Making Do ...

One of the most useful things I learned growing up was to "Make Do". That means when you don't have exactly what you need, you find something else that will work instead. This skill has been especially useful in the field of teaching. How many times do you find yourself without certain supplies and no time or money to run to the store? Anyway, I was in the midst of making little card game books for my kids, and found myself in need of a bunch of those metal rings that open up and allow you to bind a whole bunch of pages together loosly. Well, after seeing how much it was going to cost to purchase them, I decided there had to be another answer. This is where "making do" comes in ... I was walking through the dollar store and was on a mission for a cheaper replacement for the rings. After cruising through several aisles, I found myself in the toy section, and then I spotted the solution! A Mini Magic Spring (aka - a plastic Slinky)! Yep, what could be better? It was the right diameter, it was extremely colorful (an added bonus), durable and flexible enough to attach though the cardstock. To make it even more exciting, it turns out that the Mini Magic Springs come in 2 packs. That's right, 50 cents a spring. So I picked up a box or 5 (you can't have too many my dad would say) and smiled all the way out to my car. Upon arriving at home, I simply opened the box cut the spring a couple of coils down and slipped it onto the cards. It worked beautifully! Believe it or not, I was able to cut 24 rings out of each Mini Magic Spring. That's almost 50 rings in each box. So if you are looking for a cute and colorful way to attach things together, visit your local Dollar Tree and pick up some Mini Magic Springs.

Observation Idea

Thank goodness! I finished my observation a couple of weeks ago, and thought to myself ... I am so glad that is over! Then I got to thinking about the process I went through to figure out what I wanted my observation lesson to be about. For about 2 weeks, I reviewed all kinds of topics and ideas and finally I wound up creating my own lesson & sheets to go with it. I taught a lesson on visualization, and the children learned how it can help their comprehension of a story or poem. So, for those of you that haven't done your observation yet, I've decided to post up my lesson plan and  pages needed to make the lesson happen so if you need an idea you can tweak, maybe this will help. By the way, the lesson went really well, and the kids loved the activity. The pictures they created were so good, I promised to make a class book out of them. As a side note, by the time the lesson was over, the children had not only learned about visualizing, but also adjectives, sequencing and summarizing. We had a blast! Below you will find my lesson plan, the poem I used, the children's response sheet and examples of what the children visualized.

Observation Lesson Plan 2011 Blog

This is What I Visualized

The Turkey Shot Out of the Oven

Breast Cancer Awareness

Well, since it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought I would share an interview I did a couple of weeks ago with my doctor about that very subject. Remember to be proactive and take good care of yourself!

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsatlanta.com%2Fvideo%3FautoStart%3Dtrue%26topVideoCatNo%3Ddefault%26clipId%3D6357382&h=WAQA0o7u7

Spooky ABC Order

Here is another activity I use around Halloween to give the little ones yet another opportunity to practice their alphabetizing skills. Hopefully the spooky words will motivate them to really pay attention to the spelling of each word. At least it's worth a try right?
Spooky Halloween Words ABC

Conferences Already?

Don't look now, but conferences are right around the corner for a lot of us. I developed a survey that I send out to my parents so it makes scheduling their child's conference much easier. I have found that it greatly reduces the amount of conferences that need to be rescheduled, therefore decreasing my frustration level. I also find it handy when I am trying to coordinate sibling conferences so one follows another. Give it a try and see what you think. Just in case you don't have a typed up schedule for your conferences, I have also attached one of those to save you some time. Both of the documents below can be updated with your information in a snap! Enjoy!

Conference Scheduling Questionnaire
Conference Scheduling Form 10-2011 Post

Sweet Tea Pearly Whites

I have to stop being a teacher momentarily, if that is possible, and tell you all about a great product I found in the store the other day. I don't know about you, but I have gotten addicted to McDonald's sweet tea. That extra "pick me up" in the morning is a must have before my 23 little seven year olds arrive at my door at 7:05 am. Well, I have noticed over the past 6 months that not only is the tea a light brown color, but my teeth are turning that color too. So the other day I was strolling through the store and noticed a new toothpaste that stated it would whiten my teeth. Well my poor tea-stained pearly whites needed some attention so I bought it. Yes, I know there are a ton of these miracle toothpastes out there, but this one seems to be doing the trick. If you have the same tea addiction I do, you might want to give it a whirl. It is working for me so far, hopefully it will work for you too.

I May Need Professional Help!

Okay, I was finding every excuse I could the other day to avoid writing my plans for the next week, when I decided to check out Vistaprint. Oh sure, I thought, how time consuming it be??? Well, 3:00am rolled around and there I was ordering "holiday homework coupons" for my kids. Yep, I got 100 for free. By the time my order was complete, I had racked up well over $100 in products. The best part is every item was free, and I only had to pay $29.48 in shipping. I bet you are thinking what in the world did she find to buy? Well, I attached a list and some pictures of my goodies. I'll be honest, part of the fun was designing the projects, the other part was the "Free Factor". Feel free to take a peek ... maybe my creations will get your creative juices flowing!

140 Classroom Library book Labels

1 Rubber Stamp

1 Pen

1 Huge Magnet for my Whiteboard

1 Hat

1 Pad of Sticky Notes

1 Banner

100 Post Cards

10 Note Cards & Envelopes

50 Oversize Post Cards

Disclaimer: Beware! Once you order from them, they will send you amazing emails for more free offers. And there in lays the point at which the professional help has to step in. I wonder if I should start a support group for Vistaprint users? Just in case you want to take a walk on the wild side, Vistaprint's web address is below:

www.vistaprint.com