A moving inspirational booklet which was originally compiled as a tribute to R Sholom Goldstein in order to provide the girls attending the Bais Yaakov Convention in Detroit with a glimpse into the life and teachings of their principal, who was niftar that year on 10 Adar, 5744.

This booklet is attached to this post and can also be found as item A_00661 on Chinuch.org

Recipe for living

First, plant three rows of Peas:
Persistence
Patience
Peace of Mind

Next, plant four rows of Squash:
Squash Gossip
Squash Grumbling
Squash Selfishness
Squash Apathy

Then, plant three rows of Lettuce:
Let us be kind
Let us be responsible
Let us be respectable

No garden is complete without Turnips:
Turn up with a smile and
Turn up with a healthy attitude

Water regularly with confidence and love and let your garden bring forth much fruit.

If we all remember to cultivate this, no challenge would be too great, and what a wonderful world this would be!

Teaching Children

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
    Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold  X 's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.
    At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
    Teddy's first grade teacher wrote: Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners . . . he is a joy to be around . . .
    His second grade teacher wrote: Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.
    His third grade teacher wrote: His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren�t taken.
    Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote: Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.
    By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her holiday presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."
    After the children left, she cried for at least and hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets . . ."
    A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
    Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.
    Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things has been tough at times, he's stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from collage with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
    Then Four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that he was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer . . . The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
    The story does not end there. You see there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last holiday together.
    They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."
    Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."
    (For those of you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the doctor at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer wing.)

Does anyone have any programs to recommend for creating visually appealing worksheets?  Any tips or suggestions to share?

The Torah Umesorah Walder Education Pavilion submitted a wonderful early childhood material to Chinuch.org.  It's called "Birchas Hachamah Big Book" R_01327.  Enjoy!

If you have been using smart boards in your classroom, please share any tips that would be helpful to other educators! 

How have smart boards enhanced your teaching?
For which subjects do you use smart boards?
Do you have smart board lessons that you want to share?

Seventh grade is a critical time to make sure that the girls have mastered the skills of elementary school and are now prepared to enter the world of middle school and eventually high school. 
(1)  It is extremely important that they master their kriah of the pesukim and of Rashi.  The kriah of the pesukim can be done on rotation in class, having the girls tape themselves reading or on a one on one meeting during lunch (this is preferable).  In order to check the kriah of Rashi you can have rotated readers in class and have them write in the nekodot of each Rashi that you learn for homework.
(2)  The girls should understand the storyline and details of what you are learning.  They should divide the pesukim into topics and write a title for each section.
(3)  Sheilas and teshuvas Rashi should be known.  The girls should focus on the problem in the posuk and words that Rashi is addressing (debur hamascheil).  The girls should keep a record of sheilas and teshuvas Rashi in a notebook.
(4)  Don't forget to make the information relevant to them, find a mussar point, a story, picture, activity to make what you're learning come to life!

You can start familiarizing her with the letters by singing an Alef Bais song  as part of a daily structured activity.  This way she will recognize the names of the letters and the order.  In addition, you can choose a letter per week or month (depending on how much time you devote to it daily) to focus on.  Then you can do activities and games relating to the letter of focus.  There are many coloring pages and pictures on Chinuch.org that could help you with this.