It's nearly the end of 2020 and in revamping and doing some cleanup on this website, I'm realizing this blog probably has to go.  A few things have indeed changed. I now can see how my blog will look on a phone when I preview this. 😄

Common Core Standards

We will be incorporating some Common Core elements into our website. The shift to the Common Core actually moves teachers away from individualized worksheets and more into groups and connecting students to technology and resources where interaction is required. Well, at least that's how I would think deeper concepts and interaction with texts would best be taught.

Let's be realistic --doing some worksheets may not require engaging in deeper critical thinking! The Common Core classroom is more than students sitting at a desk doing a worksheet.

So, how do we use the worksheets as part of a new and engaging process?  Do worksheets still have a role in the classroom?  If so, what encourages the learner to experience learning on a deeper level and how can that be reflected in our worksheets?

 As all good things, worksheets in the world of education are changing. Let's explore together how that must happen.

Newsletter/Site Update Email

Our first newsletter/update email is about to be sent out. If you haven't signed up, you should. Here's the link: Extraworksheets.com Mailing List

While our goal is a "monthly" newsletter, I have yet to actually get it out every month. So don't worry, --I don't believe you will be overwhelmed with information. :)

Want to help?! . . . . I am on the search for newsletter content. I would love input and ideas. Note that our theme here is "free" so don't send me to a place where you are giving me one "free" worksheet and "buy" more. The "free" needs to be significant.

If you have a great site with FREE worksheets and resources for teachers, email me and get it in our newsletter. Write a little paragraph about how/why you started the site, or how/why you found the site and use it.

Mobile-Friendly Feedback

Google's new "mobile friendly" check claims we aren't as mobile friendly as we should be. While I don't think Google always has the best ideas, they do heavily influence my ability to get traffic to this site. I hope to revise a few things. Surely some of you are surfing on your phone or tablet, looking for quick resources. I'd love to have comments/feedback.

What aspects of "mobile friendly" are important to YOU, my viewers? (think about screen size, navigation options, being able to read the text).

Monthly Newsletter

Admittedly, I've not "blogged" too seriously with this site. I have simply used it to store great links I sometimes need to find again! I'm considering a monthly newsletter now --a few new links, couple of teacher tips/ideas, and maybe a cool give-away or two. If you are interested or have ideas for me, please do contact me! You will see a "sign up to receive monthly updates" link on the site or post a comment here. It will be a new adventure for me!

January 2013: Happy New Year!

As you can tell from the posts below, there hasn't been a lot happening here on the extraworksheets.com's blog. We hope to change that in 2013! Starting with the "Panda" update, Google traffic has been hard to predict and all over the board. I can't tell if people are finding my site with legit keywords, landing here by default, or just not ever seeing it in the search engine! Then there was Penguin.. and some other animal I can't remember. I've about given up trying to stay in the top of Google search. Experts seem to agree I should build lots and lots of useful and unique content. Let's hope I can double my suggested free resource links in 2013! --I'll keep you updated on how that goes! A few of you have emailed with suggestions.. THANK YOU! I started this as a collection of web resources that I hoped would be useful over and over again to people. So if you have suggestions about how to make it a resource you can come back to again and again, please do let me know. As for Google's Adsense... well, I DO run ads to help me pay hosting fees and fund my hobby of creating websites. But, if those ads seem obnoxious OR you see ridiculously off-topic ads, please tell me. I've filtered a lot out, assuming you aren't interested in political or diet solutions if you are visiting my extraworksheets.com site. ---So....in anticipating of a New Beginning!

Let's Build Content!

My purpose here is to create a huge list of links to every kind of free worksheet possible. Over the past several months we've added links to our electives pages and a few throughout our core subjects. I'm now wondering if there is some way this site could also provide a "favorites" so that visitors could bookmark things within the site that are worth coming back to. I'm not getting too many suggestions for links to add though, so help me out here if you have some noteworthy idea! I sure could use it! We've nearly doubled our traffic in the past year, so I know people are finding the site and using resources.

Website Revisions

Just today we finalized some website revisions that will allow us to add content more easily. Feel free to send us feedback if you find any glitches! One new thing we are doing is offering advertising spots on our page. Do you have a great product to sell that teachers might be interested in? Please contact us. Since our site is really all about "free worksheets" not selling products, we'll try to keep these advertisements unobtrusive. Look for more links to "free" resources throughout the site. Enjoy!

Spring Break 2010!

Of course we would all like to think we truly took the entire spring break off and did only our own thing, but chances are all of us will spend a few minutes... even if is just a few, getting something organized for the classroom. Here are some thoughts you might consider implementing into your newly re-energized classroom routine as you return.

Add website links at the end of those notes sent home to parents: Look for links to sites like http://www.schoolfamily.com/ where parents can get advice about how to help their students succeed in school. You might type out a list of eight or ten sites with short messages or descriptions and then just clip them apart to "add" one when you photocopy notes to parents.

Create some "celebrate spring" activities that are short and simple, but break up the routine of the classroom a little. For example, take five minutes to pass out pictures of flowers and see how many your students can name. Send the winner home with a tiny potted flower for their mother. Show a short video clip of a "spring event" such as a hatching chick to students. Use the "celebrate spring" moments to make school more fun . . . especially on those long, warm, sunny days where we all just want to go outside and play!

Take a "spring walk" around the block and see how many signs of spring students can identify. Again, award someone for being the most observant or analytical.

Plan a "spring events only" show-and-tell day. Give students parameters that have to do with spring events and see what students bring to show and tell.

Holiday Gift Exchange Ideas for the Classroom

As the holidays draw near, I'd like to share a few ideas for teachers:

• Have parents donate to a game fund for your classroom instead of buying you gifts. Allow a volunteer to collect the donations so parents who spend very little don't have to feel obligated and you won't know who donates.
• Divide students into small groups and have each small group choose a game for the classroom.  Parents can donate to purchase a game for each group. Students could have a contest and a fundraiser --let parents know you are doing this instead of exchanging gifts. Students share their "game" as a gift to the other groups. 
• Ask for a classroom budget to purchase educational games and present them as "gifts for all of us."
• With the economic crunch, collect suggestions from parents about how to save money on gifts. Get students enthused and participating.
  
• Create a fun gift exchange with special rules like "spend no more than $0.92 or $2.009 cents.

Well, summer is here. It's time to think about some summer school options. It's nice outside, perhaps someone has some games that help reinforce multiplication tables or addition and subtraction practice? Help me, teachers!

Added a few links!

We've been adding a few links over the last several weeks. We rearranged the high school English section and even added a link to our webstore. Next goal is to organize the elementary science section into useful categories. Any ideas?

Not a Blogger

I'm just so ......not a blogger.
Once a week... yeah... well.
Do visit www.extraworksheets.com.
If you find cool ideas, do post them here.
I'll check in now and then.

Introduction and Welcome

Welcome to our new blog!
At www.extraworksheets.com we hope to keep the "free" resources flowing. Visit our site. Share it with other teachers or homeschoolers. Bring us comments and swap resources here. We'll try to post some "new" idea or resource now and then.