More teaching stuff...and a birthday board freebie!

Just a few more pics I feel like sharing; these aren't as LEGO-y, either, so they may be of some use to another teacher. :)  I'm slowly, SLOWLY getting there.  Can't believe I only have about a month left until I start!

When students leave the room for speech, resource room, etc., they'll have to leave one of these on their desks first--it'll help me see at a glance who is out!  (You think you remember these things but it changes every day, and once you get into a rhythm...)  The only exception is the bathroom--they'll put the boy/girl hand sanitizer on their desks instead.

My "how we get home" board...with clothespins bearing each student's name on the appropriate circle (bikers/walkers, car rider, bus, after-school activity...)  I liked this idea because it was easily changed out from day to day. Downloaded it from HERE.

My "rate yourself" stoplight exit ticket board.  Gotta laminate it still...but basically, when we learn about something, I can then have the kids take out a mini post-it and put their name on it, along with rating themselves on how well they know it--if green, then explaining/performing it well; yellow, asking a question to clarify something; or red, they really don't get it and need extra help.  Self-evaluation is really important to me.

I also made up this birthday board.  Saw something like it on Pinterest but it wasn't free.  Mine isn't as cute, but it's a little more neutral and I'm offering it as a free download to anyone who wants it.  :) Gotta thank Connie Prince for the digiscrapping kit I used to make it (Go!Go!Go!). It's made to be a 16x20 poster, which Walmart will print off for you for about $13, but an 11x14 has almost the same ratio and works just as well for half the price.  You choose what's best for you.  :) When you frame it, it becomes dry-erase, which is awesome for the classroom.  Or, you could just add family birthdays in Sharpie.  OR, if you're tech-savvy, you could add text to the image before printing.  Lots of options.

DOWNLOAD HERE!

Still working! :)

Just some school stuff I've been working on today

ASL signs--so I don't interrupt dialogue by mistaking a permission-seeking question for a meaningful comment. :)

Quote bubbles. They'll go in 8x10 frames and be used to record the funny and insightful things my students say, dry-erase style, behind my desk. :)

Writing process poster--will be laminated, and clothes pins with names will be moved around during writers workshop. :)

I also made up my reading logs/fluency pages, OhMyGoodness! Other things that aren't interesting if you're not a teacher. :) Maybe I'll do a post on those things some other time. I'm just excited that things are finally coming together, slowly as it may be. :)

The DIY Curse :) And other random thoughts of the day.

If you are a Do-It-Yourselfer like me, then you understand how rewarding it can be to learn lots of fun new things and create something that hasn't existed before.  It's fun to save money, too. :)  But DIYing comes with a curse.  The URGE.  The urge to do it all, whether you actually have the time and skills or not.  I'm finding myself especially stubborn about doing all these crafty/sewing/educational projects for my classroom BY MYSELF, which I *know* is just silly, really.  I only have a month and a half and that's not actually much time to learn, say, how to reupholster a couch or sew a new cushion cover for my soon-to-be-awesome chair...for example.  :)  And yet I can't find it in me to ask anyone for help, because then I can't swell up with pride and memories every time I look at it.  And I can't really blog about it.  :)  I guess it comes down to whether or not the process or the product is more important right now?  Maybe in a few weeks when crunch time really hits I'll be a little more humble?  :) 

I saved two birds yesterday.  They tried to nest in our dog-poop-trash-can (of all smelly places!) on our patio and when the lid came down they couldn't get out again.  One bird was very panicked and fluttering up, making a fuss, which is how I even noticed.  I looked over from watering my herbs and saw this bird head keep popping up in the little slit between the lid and trash can, and I felt bad for the poor bird (but also scared to open it and have it fly at ME or something).  So I grabbed the poker thingy from the fireplace tool set and opened the lid from a distance, thinking it would just fly away.  Well, no.  It hopped up and perched on the edge and just stared me down...even when I went inside it just stood guard for a minute before flying away.  I thought, Why is that bird hanging around so protectively?  Oh no, please don't be building a nest! So I went to peek inside, and I didn't see a nest but ANOTHER BIRD.  The female.  (I "know" this because I took a bird-watching class at BYU over a decade ago. :) Crouching and looking up rather strangely at me.  I tried scaring it away but the only thing that worked was tipping the trash can on its side and letting it slowly hop out and then fly away, unthreatened.  I shudder a little to think of two dead birds stuck in my trash can, covered in poop.  Crisis averted!

Frozen grapes are the epitome of summer.  Well, they're up there, anyway, right along with the smell of chlorine in sunshine, a good thunderstorm, and snowcones.  :)  But I miss chocolate.  (I haven't given it up or anything, I'm just being good and saving it for special occasions or, y'know, when I need it.  We aren't keeping it around the house much for now though.)  I've also been good and going on bike rides, doing yoga, or dancing with my non-judgmental partner Kinect every day.  Still not losing weight...not sure why...but at least I'm not gaining.  And soon I'll be able to take out the trash without getting winded!  :)

I just finished "Magyk"--the first book in the Septimus Heap series--have any of you read it?  I think it's the first book in a while that I just really didn't like, but it's got such a great following/reviews, and kids love it, and I'm curious why.  I have a HUGE stack of books to read before school starts...but I'm always open to suggestions.  I'm also thinking about taking a day every couple of weeks or even once a week just to read stuff *I* like again.  :)  We'll see if we have time for that.  :)

Never smile at a crocodile...

I don't see, think about, or imagine crocodiles or alligators much at all, but they have been cropping up in my dreams often the last few weeks.  Strange, right?  So, after last night's nightmare, I decided to look 'em up in a dream dictionary, just for kicks, to see what they could possibly mean.

Alligator: treachery, deceit, mistrust.
Crocodile: freedom, power, hidden strength.

Well, what if you don't notice or remember which one it is?  Do you just pick?  I was a little surprised that they were so opposite of each other, since I seriously doubt most people know which one it is they are dreaming of.  Long, skinny thing with surprisingly fast stubby legs and sharp teeth...I'm not looking at the face shape or determining if it's salt- or fresh-water, especially once it starts chasing me...

So I decided to pick crocodile.  :)

THEN, as I was driving home from taking Paul to work, I starting thinking about what all these dreams and such had in common, or at least what I was thinking about before I went to sleep.  And I realized that I have reread and watched "Peter Pan" and "Hook" in the last couple of months, and crocodile suddenly made a whole lot of sense.

TIME is creeping up on me, past me, faster than I want it to, and I'm almost as freaked out as Hook about it!

At least I can breathe a sigh of relief that I don't have some secret phobia of crocodiles or whatever.  :)

Although, if I look at this picture enough...

*Shudder* I think the fact that he looks like he's smiling at me makes it all the creepier, don't you?

I don't know what to call these...but they're cool. :)

In case anyone is curious, here are my questions for these different...conversation starters/reader response/brain break balls?  For the classroom or homeschooling mom.  10 points and maybe even a gold star to anyone who can give them an uber-cool name. :)

GETTING TO KNOW YOU (Yellow Ball) (Keep in mind these are for kids in a first-week-of-class or new-student setting. :):

• How many brothers and sisters do you have?
• What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
• What is your favorite book?
• Do you have any cool secret talents?
• What is your favorite subject in school?
• What is something you're afraid of?
• What is your favorite sports team?
• What are you excited about this year?
• What was the best vacation you've ever had?
• What makes a good friend?
• What do you want to be when you grow up?
• "I want a teacher who _______"
• Name 3 of your hobbies.
• What is one thing you're really good at?
• What is your favorite sport to play?
• If you could travel anywhere for one week, where would you go?
• Have you ever met anyone famous?
• Do you have any pets?
• Where were you born? (And when is your birthday?)
• What is your favorite color?
• Would you rather live in the ocean or on the moon?
• Would you rather be blind or deaf, and why?
• Do you have any pet peeves?
• What was your favorite birthday?
• Who is your hero?
• Who is the funniest person you know?
• "If I were an animal, I would be..."
• "I learn best when..."
• Are you a morning or night person?

BRAIN BREAKS (Red Ball):
(In case you don't know, "brain breaks" are short movement activities to do throughout the day that increase blood flow to the brain and help improve concentration and motivation.  Research says doing one every half hour can make ALL the difference in student focus, especially for the few minutes following.)

• Conga line for 2 minutes!
• Seasonal movement--so, fly like a witch or prance like a reindeer, hop like the Easter bunny, etc.--for 1 minute
• Wall or floor push-ups...x20!
• Line up in order of your birthdays!
• 20 jumps over a pencil on the floor! (You could do rope, but I wanted things that mostly didn't take any extra prep work...)
• Mirror-mirror the student of the week (basically they do something and you copy)...for 1 minute
• Clap the Rhythm...you could do the teacher thing and do a two-bar clap, OR have them clap out beats and rhythms for fun.  Beautiful music!  :)
• "Power pose" (AKA Superhero Pose) for 2 minutes!
• Motion song of choice (Tony Chestnut, Head, Shoulders Knees and Toes, the Macarena, Hokey Pokey, etc.)
• Pass around a beach ball for 2 minutes!
• Find it Fast!  (kinda like "I Spy" but with motion...you call out a physical trait, like white or round, and they have to move to touch something in the room that fits that description--no losers!)
• Jump Skip-Counting (by 2s to 20, 3s to 30, 4s to 40, etc.)
• Yoga Time (do 2 poses from Yoga Card List)
• Rock, Paper, Scissors with your neighbor--1 min!
• Try to part your neighbor's hair--with your breath!
• Sing and SIGN the ABCs!
• Whole Body spelling--pick a letter on the word wall and spell out the words with your arms and legs as each letter
• Dance Party--one song on the Smartboard (there are a TON of videos on YouTube)
• How many jumping jacks can you do in 1 minute?
• 5-4-3-2-1 (You make it up, like 5 jumping jacks, 4 toe touches, 3 arm circles, 2 squats, and 1 body roll. :)
• Act like a (name some animal)--1 minute.
• Line up in order from tallest to shortest--NO TALKING!
• Six Spots Dice Game (You have 6 pre-designated spots, and students move to whichever one they want.  You roll a die and anyone at that spot has to sit down.  All the other students can move around to another number if they want, and you do it again.  And again.  And again.  'Til there are only a few students left--the winners!)

FICTION READING RESPONSE (Green Ball, to be played with after reading fiction, obvi):

• What is the setting in this story?
• Do you think the title fits the story?
• Did the book leave you with any questions?
• What was your favorite part?
• Was there anything that surprised you?
• If you could ask the author one question, what would it be?
• What do you think will happen next?
• Retell this story with a beginning, middle, and end.
• Does this story remind you of anything or anyone?
• If YOU were writing this story, what is one thing you would change?
• What genre is this story, and how do you know?
• What kind of reader do you think would most enjoy this story?
• "I felt _____ during (some part) in the story, because ______."
• How did the main character change in this story?
• "One scene I could really visualize well was..."
• If you could ask the main character one question, what would it be?
• What is the point of view in this story?
• Who is the MAIN character?  Who is your FAVORITE character?
• What is your favorite line or quote?
• What is one reading strategy you used? (Chunking difficult words, visualizing, summarizing, etc.)
• What was the problem in this story?  What was the solution?
• What is the theme or message in this story?

NONFICTION RESPONSE (Blue Ball):

• What is the main idea?
• What are 3 details that support the main idea?
• Name 3 text features that show this text is nonfiction. (For you non-teachers out there, text features include anything that helps organize information to make it easier to understand--like charts and diagrams and graphs, captions on photographs, bolded words and the like.)
• What is one text feature that helped YOU understand the text better?
• What is one thing you already knew about this topic before reading?
• What is one question you still have?
• Is the title a good one for this text?
• What is one interesting fact you learned?
• What is your opinion about all the facts in this text?
• What is one vocabulary word that is important to this text?
• What kind of nonfiction text is this? (newspaper/journal article, factual book, digital information, textbook, encyclopedia, biography, autobiography, atlas, etc.)
• Why do you think the author wrote this nonfiction text?
• Did you enjoy this text?  Why or why not?
• Where could you look to find more information about this topic?
• Does this text remind you of anything?
• Who would you recommend this text to, and why?

Summer Pictures

There will be many, many more...but here are a few...not particularly in order. :)

I'm in charge of flowers for my sister's wedding this summer.  So here are some pics of my handiwork:

 Here is Paul.  So strong!  ;)

 More flowers.

 Got our tortilla bowl maker in the mail--the first thing we ever bought from an infomercial, but we LOVE it!

 Downtown Lafayette, during a free concert.  :)  This is my phone background now.

 We went to a drive-in this weekend...saw "Man of Steel" AND "After Earth".  It was awesome.

 Made this chicken salad.  I love breaded, baked chicken.  :)  I just do.

I've been reading, tutoring, walking the dogs, doing housework, or working on school/primary music stuff otherwise.  This summer is FLYING BY, WAAAAAY too fast!  I'm not ready for fall.  I'm excited, I'm just not ready!  I'm having the strangest nightmares about horrible first days and I will feel a lot better when I have a classroom all set up and some sense of the curriculum!  But I'm not complaining.  I'm very, very blessed.  And it's been a fun summer.

More teacher ideas :)

So, I've been tutoring this summer a little (2 hours a day with the same girl I was a para for), and I get the chance to try out a lot of Pinterest ideas on actual children before I use them in my classroom.  :)  Here are just a couple of the most recent winners:

Got this ball for $1.50 from Walmart.  Wrote a lot of fiction reader response questions all over it.  You throw it and read and answer whatever question you see when you catch it.  BIG hit.  Got my very non-verbal "student" reading aloud and answering in complete sentences!  Good mix of speech, pt, AND literacy.  Win.

Took a Dollar Store plastic tablecloth and cut it into thirds. Used a sharpie to draw a calculator on it.  It's still rather large, which is GOOD, because you have to dance out the problems and answers!  I will definitely be making more of these, maybe half the size, for my students--at 33 cents a piece (or less if I do it smaller!), I have no good reason not to.  :)

I don't have pictures of the others, but here are some of the links and activities anyway:

MATH (working entirely on addition right now):

• iPad games, of course are a hit.  Math BINGO and Mad Math are the two I'm using.
• I did something like this...popsicle stick problem sorting.  She didn't like it the day of, but the next few days she went to pull it out and play so I guess it wasn't a total loss.  :)
• We worked on fact families with this 19-sided die and a worksheet...it was a hit!
• Growing Tall game, with plastic rulers and people she drew herself.  Like THIS.

LITERACY:

• We write in a journal every day.  I can't stress how important it is to me that children start "writing" as early as possible.  It synthesizes everything else you learn about, and even pictures can be used to tell a story! 
• There's an awesome app for iPhone/iPad called "StoryKit."  I believe it is still free.  You can make books with it and share them online with family.  She made an "all about me" book--picked out a few of her favorite things, posed for photos for each page, colored her background, typed her sentences, and then read aloud what she wrote.  It was awesome.  :)
• She gets to select her own book for reading and practice sitting in a chair and attending to the book for 5 minutes.  It's a challenge for her, but she is improving every day.  We then read the book aloud and do some sort of reading response activity--like the ball above, or having her show me her favorite part, tell me what it reminds her of, etc. 
• Today we wrote an email to the main character, using THIS template, some scissors, glue, and card stock.  :)

ART:

• We are experimenting with lots of different media.  We did some chalk pastels on dark paper and sprayed it with hairspray to keep it from rubbing off--she LOVED blending the chalk.  A LOT.  We also did an oil pastel, sharpie, book page, watercolor, and matte activity.  I want to make a million of these, they are SO PRETTY.  I'll have to make at least one and take a picture sometime!  We've also made our own puzzles with markers, and made LEGO self-portraits with just crayons and a printable.  When she gets back from her vacation, I'm hoping to do some collage work--I think she'd love the tactile stimulation!  (And arts/crafts are her favorite thing!)

MUSIC: 

• We've worked on primary songs, played with some toy instruments, and a few apps on the iPad--drums, piano, and xylophone are her favorite right now, but I have a guitar one, too.

I know a lot of moms out there are homeschooling or at least supplementing what their kids are learning at home, and I have a few teacher followers out there, too.  Hope this list helps inspire someone!  It's really just the tip of the iceberg...I have SO MANY MORE ideas to try!  I will try to be better about taking pictures of them so I can share them more prettily.  :)

I'm a convert...

...to Harry Potter, that is.

When did this happen?

11 days ago, when I started reading the books.

And I finished them 9 days later.  (It would have been seven if that pesky last few days of school hadn't gotten in the way.  ;)

And then we watched all the movies.

And, finally, we did this last night for FHE to celebrate:

We got this Chapter Game from GoodWill for like a dollar...it didn't have instructions, but between the internet and our own intellect we made up rules that are probably WAY better and more fun/complicated than the original game was, anyway.  :)  We also ate dirt-, grass-, black pepper-, and soap-flavored jellybeans.  (And some good flavors, too, of course.)

I also made "butter beer," which turned out basically just a rich, butterscotch-flavored drink with the SLIGHTEST fizz...heating it up and making the cold whipped cream topping is a MUST.  :)  Recipe found HERE.  It's good the next day, too, although there is NO fizz then...but still tasty!

I'm not crazy or obsessed or anything, but I'm definitely now a fan.  I'm finding reading other, less (literally) epic tales in preparation for the school year is just not as satisfying.  :)  I found out that Universal Studios has its own Harry Potter theme park, and since we're headed to Orlando next summer for my sister-in-law's graduation fun anyway, we are going to try to extend our stay a couple more days and hit up Universal as well as Disney.  I'm SO excited!

Also, I thought this was funny.  :)

True 'nuff.

Relay for Life 2013

I'm blogging because I have an overwhelming desire, need even, to procrastinate everything that isn't important and just WRITE, and this is easier than the kind of writing I really will be doing later.  :)  But it's kind of a warm-up, anyway.  :)

SO.  May 31st-June 1st was my first Relay for Life.  Even though we got rained out halfway through and tornado watches closed everything up early, it was a lot of fun.  I already have a lot better idea of what it really is, what I will do differently next year to prepare and enjoy myself, and the reality that staying up all night isn't that hard when you're doing something this fun and worthwhile!

My Dad, Survivor.

My Uncle, passed.

My grandpa, passed.

An old friend, passed.

An old friend, Survivor.

Grandmother, survivor.

Aunt, survivor.

Next year we will bring a little more money and some chairs.  We will actually RELAY, and I hope to run a mile of it.  We will set up something akin to a craft fair to sell items ahead of time, the proceeds of which will go to Relay fundraising, and we will set up a booth of something fun AT Relay as well to bring in a little extra money and give us something to do.  And I will get a luminary for Katherine.