tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78069105338267962782024-02-06T21:48:40.336-05:00Teach With All The Colors of the WindCindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-69979252358475233012013-09-13T20:48:00.003-04:002013-09-13T20:56:21.554-04:00Sept. 13 5 For Friday ON FRIDAY!I love this linky much too much! Click the button for the link!<br />
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1. I turned my <i>PLL </i>marathon into something good! I copied and pasted what I'd be teaching that week from online and formatted it to my desires. PLANNING. <i>Plus</i>, I even put it all into this beautiful grid that I got from TpT. It's <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/CHEVRON-Teacher-Planner-Grade-Book-and-Organizer-744491" target="_blank">Chevron Teacher Planner, Gradebook, & Organizer</a> by <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Teacher-Inspired" target="_blank">Teacher Inspired</a> if you're interested! I think it's SUPER cute...I love it, and it even got me excited to teach all this new, overwhelming curriculum when I had it all written down! :)<br />
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUFMj6jCIAAj1yL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUFMj6jCIAAj1yL.jpg" width="177" /></a>2. Sunday afternoon I got a call from one of my just-promoted fifth graders updating me about how middle school was going. It absolutely MADE MY WEEK to get that phone call. There's something about the fact that he thought enough about me to make that call and share his post-elementary life with me. To know that I stuck that much with him, and that he understands I care beyond the classroom. It means my job was done, and it was done well with that child. He had his challenges, and I gave him my all. So it's things like that phone call that really make me happy. He's doing well, by the well. I was so overwhelmed and touched by that simple gesture, the maturity he displayed in that call, and how well it sounds like he's doing that I cried when we hung up. :] I'm an emotional ninny, I know. (Obviously, pic unrelated. But they're too cute and it was the same day, so close enough!)<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1186250_10101089715812755_853218654_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1186250_10101089715812755_853218654_n.jpg" width="240" /></a> 3. I had 2 lunch bunches this week! One with a sibling of a former student and one with a current student. My goofy, prankster teammate joined us and while I was out of the room getting the girl and her chosen friends, he was apparently a very busy boy! He took some of his chips and arranged them around my food as a perfect little border standing up. By the time I'd taken this picture, I'd already eaten most of them, though. I didn't think to get the full effect. I immediately burst out laughing, of course. But I didn't even notice the best part until a few minutes in. He taped my drink shut. At this, I was laughing so hard I <i>had</i> to get the pic for memories.<br />
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<a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUFM594CQAA0LIG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUFM594CQAA0LIG.jpg" width="400" /></a>4. This new curriculum is KICKING MY BUTT. Serious talk. But I'm slowly finally starting to learn and bond with my new group. The picture to the left is a conversation we had one day during dismissal. Enjoy! :) Speaking of dismissal, WOW! That storm yesterday was NO JOKE! We had dismissal delayed for probably a good 20 minutes. It was i<br />
ntense! Luckily, I teach 5th so we were relatively without worries. I was left with...all of my boys, now that I think about it... Oh geez! Well, we just had a good time playing Banagrams (like Words with Friends/Scrabble) like we do every afternoon. And for my one student who was getting a little anxious, I took out my basket of Fidgets and let him play with them. It completely relaxed him. :)<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p480x480/1235966_10101090985458375_118993059_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-b-iad.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p480x480/1235966_10101090985458375_118993059_n.jpg" width="240" /></a>5. I've been having some after school visitors comprised of old students. One is a student volunteer who comes thrice a week. Today, two of my girls came just to visit. Between those three and another of my originals who volunteers with another teacher and comes to me when he's done to visit, it was like a party in my room! They were so excitable and loud. It was cute. I missed them. :( We've been having some good conversations, my former students and I. I don't know what's going on this week, but they came out of the WOODWORK. I have spoken with 7 of them just this week! :) Obviously, not that I'm complaining. I'm just so glad that they get it - I care and want to know how they're doing even once they're no longer names on my list.<br />
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Busy weekend of planning ahead! When is that next day off????<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-9045337606837493212013-09-07T21:12:00.002-04:002013-09-07T22:50:44.043-04:00Currently & Five For LinkiesHappy weekend, everyone! To celebrate, I'm blogging with two of my favorite linkies! :)<br />
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To start, <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2013/09/currently-september.html" target="_blank">Currently from Farley</a>!<br />
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<b>Listening:</b> So forgive my guilty pleasures of ABC Family shows...but since the Pretty Little Liars finale, I've had a strong urge to rewatch the show. At first, I just wanted to rewatch the pilot, but then...I couldn't stop. I'm almost done with season 2 now. It's a sickness.<br />
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<a href="http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/pi/mp/31225/1227829910?src=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.orgill.com%2F200x200%2F6208094.jpg&d=090e52967672d248c09e34c90af08644808afc48" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/pi/mp/31225/1227829910?src=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.orgill.com%2F200x200%2F6208094.jpg&d=090e52967672d248c09e34c90af08644808afc48" width="200" /></a><b>Loving:</b> I bought the coolest little lunch pack that interlocks, includes a sandwich container, ice pack, two small snack containers, and a large snack container. I love how it all fits into this neat little cube and everything about it makes me want to eat healthier. So I picked out carrots and peppers to snack on with various fruits for dessert. Yummm! For those interested, it's Rubbermaid. I just used it for the first time on Friday since Fridays are the days I have something called Extended Team Planning during my lunch, meaning I need easy access lunch that doesn't require heating.<br />
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<b>Thinking:</b> With this new curriculum, I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY planning. It's so overwhelming... I am just so grateful I have so much support at my school. But yet... <i>PLL</i> calls my name...<br />
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<b>Wanting:</b> Dessert - self-explanatory. Grapes for dessert didn't cut it tonight. Whomp whomp. As for short weeks - also self-explanatory, right? It was nice! To have two days off in my particular county.<br />
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<b>Needing:</b> So I have a library book due by 11:59 tonight... I just can't find the will to go out. I look a wreck. So I guess I'm waiting until it's juuuuuust late enough that not many people will be around. I'm certainly not going to glam up for a quick 1 minute in-and-out of my car.<br />
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<b>Me-Time:</b> <br />
1. I purchased some fabulous organization resources for my several teacher binders during the sale on TpT. I just need to find the will to do something about it. Or rather, with it. I've got a new school goal of cleaning off my group table before I leave work every day. It makes for a happy me the next morning! I don't have time to clean when I'm on a deadline...<br />
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2. See my lunch containers? With that, I am determined to continue to buy my healthy snacks and keep it up. We have this delicious deli 2 minutes from school and I've basically just been relying on that for lunch. It is super cheap, but that adds up, you know?? I'm going to limit that to just once a week now. (I know, that's still ludicrous, but I justify that in that it's still healthy, depending on my choice. Which is usually pretty good!)<br />
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3. I've been reading <i>The Mortal Instruments</i> series for the past month. It's been so much fun that it's made me miss reading! My only issue is that when I <u>really</u> enjoy something, I get caught up in it, and it makes it harder to do real work (see: <i>PLL </i>marathon). But... reading for pleasure is important, especially if I'm stressing it for my kids.<br />
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Whew! I am such a rambler! Now onto more linky-sanctioned rambles! :) <a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2013/09/five-for-friday-linky-party-september-6.html" target="_blank">Doodlebug's Five for Friday</a>...on Saturday! With my pictures, it almost ends up being "My Life via Instagram!" (Hmmmmm... is that a linky yet?? It should be!)<br />
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1. This is a two-parter! Because: this is my new table, replacing my former kidney table! And oh, how I love it!! It gets me so much closer to all my cherubs as they work. :) Definitely a fan of the 'U'. The second part is, look! My efforts to clean off the table every evening is still a new thing for me, so when I walked in the next day, I was so pleasantly surprised! I was thrilled...and thusly, Instagrammed it!<br />
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2. O-M-G! SERIOUSLY?! This stuff is heaven in a bottle, seriously! I initially bought it to contribute to my unofficial coffee club amongst some school friends. My school bestie has a coffee pot this year, and she's been brewing coffee...providing the beans AND the creamer, so I felt bad. BUT... I love this stuff so much, I kept it for myself. I'll have to buy a new bottle...<br />
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3. Ahhhhhh, can't you practically smell/taste it?! On Friday, I rewarded myself with my first Pumpkin Spice Latte (PSL) of the season from Starbucks! Mmmm, I love fall... I love pumpkin-flavored anything. It should be about time for the pumpkin cheesecake at Olive Garden. Time for a visit! Oh, and I love that song, "Down." Reminds me of college!<br />
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4. Particularly with those two GLORIOUS days off, I got to get in a lot of cudding with my two darlings! They've grown so much since we just got them 4 months ago! :( They're still tiny-ish... I say "ish" because it's so hard to tell when you compare them to my other big guy! He's a big kitty! Makes them look like ants. (Okay, not really....but he is really big.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4LNZYjY6tWA-hJeZm4aoAkWhYzZwWtwkESAMXmcKRCG1iPCaJZ66DcP4vk4t34UP4b7n-4UOmDIWc3eOchaszsjUDFc8Pwu6gRnYtMOQliD7Ncmw1G8pBS_egoWAZy99mn9EU0rN_zKd/s1600/math+towers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio4LNZYjY6tWA-hJeZm4aoAkWhYzZwWtwkESAMXmcKRCG1iPCaJZ66DcP4vk4t34UP4b7n-4UOmDIWc3eOchaszsjUDFc8Pwu6gRnYtMOQliD7Ncmw1G8pBS_egoWAZy99mn9EU0rN_zKd/s320/math+towers.jpg" title="Credit to: http://chasingcheerios.blogspot.com/2011/11/simple-addition-power-tower.html" width="213" /></a>5. As for the last thing about my week... I mentioned the ETP on Fridays we have. ETP is this fabulous time every grade level gets once a week for 90 minutes. Teams pick a subject area to focus on, and we look ahead through the week to plan, look over assignments for proficiency to debate scores, and any leftover time we get to use to continue to plan. It's absolutely fabulous! We chose to focus on math. With everything being new, it's so hard to decide...but we definitely made the right choice. It's an excellent chance to look over and discuss these new methods/approaches to teaching math. PLUS, as an even bigger bonus, our fabulous principal sits in on our meetings to support us, and has taken it upon herself to come up with 5 centers to give us every week! WOW! Not only does she find these centers for us, but...SHE PUTS THEM TOGETHER, TOO. I was so excited when she offered, but I had NO idea what delight I would be in for until I got to see her treasures Friday! I should've taken a picture..so for now I'll have a generic placeholder image until I get a snap of hers. She made us both two "Math Power Tower" stations, two Bump! games, and 3 other random games. I can't believe it. <br />
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Well, I hope you enjoyed the detailed look into my week! :) It was a nice one, if I do say so myself.<br />
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Oh, and as for my new group... well, we had a rough start, but I think we're really turning it around! We have a school-wide behavior incentive that classes can earn as a whole. We earned 4 in our first full week, which was disappointing. So we set a goal for our 3-day week. We listed all the things we could do to achieve that goal and signed it. I listed all of the places we could DEFINITELY earn (Media, Art, etc) because the other ones seem to be hit-or-miss for the upper grades (hallway walking - we just don't seem to be caught walking nicely as much as the younger grades...). So with all of our DEFINITE chances, there was 9 total. Well, my cherubs set the goal for a respectable 6, averaging us at 2 a day. Perfect. We ended up scoring a grand total of 8, I believe! Not shabby, darlings!! :) 8 in three days is absolutely wonderful. I was one proud teacher!<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-69193421848492733322013-09-01T17:39:00.003-04:002013-09-05T11:29:13.588-04:00Multiplication with Base Ten LessonWow, so this Common Core stuff doesn't play! I'm so excited to finally get into CC to see what it does for the students. It's such a no-brainer move, that I wonder why we didn't do this earlier? My students have been working on multiplication this week and the emphasis on place value to make sense of the algorithm is so DUHHHH!My only concern is the absolute lack of downtime for us! I don't know if that's Common Core or if it's my county's interpretation, but we were allotted no time to talk about routines and expectations. It was just dive right in! So THAT set us behind. Couple with the fact that my students didn't grow up with Common Core and we're (the teachers) are new to it, we're even MORE behind. It's so stressful!! AHHHH!!<br />
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In any case, I am SO excited because I *FINALLY* have something academic-y to post about! I came up with a worksheet using Base Ten block manipulatives to build area models for partial product multiplication. That's not the cool part, though. The neat part is that I asked my students to take a video (because I hadn't realized our school cameras take videos...and I'm not sure how to only take pictures lol!) of ONE of their problems and the work that goes with it. Now, I wasn't totally sure what to expect, but...one of my pairs absolutely BLEW me away, and now I know exactly what I want from this assignment and all future videos!<br />
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You'll have to forgive the chipmunk voices...Not only did I cut out their names, but I also wanted to take extra measures for their safety. Never can be too safe! So this pair took a video showing me their partial product work, explaining how they determined what numbers to multiply based on place value. Then, they showed me their area model so that I could assess and be certain they did it correctly.<br />
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It was really... I feel a great sense of pride when I see this video. I was very pleasantly surprised, because I expected - well, not this. I didn't think this pair would be so serious...it was fabulous to see. :)<br />
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Anyway, I hope now that I can do more things like this, because I think it really excited the students to use the flip camera to show off their hard work! Technology is a beautiful thing, hmm?<br />
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With that said, enjoy your extended weekends!<br />
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Oh, one more thing! Remember the author coming to talk for the release of <u>House of Hades</u>? I got permission from my student's mother! So come October, we will be getting to see one of our favorite authors talk and get the signed book! :D I was so excited, and it was so gratifying for that student to thank me for it already. I cannot WAIT.<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-20207465728347774512013-08-14T00:31:00.001-04:002013-08-14T00:31:48.675-04:00House of Hades Release (Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus)Going to see Rick Riordan on his book tour for the release of his new book!! I can't even BEGIN to tell you how excited I am about it, because you can purchase a book with your ticket to get signed! I cannot <b>WAIT </b>to share the news with my fellow fan/former student! I hope he gets the chance to go as well, since he is part of the reason my love for the series grew even more...just to see his pure enthusiasm and excitement to read the next page, chapter, book... it oh-so-warms my heart just thinking of all the passion that child exuded. I couldn't think of anyone more deserving to go see Rick Riordan.<br />
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And on that note, just came back from the movie. Definitely an improvement from the last one. Still not perfect, but getting there. I was discussing it with my brother - if they're going to continue this, they're going to need to step it up. Those actors certainly aren't getting any younger! There's probably no way <u>Heroes of Olympus</u> could get done now, however. Most unfortunate. <br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-7269561476479584652013-07-28T14:55:00.002-04:002013-07-29T07:59:21.651-04:00How To: Inspire a Love of Reading - Rick Riordan Style. Or, an Ode to the Percy Jackson Series<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4R-l7b9HvtDg1wlR255H_YK5gV7df7M6BixGLBem5oWLU3m9lIPm7DUVnF77U7X-sY1p2wt7HTpBHtHlmnm0j3qj2UUEI_Xno5B1arKKyUlsnEPdnGNDmABNT7d9k5dEU3KUfBnrTY0YB/s1600/percy+series.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4R-l7b9HvtDg1wlR255H_YK5gV7df7M6BixGLBem5oWLU3m9lIPm7DUVnF77U7X-sY1p2wt7HTpBHtHlmnm0j3qj2UUEI_Xno5B1arKKyUlsnEPdnGNDmABNT7d9k5dEU3KUfBnrTY0YB/s320/percy+series.png" width="320" /></a>I have waxed poetic to <b>many</b> people about <u>The Lightning Thief</u> ever since I read it for pleasure in January 2011 on a cruise with my best friend. There are so many things about the <u>Percy Jackson</u> series that make it absolute perfection. Even as an adult, I found myself transfixed with each book. Everything about this book made it absolutely perfect for me. It follows a similar formula to the one that made <u>Harry Potter</u> so amazing. Three young characters are off on whirlwind adventures based on prophecies and quests that have the Greek gods all heavily interwoven in them.<br />
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The Greek mythology angle is what caught my interest, actually. Well, that, and probably the fact that the movie was coming out on DVD, I believe. I'm so mad at myself for not hearing about this series sooner. Well, actually, maybe not. I hate waiting for new releases. Waiting until October for the new release is painful.<br />
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But I digress. I remember around spring 2012, when one of my Reading Resource staff members gave us the list of books to order from for the 2012-2013. I was skimming through it like, "Hmm...never heard of this, that sounds hideously boring, oh, where are the lower level readers...OH MY GOD ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" I actually shouted out loud and double checked with her - <u>The Lightning Thief</u> was a county-approved core book?! IS THIS REAL LIFE? And I put down 10 for the order.<br />
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I bounced up and down with excitement at the thought, and when I finally saw 10 of those beautiful softcover suckers on her cart at the beginning of the school year, I was eager to get them on the shelves. It didn't matter at the time anyway, because the first marking period is historical fiction, and I'd have to wait for the fantasy marking period (second).<br />
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But once that time approached, you could practically see me vibrate with excitement. I tried to encourage my two teammates to check out some books for their students, but it ended up being no dice. Their loss. I knew <i>exactly </i>who I should give the books to in <i>my</i> class. I had a group of five boys who were the struggling readers, but I thought this boy-centric adventure story would get them. But the length and difficulty of the books made me nervous. I consulted with another Reading Resource staff member and ended up grabbing one of my own personal copies and sat down with my targets one by one. I gave them the speech - that this book was obviously long, and it would be hard, and it would require extra work. It would be a challenge, but I thought it might be one worth engaging in, as this was one of my personal favorite books of allllll time. It was a huge deal for them, in fact, because my read-aloud for the class was <u>Harry Potter</u>, which I proclaimed as my favorite, but they got me to admit I might like PJ more... They each read the back cover, and the first page. Of the five, four were immediately and without hesitation, in for the ride. The fifth hemmed and hawed until he learned the rest of the boys in his group were in, and then he said, "I guess..."<br />
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Rick Riordan is such a fantastic author and, quite frankly, human being. His Twitter account is fantastic - he updates regularly about his progress and often holds Q&A's. I tried a few times to get noticed to thank him profusely for what he's done for those five boys. But, most importantly for us teachers...is this man has an <a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/resources/teachers-guide.aspx" target="_blank">entire section of his website</a> dedicated to teachers using his books for reading. It has resources uploaded by him and others. It's significantly more difficult to find now, actually. I worried it was gone. But I have found it! In case you missed the hidden link, here it is: <a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/resources/teachers-guide.aspx" target="_blank">Teacher's Guides</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/explore-mythology/chirons-guide.aspx" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKfH8LE7QtXnS1of00PIbupgKWHIUGMzw2GNkegZIror5AguJnqhaIdszFrNBrUyCCqrP4ETqhiixY0suKSceJsBedrh1Qh9RvGA1zq-i1Z93xPeha9BgM_WrQ9QGG-l6oFm8GMFeIKNCB/s1600/explore-greek-mythology.jpg" /></a>It goes all the way up to <u>Titan's Curse</u> if you somehow manage to get that far. Obviously, I only used it for the first book. Feel free to check out all the resources, of course, but I will tell you that I only used the first two. Rick Riordan released an <i>outstanding</i> guide filled with discussion questions, journal ideas, extra activities, chapter questions, extensions, and opportunities to learn more about the material in his books - complete with links and suggestions. Without question, this is way more than humanly possible to cover, but the variety is impressive. He has so many activities to reach all types of learners. The second resource I used for quizzes to check my friends and their understanding. If you click on that image, it takes you to a section of his site that teaches you even more. His website is an absolute treasure trove of anything and everything you could ever possibly need to read the books and understand. There's even maps of his settings! It's a great resource - especially the Camp Half-Blood one. One of the questions from his guide asked them to look at the map of the camp and pick the place they would spend the most time at if they were a character. It sparked a lively discussion about where and why it interested them. To explore the camp, click the picture a few paragraphs down.<br />
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Because the book is so heavily inundated with Greek mythology, I introduced the book with a PowerPoint that I put together from a few resources I got from TpT. The two that I remember are: <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Gods-and-Goddesses-of-Ancient-Greece-Powerpoint-32178" target="_blank">The Gods & Goddesses</a> and <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Introduction-to-Greek-Mythology-PowerPoint-Slideshow-380109" target="_blank">Intro to Greek Mythology</a>. I made some edits - added things, took things out to align itself with all I knew/remembered came from the series. I think next year, before the time even comes, I'm going to have my group do some leg work with this project I really wanted to do, but didn't have time for. Making <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Greek-Mythology-Cards-58705" target="_blank">Greek Trading Cards</a> would be an excellent way to go in-depth with some of the gods/myths discussed in the book that we didn't really get to discuss as much as I would've liked. If they know about it ahead of time, it will definitely help ease the confusion during reading.<br />
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<a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/welcome-to-camp-half-blood.aspx" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh0L3uCqh3NogQQQT-H69_eYrjX9EeolmpnP7zpAvtbKBhJgI5-gbpRaELD0lXlo1PLZJLuSpfNr5JcYIe9L0KDcbixEMvXoo3RTjIC9j43HdETzvwuLc3LT7FMQMNDG5VHCiZE85cNK9z/s320/camp2.jpg" width="213" /></a>The PowerPoint was so intriguing, in fact, that I ended up stopping my entire class and we all went over it together. I had intended on just showing my boys, but on the Promethean, it caught the attention of almost everyone else. So I decided to drop the pretense and just let them stop what they were doing to listen in. It was an exciting lesson - my students have probably never been so engaged. The great thing about this series and the Gods & Goddesses portion was that each slide had both the Roman & the Greek names...now for the purpose of <u>The Lightning Thief</u>, obviously only the Greek names are necessary. But, Rick Riordan wrote a sequel series which centers around their Roman incarnations. More on that later.<br />
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Now, the actual process of reading the book took a longggggggggggg, long while. Our school system follows the guided reading levels with letters. I searched all over the web for accurate levels, and many were saying S, which is about where that group was. I didn't buy S for a second, but my Reading Resource teachers were telling me if I felt in my gut that they would like it, it could work. I found out many months later that Fountas & Pinnell<i> </i>actually leveled it at W, which my county counts as the end of 5th grade. My boys are probably more accurately end of 4th/beginning of 5th. After I found that out, I applauded my boys a million times over and made a huge deal over how they had conquered this book that was so difficult and beyond what they usually read. They were mightily proud of themselves. :)<br />
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Anyway, it took us probably 2-3 months to finish and discuss. Granted, this was also over the winter holidays, so that took out quite a bit of time. And one of the boys procrastinated on it for reasons unknown. They all loved it - devoured it, even. Even the procrastinator loved it, which is why I couldn't understand what was taking him so long. These boys went on to continue the series, checking each next book systematically until they had finished <u>The Last Olympian</u>. The passion spread like wildfire around my classroom, and before I knew it, all but I think two of my 18 had at least read <u>The Lightning Thief</u>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxoBoViMOuU2ImrGR4OdzlWNb9vCw5GH5y8BjRggJ2bIL8FAUtYWtkZVYgkZZXAVIXj-plA1UEaVmouSFZ_lpQkNH1Ma1D5hNgxxIR0q_wjaEEtZBFKOTakVo0cCIPSu7wssEk-053nK_/s1600/Heroes+of+Olympus+banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxoBoViMOuU2ImrGR4OdzlWNb9vCw5GH5y8BjRggJ2bIL8FAUtYWtkZVYgkZZXAVIXj-plA1UEaVmouSFZ_lpQkNH1Ma1D5hNgxxIR0q_wjaEEtZBFKOTakVo0cCIPSu7wssEk-053nK_/s1600/Heroes+of+Olympus+banner.jpg" /></a>I actually ended up using the series as an incentive for one of my boys to complete his homework. It worked spectacularly! He showed such a voracious appetite for it, that I actually looked into the <u>Heroes of Olympus</u> series (the sequels). I hadn't paid them much mind because I don't care for "spin-offs" and the whole Roman aspect confused me. But I purchased <u>The Lost Hero</u> for him anyway. He was impatient though, and resorted to checking it out of the library (I order online to be cheap). He gave me the play-by-play as he read, and when it finally arrived, I decided to read it myself before I gave it to him. It ended up being <i>amazing</i>, and I don't know why I doubted it. Let nothing put you off this! I was worried it wouldn't be the same because the originals weren't in it, but a) the new characters are just as compelling, and b) don't be deceived...the originals actually play quite the part in this new series. As an added bonus for this student, I managed to snag both him and myself autographed copies of <u>The Son of Neptune</u>. SO exciting!! :D<br />
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Now, to wrap up this exceedingly long entry: Do it. If this is an option, do it. I have not seen students this crazed to read in forever. There were actually fights in my room about who could read a certain book next, and who was taking too long. This group of boys...three of them had told me they <i>hated </i>reading in the first week of school. I gave them a good-natured hard time about that sentiment and how it had changed. They were quite bashful about it. <3 They adore reading this series, and it seemed to spark a new passion for reading - any book, really. And while I can't say for certain it was this series, but.... all of them showed marked improvements on the reading tests our county gives. Strangely, they didn't do well on the chapter quizzes, but they showed incredible improvements in all other places. This book series, actually, was one of the main reasons I was upset I wasn't originally placed in 5th grade for next year. I got moved down to 4th, but then the planets aligned, people left, and I am back! Which is exciting for me...but I am really sad to see those people go. I was particularly looking forward to learning from one of them.<br />
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It was a struggle to get them to ignore the movie when they found it it had one - as you can imagine, they were super pumped. They're very visual. But my mantra was "Disregard the movie, it is literally nothing like the book. It ruins the entire premise." I like and enjoy the movie, don't get me wrong. As its own entity, it is fun. But compared to the book, I wanted to tear my hair out at them thinking they'd discovered some secret when they watched it. I was all, "I <i>promise </i>you, they are nothing alike." I was very pleased to get them to agree with me once they had actually finished. That said, the sequel, <i>Sea of Monsters</i> looks <i>much </i>more on track with the books and we are all very, very excited. You may be seeing all the commercials popping up...well...we had a screening party for the trailer when it came out. <br />
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As for October 2014...I know what I (and the handful who caught up) will be reading. Do you?<br />
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PS - my love of reading this series on a cruise ship did not end in 2011! Here's me reliving the uber-relaxing experience of reading the series from the comforts of my balcony. This one is <u>Mark of Athena</u>. (The <u>Heroes of Olympus</u> series has the added bonus of me being able to teach my cherubs how Roman numerals work so that they remember their chapter.<br />
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So, what books do <i>you </i>love to use in your classroom and why? Let me know in the comments below! :)<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-27317915794118815972013-07-21T18:24:00.002-04:002013-07-21T20:00:24.977-04:00Hollywood/Movie Classroom ThemeSo, I've been wanting to do the Hollywood/Movie theme for a while now...probably since I saw Beth Newingham pull it off! I've bought two or three related items as I saw them (clapboard, popcorn tubs) - now to find them buried in the recesses of my closet...<br />
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I've spent the past two days looking up things, and this post is where I'm going to dump it all so I don't have a billion tabs open for when I decide to take the plunge! Feel free to steal ideas. :)<br />
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Bulletin boards:<br />
<a href="http://www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/p-15123-hollywood-clapboard-deco-trim.aspx" target="_blank">B&W Clapboard Border</a> | <a href="http://www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/p-13906-border-film-36-straight.aspx" target="_blank">Rainbow Filmstrip Border</a> | <a href="http://www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/p-33588-popcorn-boxes-accents.aspx" target="_blank">Popcorn & Tub Accents</a> | <a href="http://www.mpmschoolsupplies.com/p-15601-winning-tickets-accents-standard-size-variety-pack.aspx" target="_blank">Ticket Accents </a><br />
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Accessories/Props:<br />
<a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Stanchion_Party_Props_9_pkg_p/52301.htm" target="_blank">Red Velvet Rope Stanchions</a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Black_Velour_Fedora_p/66820.htm" target="_blank">Black Fedora</a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Plastic_Tux_Vest_p/66850.htm" target="_blank">Plastic Tux Vest</a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Black_Theatrical_Cane_p/n1851.htm" target="_blank">Black Canes</a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Black_Glitz_N_Gleam_Bow_Tie_p/60703-bk.htm" target="_blank">Black Glitter Bowtie </a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Glittered_Hollywood_Streamer_p/50733.htm" target="_blank">Glitter Hollywood Banner</a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Inflatable_Popcorn_Box_p/n125382.htm" target="_blank">Inflatable Popcorn</a> | <a href="http://www.partycheap.com/Hollywood_Fringed_Door_Border_p/n140185.htm" target="_blank">Walk of Fame Door Fringe</a> | <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzQlvq3QVvVT5UkCIuJd1PylPIzQeQAr16GTDSuXyQwIWqt-uRgy36N21bl7F9N0u31e3Ma14b_05qaAZhnkAwYEXDRbPQzSop-Tg3yQqsE_vweM7LhSq4XLUTHy1Qn_OOlTh3oS8RPgM/s1600/IMG_0430.jpg" target="_blank">Cheaper Curtain Option </a>- If I could find it, that is...<br />
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And I must bow down to <a href="http://thrivingthirdgraders.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-2011-2012-hollywood-classroom.html#comment-form" target="_blank">Thriving Third Graders' Hollywood theme</a> from two years ago! IT IS FABULOUSSS!<br />
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I'm torn for my hallway board...I was thinking red fabric for red carpet...but then in this post, she has this cool red curtain she has on the sides... which I LOVE. In that case, I would need black to make the curtain stand out. It's just, my hallway boards are known for their bright colors. On the other hand, I do always feel guilty for the props and things I put on mine... because it's almost always too much to ask the littler ones to leave alone. I sometimes feel as though the young grade level teachers dislike me just a wee for that.<br />
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In any case, in her hallway board, she's got the sunglasses activity, which I've seen before on Pinterest. I loved it, because it's a fun, creative opener for writing...AND as shown in her post, goes perfectly with this theme!<br />
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More link dumping - name plates:<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/fancy-stars-flat-name-plates-p-1590686.html#.UewzbpxIWHs" target="_blank">Fancy Stars</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/dots-black-name-plates-36pkg-p-186565.html#.UewzcZxIWHs" target="_blank">Dots on Black</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/perfectly-paisley-desk-toppersreg-name-plates-36pkg-p-1626777.html#.Uewzn5xIWHs" target="_blank">Paisley</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/polka-party-name-plates-36pkg-p-1590669.html#.UewzoZxIWHs" target="_blank">Polka Dot Party</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/rainbow-stripes-name-plates-36pkg-p-186567.html#.Uewzq5xIWHs" target="_blank">Rainbow Stripes</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/school-rocks-flat-name-plates-p-1597117.html#.UewztpxIWHs" target="_blank">Musical</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/splashy-colors-desk-toppersreg-name-plates-variety-pack-p-1526981.html#.Uewz1pxIWHs" target="_blank">Splashy Colors Variety Pack</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/surfs-name-plates-36pkg-p-1626517.html#.Uewz45xIWHs" target="_blank">Surf's Up</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/under-desk-toppersreg-name-plates-36pkg-p-53871.html#.Uewz6ZxIWHs" target="_blank">Under the Sea (Kiddy-ish)</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/undersea-treasures-flat-name-plates-1112-p-154046.html#.Uewz7pxIWHs" target="_blank">Undersea Treasures</a> | <a href="http://www.teacherheavencatalog.com/waves-blue-name-plates-36pkg-p-1533578.html#.Uewz8pxIWHs" target="_blank">Waves of Blue</a><br />
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Anyway, that's it on the Movie theme for now! I'm feeling a bit inspired to blog about the things I said I was planning on blogging about (i.e., Percy Jackson). So that'll maybe, probably, hopefully be soon. :) Weird, though... I'm going through a mental list of my bulletin boards, and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what I meant by "4. Thank you, Pinterest, for my favorite bulletin board!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5tquHSU1heBCfQtcuvY0mKi0-GGYA_8STNRDx6tiNpk8zc9uhV2RQ0MFGjeup54IJgqhTmEb8n71pozKFoXM0VWVR5y5gj3e3N5b-4S5HVzpgxbOMbygip6cS8n4h8ZCdurszMp3UnPK/s1600/siggy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv5tquHSU1heBCfQtcuvY0mKi0-GGYA_8STNRDx6tiNpk8zc9uhV2RQ0MFGjeup54IJgqhTmEb8n71pozKFoXM0VWVR5y5gj3e3N5b-4S5HVzpgxbOMbygip6cS8n4h8ZCdurszMp3UnPK/s200/siggy.gif" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-3760626324694531412013-03-10T22:13:00.001-04:002013-03-10T22:13:35.454-04:00Five for...Sunday....I think I've determined I was never destined to create a really useful teaching blog. I'm more about blogging about my life and such. Hence why this is like my favorite linky right now. I think I'll have to create incentives for myself to post those more teachery things! :/<br />
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<a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2013/03/five-for-friday-linky-party-march-8th.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7hvhb4xt8Hm3uz8eFvSW7y4SPZdLuF2dYs9i3WC21y8Kj9sgTEZn9psk4f0vXGGkS1RTTBkKMdYaRNC8F9bEYZ6LfQuy2iithZgwv-HwiwHNJSK2gYtdWvc71EaQvv_Y2By_3242Yn3_/s320/fiveforfriday_thumb%255B3%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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5. The lack of snow in the middle of the week really let me down! I live for winter time.... Getting the snow day was nice - first one in two years! - but without the snow, it just sort of rings empty, you know?<br />
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4. Testing started this past week. I, much like the students, cannot wait for it to be over!! It's such terrible timing though - our marking period ends in two weeks, right before our spring break. Testing will be going on for one more week. I'm telling you, I don't think the end of the 3rd marking period was this quick or stressful last year!! D:<br />
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3. I saw the new Oz movie!! IT WAS SO WONDERFUL! I very highly recommend it! As an added bonus, the movie theater we went to had a bunch of fun stands to pose with! See below :)<br />
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2. This was after Friday, but since I'm late, I'm going to mention it anyway! A college friend and I went to go visit another college friend this weekend. It was really nice to be able to meet up again twice in less than a month! We usually go <i>months </i>without seeing each other, so this was an amazing change of pace. We spent a really relaxing night in and enjoyed good food, good company (of course), and good times.<br />
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1. One of my students, who I often struggle with because of his fluctuating attitude, said something Friday that stunned me. A few were good-naturedly teasing me for my inability to play any of the ever-popular first-person shooter games like Call of Duty. He exclaimed, "It's okay. You're good at teaching!" That's the first time he's ever said something like that to me, and it melted my heart, of course. He's, on occasion, tried to provoke a reaction from me by telling me any other teacher he's had was the best teacher ever, so on and so forth. So to hear <i>him</i> say that was extra special.Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-12000989341194224712013-03-03T14:18:00.003-05:002013-03-03T14:18:37.816-05:00Let's Continue These Linky-Inspired PostsIn my email subscriptions, I've been seeing some of you do the Five for Friday, and that also has been making me want to come out of hiding! I realize it is not Friday any longer, but I hope you'll forgive me. :) Link is attached to picture. What a genius idea, btw!!!<br />
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<a href="http://doodlebugsteaching.blogspot.com/2013/03/five-for-friday-linky-party-march-1.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7hvhb4xt8Hm3uz8eFvSW7y4SPZdLuF2dYs9i3WC21y8Kj9sgTEZn9psk4f0vXGGkS1RTTBkKMdYaRNC8F9bEYZ6LfQuy2iithZgwv-HwiwHNJSK2gYtdWvc71EaQvv_Y2By_3242Yn3_/s320/fiveforfriday_thumb%255B3%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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1.) These week was filled with entertaining quotes from my babies. My two favorites were:<br />
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"I'm on your poopy list. That <i>sucks</i>."<br />
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and,</div>
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<b>Male Student:</b> Taylor Swift is <i>dirty</i>.<br />
<b>Me:</b> (surprised) What do you mean?? I've never heard anyone say that before.<br />
<b>Student:</b> In her new video, she's in this club and dances like this! (proceeds to swing around like TSwift in "I Knew You Were Trouble")<br />
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Oh child, I hope you always stay this way. Not approving of girls behaving like that.<br />
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2.) Speaking of Taylor, I <i>know</i> you all have seen the Goat Versions of songs... well - on Tuesday, we started our Reading time with these videos. We watched Taylor's (the most popular, so I shan't link it), then Justin Bieber's (shown below), and then found a <i>hilarious</i> One Direction version. I actually had tears in my eyes by the end. Needless to say, we had an entertaining Tuesday. I shared this with the music teacher when I dropped them off, so they also ended Music with the Goat Remixes. Boy, was my class lucky that day!!<br />
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<b>Sidenote:</b> Anyone seen "A Pep Talk from Kid President"? Showed that to my class in January - we love it. Still quote it. "...and I <i>love </i>Space Jam..." </div>
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3.) Candy Crush Saga & Plants v. Zombies have become my <i>obsession</i> on my iPhone this week. It's <i>awful</i>. Those free-apps apps that I downloaded (apps that feature free apps daily, to clarify) were the worst best decision I ever made. Just awful.<br />
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4.) I went to Chik-Fil-A for the first time since it was in my college food court this week with the music teacher, and we spent over an hour eating and talking. It was so much fun! I also drove up over the weekend to go to a goodbye party for a college friend. It's reminded me I need to spend more time outside of myself. Good life reminder this week.<br />
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5.) Ummm, I don't know! I really just wanted to share the first two things. Last week was a little more exciting, honestly. More of my oldies came back to visit. But I won't cheat. Let's see...oh! Students had a chorus concert, and they sounded amazing! And on an equally delightful note, I officially have some favorite items to order at Panera. Why is this exciting? Because I have loathed Panera since its existence. It's the little things in life, right?<br />
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And that's all folks! <br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-62206296089281528952013-03-02T15:23:00.002-05:002013-08-08T13:48:53.095-04:00Where Has The Time Gone??!I am a terrible, terrible blogger, who has little to no excuse. I planned out all these cool lessons that I could blog about, but pictures stopped me, because I somehow failed to get pictures of my favorite one! :( Sadface. <br />
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I did get pictures of <i>one </i>activity though, and I should/probably could post it soon. This year I've been trying out M.A.T.H. rotations as found via blogs/pinterest. My kids LOVE it. So do I, quite frankly. The idea of getting to see each of my students on a small-group basis is awesome and so obvious. Downside is that my math class isn't long enough to successfully squeeze in all rotations, transitions, and explanation of stations. So it eats up 1.5 days, and puts me behind schedule in comparison to my teammates. It's a whomp-whomp. Sadface again.<br />
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So, two things dragged me out of hiding:<br />
1) ALL THE CURSED SPAM COMMENTS ON MY POSTS!!! Is anyone else plagued by this nonsense?! Because I am contemplating taking off the anon option / have the verification code thing, which I know no one likes. (I'm having Taylor Swift ticket-buying flashbacks that made me want to curl up into a ball and die. I hate you TicketMaster.)<br />
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2) Natch, <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2013/03/currently-march.html">Farley's "Currently."</a> I cannot resist a good rainbow (obviously). It's my favorite. I will return later today to fulfill the Rule of 3 (comments/love).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC-70FFlD1doOaHYBWDLPlX19UbiBPPLEkPB7Ky3z9DrnEbNESlLpFPChCGbY7e6fe7glL78RJvgIQlN-8hBb7T4aZMrDXpQMHTlukCbVzl_JyEcvWJUiF7UEbywWDE-vsFWSc6Buy_5E/s1600/Currently+March+2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOC-70FFlD1doOaHYBWDLPlX19UbiBPPLEkPB7Ky3z9DrnEbNESlLpFPChCGbY7e6fe7glL78RJvgIQlN-8hBb7T4aZMrDXpQMHTlukCbVzl_JyEcvWJUiF7UEbywWDE-vsFWSc6Buy_5E/s1600/Currently+March+2013.jpg" /></a></div>
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Loving - I feel like "weekend" = 'nuff said, but I'd like to just state for the record... I am really just loving <i>life </i>right now. Teaching has been really good to me these last few years. I've *knock on wood* had some of the best classes with the best kids. My coworkers are amazing, and so are this year's parents. I'm making more plans to get together with friends I don't often see. Life is good! :) <br />
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Thinking - I'm sooooooo sorry. Literally. No excuse. I just fell off the face of the Earth and had nothing outstanding to contribute like the rest of you.<br />
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Wanting - seriously, has anyone heard of this? I got sucked in by an informercial, then trolled YouTube, found an awesome trial price, and now I can't see any reason NOT to try this system? So...someone stop me or encourage me, please! :)<br />
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Needing - And you know, I'm actually looking forward to grading. I had my students write me TWO different pieces this week. One was a persuasive piece about a field trip I was then not-keen on taking them on. I'm almost done reading/grading them all, and I'm overall floored by their writing! I was so impressed, that I made them the best PowerPoint ever to praise them. It was overly dramatic, and just my style. Each bullet flew in with each click of the mouse. Lots of "...." were used. They loved it! But I digress. The 2nd was a Reader Response Letter, which I believe was in the top 10 freebies section of my weekly TPT email. I'll have to link it later, because ladies and gentlemen, THIS is what I have been looking for in reading. I've needed SOMETHING, and I love the system the creator has.<br />
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Like - I originally had this in "love," but ultimately decided classes won. I'm cruising again during Spring Break and I cannot wait!! Oh, to have the wind in my hair as I lounge by the balcony of my room, thinking of how if I were in Camp Half-Blood, Poseidon would TOTALLY be my dad.<br />
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Also, I'd like to add Candy Crush Saga to the Currently - ugh, I never should have downloaded it. Stupid Plants v. Zombies. Terrible life choice...<br />
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Love - My classes! Seriously, my last three classes have been the lights of my life. My 2nd graders, who are now 4th graders, are just adorable. It's so strange to see them grow into these young pre-teens! They're so excited to possibly have me again next year. It's completely endearing. And my 5th graders from last year - I so miss their personalities on a daily basis. I get visits every so often, which just about make my day - as I have previously blogged about. I miss seeing them. But luckily my class this year is so sweet and special, that it eases the pain. I have really lucked out, and I so hope it continues. They are why I love my job.<br />
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Hate - Okay, so I don't <i>hate </i>C2.0, but I got to preview it yesterday, and it terrified the bejesus out of me! There is SO MUCH going on, it's INSANE! I cannot stand how long it takes for links to load. Honestly. I'm not sure why they stopped printing the guides, but...I'd rather have a printed version. Then I'd be able to leaf through everything so I can see what files I should keep and which I should put away, to gather dust for a rainy day. It's very overwhelming. I love the idea of it, because as a newbie, I complained that there was too much curriculum to teach. I hated that we seemed to shove students onto a bullet train of learning and hoped they were fast enough to see all the sights. Slowing it down is nice. But it's unfortunate the way it's being rolled out in 4th and 5th next year, because the next set of 5th graders will have never seen 2.0, so they won't be used it it. They won't have whatever terminology they're supposed to have. It's just...insane.<br />
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Phew. Keeping it somewhat light for my return post. Some things I aspire to cover in the next post or two:<br />
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<ol>
<li>Some math stations I've done</li>
<li>How Percy Jackson has taken my class by storm</li>
<li>Some great resources I've found</li>
<li>Thank you, Pinterest, for my favorite bulletin board! - <b>EDITED: I JUST REMEMBERED! It was the snow globe poetry one!</b></li>
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Until next time!! (Which hopefully won't be another several months..... yikes.)<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-60124074393392527842012-10-07T22:19:00.000-04:002012-10-13T12:36:34.460-04:00October Currently<b>Edit: </b>Whoops, forgot the actual link up part of this linky!! D: <br />
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I'm sorry I'm being so boring! You all are posting the coolest things that you've done and implemented in the class and here I am just blah blah blahing.<br />
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I can say that I've made progress on the blogging in the class! Our county has Edmodo approved... my school's media specialist and I are still exploring. However, I'm disappointed in it so far. It definitely has cool features, but as far as I've seen... it's not to the level of Kidblog. I'll need to create a fake student's account to see, but so far it doesn't SEEM like I can control their posting. This concerns me. That was my biggest selling point to get approval from all the other staff members I've brought it up to.<br />
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As far as my kids go, I know THEY will be excited because it's remarkably like Facebook. However, since it's more Facebook-y, it's less blog-y, which is another disappointing piece for me. :( We'll see, I guess! I'll keep you posted.<br />
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In the meantime, here's the latest <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2012/10/currently-october-for-classroom-and-you.html">currently</a>!<br />
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And hopefully the next time I post, I will be the proud owner of a new car! I tell you, being an adult is obnoxious! I never want to buy a car ever again for all the heartache I'm going through! Bah, humbug! :(</div>
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Anyway, I'm off! Wish me luck on our Open House tomorrow with the parents! I'm decidedly less nervous this year, which makes me happy. I was also recently observed in a math lesson with my principal. I'll let you know how that goes! Our conference is Tuesday. I may post about that lesson depending on what she thinks... I think it had some good stuff!</div>
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-40005437382730176342012-09-29T18:40:00.003-04:002012-09-29T18:44:14.633-04:00The First Goodbye of the School YearSo yesterday, the first of my babies bid us farewell. It was rough, and led to some touching moments. I was heartbroken, because I had been thinking we had until November with him, and just found out this week that that was not the case. We just finished up essays about personal heroes, and, despite only knowing me a month, he wrote about me. It was extremely touching.<br />
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This will be brief (but also repeated, as there is a good chance that another of my darlings will be leaving NEXT Friday, which is just about more than I can bear to handle.)<br />
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I just wanted to share a few moments I witnessed - one in particular, which really touched me. Now, here's the thing: you should be aware that most of these fifth graders have been going to school together since Pre-K. I'm pretty sure the same is true for him. You should also know that I'm a total crier - so I tried to tough it out as long as I could, but lost it when they started eating their ice cream treats in our special eat-in-the-classroom I sponsored for him.<br />
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Anyway, one boy had confided in me that his goal was to get another friend to cry over this student's departure. Lo and behold, at one point I looked over to see him red-faced, with some boys around him comforting him. The student leaving kept a brave face and had yet to break down. As the understanding he would be gone started to sink in, the boys around also started crying. And yet this student, the one saying goodbye to all of his friends, was still straight-faced. I will never understand this strength, but I respect it so much. (Because obviously, I was a mess at this point.)<br />
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But the one thing that REALLY got to me was... one of my dear math students came in during dismissal for some reason unknown. (To avoid the confusion of two "he"s, let's call him Math.) I don't think he was coming to say goodbye, because Math was deeply concerned about my tears and asked what was wrong. I waved him off, trying to focus on something else and left him to his errand. The next thing I knew, I saw Math and my student sitting at our reading table. They said nothing, just simply sitting down next to each other, both staring straight ahead in complete silence. Math's eyes were red, my student's eyes were watery.<br />
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Fresh wave of tears here, people! There is just something about the image of these two boys sitting side-by-side, thinking god only knows what, in mutual understand of each other's sorrow. And nothing was said the entire time they sat there. Somehow it's like fate knew to leave them alone. Usually my student's bus is one of the first ones to arrive. Yesterday, he was the last to leave my room. Math's bus came unusually late as well. When they called his bus, his face crumpled a little as he heaved a heavy sigh and got up. For the first time since I'd observed them, the boys finally spoke. My student and Math did one of those little bro handshake-hug things. Goodbyes were exchanged, and Math left.<br />
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I just....<br />
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Phew, boy. It was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. The good news for these two and the rest of my boys is that this student didn't move far - just far enough to be out of our school bounds - and they will be reunited next year in middle school.<br />
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The same will not be true when my girl leaves, whenever that is. It all depends on her mother's schedule at work. She will be well and truly separated from her friends <br />
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I'm definitely not excited to return to school on Monday and see his empty desk in the corner. Our mood will certainly be a little more somber. Hopefully at least I won't return to news that the girl will get a reprieve at least for a few months.<br />
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It's always so tough for students to leave the school they grew up in when they're SO close to being done. My heart grieves for them.<br />
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Somber post, I'm sorry. Next time, I'll hopefully post about math rotations...I did Guided Math for the first time! But I just can't bring myself to update on that now.<br />
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Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-53783608090555292122012-09-22T12:54:00.002-04:002012-09-22T12:54:42.257-04:00Nostalgia LaneI haven't really anything new to report, but the theme of this week for me seemed to be all about my old babies. They were literally everywhere this week!! It was insane - in a really, really good way.<br />
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Don't get me wrong - I love my new babies bunches, and we're already forming some nice bonds if I do say so myself - but there's something about your first class. (Probably especially when they leave you at the end of the year, never to be seen again unless they take it upon themselves to call or visit.)<br />
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So I imagine this post won't be very interesting to you. For that, I apologize. But I'm posting this for me, because ... well, it just warms my heart and makes me feel good. Like I've done something right, for them to be so eager to see me again. And it's those moments you need to hang onto when things get hard. So this is going to be a post for me to return to whenever I'm questioning myself.<br />
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Wednesday, a boy I posted about earlier came to visit. The one who sat outside my window before school and was the first voice I heard every morning greeting me brightly with that big smile on his face. My current kids tapped me on the shoulder to tell me he was there and I was so excited! I gave him a big hug, but unfortunately was working with a current baby who took priority. I told him to give me a few minutes, and he and his friend promised to come back after visiting a few others. Sadly, they never did. :( But I think he might be back since he's walking distance to the school. I was a little sad because I wanted to tell him I missed his greetings. It's the little things, you know?<br />
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That same day, I got a phone call from three girls. One of them was in the other class, but I had her brother, so we talked enough. It was so sweet! They told me all about school, the new people they were meeting, their new teachers, and how my other friends seemed to be doing. They asked to come back to get their community service hours, also. I now have 4 students who are interested in coming to help. It means lots of stuff will be getting done! :) lol We chatted for about a half hour before my battery started dying and I had to get home anyway.<br />
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And finally, Thursday was our Back to School Night. My teammate came in telling me she saw one of my boys outside waiting with the rest of the parents and I swear to god... I did this amazing SpongeBob imitation when I said, "Reeeeally??" and covered my mouth.<br />
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Sure enough, I opened my blinds and saw him and his best friend (another of mine). I tried waving, but neither noticed me. So I went about my business until they finally did, and they came bounding up to my window. Cue heartmelt! I gestured for them to come in, but they screamed that they weren't being allowed in. So I opened the window to talk to them through the screen. We caught up a little, I gave them screen-high fives and aside from being really odd because we were talking through a window screen, it was just like last year. My teammate walked in again and laughed when she saw my chair pulled up next to the window. She said she figured we would be at the window.<br />
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Parents started coming in, so I had to step away for a bit. My current babies took over for me, sitting in the chair and chatting away. I gotta say, though, this group of parents is outstanding! They were early, so they all left to let me continue catching up. Most were amused at the antics. So my new babies and I tried to figure out how to get them in, but alas...they were rejected each time. The night began, and I gave my presentations to the parents.<br />
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I do so hate that part - I'm just talking so much and I'm overwhelming even myself! I can't imagine how these parents feel! But as it usually seems to go, no one had questions, so I kept on chattering. I had a really great turn out for the first session! The second session only had one parent, so it was tailored towards her son haha. By then, my boys had managed to get in, and were relaxing in my library (which they were upset to see had a new chair - "Not fair!!"). It was actually great that they were there, because I got their feedback on some field trips we had planned, which I think the parent appreciated.<br />
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Once that was all done, the boys and I talked some more, they explored the changes in my room, marveling at it, and I just.... so miss their ridiculousness. While most teachers were getting the heck out of dodge, I was in my room just enjoying their presence. We wandered out to the hallway when one dad popped by to get them. He's the sweetest, though, because he lingered to let us continue. Other staff members got their hellos in and hugs and grinned knowingly at me. I talk about these guys so much, I think they all knew how much it meant to me. Finally, dad went to go pick up the little ones from the daycare and they opted to stay with me for a little more. They showed me the new shoes they were getting lol (which is just so typical).<br />
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Even after he returned with their younger brothers, he still gave me a little more time. I tell you, this dad is the best! He's the one I was talking to at the picnic, asking about his son. I so, so appreciate how thoughtful he was. He gave me all that extra time when he could've simply left after session 1.<br />
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In all, I spent an extra half hour at the end talking to my boys, missing them and reveling in the moment. It literally made my week. Those two have a special place in my heart because of the things we went through last year. <br />
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Anyway, that's about it for the nostalgia. It was a really, really good week for me.<br />
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I did, however, find out that it sounds like a new baby, who I already love desperately, will be moving. Her mother approached me after the first session and we cried a little bit together. Oh, it's so sad. It breaks my heart! But then the girl came up to me the next day and I think her mom managed to find a solution not too long after making me cry haha! So if it works out, I will be sooo excited. It would break my heart to see her go. Hers is a whole saga that I hope ends well. I'm already upset one of my boys will definitely be leaving us in November. I can't take her leaving, too. It's just too much.<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-44406150700552138612012-09-16T16:41:00.004-04:002012-09-16T16:43:00.659-04:00Currently & New School Year Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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First things first! Farley's latest "Currently"! I finally figured out why I haven't been getting these in the email...silly GMail marked it as spam! :( In any case, if you're as behind on the times as me, go ahead and click that picture! It'll lead you straight to it.<br />
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Next on the agenda - school updates!<br />
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Our school received some big, big news a few weeks ago! I want to wait on the actual reveal until it turns out to be fruitful. I know, I know - why bring it up then?? Answer: I have no idea why I'm bothering to mention it. I guess just wanna let anyone reading this know we had something very exciting happen!<br />
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I have also gotten the go-ahead from my media specialist via her boss for blogging. I am super, super excited to bounce ideas around with her. We need to schedule times to meet up to discuss and get it set up. My thinking is that we'll probably be fully up and running late October, early November with blogging. I cannot wait to give you all the update on how I structured it and how it's being received! So, so excited for this green light!! :)<br />
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Still working up the nerve to implement my rotations in math & reading. Any last minute insights or help would be greatly appreciated!! I'm incredibly nervous about it even though all I hear are great things. I think it's just the overwhelming idea of all the things I'm trying to undertake right now... It just seems like so much, but I know rotations are rewarding and worth it.<br />
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It's crazy to me how it's already starting on week 4 this Tuesday!! So much has happened and yet so much still needs to be done to get this year well and truly underway. My to-do list is part of the reason why I haven't yet uploaded pictures of my room. Some things still need to be put up before I'll be satisfied enough to do the reveal. It is currently lacking - and I really, really need to set up my rotations board!<br />
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Let's see... what else... my school is starting off the school year with a few interesting after-school events to welcome families back into the year. I've been to both so far, and they've been great! The first was a picnic, where I got to catch up with old students and their parents. It was wonderful to see two of my girls sound like they're thriving in their middle school environments. It made me so happy. I also spoke to the father of one of my boys and while hearing about his adjustments to middle school, I also got to brush up on my Spanish! I'm really rusty, especially since our summer break. :(<br />
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The 2nd event was a soccer game... I got roped into it and (not to be stereotypical, but of course...) my boys were REALLY excited to hear I was going. So... I went. I played. More importantly - I HAD FUN! Now, I am not a sporty person by ANY stretch of the imagination, but boy!! It was so much fun reliving my own middle school "glory" days playing defense. I was a somewhat fierce contender if I do say so myself...! Two of my boys on the opposing team were pretty impressed with me. Go figure the one actually ON my team thinks I didn't do anything.<br />
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Hmph!<br />
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Anyway, that's pretty much a wrap! It's pretty quiet out there - is anyone listening? Are you there BlogWorld? It's me, Cindy! Please let me know if you're interested in anything I've posted about in previous... posts lol. I'd love to share, but don't want to go through the trouble of uploading resources if no one is interested.<br />
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Oh, one more thing. I've failed on reading picture books thus far. GOTTA get back up on that! But, I did sign my class up for J.K. Rowling's podcasty thing from Scholastic. Debating doing Taylor Swift's. Decided on reading <u>Sorceror's Stone</u> for my read-aloud. Half are pleased, half are not thrilled. I always feel bad about read alouds! I can't imagine they're enjoyable for everyone... that makes me feel bad. Hmm. Hoping watching J.K. Rowling will change their minds. My 6th grade Reading teacher introduced me to HP with a read aloud and changed my life forever. I hope I can do the same. That's why I chose it, really.<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-91096499156474575332012-09-03T21:58:00.001-04:002012-09-03T21:58:12.996-04:00A Few Week 1 ActivitiesWell, I am pleased to announce that Week 1 went, overall, very smoothly! What I love about the fresh, new start of every new school year is that you get to learn from your mistakes or the things you didn't like and try to fix them. I started a few things much earlier this year, I'm employing Whole Brain Teaching, and my new babies are really responding. I'm so proud of them & their behavior. To toot my own horn, I have been getting a few compliments from my coworkers as well. Most excitingly, I am introducing the WBT style to a few coworkers as well and they are very intrigued - especially by how well it seems to be working already. I tell ya, people, try this out if you're not yet!!<br />
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I'm doing baby steps - I introduced the 5 rules (tweaked number 3 at my teammate's very wise suggestion), Hands & Eyes, Class-Yes, and Teacher v. Student scoreboard. Kids seem to love it all so far - especially the opportunity to be creepy with hands & eyes :)<br />
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Now, I've mentioned a few times my desire to take some card games and turn them into math facts games. I am most pleased to announce that I have already implemented them!! At the get, my class did <i>not </i>sound as wildly excited as I'd hoped. However, at the end of the lesson, as they were finishing up....lo and behold! The decks slowly but surely disappeared off of my table! I was SO excited that I took some pictures! Here is one I took without any students. This pair is playing Trash with 4s.<br />
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In hindsight, I would like to fix my cards in a few ways - for convenience & aesthetics. One, like a real deck of cards, I want to put the facts so that you can read them no matter how it's turned. Two - and I can't believe I forgot to do this!! - I would print it on scrapbook paper next time so that the backs are cuter. So mad I didn't. Look how blah those are! :( Unbelievable. Three, I need to write the numbers on the back (2s, 3s, 4s, etc) just so that if, heaven forbid, they ever get mixed up then the kids can sort it with more ease.<br />
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If this intrigues anyone, let me know! I am more than happy to share this! And learn from my mistakes! I was far too eager and printed everything out <i>and </i>made 2 copies on cardstock. Foolish. :(<br />
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The other notable thing we did in math that I'd like to share is about rounding! In week 1, our goal this year was to review some topics that are important later on in the year. I focused on rounding, and managed to find on Google this brilliant idea where students would go "grocery shopping" and round out the total - just like one would in real life!! And as luck would have it, I had in my car an ad for Safeway. As luck would still have it, it also came with a funny story about how I grabbed it because I was mad I went shopping, saw BOGO chicken, got charged for both, but didn't argue it after pointing it out and getting shut down. I lamented to my students about how I grabbed it to check, but was chagrined to see it wasn't in the meat section...so I was wrong.<br />
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Then wouldn't you know it?! I handed out their copies so they could go shopping, and one of my babies cried out, "It's right here!!" LO. AND. BEHOLD! There, in black in white: Chicken: BOGO! I was extremely pleased! I told him I'd go get my money back haha and thanked him profusely. Sadly, I left the ad at school, and now it's prooooobably too late, but I'll still try. :) It was real cute. Anyway, here's two of my cherubs pouring over the ad, trying to decide which 5 to put on their shopping list.<br />
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The activity seemed to be a hit!! One of my babies even asked me if I could make it a center! Why, yes, darling...I most certainly can and will! I love the love of learning! :) I can't get over how sweet this group is so far. So eager to learn, so grateful! Bless their wonderful previous teachers and parents for ingraining this in them.<br />
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For my homeroom, we did 2 things that I love and want to share with you. As our "get to know you" activity, I had them anonymously write 3-5 facts they were willing to share with the class. Once everyone had done that, I told them to crumple the card. You should've seen their sweet faces! They absolutely dropped. I must admit it made me laugh. I assured them we would still share - so <i>please </i>don't go ripping it up or anything! We got in a circle with our crumpled facts and for 1 minute, had a <b>SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!!</b> After 1 minute, we each picked one up and went around in a circle, read it, and guessed who the card belonged to. It went <i>perfectly</i>, which was a relief. Both times I did it last year we lost a few. :( And wouldn't you know it - the same kid lost his both times. I felt just terrible! I learned my lesson though and told this bunch to throw softly and to feet, not people. I thought it would be less fun, but my goodness, they were SO excited by it!<br />
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Lastly, we read a really sweet picture book, Daft Bat. It had a really great lesson in it about seeing things from someone else's perspective before rushing to judge them. It was so, so cute and we LOVED the ending! I'm going to resolve to read more picture books with lessons this year. My next planned book is one about how words and actions hurt even if you apologize. I found this real cute activity last year... if you haven't heard of it, just give me til next week! I'm hoping to do it Thursday.<br />
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I'd like to close with two brief anecdotes from my last year's babies. I was inspired by <a href="http://mrshsresourceroom.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-good-week.html" target="_blank">Mrs. H's post</a> about the effect we have on our students.<br />
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<li>One of my current darlings shared with me that he was hanging out with several of my old boys and passed along that they missed 5th grade & having me as their teacher. Cue heartmelt! :] I wrote them a note telling them I miss them, I love them, to remember our talks and make me proud, and to come visit me ANYTIME - for fun or for homework help. Current student handed it to them through the window of his bus and reported back that they were so excited ("REALLY?!") and swore to try and come back soon. Tsk. That warmed my heart so, so much. I offered to this group in particular to come to my classroom after school to work on homework and I remember how excited that idea made them. They couldn't wait. Mind you, this was the beginning of the school year, and by the end they just couldn't WAIT to be out my door. Too cool and all that lol. It's just so ... wonderful, for lack of better adjectives, to hear that from them.</li>
<li>One of my former math students has been keeping on-and-off contact with me about his summer homework. Let's just say that the boy lost it and we went back and forth for two months while I was at camp before I finally got my vacation and personally delivered another copy to his home lol. Well, I sent him another message hoping that middle school was going well and that if he ever needed ANYTHING to let me know and I would be more than happy to help. He replied back that he couldn't believe he was saying this, but he missed me.</li>
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I love my boys. I miss my boys. Sigh! Does it ever get easier to say goodbye to your old students? I need to know. My teammate made a comment earlier last week that was soooo true after I shared that I told my class they were my babies and I was like their school mama. He said he told them, "You know, after a year together, I really grow attached to you. By the end of that year, I <i>love </i>you. We really <i>are </i>a family." (Our school really pushes the idea that we're all family.)<br />
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I know I have to let them continue to grow without me and become the strong, independent, successful human beings I began to see flourish last year... but it's <i>hard</i>. They have such a profound effect on my life it's almost impossible to let them go. It's surreal for me this year, as it's my first year teaching the same grade in the same room, to <i>not </i>have my old group. I can still see one of my old students sitting out on the bench outside my room and waving good morning to him. Then right when that clock strikes 9, hearing him greet me cheerily before I see him and his wide, bright smile. That's how each of my mornings started, without fail. It's almost wrong to not start it with him.<br />
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Anyway, my point, before I got off track and got all weepily emotional was... they have such a profound effect on my life. It's always such a... joy... to see it return back to me in the "I miss you"s and the phone calls and emails trickle in slowly with this new school year. Making a difference is why I got into this career path. Those little things are the best things my babies could <i>ever </i>do for me.<br />
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With that aside, I look forward to this new journey with my new bunch. I hope you all are having an equally amazing time with your new crews!<br />
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Now I'm off to go "shopping"! Would you believe it? My school won some money to spend on our classrooms!! First on my list is an iPad or two! :) I don't know if that's feasible, given the roadblocks I seem to be coming up against left and right with technology....but fingers crossed!<br />
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Til next time!<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-61995808744873752982012-08-26T21:03:00.000-04:002012-08-26T21:03:23.704-04:00Food For Thought, With the 1st Day Upon Me (Us)<a href="http://kylenebeers.com/blog/2012/08/20/why-i-hated-merediths-first-grade-teacher-an-open-letter-to-americas-teachers/" target="_blank">Why I Hated Meredith's First Grade Teacher: An Open Letter to America's Teachers</a><br />
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What a sweet, amusing reflection on the profound effect we as teachers can have on our students. Warning: I did cry. I am the weepiest son of a gun... God help me when I have children.<br />
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With tomorrow being the first day again with my lovely 5th graders...I will strive to keep this in mind every day.<br />
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Sorry for the short post, but preservice week certainly kept me busy. I am significantly happier with my room this year, though! Pictures to follow once it's done-done.<br />
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Have a great first day everyone who hasn't started yet! :)<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-38296916792201552862012-08-19T17:34:00.002-04:002012-08-19T17:35:10.125-04:00Blogging IdeasThis is like a write-as-I-go type entry, so you will definitely be seeing me solve my own dilemmas in this post. I hope it helps anyone who is interested in starting a blog, but wasn't sure what to do or how to start like myself. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS! That's the fancy term for what I'm talking about. Sorry for the all caps. I couldn't remember the name for it, it bugged me, and I figured it out. Hooray!!<br />
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Introduce writing posts & commenting etiquette by creating a "paper blog." Lesson found <a href="http://www.notesfrommcteach.com/2010/09/learning-to-blog-using-paper.html" target="_blank">here</a>. It's filled with truly wonderful ideas... I would be thrilled to give this project a shot! And I think the final results would make for great bulletin boards! Like I believe the page mentions, it's great for students who have been together since they were old enough to be in a school setting to learn something new about their peers. My group is in the same situation!<br />
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I found a few ready-made permission slips, each with brilliant ideas. One being choose your child's privacy level. If memory serves, kidblog would allow me to customize each kid's settings.<br />
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<a href="http://classroomblogging.wikispaces.com/Blogging+Activities" target="_blank">This</a> site has ideas for blogging activities, which is a great springboard for me. I'm kind of liking the idea of letting students take the lead on their posts, with prompts from me every once in a while, but... I don't know if that vagueness would fly if I must get this idea approved of. Here is another site with a <a href="http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/blog/blogideas1.cfm" target="_blank">few other ideas</a>.<br />
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I also really like the way this article lays out the first few days and talks about the responsibilities of the students. The questions they must ask themselves translates really nicely to facebook, also...which is important to me. I've seen a few of their accounts, and it concerns me. I, in my trolling, also stumbled upon a site where there is a brief post on the analogy of the <a href="http://www.pernilleripp.com/2011/01/why-internet-is-like-mall.html" target="_blank">internet being like the mall</a> - <i>very </i>smart.<br />
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Here is an excellent resource, entitled "<a href="http://theedublogger.com/2010/07/06/what-you-wanted-to-know-about-student-blogging/" target="_blank">What You Wanted to KNOW About Student Blogging</a>." It is amazing and covers topics like should you assess posts, and if so how? Or how to increase your target audience. I think ideally, I'd like my students to have a blog that others outside of the class can see and post on, but I don't know the realism of that, and again...that would require a looser hand on what they post, I think. No one would want to read reading-related posts.<br />
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<a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Internet-Safety-Plan-and-Pledge" target="_blank">Free internet safety pledge</a>. Very smart idea.<br />
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Ah, I may have just found it! The perfect idea for posts! In <a href="http://www.pernilleripp.com/2011/05/14-steps-to-meaningful-student-blogging.html" target="_blank">14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging</a>, Mrs. Ripp (who is quickly becoming my blogging goddess) links to her blog where she posts <a href="http://kidblog.org/MrsRippsClass/author/MrsRipp/" target="_blank">blogging challenges</a>. GENIUS. Many of her posts allow students a way to respond to their educational environment honestly, so that she can get to know what they think and how they feel about numerous topics. Some examples are testing, rules, her as a teacher, etc. In general, I think this site is amazing. It is where I am getting most of my ideas from. Mrs. Ripp, you are an inspiration!!<br />
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Anyway, that's it for now. I'm glad I did the research... I am now armed with more solid ideas to present when teachers report back to work tomorrow!<br />
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Ahhh, I can't believe the time has finally come!!!<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-3323597017203209392012-08-17T12:28:00.001-04:002012-08-17T12:28:30.417-04:00Blogging in the Reading Classroom?This post is a call for help and suggestions! Some time ago, I stumbled upon a post someone had where they talked about kidblog.org and using it in the classroom. Below, you can watch a video I found which very nicely explains how it works and what the security features are.<br />
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://3.gvt0.com/vi/UKhMeHcCG_8/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UKhMeHcCG_8&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UKhMeHcCG_8&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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For one, I cannot seem to find that pin, so if anyone remembers seeing a post like that - or if it's yours, even! - and could point me in that direction, I'd really appreciate it.<br />
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With the school year just around the corner, I finally decided to forward it on to my school's technology teacher with a short blurb on the security of the site...since that's a huge deal and all, I figured THAT had to be my sell. I figured I would also have to draft a parent letter, because, well, let's be honest...safe or not, the idea of your child posting on the internet is still ... scary, I think.<br />
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Her reply surprised me. Apparently, my county frowns on blogging in the classroom. Hmm!! This makes my idea much more difficult to implement, and also critical that I solidify exactly WHAT I want to do with blogs. She's willing to go to bat for me, but it means I need to know precisely what my plan is. Which is where my "for two" comes in. So...<br />
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For two, I'd really appreciate any suggestions on how to implement the blogs in my classroom. Assuming I get permission. I was thinking of sticking to a twice-a-week schedule. It would be a part of my students' rotations twice a week.<br />
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I think in the blog, they had mentioned starting off by having the students comment on the teacher's welcome post and introduce themselves. What they like to read, their reading history, etc. It's a good way to get them to started into the blogging world. In googling, I then also found where some people use the comments as a way to link Reading Comprehension Strategies. For example, you could comment on a classmate's post by making a connection. "This reminds me of the time..."<br />
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So... I think comment-wise, I'm good. It's just, if they're going to possibly be making connections to a post of their peers... then what guidelines should I implement for their posts? What exactly should be their purpose for posting to their blogs? What could their entries be about?<br />
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Please help!!! Any suggestions are widely appreciated. I'd like to nail this idea down by the time we report back to work on Monday so I can chat with her about how to go about doing this.<br />
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In return, I promise I will dedicate an entry to blogging in the Reading classroom without the question mark (again, should permission be granted). A sort of view into my classroom and how it works, how I use it, how the students are responding to it.<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-48672668775775561212012-08-13T10:42:00.000-04:002012-08-13T14:27:08.732-04:00Two Infamous Linky Firsts! - Currently & Made It (Crate Seats Walk-Through Edition)I am extremely excited (not to mention extremely late) to <i>finally</i> hook up with two of the most fun linky parties I've encountered!<br />
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First, the August currently! I am finally linking up with <a href="http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com/2012/08/currently-plug-another-creations.html" target="_blank">Oh' Boy 4th Grade</a>. This is making it harder and harder to resist the mustache craze! Between that and the cute owls... I have no idea why I fight it! Please excuse the length of my answers. I happen to be a rambler. Hopefully this is something you get used to. Been this way all my life, unfortunately.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">RULES...<br />
1. RULE OF 3... if you link up I ask that you go and look at the 2 in
front of your link and the one after you AND comment... this SPREADS the
LOVE for sure!!! and it was a HUGE success last time :)<br />
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2. on the B2S must haves... I am completely OK with you promoting one of
your store items HERE... BUT if you promote one of yours I am asking
that you also promote someone else too... so if you think you have an
item that someone JUST has to have for B2S go ahead and PLUG IT but
please PLUG from another store too... </span></div>
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Next up! My first-ever MADE IT MONDAY!</div>
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On Sunday, I met up with a good friend from college with the mostly-sole purpose of creating our very own crate seats! We added lunch, a movie, dinner, some Olympics closing ceremony watching, and other randoms to our to-do list... basically made a day of it! It was great fun! :) Anyway, the end result of the day:</div>
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Click on through if you'd like some instructions! Though for the record, this ended up costing more than I expected! I was surprised. So in the cut, you'll also see prices. That way you can be well-informed. :) But good gracious, all the cashiers & workers who helped us were greatly confused and simultaneously amused by our goal. A precious few were concerned about the safety of our idea, too!</div>
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<a name='more'></a>So one of our several stops was to Lowe's, and the guy very nicely cut our boards down to size for us! I wish I had asked what size it made it to help anyone following these directions, but alas. :( We simply brought in a bin and asked him to cut it so it would fit just inside the lip of it, like a lid. We got a sheet of 3/4 thickness plywood. I think he said it was a 2 x 4? That ended up costing about $15 for the sheet and made us 3 boards from it. So for roughly $5 per board, that didn't seem TOO shabby! And for the record, we used bins from Walmart. They ran about $3.50 each.<br />
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Oddly enough, the one board he cut as a model fit the one specific bin perfectly....but NONE of the rest fit the others. So I suggest buying something to sand the wood down, as seen in the image below. It shaves it down to fit snugly (because you do have to account for the fabric), and it just feels nicer once it's sanded. We bought a sander spongey thing. Sorry - I didn't pay close enough attention to the name. It was in the hardware/paint section of Walmart and cost about $3.50 Also, if memory serves. We got the one that said it was for bare surfaces...medium (coarseness), I think. As opposed to fine.</div>
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I regret not getting a picture of my fabric swatches! But those were also at Walmart. We got them cut 18 inches rather than a full yard. That seemed to fit just perfectly. Bonus: If you cut the fabric at the fold line, one half will literally fit the board perfectly! And therefore gets you TWO lids out of ONE piece. Of course, fabric is different depending on the material and design, but my three 18 in pieces cost me about $9.50, and my friend about $10. Below is my friend stapling hers together - she didn't do the halvsies cut, so kind of wasted that cute fabric. No worries - we figured it out after! :)<br />
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But that's a finishing picture. Initially, I had full stapled three sides of my fabric down...but I did it WAY too tightly to stuff the padding in nicely. So I had to pull a few out and ripped my fabric a smidge in the process. Therefore, I recommend stapling it as seen below. Staple 2 perpendicular sides completely, then staple the 3rd only halfway. <br />
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So, speaking of, there's 2 materials I didn't mention yet! The staple gun ran us about $9 and the staples were... $3, I think? But pay close attention to whether your gun takes heavy duty or light duty staples! We made that mistake and had to go all the way back out to the stores... only to find we made that mistake because Walmart was out of our staples! Went to Home Depot, it was closed. Cried a little. Remembered Target. Rejoiced. Sped by the Dollar Spot to save our sanity.<br />
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The other material was padding, as seen below. (And kindly ignore my chipped polish. I'm deeply upset about it haha) We bought this Poly-Fil brand padding - it felt amazing in the bag. I'm pretty sure that was about $9 because we got the ENORMOUS bag. Each. We clearly have no idea visually how much 3 seats would need. We now have a ridiculous amount of fluff left. I barely even dented mine, honestly. (This is an AFTER picture, if that gives you any idea. This is how much fluff I have left after 3 seats!!) Even if we shared it, I think we'd still have a fair amount left. So...maybe go for a smaller bag - though I couldn't tell you how many you'd need! <br />
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So of course, the next step is stuffing your cushion! Hopefully, you left that space open - you can see how it looks in the picture below. For me, I found this method left me with lots of lumpy spots that I could only fix some of the time. I think my problem was stretching the fabric too tight when I stapled. But I think in the long run, it'll even out with all the butts that cushion will get. And it's comfortable, lumps or not! It was tested by another friend. He enjoyed it immensely.<br />
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Continue stuffing until you're satisfied and it reaches the edges and corners of the board. Staple up the side as you go until you're ready to staple down that last side, as seen below. Then you have a lovely cushion that can be used as the lid in your storage bin! Efficient AND cute. :)<br />
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Hopefully it fits! If it does, here's what your end result should look like - & please forgive me for cutting it off in the picture. I have no idea what possessed me to not fix that...): In the background of the second picture (with my lovely feet haha), you'll see my friend's bin. She put ribbon across the middle as an attempt at a handle - a suggestion from one of the tutorials I found. Hers didn't seem to work because of the boards' tight fits...but she did it for the others anyway, figuring in time, it'll probably loosen. I'll be waiting for her report before I bother. But in case you're interested for yourself, the rolls cost us about $2 each. One roll sufficed for her 3 bins. Not sure how much she had leftover though.</div>
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In the picture below...... I'm REALLY not sure what happened there! One side is so nice and full and just luscious. Not sure how that piddly side came to be but it makes me sad. That tiny bit of OCD in me might just have to rip some staples out again and try again!</div>
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And one last picture of the final products...because, surprisingly, I think my cell phone caught a better, more true-to-life visual than my super duper fancy camera!<br />
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<a href="http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/258522_10100547548784825_1158866794_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/258522_10100547548784825_1158866794_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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In total, the basics ran us about $44 each for our 3 bins. $46 if you throw in ribbon. However, we had to take into account 2 things:<br />
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<li>We bought more fluff than any human being could ever use & </li>
<li>We didn't have any of the tools - staple gun, staples, sanding object</li>
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Not having the tools added on another $15.50 total (not each, since we shared). Thereabouts. And unless you plan on making a huge army of chairs, or are making a significant amount WITH a friend, I wouldn't suggest that huge bag. But sadly, I don't remember how much the smaller ones ran. It's possible you just may as well get the enormous bag.<br />
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Now, I hope you enjoyed that walk-through! Please leave any questions in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you on that! :)<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-51634255016144384662012-08-08T17:06:00.002-04:002012-08-08T17:15:50.876-04:00Blog AwardsTo open up this post, I want to share part of the sweetest message one of my babies from last year sent me. It started my morning off right! She said she had the best year ever with me and wanted to thank me for that. <3 It really warmed my heart. It's the one thing I've always, always wanted a student to do. I didn't, in my wildest dreams, think it would happen already. I love that group so much. :] That message has soothed my impending nerves for the new year. And reaffirms for me that I <i><u><b>am</b></u> </i>doing something right!<br />
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Again, thank you SO MUCH to all the wonderful bloggers who nominated me for these awards! I am so, so honored. :) I don't know many bloggers, so they are a challenge accepted to integrate the new ones like you have for me! :)<br />
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First up!<br />
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The rules for this award are as follows:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Thank the blogger who nominated
you</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Include a link to their blog</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Include the award image in your
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Give seven random facts about
yourself</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the
award</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. When nominating, include a link to their
blog</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Let other bloggers know they've been
nominated</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So a huge, huge thank you to </span><cite class="user"></cite>Ms. Feuerstack<span style="font-family: inherit;"> at <a href="http://funandlearninginfirst.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Fun & Learning in First</a> & Wendy at </span><a href="http://abcprimaryteachingresources.blogspot.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">Teacher's Toolkit</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And of course my 7 random facts!</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been working at the same theatre camp for the last 6 summers. Every summer has been a blast, and I hope to have the strength to keep on doing it for some time more! I'm afraid I'll be running out of steam, soon.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I used to try and teach my uncle's cat to speak English by setting up a board with the alphabet. Sadly, my efforts were for naught.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">All of my pets have been named after Disney characters. Best life decision I ever made when I started that trend as a 5 year old.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have a bit of an unhealthy obsession with an app called Robinson. It's awful.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am also getting heavily into nail art! Allow me to show off with some pictures below. :) (And kindly ignore the tie-dye stains around my nails in the first picture!)</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Multiples of 5 are my favorites. Otherwise, I hate odd numbers - especially prime ones. So this whole 7 business is making me cringe a little bit.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">I love to take pictures because I love memories. It's something that started, I suppose, when someone gave me a diary when I was 7. Since then, I have been chronicling my life via journal entries...and then evolved to pictures. One of my newest favorite quotes depicts this perfectly:</span></li>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b><span style="color: red;">Sometimes, you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory.</span></b></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span>Let's see how far I can get on the bloggers....Sorry for any repeats, guys! I'm going to troll the Newbie Blog Hop for this. :) And bear with me... I will slowly but surely be editing this to add more to this meager initial offering.</div>
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<ol>
<li><a href="http://enchantedwithtechnology.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Enchanted with Technology </a></li>
<li><a href="http://cleverlittlebirds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Clever Little Birds </a></li>
<li><a href="http://paytonspreciouskindergarteners.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. Payton's Precious Kindergarteners</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flutteringthroughfirstgrade.com/" target="_blank">Fluttering in First</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pilesofpencils.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Piles of Pencils</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mrshsresourceroom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. H's Resource Room </a></li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ0n5d6zox461Pnl_cne_TqdlXStdWfsqxjOhnkbxT05gV_E5UmWgtKN9PK_ZKhiKj5bVzQwvetuYhM_meqDPXzqHvhcwlTWbVZ8NNsuY3jrRcwpqz1bNsdN1SE6SfiRtm84O4qE3VBRz/s1600/One+lovely+blog+award.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTZ0n5d6zox461Pnl_cne_TqdlXStdWfsqxjOhnkbxT05gV_E5UmWgtKN9PK_ZKhiKj5bVzQwvetuYhM_meqDPXzqHvhcwlTWbVZ8NNsuY3jrRcwpqz1bNsdN1SE6SfiRtm84O4qE3VBRz/s1600/One+lovely+blog+award.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> 1. Follow the person who gave the award.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Link back to the person who gave the award.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Pass this on to 15 new bloggers and then let them know they have received the award!</span></div>
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Thank you to Ashley at <a href="http://inspiredreamandcreate.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Inspire, Dream, & Create</a>, Vicky at <a href="http://keepcalmandimagine.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Keep Calm & Imagine</a> & Holly at <a href="http://fourth%20grade%20flipper/" target="_blank">Fourth Grade Flipper</a>!<br />
<br />
As for the bloggers list - same disclaimer as before.<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://cleverlittlebirds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Clever Little Birds </a></li>
<li><a href="http://paytonspreciouskindergarteners.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. Payton's Precious Kindergarteners</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.flutteringthroughfirstgrade.com/" target="_blank">Fluttering in First</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pilesofpencils.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Piles of Pencils</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mrshsresourceroom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. H's Resource Room </a> </li>
</ol>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAzMwc1AYaZ38-7ruT0L1tZm57Q9ZjsJC3PcPu-HgEANIBFdtgjz0dhqhUCbAQWDOShvNjk04iQK7o5KDNQuriYTYL8m8_yTMLMOZVE-d2S9TNu4oBFhzQjlI2oP-1i3NmTXECoQSX33q/s1600/Liebster+Blog.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRAzMwc1AYaZ38-7ruT0L1tZm57Q9ZjsJC3PcPu-HgEANIBFdtgjz0dhqhUCbAQWDOShvNjk04iQK7o5KDNQuriYTYL8m8_yTMLMOZVE-d2S9TNu4oBFhzQjlI2oP-1i3NmTXECoQSX33q/s1600/Liebster+Blog.png" /></a></div>
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1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.<br />
2. Post the award to your blog.<br />
3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.<br />
4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award. <br />
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Thank you now to Mrs. T at <a href="http://teachingmrst.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Teaching Mrs. T</a>! :)<br />
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<ol>
<li><a href="http://enchantedwithtechnology.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Enchanted with Technology </a></li>
<li><a href="http://cleverlittlebirds.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Clever Little Birds </a></li>
<li><a href="http://paytonspreciouskindergarteners.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. Payton's Precious Kindergarteners</a></li>
<li><a href="http://pilesofpencils.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Piles of Pencils</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mrshsresourceroom.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Mrs. H's Resource Room </a> </li>
</ol>
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<br />
Hopefully that covers all the people that nominated me! I got overwhelmed with the comments and just needed a brief pause moment. I have been living in virtual hermit-dom since camp ended last Friday. I've only gone out for mail and a quick visit to the gym (a fact that would have many of my friends keel over from shock). So I've spent the last few days lounging and watching copious amounts of television. It's been amazing!<br />
<br />
Okay, okay, I've also been looking up new car-to-be potentials. And trying to figure out what to do with my life - i.e., what to major in. I asked some friends and family for advice... so far hasn't helped too much. I think my problem is that I really just have zero idea where to go from here. I love being in the classroom, so those of my friends who are already burned out and advise me to look into majors that could get me OUT of the classroom one day just aren't resonating with me. I suppose it's a smart idea....it's possible one day I'll wake up and be tired of the daily grind. There was one helpful suggestion that I'd never really thought about - ESOL. It's something I could possibly be interested in and if I were ever in that position, would get me out of the classroom.<br />
<br />
Otherwise, I've been contemplating math - it's a field I thought about before I got a job and before I was told by my county's HR that the idea of finding a job as a middle school math teacher was lol-worthy. I also love technology... I think that could be a fun job. And my last real thought was reading to strengthen my reading skills & open for me the possibility of becoming a reading specialist.<br />
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And...with that, I'm out and off to dinner! I will notify my nominations soon! Enjoy the rest of your week. I'll probably be posting soon with an update on my math facts card games! :)<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-6923450452200272862012-07-29T19:42:00.000-04:002012-07-29T19:44:39.581-04:00"Vacation" In T-Minus 5 Days!First of all, I would like to apologize for being M.I.A. with comments. I have gotten and read them, but have been awful and not replied to one in a week or so. I would like to acknowledge and thank those people for taking the time to visit, compliment, follow, and nominate for awards!! I am so, so grateful for you. I will properly post about the awards in the following week when camp is over. (As I have seen all of those require I go hunting for other well-deserving blogs.)<br />
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However, as camp is winding down/winding up simultaneously, I grow more tired and I've backed off the blogworld. I'm even 2 weeks behind in Monday Made-It! (Gasp, shock, awe!!) I run a theatre camp, so come Thursday & Friday, we will be putting on our musical that we have been working on for the past three weeks. This week will be filled with shopping for props, set pieces, cast party goodies, and passing out in front of the TV. So I apologize for my lackluster status, but hopefully promise to pick it back up after it's all over. (But give me a grace period of a day or two in case I fail to report back here immediately haha)<br />
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I will so miss my 40 James Bond/Trash/Speed players. (And sadly, yes, that also includes my amazing 5 coworkers.) It will be my goal to introduce my new set of students to it so I can have 20 new players. Moreover, I'm really intent on figuring out a way to make math games out of Trash & Speed like I intend to do with James Bond... Oop, I think I just figured one out for Trash using division! It happened when I spaced out lol.<br />
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In any case, onto teachery business! I am SO excited to have received my copy of <u>Guided Math</u> so I can read along (or, rather, catch up) with the rest of you wise, wise bloggers out there! I'm really excited for it! I've already devoured most of Chapter 2 since Chapter 1 seemed to be mostly filler that outlined the rest of the book. I really look forward to starting a rotation in math and improve the way I teach. As a new teacher, it's nice to start changing my ways before I get too set in them. I consider math to be my strongest subject, so I think it will be the easiest change to make first.<br />
<br />
I'm getting Debbie Diller's <u>Making the Most of Small Groups</u> because I hear good things about her, and I'm also aiming to improve my reading group instruction. I figure it may also (in a general sense) tie in nicely to the idea of Guided Math. I'm looking forward to bettering myself this upcoming year!<br />
<br />
On that note, I have two requests:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I shared <u>Guided Math</u> with a friend, and she inquired about any good books out there on teaching writing. I second this question! Teachers, are there any resources out there you have found helpful in making the most of writing time?</li>
<li>Then for myself, I'd really like to read up on any great books on inclusion or special education. I had an inclusion classroom last year and I really don't feel like I did my kids justice. I really just don't know much about special education or anything that goes along with it. I only took 2 classes in college and they pretty much glossed over everything. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think my principal will be giving me that class again this year (even though ironically I would love it because I've formed a pretty good bond with one of the students), but I'd still rather be ready in case she does! I think the only possible reason I could get it again is because of the aforementioned bond.</li>
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Anyway, I'm off for another week! Can't wait to get back into my classroom and start setting it up so that I can focus on the teaching aspect and not the aesthetic one. :) This weekend I attended a former students' brother's birthday party and seeing him made me miss my little buggers. I hope they all come back to me at least once next year!</div>
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<br /></div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-28477027317152479382012-07-21T12:53:00.001-04:002012-07-29T19:44:47.829-04:00Newbie Blog Hop!Well, isn't this just perfect! I've been thinking about how to get myself out there, and lo and behold...this linky appears!!<br />
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<a href="http://gr3istheplace4me.blogspot.com/2012/07/newbie-blog-hop.html" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW82C6IpIjW5TCsayxnEi4lZR3j-0a7-8ZSbmAouNICx_1RfjCRV87oRRpccO3SPUYeg_fr-LngQI9d0vB_sjYITiVB8wa9Z4ZCMA8_KkYLisZ-uZo3xX16zhON4-A6fgAQcv2nR0TRkqP/s1600/Newbie+Blog+Hop.png" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-size: large;"> <span style="font-size: small;">1. what state you are in</span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;">2. your current teaching position</span></b><b><span style="color: black;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;">3. your teaching experience</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;">4. when you started blogging</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <b><span style="color: black;">5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource</span></b></span></div>
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<ol>
<li>Maryland</li>
<li>I currently teach 5th grade, and I love it beyond belief! (Though I could definitely do without the copious tears at the end of the year when the realization that they'll be gone forEVAH hits.)</li>
<li>I have been teaching for a year and a half, subbing for that first half. I was a long-term in 2nd before I got my full-time position as a 5th grade teacher at the school. I have probably literally never been so happy as when I got that position!</li>
<li>In general, I've been blogging for, oh, 10 years. Jeez. I wish I was kidding. That number sounds crazy! Teaching-wise, I recently started in the beginning of July. Unfortunately, I'm not too terribly active quite yet for a few reasons. The first being that it is summer, and I am currently in my summer job as a camp counselor. Therefore, it keeps me busy and unable to get into my class to work on stuff.</li>
<li>Hmm... I recently saw in another blog (and I'm so, so sorry... I can't remember which one! I do a LOT of hopping!) that if you want blog authors to reply to your comment, you should make sure your email address is available! To do that, follow <a href="http://mrslambsclass.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-im-no-reply-blogger-google-fix.html" target="_blank">this link</a>, which I found after googling.</li>
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In any case, I hope to start becoming more active and regular in two weeks or so - that's when camp ends, so I'll have nothing but free time! I have an entire board of summer projects to accomplish in my two free weeks before teachers report back, so I'm hoping that means lots of blog entries!<br />
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Please feel free to leave comments! And especially check out my previous entry... I'd really like some opinions on my James Bond math game. Some campers and parents told me it'd be cool. I'd like to hear from you!<br />
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</script>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-84526642335172102302012-07-13T19:41:00.002-04:002012-07-29T19:45:01.070-04:00Boring<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/251075747946606471_rY5OCURS_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://downthelearingroad.blogspot.com/2012/06/monday-made-it.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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Oh man, I wish I had cool stuff to post! But right now I'm somewhat stuck in no-man's land... it may be the summertime, but I work in the summer. It'll (sadly) be over in 3 weeks, so then I'll have two weeks until teachers have to report back for my school.<br />
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So in the 2nd week of August, this little blog might get a mite more exciting. Sadly, until then, I expect it will be kind of dead. But if you pop over by my Pinterest page (located to the right sidebar), I've pinned some things I want to work on in those two weeks.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/251075747946464687_G1Ni0J2X_b.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /> </td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://grade2happenings.blogspot.com/2012/06/benches-and-stools.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinterest.com/upload/251075747946464618_OIPbKlNg_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinterest.com/upload/251075747946464618_OIPbKlNg_b.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://teachingchick.blogspot.com/2012/06/monday-made-it.html" target="_blank">Source</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The above is what I'm considering for first priority... This toolbox is FANTASTIC and fits me PERFECTLY. I can't believe it didn't occur to me before I made my hideous one! I'm also now digging the whole make-your-own-seating craze. I hated it at first... but the more I see it on the Made It Monday linky, the more I love it. I think the bench is hands-down the coolest, but it would take some serious skill to pull off this perfectly.<br />
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The easiest one I'm considering right now is something I saw also on the Monday linky, slightly modified. As a camp counselor, I get to learn my share of really REALLY fun, addicting card games. My obsession every year is <a href="http://www.pagat.com/commerce/jamesbond.html" target="_blank">James Bond</a>. Only, we don't play quite so strictly. We totally trade more than 1 card at a time and flip over our piles whenever it's complete. No point in hiding it.<br />
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Anyway, I thought it would be fun to take the idea below and adapt it to James Bond.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media-cache-ec0.pinterest.com/upload/251075747946521945_t4Uh8ba2_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media-cache-ec0.pinterest.com/upload/251075747946521945_t4Uh8ba2_b.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://iteach2nd.blogspot.com/2012/07/monday-made-it.html" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My thought was that, since the point of the game is to get 4-like cards together in a pile, instead of fill in the blank, I could put different multiplication facts that have the same answer and an answer card. For example, one pile could be filled with:<br />
<ul>
<li>8 x 3</li>
<li>12 x 2</li>
<li>24 x 1</li>
<li>twenty-four</li>
</ul>
But I'm not sure if that seems too difficult or not. So if by some miracle, there's someone out there in bloggy land reading this post - halp! Does this sound reasonable to expect from 5th graders? I know the group I had this year, the game would've been really tough. The problem is they just DON'T know their multiplication facts! I would be making this with the understanding that, unfortunately, most of them will struggle, and it will not be a game about speed. My hope is, though, that that would only be at first. James Bond is SUCH a fun game that I hope it will encourage them to get better, faster, stronger with their facts. I guess it's a matter of trial-and-error.<br />
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This is the idea I'm most secretly excited about. I absolutely love James Bond. In the words of Ke$ha, I've got a sick obsession...<br />
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Until next time, dears!<br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-62940228283382571892012-07-04T19:55:00.001-04:002012-07-29T19:45:32.504-04:001st Official Post, Introducing Me!<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white;">Bear with me, folks. This is bound to be a lengthy one!</span></blockquote>
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As
the "About Me" sidebar says, I'm still what I would consider to be a
new teacher, despite having 2 classes under my belt. Obviously, I still
have a lot to learn about the craft of teaching. I'm still not
completely satisfied with the way it's been going, but word on the
street is that one <i>never</i> is...so I'll try not to be too hard on myself in that aspect.<br />
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But
I do like to think that what I lack in skill and technique, I make up
for in my passion for the kids. I have loved, with my whole heart,
every single group that I've ever had the privilege and pleasure to work
with. I call them my babies (and being COMPLETELY new to 5th grade
this year, this was a shock to them. I was met with many cries of "I'M
NOT A BABY!" They soon learned fighting it was futile.) Some frown
upon that terminology, and I can understand why, but I think it worked
nonetheless. I guess until my old babies return to me from big, bad
middle school and tell me I shouldn't have babied them, I will continue
it. <br />
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Now, it is summer time, which is usually considered to
be a teacher's well-deserved period of rest (unless they're teaching
summer school, of course - which, luckily, I am not!). However, I fill
my summers with working at the best summer camp my county has! No rest
for the wicked, as they say. Since this crazy storm hit though, camp was
canceled for 2 days because of power outages. Therefore, I've been
enjoying a peaceful 5-day weekend.<br />
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In this 5-day weekend, I've been blog stalking (stalking is such a
harsh word... I prefer intense research) numerous teachers and their <i>beautiful </i>blogs,
their lessons, their freebies, their classrooms, and already I feel
like I've learned so much more. It's overwhelming, really! One of the
first things I learned (and actually well before this weekend, but it's
just that this was the weekend I decided to get off my butt and make a
blog!) is a principle I am flagrantly disobeying. What is this thing
you call a "color scheme"? I love bright, vibrant colors WAY too much to
obey that! Therefore, my color scheme is the rainbow. As you can
clearly see. *gestures around to the color-crazy blog*<br />
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Hopefully that fact isn't <i>too </i>terribly
bothersome to you, the visitor. But the thing of it is, all the colors
are so bright and happy... and it makes me feel warm inside! I love
looking at it. And in the end, that's all that really matters, isn't
it? My classroom is decidedly the same. Each bulletin board is covered
with the most vivid colors money could buy at the local fabric store.
Despite the fact that I lack any real organizational skill (and thank
GOD it isn't just me! Papers get so overwhelming during each busy
school day, and then you get distracted by one thing or another and it's
just never-ending!), I <i>do </i>make sure to try and enforce one for
my babies. Each subject gets its own color, and naturally the colors
end up being those of the rainbow! Thusly, I tried to match my boards to
the colors of the folders. Last year, many, many things got in the way
of that, however. Too many to bother naming. I'll look into fixing that this upcoming year. We'll see.<br />
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I suppose, without further ado, I should introduce the few pictures I
took of my room that will give you any real sense of it. Unfortunately,
these pictures were all taken around the start of the year. I am still
kicking myself for never getting updated ones or even a panoramic one
(my camera has that delightfully nifty feature, you know). But one of
the things I do as a teacher who loves her babies and memories, is
create a memory video. Therefore all my pictures were of my little
minions doing what they do best....making me smile.<br />
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This was before I had a camera with an easy sweep-panorama feature. In any case, this was my hallway bulletin board in September. I took the idea from the wonderful <a href="http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/index.htm" target="_blank">Beth Newmingham</a>...and this is sadly pretty much where my "theme" ended. I Photoshopped my kids into a concert scene, and had them all fill out Rock Star Bios! It was really cute. :) Plus, can't say no to a rainbow-music notes border!<br />
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Here is my science board & writing traits posters. Lovin' the rainbow!!
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Social Studies board, which covers my hideous door. I ended up not really using this board... going to have to figure out a way to repurpose it. The problem with having a Social Studies board is that it always gets shoved aside in our curriculum. When we do get to it, it's very rushed and minimal. I loved, however, at the end of the year, when we were done with Science & testing, and got to leisurely (well, kind of. My class always seemed to fall behind the other 5th grade. So we rushed) teach some "extra" material... it was nice. We did some great interactive note taking, a strategy I picked up from Pinterest. I highly rec it - my students were much more engaged. I don't think reading from the book was wildly fascinating by any means for them, but...it was a unanimous vote that the sheet was more fun than just straight out reading lol!</div>
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My reading board. I liked the idea I had for the groups and their work... it just got hard to change it while keeping up with the guided groups. Going to have to figure that out as well. Thinking I'll just have a group member adjust it. May also change to photo frames, because even laminated, the sheet was hard to erase and change! Very annoying, indeed. Part of why I lost my zealousness for it.</div>
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I loved my Inspiration Station! It features a poster from Chris Van Allsburg's <u>The Mysteries of Harris Burdrick</u>, along with a miniature version in my little pocket chart-type thing for students to paste in their writing journals. Not to mention my Writing Process "board," which is a re-purposed easel board. I stole it, having just moved up from a primary grade and still wanting to write on chart paper. But the reality was, I have a Promethean. I didn't need it. I felt bad for stealing this board, so I made sure to make use of it haha. And you can kiiiiiiind of see my Math vocab board behind the computers.</div>
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The Wall of Fame was by far, my favorite. Again, please note the rainbow borders & alphabet strip. The students took such pride in hanging what <i>they </i>considered to be their best work. I especially loved when it wasn't a graded sheet, but rather a creative writing piece that no one had looked at.</div>
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My library (before I got all the add-ins: for a total of 3 disc chairs & 2 bean bags). It includes the Book Rec board, as inspired by Beth Newmingham once again. That one didn't work out so hot, either. I need book suggestions! I need 5th-grade appropriate books to recommend to my students to keep it alive. My problem is, I just don't read those books because I don't know much about them. Help?? Please?</div>
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<img align="left" height="300" imageanchor="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHHOwRIRJLwPvyYP0OSEDaQPJgvihCWsOVcbAN4qhtV_712A1aFn4ks3iUp6wfmhO5zHsGDIE1BRTJjISgVE79GR8FzrY95nKwmPMVg8XGZ3tn8RwoFqSVQTIC_XC2_3_gDAkUZtwBlFp/s400/my+side.jpg" style="margin-right: 1em;" width="400" />Here is my own little "oasis." As you can see, it looks absolutely atrocious. But it's home. Complete with the things that matter most to me. Around Spring Break, I was heavy into Pinterest, and finally created a "LAUGH" sign, because I believe very strongly in the importance of laughter and a good time. My classroom quote was the frog poster - "A day without laughter is a day wasted." Truer worders, my friends. Truer words. (Also there's my hideous first attempt at a Teacher Toolbox, which I shall be redoing.)
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<img align="left" height="300" imageanchor="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgppqaQiL7eisplec9BHITSdDHhpcucnpyyD-X0xXgTnRIzR2xf73JnQ28yRUprkTp8lEUVnAEr4IRrHb9Rh_Imn8aUT2MNbaGeHwi19dM9zyxlShbuhnd8o-KGnXcpFcnmWPnsmGNVagid/s400/learn.jpg" style="margin-right: 1em;" width="400" />
Then closer to the end of the year, I decided to be more serious and made a "LEARN" sign to go on the other side. The handful of babies I have that ride the typically "late" buses helped me make it. They Mod Podged it on, and I cut it out with my handy-dandy Exacto knife! It was all great fun for us haha. :) Oh, and that's my bday balloon from February. We kept it to see how long it would last. I think by the last day it'd finally fallen.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4-TU1jxeb23ui6Lx04Eg8MQc_XsIb6MyTuJ7z8TYP5O24HaIVNsfrXNbeSlHUEXd33-MA_mWuZ8QyrupWlOPSv55l37iKNqGUU_GLYWC1Y-ImWSZxTzNTduaOTakNh63rDu5sQ9Ji6Xw/s1600/siggy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4-TU1jxeb23ui6Lx04Eg8MQc_XsIb6MyTuJ7z8TYP5O24HaIVNsfrXNbeSlHUEXd33-MA_mWuZ8QyrupWlOPSv55l37iKNqGUU_GLYWC1Y-ImWSZxTzNTduaOTakNh63rDu5sQ9Ji6Xw/s200/siggy.gif" width="200" /></a><br />
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<br />Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7806910533826796278.post-29234465202869075772012-07-04T12:54:00.004-04:002012-07-29T19:45:19.689-04:00Coming Soon! :)This is a test for the blog. It is currently under construction.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4-TU1jxeb23ui6Lx04Eg8MQc_XsIb6MyTuJ7z8TYP5O24HaIVNsfrXNbeSlHUEXd33-MA_mWuZ8QyrupWlOPSv55l37iKNqGUU_GLYWC1Y-ImWSZxTzNTduaOTakNh63rDu5sQ9Ji6Xw/s1600/siggy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="130" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4-TU1jxeb23ui6Lx04Eg8MQc_XsIb6MyTuJ7z8TYP5O24HaIVNsfrXNbeSlHUEXd33-MA_mWuZ8QyrupWlOPSv55l37iKNqGUU_GLYWC1Y-ImWSZxTzNTduaOTakNh63rDu5sQ9Ji6Xw/s200/siggy.gif" width="200" /></a></div>Cindyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03379016276817378128noreply@blogger.com0