A THENCE Publication
A THENCE Publication
Katherine SchlatterHalloween Pattern Cards Lesson Plan – This Month™ 🎃 Halloween Pattern Cards Activity 🎃 A Standards-Aligned Pattern Recognition Lesson This Month™ – Connecting Learning to the Calendar 📚 Target Audience…
Katherine SchlatterHalloween Pattern Cards – Printable 🎃 Halloween Pattern Cards – Printable Sheet 🎃 What you’ll get: 24 cards total – 8 pumpkins, 8 bats, and 8 ghosts Instructions: Print this…
Katherine SchlatterTíos & Primos Book Review Tíos & Primos is written and illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara. In this story a girl travels with her father to Honduras. She’s nervous about her…
Katherine Schlatter“Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest” by Patricia Gualinga and Laura Resau, illustrated by Vanessa Jaramillo, tells the true story of how…
Katherine SchlatterMemory Card Game Instructions – This Month™ 🎃 🧙 🧙 🧙 🎃Memory Card Game Instructions🎃 Setup Shuffle all 12 cards thoroughly Spread them face-down on a table or floor in…
Katherine SchlatterTeachers, looking for the perfect complement to your Mooncake Coloring activity or the Glowing Lantern Engineering Challenge? We highly recommend playing the audiobook of Our Moon Festival: Celebrating the Moon…
Helina SeyoumThe Harvest Moon Festival is a time for families to gather, share food, and enjoy the beauty of glowing lanterns under the autumn sky. Using everyday materials like jars, tissue…
Katherine SchlatterChestnut Harvest Sorting Activity – This Month Mathober Series This Month™: October Math Adventures “To Roast or To Toss?” Chestnut Sorting Mathober-Inspired Activities for K-5th Grade Classrooms & Families Fall…
Katherine Schlatter
Katherine SchlatterWe’d love to see your completed coloring pages! Send us snapshots to info@thence.us to be featured on our socials or tag us on Linkedin or Instagram!
Katherine Schlatter
Katherine Schlatter“This Will Pass: A Story of Mindful Resilience” by J. Donnini helps parents take a new perspective on children’s fears and worries. Parents and teachers take note that this book…
Katherine SchlatterShape Detective: 3D Halloween Hunt – This Month™ 🔍 Shape Detective: 3D Halloween Hunt 🎃 Find the 3D shapes hiding in Halloween objects! 🎯 How to Play: Choose a 3D…
Katherine SchlatterLink Up! Halloween Chain Patterns – This Month™ 🔗 Halloween Pattern Cards 🎃 Create spooky repeating patterns for October decorations! 🎨 How to Play: Tap the Halloween emoji cards (🎃…
Katherine SchlatterMoon Cake Fraction Fun – This Month™ 🥮 Moon Cake Fraction Fun 🌕 Harvest Moon Festival Learning Activity 🏮 Did You Know? During the Harvest Moon Festival, families in China…
Katherine SchlatterCan math stories be culturally on point, revelatory and fun? The answer is yes! And that’s why we’re recommending “Luna and the Case of the Missing Mooncakes” by Natasha Yim,…
Katherine SchlatterThis lesson plan accompanies out slope and ball simulator available here. Use this lesson plan with the appropriate age group. Hint you can click the grade grouping button at the…
Katherine SchlatterHow to use: experiment with making the slope steeper and watch how it affects the speed of the ball. Try it with a real ball and a plank of wood.…
Helina SeyoumFor preschoolers and kindergarteners, we’ve created an educational activity featuring one of their favorite things—cute backpacks! This coloring pack takes children on a journey through animal-themed backpacks, each paired with…
Katherine SchlatterThis digital drag-and-drop activity invites learners to pair apples and honey while exploring the tradition of wishing for a sweet new year! As students drag, drop, and match apples with…
Helina SeyoumCelebrate World Gratitude Day with a hands-on activity! Children can print and decorate cards with adorable designs, then make them extra special by writing their own heartfelt messages inside. Great…
Helina SeyoumPaper Engineering Techniques Paper Engineering Techniques Interactive Guide for K-8 Educators 📚 Welcome ▼ Welcome to the world of paper engineering! This interactive guide introduces five fundamental pop-up techniques that…
Helina SeyoumComplementing Pop-Up Cards, interactive cards also blend science, math, and art through everyday materials. This construction process challenges learners to apply precision engineering skills, from exact hole placement to smooth…
Helina SeyoumParents and kids can have fun playing a version of this early 1978 game, then extend the experience with the interactive lesson plan below! After playing the game you and…
Helina SeyoumLearning to read is tough for many kids, and new research shows parents are reading to their children less than ever. Even when parents make story time a household routine, there…
Helina SeyoumTackle big numbers with confidence using our Long Division and Multiplication Grid one-pager. This simple, reusable tool gives students a clear way to see each step of long division and…
Helina SeyoumMath only gets more challenging as the year goes on, so the start of the school year is the perfect time for learners to refresh their multiplication skills. We’ve put…
Helina SeyoumAs children prepare to return to school, the original stories below created by TinkerTell’s AI, can help your learners of different ages navigate the transition. Students may see themselves reflected…
Helina SeyoumThe start of a new school year is all about introductions, building connections, and creating a welcoming classroom community. With this Braille Slate & Name Card Craft, students design their…
Helina SeyoumAs summer break winds down and the school year approaches, try this colorful DIY Windsock craft perfect for the last days of camp or a fun afternoon at home. Using…
Helina SeyoumThis Disability Pride Month let’s educate our learners about accessibility by exploring one way that technology can support people with physical disabilities. In this hands-on activity, students can build a…
Helina SeyoumIt’s still the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese Zodiac, and there’s no better way to mark World Snake Day than by making your own snake puppet! Check…
Katherine SchlatterTo play PONG is to play with history! Try it below! If you are on a mobile device this version of Pong works best if you turn your phone sideways…
Katherine SchlatterThis animated film from the 1975 by Vince Collins is a montage of imagery associated with patriotism, culture and iconic symbols in the United States. How might your students reimagine…
Katherine SchlatterPatriotic Wind Socks Craft 🖨️ Print Guide ✨ Patriotic Wind Socks ✨ Create Beautiful Flying Decorations for Independence Day! ⭐ Easy – Perfect for K-6 Students 🛠️ Materials Needed 🥤…
Katherine SchlatterEducators can input a lesson’s learning objective to determine whether using AI is a supporting tool for the type of metacognition or cognition you want to see in your students.…
Katherine SchlatterCan you draw something that is practically transparent? This first activity is a scientific drawing adventure and investigation into Sea jelly locomotion and shape-shifting. Three age-appropriate interactive activities available below…
THENCE Editorial TeamPlay with the interactive below or hit the button to get the PDF printable for offline riddles and coloring for all ages including adults and elders who love to color…
Katherine SchlatterWe really enjoyed reading and reviewing this book Jellyfish Scientist, Maude Delap and Her Mesmerizing Medusas, about a self-taught scientist who made a breakthrough to uncover the secrets of jellyfish.…
Katherine SchlatterUse the interactive button “Start New Game” to play this little educational jazz instrument and legendary musicians matching game! Jazz Instrument Matching Game 🎷 Jazz Instrument Matching Game 🎺 Honoring…
Helina SeyoumThis June, we’re educating about Black Music Month and Caribbean American Heritage Month with engaging STEAM activities that explore musical heritage. Start by exploring our K–6 lesson plan, featuring age-appropriate…
Katherine SchlatterYou know best what children in this age group may need to best understand the complex history of the United States, however, guides with specific language and lesson plans can…
THENCE Editorial TeamSometimes a stay-at-home summer camp is the only answer to filling the summer weeks. Whether it’s due to busy and conflicting schedules, accommodating differing needs, naps, and diets, here’s a…
THENCE Editorial TeamThe weeks and month of summer can be long for parents scrambling to keep their little ones happily occupied, active, reading and ready for the school year ahead without relying…
Katherine SchlatterShould we call them Jellyfish or Sea jellies? The answer from scientists who study them is: absolutely do not call them Jellyfish!!! The are not fish at all! A more…
Katherine SchlatterThis is a review of The Loving Story, a documentary covering the Loving v. Virginia case, that takes viewers on a journey of an interracial couple simply fighting for the…
THENCE Editorial TeamTake this quiz to test you geographical and cultural knowledge of the Caribbean! Extend your learning by requesting our custom lesson plans about the region. Caribbean Islands Geography Game Caribbean…
Katherine SchlatterEvery heard of mindfulness coloring? These detailed, often whimsical coloring activities encourage a different kind of focus—one that gently grounds you in the present moment. For grown-ups it could be…
Katherine Schlatter
Katherine SchlatterWe are using a wonderful new tool tailored for schools that wish to adopt AI but in the most secure, safe and pedagogically appropriate manner. Lately we have been offering…
Helina SeyoumAs we continue through Volcano Awareness Month, here’s another engaging STEAM activity to spark curiosity in your learners! Volcanoes are a fascinating and often under-taught subject, and this activity introduces…
Katherine SchlatterCheck out this joint book review by THENCE Founder and her young daughter. Reading together builds mutual interests and allows for special bonding time. Keeping it going even after children…
Helina SeyoumIn Washington State, May was designated as Volcano Awareness Month after the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980. The deadly eruption was a watershed moment for volcanic monitoring and public…
Katherine SchlatterDuring Mental Health Awareness Month This Month will be sharing weekly book reviews that address topics that may be difficult for children to go through or discuss. This week’s focus…
Helina SeyoumAs we close out teacher appreciation week and approach the end of the school year, let’s take time to show our educators some love! And what better way to let…
Katherine SchlatterThere are two downloads here! A coloring activity pack as well as a TinkerTell storybook with drawing pages for each stage of the story. Send us snapshots of your completed…
Katherine SchlatterCheck out these amazing student-created, student-edited and student-approved stories below. These stories capture the beauty of the water cycle and so much more. STEM teacher Sylvester Boston led his classroom on…
Katherine SchlatterNia organizes the annual Easter Egg hunt for her visiting cousins and her twin sisters, but wait if everyone gets the same amount of eggs, and Nia gets none is…
Katherine SchlatterIt’s Passover, a time when Jewish families host or join a Seder dinner. We found a great source for families with young children: PJ Library offers a guide for parents…
Helina SeyoumLet’s honor National Library Week through book reviews! Watch below for a review of The Library Mouse, written and illustrated by Daniel Kirk. Dr. Katherine Schlatter, THENCE Founder, CEO, and…
Helina SeyoumAs we close out World Autism and Neurodiversity Awareness Month, Editor of This Month, Helina Seyoum, reviews one of her favorite illustrated children’s storybooks. Enjoy the book with your learners…
Katherine SchlatterBecause it’s April and it’s also National Library Week what could be more fun than Celebrating in the Wonderful City of Oxford, England. This Month is at the World Literacy…
Helina SeyoumIn honor of World Autism Awareness Day and to kick off World Autism Month, we’d like to share a collaborative craft that you can do with your learners. This craft…
Katherine SchlatterThe cherry blossom is the flower of trees in Prunus subgenus Cerasus. The Japanese word “Sakura” 桜 or 櫻; さくら or サクラ translates to both the tree or its flowers.…
Helina SeyoumThis craft was inspired by by The Blessed Pomegranates: A Ramadan Story About Giving. Why not create your own “Giving Tree” filled with leaves of gratitude and pomegranate seeds of…
Katherine SchlatterIn the United States many people mark St. Patrick’s Day with celebrations of Irish culture, parades and festivities requiring a lot of green costumes. So it may come as a…
THENCE Editorial TeamStudents can identify any historical or contemporary woman they would like to study. She doesn’t have to be someone famous. She could be also a mom, grandma, aunt, teacher or…
Helina SeyoumHaben Girma is a remarkable history-making woman whose work was born from the inaccessibility she had encountered throughout her life. Her extensive accolades and credentials include being the first Deafblind…
Katherine SchlatterIn 1977, the UN General Assembly invited their member states to recognize a day dedicated to Women’s Rights and International Peace by proposing the 8th of March which aligned with Italy’s honor day…
Zeinab MzunguWhether you observe or educate about the meaning and values around Ramadan, our team has created this wonderful craft to share with your classroom or home schooled children. Many thanks…
Helina SeyoumThe Carnival season in New Orleans, Louisiana starts on January 6 and culminates in a holiday called Mardi Gras that falls on the day before the Catholic holiday of Ash…
Helina SeyoumSimilar to Carnival in New Orleans and Venice, Brazil’s celebrations also occur in the days leading up to Lent. And for many, when we think of Carnival, Rio de Janeiro…
Katherine SchlatterDid you know Carnival is celebrated in many regions, cities, and countries around the world? The origins of this celebration are blended and each place has its own unique expressions…
Katherine SchlatterThis TinkerTell story takes place in Southern Switzerland where Carnival is associated with many cultural themes. For example, in Italian speaking Ticino, for centuries many families, having lived there for…
Helina SeyoumIn addition to classroom crafts and chocolate exchanges, Valentine’s Day provides a unique opportunity to discuss love in the context of Black History. There’s a chance to revisit it too…
THENCE Editorial TeamWatch the full video below👇 Festival and tradition: On the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar, a lantern festival, marks the full moon, and the…
THENCE Editorial TeamTHENCE illustrator extraordinaire, Nikita Lai Jing Tse has created this timely craft to connect students to the cultural significance of the Lunar New Year, and this year’s zodiac animal: The…
THENCE Editorial TeamCheck out this activity book with a narrative story, “A Lunar New Year Tale of Kindness”, created by our partner company TinkerTell which offers an app to help families become…
Katherine SchlatterIn late 2023, THENCE launched a Webzine specifically designed to help families particularly with younger children think about activities and avoid moments of stress during the school winter break. This…
Katherine SchlatterInterested in the meaning and origins of Indigenous Peoples’ Day? We share this video of Deb Haaland and Rodney A. Butler speaking on Indigenous People’s Day in 2019. We include…
Katherine SchlatterNew Jersey Public Schools recognize many days in the month of October, and you can see the List of Religious Holidays Permitting Pupil Absence From School here however, the high…
Ashley Causey-GoldenThis year International Literacy Day fell on a Sunday, and we celebrated at home with… you guessed it… books! International Literacy Day is important to me because I think about…
THENCE Editorial TeamThis article was originally written by Krysta Dennis for Libretexts and is republished here. The term “applied theatre” became popular in the United Kingdom in the 1990s to describe theatre…
Helina SeyoumID: Black mother and daughter sitting side by side. Audiologist is fitting child with a hearing aid. This year I am honoring Disability Book Week with several book reviews. My…
Katherine SchlatterAre you in the market for more children’s books that carry meaningful stories and introduce the children in your care to new concepts, ideas, people and situations that make them…
Katherine SchlatterDrumroll please! Dive into this great book review with a recommendations that centers Deaf identity as it intersects with women’s history, music and performance art.
Katherine SchlatterTwo of our wonderful THENCE collaborators have deep personal ties to the Deaf and hard of hearing community and so we led a conversation about topics important to them this…
Katherine SchlatterLet’s discuss book curation, classroom pedagogy, and children’s literature from some of the most amazing women voices this Women’s History Month. Here we highlight amazing female scholars, Louise Derman-Sparks, Rudine…
Katherine SchlatterOne of the first things that Louise Derman-Sparks asked library curators to watch out for is books containing stereotypes which are unfair mischaracterizations and generalizations about a group. These two…
Katherine SchlatterLook closely at popular contemporary media, cartoons and many made for TV shows for our youngest viewers. Have you noticed that many shows feature four to six young heroes, all…
Katherine SchlatterRecognizing invisibility is just as important as spotting stereotypes in children’s books. Here’s how to take a lens to what, or who is not represented in you classroom library.
THENCE Editorial TeamOn Monday March 11th, 2024 the month-long spiritual period of Ramadan began, and with it routines of fasting from dawn to dusk for Muslims who observe. In the school setting…
Katherine SchlatterToday I want to recognize and celebrate Andrea Patterson, Actor, Entrepreneur, Teaching Artist, and Mom of three amazing young daughters! On this last day of Black History Month we highlight…
Ashley Causey-GoldenAs we enjoy this bonus day of black history month, we are also intersecting and amplifying Her-story. Check out this amazing family activity brought to us by Partner company Afrocentric…
THENCE Editorial TeamTHENCE Collaborator and founder of Afrocentric Montessori, Ashley Causey-Golden, introduces us to the concept of “The Culture Tree”, a concept put forward by pedagogical expert and educator Zaretta Hammond. This…
THENCE Editorial TeamThe THENCE Team recommends the book “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students” . The author, Zaretta Hammond, offers trainings…
THENCE Editorial TeamThe THENCE Team recommends the book “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students” by Zaretta Hammond. In this book Hammond…
Andrea PattersonAt THENCE we think a lot about ways to shift the paradigm. Whether it’s through, expanding the lessons of Dr. King, or exploring school belonging within diverse communities. So this…
THENCE Editorial TeamFeatured maker: We present this craft video tutorial by THENCE Team member Nikita Lai Jing Tse. She styled, directed and filmed the making of this 3-Dimensional character for the Chinese…
THENCE Editorial TeamOur social media feeds are filled with recommended lists and materials for Black History month, and had planning not begun sooner, many educators may feel that there is no time…
THENCE Editorial Team“Many times we read or hear an amazing idea or strategy to use in the classroom but the lingering question becomes: How do I use this in my classroom?” -Ashley…
THENCE Editorial TeamIn her recent post on THENCE.us, contributor Ashley Causey-Golden, not only introduced us to Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s Book “Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy“, she…
THENCE Editorial TeamReading about Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s pedagogies is beneficial in making our teaching practices more reflective. This is because Dr. Muhammad offers a specific framework with key questions through her Historically…
Katherine SchlatterClassroom activities that engage children in craftsmanship and analytical skills can stretch and expand learning beyond simple cognition into the realm of reflective thinking, or metacognition. This is especially true…
Ashley Causey-Golden
Ashley Causey-GoldenI like to start learners this question “who was Dr. Martin Luther King?
Katherine Schlatter
Katherine SchlatterPrintable Diwali Tabola Cards 🪔 🪔 🪔 Diwali Tabola Card Generator Create custom printable cards for K-2nd grade! 📋 How to Use: Choose how many cards you want (4, 8,…
Katherine SchlatterCount the Diyas! Interactive Math 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 🪔 Count the Diyas! Interactive Diwali Math for Grades 1-2 Worksheet 1: More or Less…
Katherine Schlatter🪔 🪔 🪔 Teacher’s Guide to Diwali The Festival of Lights Target Audience: K-5th Grade Educators Cultural Context: Hindu, Sikh, and Jain Traditions Timing: October/November (varies by lunar calendar) 📖…