Education Resources Blog

As educators, we know one of the more challenging times in a secondary-aged student's life can be preparing for adulthood after high school. This can be especially true for students with disabilities. To say that leaving a support system which feels safe and familiar is overwhelming and scary is an understatement. Fortunately, there are services available through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that disabled students and their parents can continue to rely on to help with a smooth transition into postsecondary education or training, employment, and independent living. The Adult Transition Program (ATP) at Community High School District 218 in Oak Lawn, IL serves a mission to do just that, and with the help of the VariQuest® Visual and Kinesthetic Learning Suite, their students with disabilities are learning valuable real-world skills, while building confidence, courage and spirit!

In the spring of 2019, we made a big commitment to our customers. We promised LOTS of new and revised content and we're happy to report - we've delivered. Just in time for back-to-school! We are thrilled to announce that our VariQuest® Design Center Software v8.0 is now available for download - packed with over 900 NEW templates, cutouts, graphics, fonts, and collections - bringing our grand total to over 19,000 content options for our nation's best educators to create with. And it's FREE for our customers!

Respect: to think or act in a positive way about yourself or others. Important to learn in a school setting and in the greater world, respect is what students need to show themselves and others to create a positive, supportive learning environment. As classroom dialogue thrives on language of inclusivity and thoughtfulness, students can benefit from learning about ways to show respect for others, even when opinions or ideals differ. In the third of a 10-lesson unit on Social-Emotional Learning designed for elementary-aged students and developed in partnership with The Curriculum Corner, students will explore Respect. Through a series of group discussions, self-reflection activities, and literary analysis, students will increase their social-emotional awareness of respect, including the role it plays in their own lives and in their relationships with others. Download this free lesson plan unit on social-emotional learning for elementary-aged students containing:

Anoka/Washington County Head Start, based in Coon Rapids, MN, provides education, nutrition, mental health, school readiness and parent engagement services to children (aged 3-5) and families from income-eligible households. With nearly 115 dedicated staff, this Head Start program is equipped to foster a Pre-K learning environment for hundreds of enrolled children and families to learn, grow and thrive! As Kristi Edmonds, Child Development Services Coordinator with Anoka/Washington County Head Start trains and provides mentoring services to staff, she focuses on the overall experience of the classroom - guiding and supporting everyday needs for curriculum implementation. To help with this effort, the decision was made in June of 2017 to invest in the VariQuest Cutout Maker 1800, using State and Federal Grant Funding.

Fairness: making sure that everyone has what they need to succeed. A hot topic in our politics and world today, elementary school students can greatly benefit from lessons in fairness as they fine-tune their social-emotional skills to grow into productive, active learners and friends. And with more awareness around personalized needs than ever before, it's important to explain how "fair" can be different for everyone. In the second of a 10-lesson unit on Social-Emotional Learning designed for elementary-aged students and developed in partnership with The Curriculum Corner, students will explore Fairness. Through a series of group discussions, self-reflection activities, and literary analysis, students will increase their social-emotional awareness and understanding of how "fair" impacts their lives and others. Download this free lesson plan unit on social-emotional learning for elementary-aged students containing:

It's hard to believe - but we're already coming up to the end of the school year! As you prepare students for their final weeks in your classroom, you may be thinking about how this year's class can "leave a legacy" for next year's students, or maybe you're trying to come up with activities to keep their minds sharp during the summer months to come. We've brought in reinforcements to help with both of those things! With 21st Century Skills in mind, Jill and Cathy from The Curriculum Corner share 4 " tips" with us around the 4 Cs - critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication - for wrapping up end-of-year with the help of the VariQuest Motiva™, Cutout Maker, and Perfecta® tools!

For 30 years, Greece Professional Learning Center (PLC) in Rochester, NY has been providing academic resources and professional learning opportunities to educators and community groups. Having the VariQuest Cutout Maker 1800, “...has changed how we support teachers,” says Marguerite Dimgba, Program Director. With over 4,500 shapes to choose from in a variety of sizes, teachers are able to create academic resources that support the needs of the students in their classrooms in areas such as social emotional learning and culturally responsive education.

When testing season is upon your classroom, it makes for a very anxious time. Not only are students worried about the disruption to their routine, where multiple-choice questions and long periods of quiet and sitting-still take over the school day, but many teachers struggle with the entire process as they throw all their energy into easing students' fears to enable success. With over 30 years of teaching experience between them, we reached out to Jill and Cathy of The Curriculum Corner to gather some tips for test-taking that align with 21st Century Skills for learning to invoke the "4 Cs" of creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking. With the help of the VariQuest tools, they'll show you how to prepare yourselves and your students for a successful testing environment. Check out their ideas in this video, download our free testing poster, then try things out for yourself! (And don't forget to like the VariQuest Facebook Page to stay tuned for more tips!)

Social-Emotional Learning is a concept top-of-mind with educators these days, and for good reason. While not a new idea by any means, developing students' social and emotional skills makes them more productive, active learners and peers - and who doesn't want that in the classroom? In the first of a 10-lesson unit on Social-Emotional Learning designed for elementary-aged students and developed in partnership with The Curriculum Corner, students will explore Kindness. Through a series of group discussions, self-reflection activities, and literary analysis, students will increase their social-emotional awareness of how kindness can impact themselves and others. Download this free lesson plan unit on social-emotional learning for elementary-aged students containing:

According to the U.S. Department of Education website, the Title I Grant program is meant to provide funding to disadvantaged Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to improve their academic achievement. The most common of these, Title I - Part A, "...provides financial assistance to LEAs and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards." As these funds are meant to improve instruction and provide additional academic support and learning opportunities, they are often allocated towards reading or mathematics curriculum, supplemental programs to reinforce and extend the regular school curriculum, or additional staff members to lead and teach the students. And as we look at the bright future of the job market as it relates to STEM and 21st Century skills, we'd like to give you some ideas for tools that Title I Funding can be used for!