Nellie Edge has a teaching philosophy which reads like a love letter to children, to learning, and to the teachers and families who make it all possible. These are the beliefs she has lived by, classroom year after classroom year.
The beliefs at the heart of everything
I want children to love coming to school each day. I want them to be active learners and disciplined, creative thinkers — to learn to work hard, make good choices, and be kind. And I want their lives to be celebrated, so they care about school and develop a love of learning that will last a lifetime.”
— Nellie Edge Teaching Philosophy
Kindness is part of kindergarten
From the first day of kindergarten, children learn they belong here. Win or lose, they cheer each other on with a smile, a high-five, and a “Good job!”
Learn this remarkable curriculum with Nellie Edge
Thousands of kindergarten teachers have attended Nellie’s Masterclass seminars in person. They went back to their classrooms the next Monday, tried what they'd learned, and watched their classrooms come alive. Early learners sang, signed, and wrote their way into reading, and the joy came back into teaching.
Free professional development for kindergarten teachers.
Watch on your own, with your grade-level team, or as part of a PD day. Want graduate credit? Enroll online through University of the Pacific to earn credit for the seminars you watch.
A gift to educators:
all three Masterclass seminars, free
Teachers once traveled across the country to attend these seminars. Now you can watch condensed versions of all three free, with no ads, anytime, on any device. Watch Nellie bring joy to every lesson, and learn how to bring it to yours.
Sign up below to get your link to our free teaching library, with all three seminars plus every free guide on this page. The videos are too large to download, so you'll stream them there. Bookmark your link to come back anytime, no form needed.
Be sure to bookmark the link you receive so you can return to the library again without filling out a form.
Seminar 1: Multisensory ABC Phonics
Chapter 1: Overview of Multisensory ABC Phonics
Chapter 2: Learn American Sign Language (ASL)
Chapter 3: Personalize Your ABC Phonics Program
Chapter 4: Work with Diverse Learners
Chapter 5: Create a Growth Mindset
Chapter 6: Family Literacy
Engage children in multisensory ABC and Phonics Immersion to build fingerspelling, comprehension, and life skills. Singing, signing, and reading make learning simple and meaningful.
Seminar 2: Handwriting
Chapter 1: Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting
Chapter 2: Name Ticket Models for Handwriting Excellence
Chapter 3: Handwriting Lessons in September
Chapter 4: Meaningful Handwriting Practice
Chapter 5: Building Handwriting Fluency
A multisensory, integrated approach to handwriting is the most time-efficient, cost-efficient, and brain-friendly way we know of to plant habits for good handwriting—because handwriting matters! Good handwriting movements need to be developed in kindergarten.
Seminar 3: Heart Words
Chapter 1: Teach Heart Words
Chapter 2: Writing “Heart Word” Sentences in Kindergarten
Chapter 3: Kindergarten Multisensory Teaching Lessons
Chapter 4: Sing, Sign, Spell, and Read!
Chapter 5: The King of “ing”
We call these “heart words” because we learn them by heart and they let us write heart connecting sentences like “I love you”. Give children crystal-clear learning targets and celebrate mastery. Discover how writing teaches reading.
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Simple, proven-in-the-classroom resources your early learners will love, ready to use in a kindergarten classroom or by parents homeschooling starting tomorrow:
Three Masterclass seminars to watch anytime: Multisensory ABC and Phonics Immersion, Kindergarten-Friendly Handwriting, and Writing-to-Read Heart Words (details below)
Eight free guides listed below to download, print, and use with your early learners tomorrow
Six teacher-favorite curriculum bundles on TPT, with a quick guide to what’s in each and where to start
When you’re ready for more, the Nellie Edge Kindergarten store on Teachers Pay Teachers offers 78 guides and bundles, created with master kindergarten teachers.
Free! Sign up to get your link to download
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FREE: Poetry Notebook Friendship Sampler. Celebrate friendship and kindness with this free collection of 10 beloved songs, poems, and rhymes. Early learners memorize, recite, illustrate, and add each selection to their notebooks which become treasured records of their growing reading success.
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FREE: Kindergarten-friendly Handwriting Lessons One of the most important skills we must give all kindergarten learners is good handwriting. This guide includes: Anchor charts, a pencil-grip letter for parents, name tickets, and letter-formation guide. Enjoy this sampling from our Handwriting Curriculum.
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FREE: How to Create a Moveable Word Wall Limited wall space? Turn a magnet-friendly pan into a moveable Heart Word wall students use during writing time. This guide shows you how to build it and when to add new writing-to-read Heart Words. Includes: ABC recognition chart, speech bubbles and fingerspelling guide.
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FREE: Drawing Templates Draw a cat. Draw a dog. Write a book! With simple step-by-step drawing guides and writing-to-read Heart Word sentences, early learners are authors and illustrators all year long. Includes real student writing and drawing samples, plus 10 steps for success with Independent Writing Center Totes.
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FREE: Play Dough Mats Squish, spell, and learn! These a–z play dough mats make multisensory word work irresistible. Early learners build fingerspelling, handwriting motions, letter recognition, phonics, and fine motor skills, each at their own pace. Play dough recipe and parent letters included.
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FREE, Writing to Read Heart Word Songs. Sing it, sign it, write it! Starting with "I love you," these 32 writing-to-read Heart Word songs pair singing and fingerspelling to build multisensory memory hooks that accelerate writing and reading. Kindergartners use these words to build Heart Word sentences.
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FREE, We Love Lists! Students love making lists all year! Launch independent writing with My Favorite ABC Words. Use simple models to teach children how to draw and write lists, then set up a successful Write-a-Message center with easy teaching tips and writing tote organization ideas.
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FREE, ABC Phonics Family Reference Chart Fingerspell the alphabet together! Join more than 500,000 families and teachers have already learned to fingerspell with this Sign2Me video and our chart. Keep it on the fridge for quick practice, then watch Nellie use fingerspelling in the free Masterclass seminars.
Resources and bundles you can get on TPT
From simple guides to full curriculum bundles, you’ll find a wide range of resources for your kindergarten classroom or for home schooling on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Below is just a sampling of the many Nellie Edge resources you’ll find. Choose the bundle or guide you want, then click on the square image or the title. You’ll be linked to that item on Teachers Pay Teachers where you can complete your purchase.
Kindergarten and 1st Grade Writing Workshop
Turn every child into an author and illustrator from the first weeks of school. This expanded year-long Kid Writing Workshop takes writers from their first Heart Word sentences to narrative and information writing. Students publish their end-of-year opinion writing in a book. Support learners in the classroom and at home.
A–Z Handwriting, Sentence-Writing Fluency, and Drawing
Handwriting that grows writers, not just neat letters. Children practice letters inside real words and sentences from week one, with fingerspelling, phonics, and guided drawing woven in. A complete Teacher's Guide and handwriting training show you every step, so you can start tomorrow.
The guided drawing anchor charts will be great for beginning-of-the-year writing in kindergarten, ... These will help make their drawings more detailed and understood by others.”
—Rebecca R.
Family Guide to Early Literacy (K–1)
Help families keep writing and reading alive at home. These guides aren't worksheets. They're joyful invitations to draw, write, and make little books together. Parents learn how to coach handwriting, build pencil grip, practice name writing, and give encouraging feedback, all in step with what you teach at school.
"I Can Read" Poetry Notebook (PreK–2)
Children fall in love with language when they recite, perform, illustrate, and read poems they know by heart. Inside: more than 240 poems, songs, and rhymes, organized by month and in two print sizes. Also includes exemplars, strategies and parent letters. Children and families treasure these Poetry Notebooks.
Writing-to-Read Heart Words (PreK–1)
Words learned by heart let children write sentences from the heart. Children master 62 high-frequency Heart Words through songs, signs, and spelling chants, then write and read sentences with fluency. Includes a 134-page Master Class guide, 34 Sing, Sign, Spell, and Read! songs, and 200+ pages of printables.
Support good handwriting in kindergarten.
Help parents know what good handwriting looks like and how to help at home. If handwriting motions are not fluent, it interferes with the whole writing process. Includes parent letters, handwriting guidelines and support for name writing practice at home.