Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, has been celebrated for thousands of years. It is one of the most important holidays widely celebrated in many Asian countries and territories including Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Thailand. Usually falling between January 21st and February 20th, this year's start of the Chinese New Year will occur on January 25th, and is the Year of the Rat. The celebration lasts for about 15 days. Gung Hay Fat Choy is a common Chinese New Year’s greeting in Chinese Cantonese, which means “wishing you great happiness and prosperity.” On Chinese New Year, the themes of happiness, wealth, longevity, luck and good fortune are celebrated. Some of the traditional celebrations include family gatherings, visiting friends and relatives (baai nin), exchanging “lucky money” contained in red envelopes (lai see), decorating homes with paper decorations and scrolls, lion dances, and fireworks. Chinese New Year is a special holiday to celebrate with your class while teaching them others’ cultures and comparing them to American traditions. We have put together a collection of fun, hands-on and Common Core-aligned lessons and activities, classroom decorations, and craft projects for you to explore and enjoy with your class, and I want to share them with you!

40 years ago, would you have predicted that every household in America would have a need for a computer? 20 years ago, would you have predicted that every person would need to surf the internet on a phone - a mobile phone? Probably not. It's hard to imagine a world where every household would have a 3D printer, but that time could feasibly come sooner than we think.

We're approaching the end of the calendar year, and that means gearing up for a holiday break, then full speed ahead in January!

Perseverance: to do your best to meet a goal even if it is a big challenge. When working through a difficult task, we all experience a wide range of emotions. We might be excited about making progress, frustrated about a setback, or exhausted over the amount of time or effort we've invested. "Never Give Up" is a phrase that comes to mind - to help pull through. Students are challenged to persevere each day in our classrooms and their everyday lives - as they learn about finding their roles in this great big world.

As educators, we sometimes refer to this time before the holidays as the "Mid-Year Slump." Your students may be getting a bit restless with less outdoor time due to the changing seasons, and we are all looking forward to the upcoming vacation days - to give our brains a little "break" from the structure of the school week. Building movement into your students’ day is important for so many reasons, but in the months of November and December it becomes a necessity. We suggest building several small "brain breaks" into your day. With 21st Century Skills in mind, Jill and Cathy from The Curriculum Corner share their tips for powering through this "slump"-like time, to get your kids moving and motivated to power through a restless time of year. With the help of the VariQuest Motiva®, Cutout Maker, and Perfecta® utilizing Engage Every Learner™ Content, they'll give you some great ideas to carry out in your classroom!

Of the eight categories of intelligences, research suggests that visual-spatial learning is the most predominant. When a teacher can train him or herself to think like a visual learner, modifying instruction isn't hard. Some fairly straightforward tweaks in the instructional approach can support learners across the spectrum in core curricular areas and beyond. Visual and other sensory approaches to learning can transcend the barriers of language and culture, create a common language to bridge the generational gaps between educators and students, and open up new opportunities for societal and job equity for those students traditionally disenfranchised by the formal education system. We at VariQuest know how important diversifying instruction is, to ensure the needs of all learners are met, so in partnership with Susan McClester and updated with the help of Carman Le, MAT, we've created a free eBook dedicated to successful strategies in catering to visual and sensory learning instruction - and we'd like to share it with you! Visual Learning for the At-Risk Student contains...

Have you been BOO'd yet? Not sure what that even means? Growing up, October was one of my favorite months. Seriously, who can say no to the candy, the parties, the s’mores and campfire nights, the visits to the pumpkin patch, and of course, the trick or treating? On top of all that fun, my neighborhood always had a cute tradition for the month of October. The more I thought about this tradition, I thought it would be fun to start a tradition like this in school. So, instead of keeping it a “teacher thing” - I introduced it to my class, with great enthusiasm!

Courage: not letting your actions be controlled by your fears. In the classic movie The Wizard of Oz, the cowardly lion is on the adventure to see the wizard because he's filled with fear, and in the end [spoiler alert!] he learns about what courage really means. He had it all along. In a school setting, courage can be as simple as raising your hand, or as difficult as standing up to a bully. In the great big world, courage gives students the self-confidence to overcome their fears and do the right thing.

We hear a lot about mindfulness, or being fully present and aware in every moment, as it relates to distractions from our phones, computers, and TV screens, but is it about meditation, mantras, and breathing - or is it really something more?

It's back-to-school time again?! Already!? YAY!!! I understand how busy and crazy the first few days of school can be, so I’ve put together some materials for you to use on the first few days of school. These activities easily align to your reading, math, writing, and social-emotional learning objectives with very minimal modifications needed. They are simple, engaging, and more importantly you can use your students’ creations as a nice hallway display. Go ahead and check that box and download the activities now for free!