Summer School

I knew before it began that this was going to be a summer that flew by...and it is!  Usually I'm counting the days before I'm back on a schedule. This year I'm teaching summer school and between that and all of the plans our family has made I feel like I don't have enough time for everything.  I'm not sure how I feel about all of that.

Summer school is amazing.  It's my first year teaching and what a learning opportunity it has been for me.  I'm teaching 3rd grade reading and technology with my dear friend, Alicia.

Not only do I get to come to work and work with her (and many other wonderful people), I also get to carpool with Mr. Jones (added bonus) since he's working at the same building.

Summer school has proven a very effective training ground for a new teacher like me.  It 's been a place to learn, grow, and experiment.  I've tried different strategies for implementing Daily 5, conducting guided groups, and organizing a writing workshop.  I love that I get to try things out now BEFORE I start my first full year of teaching.  Here are a few samples of some of the fun things we've done:

1. It's finally started getting hot, so we're trying to think of ways to cool down. We made an in class "lemonade stand" where students could purchase 2 cups of lemonade throughout the day, but they had to give us the correct change.

2. Alicia had the idea to read Rainbow Fish on the first day of class to learn about being a good friend and then we made some of our own rainbow fish.

3. We are teaching students how to collect data, so Alicia had them choose a favorite flavor of ice cream (vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate) and we created a pictograph.

        


More pictures and lesson ideas to come from the "summer fun hub". :)

A few fun things

It's been awhile since I've blogged. I usually feel like I have something wonderful to say in order to blog and life lately has been....well, ordinary. Then, I realized that during this "ordinary" day-to-day life there's been some really cool things happening and I just needed to take the time to see them.

A few teacher things:
* If you have not used Microsoft Photo Story- you should check it out. It is a free program you can download and it allows you to create multimedia presentations out of photos or digital images. The transitions can be customized or done automatically, the images can be set to music, or the user can narrate the presentation.

I used it to create digital stories with a class of 3rd graders. Students wrote a script based on the information they found while researching their Native American tribe, chose images, uploaded the images into Photo Story, and then narrated it. While this project required lots of teacher help, students learned a lot in the process.  This was my first time using Photo Story and I found it to be very user-friendly.  Check it out for one of your next projects.

(P.S.  If you're interested in using the handouts our students used for their projects let me know.  I have some amazing handouts created by our district's technology coordinator Beth Clarke and I would be happy to share them.)

*Another project I have been working on is creating PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) videos for our school.  At the beginning of the year we found some great PBIS videos online, but I wanted something that featured our students. I created a snow safety video with the help of some 3rd graders and a handful of teachers. I'm currently working on lunchroom expectations and hopefully some more in the near future. I don't want to post the one I did with my students for privacy purposes, but here's the video we used at the start of the year.  This served as the inspiration for ours. Just an idea for you and your school. :)

*Finally, if you're looking for a fun ice-breaker for kids I found this book at the 3R's teacher store in Rockford.  It's filled with kid-friendly "Would You Rather?" questions that get students talking and thinking.  I've been using it with a couple of students I work with in the afternoon and they love it! 

Have a great week!

Museum Memories

Yesterday Ry and I took the day and visited Midway Village and The Discovery Center.  We "milked a cow", played make believe, and spent some quality time together.  We even grabbed lunch with Glamma. Good times.

Riley and "Soxanne"

Riley "milking" the cow at Midway Village

She wanted me to milk the cow too.

Riley ruining bacon and ham for me. :)

Working on a car and making Daddy proud. Oops! The muffler goes in back.

Working on a building project with a new friend.

I've heard that when it comes to parenting "The days are long but the years are short."  I'm working on making the most of the moments we do have together. Even if you're not a parent, I hope you'll make the most of your moments this week. :)      

                                                                                                        

"...find the good and praise it."

Hi!
One of my favorite moments from Monday's Inauguration Ceremony came when Sen. Lamar Alexander opened his speech by saying, "Ladies and gentleman, the late Alex Haley, the author of Roots, lived his life by these six words: "find the good and praise it."  It really got me thinking about how I could find the good that was happening around me.  Oftentimes, I get so busy that I forget to take the time to find the good.  I forget to actively seek.  So, here's my quick list of the recent good and my praise of it..

1) This past weekend I spent resting on the couch with Nick and Riley.  We've all had the cold/cough that's been going around.  It was a fantastic, restful weekend. I forgot how nice it was to snuggle in my pjs and watch movies. It's a shame I have to be sick in order to make myself do this. :)

2) I have been blessed with an amazing student teaching experience and guidance from a teacher that has been incredibly supportive.  We have had so much fun! I'm thankful for everyone I had the chance to work with and learn from. What an opportunity!  

3) I got a package in the mail this week from my other mom (Nick's mom) Tammy.  She knew I loved the Happiness Project book and got me the one-sentence journal to go with it.  I have been using it every day because it only requires one sentence. Totally manageable. What a wonderful surprise!

4) I was sad to hear that one of my favorite stores in Rockford was closing. Parable was the store that I loved to visit when I wanted to feel better.  I would browse book title and listen to music. I always seemed to leave with something for our house. It was one of my happy places (Starbucks being another happy place).  Even though I was sad to hear they were closing, I was thankful that they were selling the fixtures from the store.  I ended up buying two revolving book display racks and two of their double-sided book shelves.  To be able to bring parts of my "happy place" with me into a future classroom is something to praise. :)
 *Disclaimer: I don't expect everyone to be as excited about book displays as I am.  Thanks for humoring me!*

5)  This week I learned that "If you do something once and have a great time,  then it should become a tradition."  Words to live by and something I will be practicing. :)

I hope you have a wonderful week and make time to find the good and praise it in your life.

Happy Trailer (Documentary 2012)

Happy Thursday!

It's been a busy few weeks.  Yesterday was the first day back at school after winter break.  It was a fun and fast break for our family filled with lots of family gatherings.

One of the things Nick and I did over break was watch a movie I had downloaded from Starbucks. Starbucks offers a free movie rental, app, or music download each week and right before break one of them caught my eye.  It simply read "Happy".  I downloaded it and on New Year's Eve Nick and I watched it.  The film examines different things people can do to increase their joy as determined by research. According to their data, approximately 50% of a person's happiness is determined by their genetic predisposition. Another 10% is influenced by life's circumstances (finances, health, marriage, etc.)  This leaves another 40% that can be influenced by intentional behaviors.  If there are small things I can do every day to increase happiness I want to do them...don't you?

This is a fascinating topic.  Last year I read the book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and am currently reading Happier at Home by the same author. One of the recommendations from those books that I also saw in this film was to keep a gratitude journal. Write down at least 3 things each week that you are thankful for. When we are mindful of our blessings, we are less likely to complain or feel sad.

If you enjoy documentaries, I would recommend taking the time to watch Happy.  You can visit the website at: http://www.thehappymovie.com/   Here's the trailer:




May you have a day filled with happiness! :)