Education Resources Blog

Sensory paths are not only fun for elementary education because they help get the wiggles out, but they help with learning too! At VariQuest®, we feel passionately about visual and kinesthetic learning - and a sensory path is a great way to get "a-movin' and a-groovin'" while learning something too! In partnership with Cathy Henry of The Curriculum Corner, we've put together not only printables to build your own sensory path(s) on your school floors, but paired them with lesson plan activities to teach common curriculum-based concepts. Check out and download these great booklets, featured below!

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.

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.

Have you ever wondered why we choose to work for VariQuest? We've got a whole team of dedicated employees and in our new promotional video series, #variquestvalue, you can hear their unique stories and perspective on our brand and the value our products and services bring to our customers!

Kinesthetic learners learn best while processing information when they are physically engaged or active in some way. The standard classroom setting is not necessarily well-suited for these learners. They tend to learn better when involved in active participation in some form. At VariQuest, we offer a wide-ranging selection of tools and resources to help you innovate and transform your classroom experience, including providing visual/kinesthetic learning tools for kinesthetic learners and those teaching these students.

"...in the time of COVID." An addendum to many sentences these days as we all learn to navigate a new normal, this phrase is used for the flexibility, adaptability, and patience we've accepted as our most crucial character traits in recent months. As this has been a scary time for everyone, especially students, you may need to welcome everyone back with some social-emotional learning lessons and activities - to discuss worries and feelings. If your school is planning to welcome back students to the building soon, you might need posters, floor markers, and labels to help keep everyone safe. You might also need some ideas for personalizing students' belongings and creating disinfect-able learning materials. The Curriculum Corner has some of those ideas for you! In this latest video they've created in partnership with VariQuest, Jill and Cathy share their tips for showing strength and readiness through these strange times, to welcome students back to learning, wherever it may be occurring, with the help of the VariQuest Motiva®, Cutout Maker, and Perfecta® utilizing Engage Every Learner™ Content!

At VariQuest, we offer many tools and resources to help you enhance the learning environment in your classroom. Our interactive learning tools for teachers and students are highly effective for helping children flourish in the classroom and increase in their knowledge and comprehension of different subjects. With the latest trends in classroom technology, teachers are turning more to interactive methods of teaching, and using the various tools that make this way of relating information, data, concepts, and ideas possible. Educators have numerous opportunities to present information in a fun and engaging way through interactive learning.

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.

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!

By now, you've probably heard about "makerspaces" and how they're being added in schools across the country - encouraging students of all ages to explore, create, build, tinker, and experiment through hands-on learning. (For a refresher, check out our blog, "What is a Makerspace?") STEM (Science, Engineering, Technology, and Math) learning is important to us here at VariQuest, because we know it's important to you. And a makerspace is a great solution for creating an environment conducive to this methodology - with the space being as high- or low-tech as your imagination (or funds) can reach! As your first step, how about a free ebook, helping you consider what's necessary to build one in your school? Well, we've got that, right here for you! "How to Build a Makerspace: A Guide for Educators Striving to Build Student Success Through Hands-On Learning" will discuss...