It's back-to-school time, you're crazy busy, and your brain is being stretched in a million different directions. We want to help! In partnership with The Curriculum Corner, VariQuest® presents a cross-curricular free lesson plan unit for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students titled, "Explore Your World."

Color is believed to be the most important visual experience to human beings. More specifically, significant research has been conducted in recent years exploring the function of color as a powerful channel to cognition and memory. Marketers have known for years how effective color can be with brand recognition and attitudes consumers form about products and companies. For example, a 2004 marketing study found that color increases brand recognition and influences purchasing decisions by up to 80%.

Until recently, we believed that intelligence and creativity were fixed traits. We now know differently. The capacity to learn, solve problems and be creative is hardwired into our brains – we either tap into it and nurture it, or we don’t. Join us for an informative professional development webinar series hosted by Dr. Melissa Hughes, author of "Happy Hour With Einstein", and STEM Fuse, creators of STEM:IT, where we will explore these concepts and how to infuse this knowledge into your classroom curriculum to nurture more active, engaged students.

Summer is right around the corner, and in a perfect world, your classroom is humming along like a well-oiled machine with students trained in classroom routines and expectations. Truth is: the end of the year can be challenging for staff and students alike. With end-of-year testing, constantly changing schedules, and trying to keep a lid on students who are anxious to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, it can be difficult to fill in the gaps with engaging activities during the last couple of weeks at school. Use your VariQuest tools to support some interesting and meaningful end of year activities in your classroom.

As another school year comes to a close, let me be among the first to say, “There’s no tired quite like end-of-the-year-teacher tired!” I get it. The end of the school year is exhausting and maybe even a bit emotional as you say goodbye to your students for the summer. Between finalizing student records, completing report cards, and closing up your classroom, the last few weeks are hectic. But there are a few simple strategies that may help you make the most of the time you spend ending the year so that it is easier to begin the year when you return in the fall.

The sun has risen before you begin your commute to work and is miraculously still shining when you arrive back home. The weekends in your planner for the summer are quickly filling with vacations, weddings and other fun celebrations. Your new sandals have arrived in the box on your doorstep. It can only mean one thing… summer is right around the corner.

Dear Teachers, Tuesday May 9, 2017 has been designated as National Teacher Appreciation Day. Many schools and communities will be recognizing teachers throughout the week with muffins and luncheons, and maybe cards and gifts from students and their parents. It’s about you, and I hope that you feel the appropriate appreciation within your own community. I wanted to take a moment to go beyond the generic Hallmark sentiment and express deeper gratitude for all that you do for our kids and our communities. At a time when education is often criticized, scrutinized, and disparaged over test scores and graduation rates, a day of recognition that falls between Star Wars Day and National Tourists Day may feel less than satisfying. You’ve been tasked with one of the most vital jobs in our society, and your sphere of influence exceeds the essential skills our children must be able to demonstrate for evaluative purposes. You spend valuable time, energy, and money on things that go far beyond lesson plans, report cards, and bulletin boards.

Are you curious about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education - and how to incorporate it in your classroom? This curriculum takes academic concepts and applies them to real-world lessons - connecting students' learning to the world around them. With the 21st century job market ripe with opportunity in these fields, children can greatly benefit from developing their applied critical-thinking skills early. VariQuest offers a fantastic solution for STEM education - and we don't just want to tell you about it, we want to show you.

We used to call it hands-on learning. Before high-tech classrooms, learning labs, and makerspaces, kids would build and create and make things using buttons, bottle caps, popsicle sticks, and glue. The focus was on exploration, discovery, creativity, and problem-solving. There was no clear distinction between the arts, engineering, science, and math. Kids were making things, expressing their creativity, and they were learning how things worked. The current buzzword is experiential learning, but the concept has been around for over 100 years. Dr. Maria Montessori would be thrilled to see the future of education rooted in her research. The movement of “making” brings engineering, science, technology, art and design together and overlaps those instructional principles with the natural inclinations of children the power of learning by doing.

"If you build it they will come"- Field of Dreams, 1989. Dan Hurley, Director of Discovery Charter School in Inver Grove Heights, MN had the same dream in 2014, although not for a baseball diamond in his field, but rather a school to embrace a multidisciplinary curriculum with an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). His vision was to prepare K-8 students for life-long learning, collaboration, critical thinking and problem solving. Just over one year ago his dream became a reality, and now over 200 students are engaged in an environment that values creativity, diversity, and multiculturalism. With Dan's vision a partnership also ensued with VariQuest and Trifecta™ 800 3D Printer, and STEM Fuse, a leader in K12 digital curriculum. Dan knew in order to fulfill his dream he needed to build his 'Dream Team'.