaders, we have a question for you.  Have you taken the opportunity to Meet Silas yet?  If not, we hope you take the time to get to know him.  His introductory story is here .  It's an original story (penned by the Mr.) to help students understand the independent components of STEAM.  Silas is our scientist. If you're looking for an engaging short story (even if you don't teach STEAM) with comprehension activities , this one is sure to fit the bill.  And after you read it, we hope you fall in love with his world. Silas Activity One: Distinguished Apothecaries Once you're trapped in his world, we're here to be your guide.  Last week, we begged you to develop a must-read  list of Distinguished Apothecaries to help Silas in his quest.  Have you not had the opportunity to help him out yet?  Sign up to help out here . Silas Activity Two: Bot Bedlam This week, we're taking you on a whole new type of trial - a trial of emotions.