Education Resources Blog

Whether students are learning by doing or learning while doing, keeping them engaged during a lesson provides for maximum learning potential. And what kid doesn't love learning about dinosaurs? Enter our latest sensory path for elementary students: Dinosaur Discovery. Designed for grades K-3 and special education, this sensory path combines learning about dinosaurs with writing and reading activities to incorporate English Language Arts (ELA) with science for a truly engaging and fun activity. Increased focus and expended energy are just two of the benefits of a sensory path - but they can also be a great break from traditional instruction. Using this free downloadable activity kit, you'll have all the resources, printables, and tips you'll need to carry out and try this lesson in your classroom!

VariQuest® is your source for the various tools and ideas you need to improve the classroom experience for teachers and students. We offer an exceptional array of learning tools and devices including learning tools for visual learners you can combine with your curriculum to transform the way your students are taught and how they learn.

As educators, we prepare our students not only with the tools needed to succeed in reading, writing, and arithmetic, but we're also preparing them for success as they move into adulthood beginning college and careers. As such, many schools consider implementing student-based enterprise programs, to teach students real-world skills in exploring all the facets of running a business - from research & development to manufacturing to accounting to marketing. And because we know every educator could use extra tools to keep in their teaching "toolboxes" - we've put together a comprehensive booklet that just might help.

In our technological age which revolves around the use of smartphones and other mobile devices, giving students physical materials from which they can learn facts, ideas, and concepts can be a challenge. Teachers are competing with social media updates that can keep students’ attention away from learning in the classroom. However, when it comes to making presentations, teachers can make an impact with the use of many different types of visual aids. At VariQuest, we help teachers teach students more effectively through the use of teaching and learning aids, including visual aid posters.

Now, don't panic yet...but ESSER I funding is expiring on September 30th, 2022. It's "use it or lose it" crunch time. ESSER II funding ends September 30th, 2023. ESSER III funding ends September 30th, 2024. According to a FutureEd analysis, most schools focused on spending their funding dollars on academic recovery, staffing, and school facilities and operations. Followed by technology, mental and physical health supports, and other miscellaneous financials, you, of course, have lots to consider as you determine how to finalize your spending of these precious funds.

When it comes to bulletin boards, the creativity that educators display knows no bounds. It's the timeless school décor that brings back the most familiar and fondest of memories for both young and old. As you plan for the upcoming school year, here are some fun bulletin board ideas to implement in your classroom or school building!

When it comes to professional growth as an educator, you have a lot of choices to expand your skillset to help your students and further your goals, but your time is precious. From continuing education on social-emotional development and neuroscience, to tactical strategies for learning in the classroom, we at VariQuest have put together a list of some of our best professional development webinar and video opportunities for educators to help you fill your teaching toolbox with valuable resources and future-forming assets.

VariQuest® is your source for the various tools and ideas you need to improve the classroom experience for teachers and students. We offer an exceptional array of learning tools and devices including learning tools for visual learners you can combine with your curriculum to transform the way your students are taught and how they learn.

Earlier this year, we launched a contest on our hashtag-loving social channels, challenging our valued VariQuest customers to post pictures of their fantastic creations, made with the help of the VariQuest Suite. What we found was the affirmation that your creativity knows no bounds, and the ideas you come up with are making your school a better place. The contest, which ended in September, produced three wonderful winners, and we'd like to show you what they've been up to!

We paint our walls, choose our belongings, and get dressed every day based on color. With an immense gift as a species to see the world through vibrant tones, it has been researched and frequently discussed that color can have mood-boosting, mind-stimulating, and sensory-calming effects on humans. And of course, our classrooms for our students are no different. Outside of the colors we use in our environment and in our learning materials, the act of coloring can also have incredible effects on the brain's ability to focus and learn, thus supporting our students' social-emotional wellbeing. Reduced anxiety, focused mindfulness, and kinesthetic busy-ness are all positive effects of this easy and do-anywhere activity. We've rounded up some of our best coloring downloads and resources for learning, for calming, and just for fun.