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20 Ways to Spice Up Your Kids Lunchbox

Providing lunch for your children can be a challenge. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches quickly get old and they are not the most healthy option. Packaged lunch alternatives often contain additives and preservatives as well as unnecessary amounts of trans-fats, salt and sugar. So, as a health-conscious parent who is attempting to provide a fun, unique lunch for their child, what can you do? You could spend the whole day researching ideas. However, in this article, we have saved you the trouble. Below are twenty ideas for spicing up your children’s lunches they are sure to love and will not want to trade to their friends.

Celery Stick Paintbrushes

Veggies are not generally something any child wants in their lunch. However, they will soon change their tune with these celery paintbrushes. Take celery sticks. Cut the ends so they flare out like paint brushes. Then include tiny cups of mayo, mustard and ketchup to serve as the paint. Also include a classic ham or turkey sandwich, allowing your little artists to paint designs on their sandwiches before they eat them.

Carrot Pencils

To get your children to eat carrots, simply trim down one end, shaping the carrot into the shape of a pencil. These would also be wonderful to include along with the celery paint brushes as another artistic medium for your sandwich topping artists.

Octopus Weenies

Octopus weenies are a favorite of both children and adults alike in Japan and they will be a favorite of your little ones too, especially if they love sea life. Start with a cocktail weenie. Cut little slits in the weenie till they are about halfway up. These become little dangling legs. Fry the weenies and the legs will curl up, giving you a perfect octopus.

Pigs in a Blanket

Pigs in a blanket are not generally considered the most healthy lunchtime choice, but children love them. To make your pigs in a blanket more healthy, use turkey sausages or cocktail weenies. Cut down on the amount of cheese the recipe calls for. Serve these sparingly and they become a lunchtime treat your child will be delighted to see in their lunchbox.

Pizza Pocket Puffs

These alliteratively-named snacks are a wonderful treat. Simply roll out filo dough or crescent roll dough into thin sheets. Then put a bit of cheese, some mini pepperoni, or your child’s pizza toppings of choice inside. Fold into a little pocket, crimp the edges and bake. These are just like having pizza for lunch, but with none of the mess!

Kebabs

Everything is more fun on a stick. So why not pack your children fruit skewers or meat and veggie kebabs on small, flat skewers. They are quick and easy to make, easy to eat and mess-free and even better, they are not the typical sandwich.

Quesadillas

Most children love cheese. Instead of packing your child a grilled cheese for lunch, why not pack a quesadilla? Your children will be happy you did.

Spring Rolls

Children and adults in Asia often eat spring rolls. You can make these delicious rolled up meals using rice paper wrappers or lettuce leaves. Fill them with grilled pork, chicken or shrimp and vegetables for a well-balanced lunch.

International Lunches

Help your children learn about the cuisine of other countries by preparing international foods for their lunch box. Start on Monday, and prepare a simple dish from a country of the child’s choice. Each day of the week, pick another country.

Cookie-cutter Sandwiches

If you have to make a classic sandwich, do something special with it. Use cookie cutters to cut shapes into the sandwich. This way your child can punch out the shapes. For more fun, make the shapes fit a theme, and see if your child can guess what the theme is.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Apples

Why make a peanut butter and Jelly sandwich when you can do the same thing with a delicious, crunchy apple. Cut the apple in half, carefully remove the core, and then fill with delicious peanut butter and jelly.

Ants on a Log

While not an entire meal in itself, ants on a log is still a good way to spice up your child’s lunch box. A celery stick is your log, to which raisin “ants” are attached with peanut butter.

Roll-ups

If you have to use lunch meat in your child’s lunch, why not make a roll-up? Take deli turkey or ham. Then put a slice of cheese on it. Then put a lettuce leaf in the middle and roll tightly. Your children will never think of lunch meat the same again.

Miniature Hamburgers

Hamburgers are always a favorite. Grill small hamburger patties on an indoor grill the night before, and then pop them together the next morning. Your little ones will love it. You could also make baked French fries to go with it.

Cinnamon Sugar Apple Slices

Instead of including boring old apple slices in your kid’s lunch, why not give them cinnamon sugar apple slices instead? Simply put a bit of cinnamon and sugar in a baggie. Add apple slices and shake to coat.

Ocean Lunch

An ocean lunch is easy to make. Start with fish sticks. To accompany these, give your children blue Jell-o. Add gummy sea creatures for the ocean look.

Holiday-themed Foods

Is there a big holiday coming up? If so, holiday-themed foods are a great way to get the kids excited. Be creative! Boiled eggs with dyed shells are a great idea for Easter, for example.

Sports Lunch

If your child loves sports, use that to your advantage. Make them a stadium-themed lunch. Turkey hot dogs, homemade nacho dip and tortilla chips for dipping make a perfect lunch.

Tortilla Stars

Instead of serving your child boring old tortilla chips, make tortilla stars instead. Using a star-shaped cookie cutter, cut two or three-inch star shapes from a tortilla. Top with cheese and spices. Bake cheese side down on a baking rack till golden.

Vegan Lunch

For those of you with children who are vegan/vegetarian, tofu nuggets are an excellent option. Include a few small cups of your children’s favorite dipping sauce, some carrot sticks and a healthy drink option, and you are good to go.

School lunches do not have to be boring. In fact, they can be quite unique, as the list above proves. Use your creativity and imagination, and the sky is the limit.

Shakespeare Made Fun

You’ve likely heard your students complain about Shakespeare before. Every teacher has. He is hard to read. His work is boring. His work is not easily relatable. As a teacher, you know these complaints are quite untrue except perhaps for the difficulty in reading Shakespeare’s English. But how do you share the joy of Shakespeare’s work with your students while still making it fun? This article will explore several Shakespeare-themed activities which you and your students can do, and at the end if they still do not like Shakespeare, at least they will be able to say they had fun and learned about this brilliant wordsmith anyhow.

All The World is a Stage

Set the stage. If you are going to study Hamlet, for example, turn off the classroom lights, and set LED tea lights on tables and desks throughout the classroom to give the feel of a dark, slightly spooky night. Be sure to set the tea lights somewhere where they are not a distraction to students. You could even create a night backdrop. If you are going to teach Romeo and Juliet, you could create a scene that looks like the iconic window. Use inexpensive props, and your classroom will look like a Shakespeare set in no time. As a bonus, students will realize something is different, and will likely pay more attention.

Playlists

As you study the sections of a Shakespeare play, make sure to ask your students their thoughts on the characters. Discuss the character’s motives and personalities so that your class gets to know the characters. Then ask them to do a 3-5 song playlist of their favorite characters. With each song choice, ask them to include a two-paragraph mini essay explaining why they chose the song they chose. If you wanted, you could even ask them to properly cite song lyrics. Your students will much more easily remember that Justin Bieber was Romeo than simply answering questions about who Romeo killed on a reading quiz.

Hamlet’s Father

If you are studying Hamlet, you could have a discussion of the various ways to create Hamlet’s father’s ghost. Have your students discuss various ways of creating the ghost, including puppets, bedsheets ghosts, and anything else your students think up. Then discuss how the ghost was created in Shakespeare’s time. Be sure to discuss what makes the ghost foreboding.

Perform a Mini Play

A full play would be difficult to perform in a small space, but you could perform one scene from the play you are studying. Assign each student a character part. If you have more students than characters, assign some to make sound effects, flash the lights to make lightning or raise and lower backdrops. This way, your students can feel as if they are part of the Shakespeare experience.

Your lessons on Shakespeare do not have to be boring! They can be fun, informative and memorable. With the above activities, you can teach your class Shakespeare in a way they will never forget. Also, these are just a few suggestions to get you started. Use your imagination and creativity, and you can probably come up with many more. Believe us, your students will thank you.

Teaching New Vocabulary Words

Learning vocabulary an important part of education and life at any age. In fact, several markers of success in life have been correlated to having a larger vocabulary. In addition to this, keeping your students at grade level standards for vocabulary comprehension is critical for passing standardized assessment like Common Core’s PARCC tests.

But it takes more than copying down a new word’s definition for students to gain a true command over new vocabulary words. To help students grow a deep understanding of words, use interactive methods that make your students interact with the words in many different ways.

Here are some examples of ways to stretch students’ thinking and comprehension for new vocabulary:

Offer an extensive class library
Seeing new vocabulary words in context helps students learn new words. Encourage this by maintaining a large library of books students can borrow that are appropriate but challenging for the students’ level.

Identify vocabulary in books the class is reading together
Have students skim each chapter before reading it and write out any words they don’t know and use their lists as a guide to create a vocabulary list for the class. Before reading the chapter in full, review the list and their definitions.

Get students to restate or explain each word in their own words
This can be as simple as having students pair up with whoever sits next to them to discuss, or write it on paper. What’s important is that each student takes ownership of each word by explaining it themselves.

Have students create a visual representation of each word

As a class activity, have students create their own pictures (or other symbolic representations) of the words on the vocabulary list. This helps students think about a word’s meaning and gain a deeper understanding.

Have students create analogies for each word
This exercise is another way to tap into students’ creativity and get them to think more critically about the meanings of words on their vocabulary list. By creating their own analogies, students must determine their own understanding of a word’s given definition.

Have students find synonyms and antonyms for each word
Much like creating analogies for vocabulary words, this exercise makes students use other words in their vocabulary to develop a stronger contextual sense of the word’s definition.

Have students create their own jingles for the words and definitions.
The repetition of these creative exercises will help students engage with the vocabulary words with many different parts of their mind. Even better, a jingle can double as a mnemonic device that students can use as a reminder for words later on.

Keep reviewing old vocabulary words with games.
Don’t let old vocabulary words disappear after the test. To make sure those words become a long-term part of students’ vocabulary (and that they’re fresh for the end-of-year assessment), create games to play as a class that will reinforce them all year. Need ideas? Here’s a good place to start.

When these many different interactive learning techniques are used together, students develop a strong command over new vocabulary words. Better yet, an ability to use and understand these words stretches far beyond the next test and throughout students’ lives.

Using YouTube in the Classroom

As technology becomes more integrated into education methods, utilizing YouTube in the classroom is a trend on the rise. Early studies testing its effectiveness are proving promising.

In high school classrooms in Detroit, a video-enabled flipped classroom program helped reduce the fail rate for freshmen English and math classes by more than half. Additionally, semester to semester, discipline cases dropped from 736 to 249.

Used well, it’s clear that video can be a powerful educational tool. And it’s gaining traction, too—Education-oriented video channel TedEd has over a million subscribers.

How can you tap into this trend and enhance your students’ learning experience with YouTube? Here are some tips.

Create YouTube playlists as resources for the lessons.
Record class lessons and post them on YouTube for to access for on-demand review.
Keep videos short—no more than 10 minutes long—and opt for high-energy videos that will engage.
Use videos to bring a lesson to life: Watch a poet recite her own work, pull a segment of a play based on a book you’re reading, or show a reenactment of a moment in history.
Bring in a guest lecturer by showing filmed addresses from experts in fields you’re studying in class.
Every student’s learning pace is a little different. For students who take more time, sharing relevant videos for review can help students get the extra support they need. For students who are ahead of the pack, look for videos that can take lessons to the next level, keeping advanced students engaged.
Take advantage of education-oriented video tools like TeacherTube, TedEd, and YouTube for Schools to ensure quality educational content.
Don’t use video to replace lessons, only to supplement them.
The Internet, YouTube included, is full of all kinds of content, some extremely questionable for a classroom. Always watch videos all the way to the end before showing them to students, and never let students surf video content on their own.

A Powerful Educational Tool

When used wisely, YouTube can be a powerful tool to enhance students’ learning process. Early studies indicate significant improvements in performance and even in-class behavior when videos are used to enhance lessons. With some mindful application, you can tap into this potential to enrich your students’ education.

What Are Special Needs?

As of the 2012-13 school year, 14 percent of all public school students were receiving special education services, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. But what does it mean for a child to have special needs?

Broadly speaking, “special needs” is used to describe children who require any kind of special support due to a physical, mental or emotional issue, beyond the average student. It’s a term that covers a wide variety of needs—one student may simply require a ramp to access the building from a wheelchair, while another may need special therapy.

Classifying the many different kinds of special needs can get complicated—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) identifies 13 separate categories. At a broader level, special needs can be broken into four general types: physical, behavioral, emotional, and sensory.

Physical Special Needs
A physical special need is a physical limitation that permanently makes typical mobility or bodily control more challenging. It often requires special equipment like a wheelchair. Examples of physical special needs include children with muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, or chronic asthma.

Sensory Special Needs
Sensory impairments are conditions that limit one or more of a child’s senses. This includes blindness, deafness, visual impairments, and more.

Developmental Special Needs
Kids with developmental disabilities experience challenges with skills needed for certain aspects of life, such as language, mobility and learning. These include conditions such as dyslexia, Down syndrome or autism.

Behavioral/Emotional Special Needs
This type of special need refers to disorders that affect a child’s ability to respond to traditional discipline or struggle with psychological conditions. These include conditions such as ADHD, bipolar disorder, and oppositional defiance disorder.

Empowering Special Needs Kids to Take On Challenges

While children with special needs all have one thing in common—a need for a little extra support—this term refers to a broad range of unique needs. But special needs kids are much more than this label. Understanding the challenges these children face is a great first step to helping them overcome them for full, satisfying lives.

Take Action: Wear Your Cause

From ribbons to bracelets to t-shirts, it seems there is gear for every cause and every style these days.

And sure, it’s great to join in when it comes to a cause you believe in, but does sporting your awareness swag really make a difference to researchers and patients? Sometimes it can feel like a hollow gesture.

But don’t be deceived! When you wear your cause support, you take positive action on behalf of your cause awareness in three important ways.

1. Honor Survivors and Remember Those Lost
By wearing your awareness gear, you’re honoring those who have fought against that cancer, disease, or other struggle.

In 2015, the American Cancer Society projects an estimated 1,658,370 new cancer cases in America alone—not to mention the millions of loved ones impacted by each patient’s fight. Even if no one says anything to you, it’s likely that your act of support touched someone personally impacted by the fight against cancer.

2. The Positive Side of Peer Pressure
Peer pressure isn’t just for teens with attitude. In its simplest form, peer pressure just means that people tend to go along with what those around them are doing. By advocating for a cause, you tilt those mainstream currents in a positive direction of informed support and action.

3. Trigger Conversations
Be careful—if you’re wearing awareness swag, it’s likely someone will ask you about it.

When they do, it’s a fantastic opportunity to share about a cause you’re passionate about. Tell a little about why awareness matters to you, and if you’re willing, share your personal story. Before ending the conversation, tip them off on where to learn more about the cause, donate, and get their own support gear.

One Easy Action, Many Ripples of Impact
Because wearing your support for a cause is so easy to do, it can be easy to think that this action doesn’t matter. But in reality, wearing your support can make a big difference to others affected by the cause and trigger a chain of awareness in those around you.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up your swag and start a positive chain today.

15 Tips for Teaching the Highly Functioning ASD Child

The needs of a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the classroom can be very different from those of typical students in the class—even high-functioning ASD students require extra, and often, different kinds of support compared to typical students.

ASD students have unique challenges including difficulty reading social situations and making friends; adapting to changes in their routines; and remembering complex ideas or directions; among other things.

These unique challenges of ASD students require a different kind of support than the typical student, and often more support. Here are some ways that teachers can give their high-functioning ASD/Asperger’s student support to help him/her succeed in the classroom:

ASD students can benefit from opportunities to socialize with other students—when the engagement is structured, such as offering a group game to play.
Seat the ASD student next to an appropriate buddy who can share notes and provide a friendly, patient presence.
Give your ASD student directions in writing when working independently.
Offer visual cues like underlining or highlighting to help draw the child’s attention to the most important parts of test directions or homework assignments.
Break complex or long projects into simpler tasks.
Break down worksheets and long tests so there are fewer questions on each page. This gives the ASD student more room to write, while also letting him/her digest smaller amounts of information at once.
ASD students often have very strong interests in certain areas. Implement those interests to keep them engaged while learning new concepts.
If possible, work with your ASD student on keyboarding skills and let him/her take notes on a laptop instead of with pen and paper. Many ASD children have difficulty writing, which does not improve with practice.
Provide a written/illustrated schedule for the ASD student to help them navigate through the day. If there is a change to the normal schedule, give the student early and frequent warning of the change.
Allow the ASD student to fidget—such as chewing gum, doodling, or squeezing a ball—as this can actually help him/her maintain focus.
When you see the ASD student getting restless, move so that you are positioned nearer to his/her seat, and offer reminders to stay focused as needed.
Be clear about expectations for any activity before the ASD student begins. Have the student repeat the directions in his/her own words.
A visual record of accomplishment, like a progress chart, can help reinforce appropriate behaviors.
The ASD child may sometimes struggle when there is a lot going on around them. Provide a “quiet time” space s/he can go to for a time-out.
Talk to other students in the class to help them understand the ASD child’s differences in a positive way, embracing differences.

When you find that things are running smoothly for your ASD student, this doesn’t mean that s/he is “cured” or that the issues have disappeared—it means that you’ve found a way to cope with those challenges that work well.

It can be difficult to predict when an ASD child will have outbursts sometimes, and it’s completely normal to feel frustrated at times. Be patient with the ASD student, keep communication open with the student’s parents. With persistence and understanding, these tips can help your ASD student find success.

Understanding Asperger’s: A Teacher’s Guide

Students with Asperger’s syndrome present a unique set of challenges—challenges that many teachers are not provided with the appropriate training for. This can make welcoming a student with Asperger’s into the classroom seem daunting.

Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available to help teachers fill the gap and educate themselves, so they can make learning a positive experience and help students with Asperger’s feel comfortable and empowered, while managing the disorder’s more challenging traits.

Here, we’ve pulled resources from the Internet’s most authoritative Asperger’s resources to serve as a guide for teachers seeking to learn about Asperger’s and how to support students with this condition in the classroom.

What is Asperger’s Syndrome?

Asperger’s syndrome is a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). PDDs are a set of conditions that affect a person’s ability to develop basic skills, such as the ability to engage socially and use the imagination.

Children with Asperger’s are typically of average or even above-average intelligence, and although they can struggle to communicate, they have close to normal language development.

Kids with Asperger’s may act eccentrically or make repetitive movements, struggle with change to their routine, and have coordination problems. However, they are also extremely enthusiastic about their interests and highly talented in particular areas such as music or math.

Learn more:
Asperger’s Syndrome, WebMD

Asperger’s in the Classroom

Because students with Asperger’s tend to be highly intelligent, they usually function well in most aspects. However, they struggle to relate to other students, make friends, and participate in group activities in the classroom.

They are also prone to outbursts or tantrums, which can seem sudden, but are likely related to their struggle to communicate or to cope with a busy environment, etc. It can help a student with Asperger’s to cope if you can provide a “quiet space” s/he can retreat to when feeling over-stimulated.

Students with Asperger’s become anxious in unstructured settingswhere people are moving at random, and struggle with change to their regular routine—such as a substitute teacher.

Learn more:
Understanding the Student with Asperger’s Syndrome, OASIS @ MAAP
Challenges for Asperger’s Students, My Aspergers Child

Helping Asperger’s Students Succeed

Because of the unique challenges discussed above, students with Asperger’s syndrome have different support needs in the classroom compared to typically-abled students. There are a lot of ways teachers can modify their lessons and approach to help Asperger’s students succeed.

For example, it can help students with Asperger’s to have visuals that illustrate their daily schedule, and to get as much warning as possible of any upcoming change to the normal routine. They tend to take language very literally, so avoid slang or metaphors when addressing a student with Asperger’s, and give directions in short and direct sentences. Keep an eye out for when the student shows signs of feeling overwhelmed, and help the student break away for quiet time to regroup.

These are only a few of many ways teachers can help students with Asperger’s find success. Teachers should also be aware of all relevant laws and tools available to them, such as the school’s special education specialists and the student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Learn more:
Classroom Tips for Students with Aspergers, School Behavior
Teaching Strategies for Asperger Students, Johns Hopkins School of Education
Individual Education Programs, Organization for Autism Research

Promoting Understanding with other Students

Because students with Asperger’s struggle to make social connections, they have a hard time connecting with their peers and forming friendships. In their eagerness to make friends, they can develop a willingness to do almost anything to participate—something their peers may sometimes take advantage of. They often cannot discriminate between positive play and mean-spirited actions against them.

Research has shown that when students are given clear and accurate information about Asperger’s, they are more sympathetic to and accepting of peers with the disorder. Take the time to educate the other students in the class about what Asperger’s is, emphasizing the value of diversity and highlighting both the strengths and weaknesses of those with Asperger’s.

Meet with the school psychologist and the student’s parents beforehand to ensure everyone is on the same page about what to say, and don’t disclose the student’s name during the talk unless the parents and the student both agree to it.

Learn more:
Helping Kids Understand Aspergers, School Counseling by Heart
6 Steps to Success for Asperger Syndrome, Organization for Autism Research
Helping Peers Support Students with Autism, Autism Speaks

Working Together

Parents can be your best ally when it comes to addressing issues and finding what will work best for an Asperger’s student in the classroom. It’s best to maintain regular communication with the parents, and don’t be afraid to ask questions—most likely, they’ll be impressed that the teacher is putting forth the effort to learn more.

Teachers should also take advantage of additional support resources available to them, too. Most schools will have a school psychologist and special education specialists who can provide additional insights into how to help an Asperger’s student succeed.

There is also an abundance of information to help teachers understand and support students with Asperger’s online.

Resources:
Teachers and Administrators, Autism Speaks
An Educator’s Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome, Danya International Inc. and the Organization for Autism Research
The Complete Guide to Teaching Students with Aspergers and High-Functioning Autism, My Aspergers Child

Unique Challenges, Unique Strengths

A student with Asperger’s brings a unique set of strengths and challenges to the classroom, for themselves, the teacher, and the class overall. But with patience, education, and understanding, a student with Aspergers can do well in a traditional classroom setting.

What is PDD?

Pervasive developmental disorders (often shortened to PDD) is a term used to refer to a group of conditions that cause a delay in the development of basic skills. These basic skills most commonly include the ability to socialize, communicate and use imagination. People who have a PDD often struggle to understand the world around them.

Examples of PDDs include:

Autism
Asperger’s syndrome
Childhood disintegrative disorder
Rett syndrome
PPD, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)

Though PDDs are typically present in a child very young, but most commonly become evident around the age of three, when it becomes clear that the child is not keeping up with their peers’ development milestones.

PDD symptoms can range from mild to severe. They often include difficulty with communicating verbally, difficulty with gestures and facial expressions, difficulty relating to others, difficulty adjusting to changes in routine, repetitive behavior patterns or movements, sensitivity to sounds, and more.

According to WebMD, an estimated one in 88 children has a PDD, and it is more common in boys than girls. The outlook for a person with a PDD can vary significantly depending on how severe the individual’s symptoms are. However, though most will have some issues with socialization throughout their lives, many can reduce their symptoms and enhance their functionality with therapy and early intervention.

What is Digital Learning?

As technology becomes more and more integrated into everyday life, it’s likely no surprise that it’s becoming a bigger part of education, too.

The Alliance for Excellent Education defines digital learning as “any instructional practice that effectively uses technology to strengthen a student’s learning experience.” A digital learning approach to education allows more flexibility in the classroom to let students work at their own pace, while familiarizing students with the technology skills they’ll need for the “real world.”

How can you promote digital learning in your community? Wednesday, February 17, is Digital Learning Day. Here are three ways to celebrate while learning more about digital learning for you and your students:

Host an event
Grow awareness for digital learning’s role in education by organizing an event at your school or in your community. Get ideas and support to create your event here.

Teach an interactive lesson
When teachers and technology come together, it’s a powerful combination for student learning. Try one out with your class using Digital Learning Day’s interactive lesson library.

Explore a new digital learning tool
There are tons of different digital learning options out there. Even if you already use some, there’s bound to be something new out there. Why not give one a try? Start with this list of digital learning tools.

Digital tools empower learning

Digital learning is not just giving students tablets. It’s a more personalized approach to learning that is already proving to power better learning.

In fact, data from Project RED showed the use of technology-based interventions was a top predictor for student improvements on high-stakes test scores, reducing dropout rates, and completing courses for students who were struggling with reading, in special education programs, or learning English.

This is only one of many efforts that are already demonstrating the positive power of digital learning. So this Digital Learning Day, pick up a tablet and learn more about how you can empower students with technology.