This year, my Grade 4's are Big Buddies to a Grade 1/2 class. We try to meet every couple weeks, usually on Friday afternoons. We do the "traditional" Buddy meeting where we read to the "Littles" and vice versa, however, we are trying to mix it up with some S.T.E.M Challenges. If you are unfamiliar with the term, S.T.E.M stands for: S - Science T - Technology E - Engineering M - Mathematics More recently, the acronym has been changed to S.T.E.A.M. in which the "A" refers to art. Kids use a…

Take a minute to pick up this cute Back to School ... Getting to Know Me game.

A Reading Buddies program promotes a higher interest and engagement in reading, improvement in social and communication skills, and it's fun!

Learn how to start a reading buddies program in your classroom. There are so many benefits to having learning buddies-both for the younger and older students!

20 Activities To Do With Reading Buddies or Big/Little Buddy Time. There are some low prep activities and some that require time or prepping but all of the activities provide a great learning experience for learning buddies.

Have you ever considered starting a buddy program? I did and I loved it! Older students act as mentors to younger students and both groups g...

Two and a Crayon is sweeping classrooms by storm. With easy set up and high engagement, here's how the brain break works.

Looking to foster relationships among your students during back to school? This blog post is filled with fun Getting to Know You activities for kids! From icebreakers to games, get creative ideas to promote friendship and community in the classroom. Perfect for kindergarten, first grade, or 2nd grade, these activities encourage communication through making friendship bracelets. Explore these free back to school activities for exciting ways to build connections.

This is a quick low prep activity for big buddy/little buddy time, for a partnership/small group activity, ice breaker or an art class. It will get students up out of their seats and interacting with each other. I have used this activity for a big buddy little buddy time. All of the students K-8 were engaged and having fun with their buddies and said it was a great activity. The scavenger hunt can be done inside or outside of the classroom. You can use it with all grade levels. Included…