Tag Archives: teachers live at school

>Back to School: Are your kids ready? You can help.

Posted on by
2

>Sometimes my teenager amazes me. A few days ago he reminded me that we should start getting adjusted to school time. Both of us have been sleeping in – me past 8 a.m., and he past 10. When we have to get up at 6:30 or earlier to get ready for school, it could be a shock to our systems.

That’s one tip for getting ready for school: start adjusting the wake-up and bedtimes a few weeks before school starts.
Here’s another: take inventory together before school supply shopping. Yes, I said Together. I did this when La Petite was young, and we kept it up for her and for her brother as they outgrew crayons and markers and grew into jump drives and cell phones. Reusing the previous year’s scissors and rulers and backpacks saved us a bundle every August. Buying a good quality backpack one year meant I could avoid that cost for the next several autumns, too. Involving the kids meant fewer surprises and less begging. They knew what they already owned and knew what they’d need to buy.
Thinking ahead is a big help. Preparing for waking up early, reading the school handbooks as they arrive in the mail, filling out paperwork as soon as possible: all save time and headaches later. If your paperwork needs a signature, such as a medication form, drop it off at the appropriate doctor’s office now. Many physicians are inundated by sports physicals and medication permissions as school starts; give them time to review files and sign the forms.
Obvious though it may sound, read the school’s supply lists and follow them. Teachers agonize over these before putting them together; there’s a reason for everything. Let me trade my parental blogger hat for my teacher thinking cap for a moment.
Brand names count. I’ve had to open generic glue bottles many, many times over the years. If the teacher suggests Elmer’s, please buy Elmer’s. Your child will be relieved to start gluing his projects right away while the others are fighting with their clogged bottles.
Details count. If the teacher requests rulers that measure to the 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch or have centimeters and millimeters on one side, the math or science curriculum probably requires those measurements.
Many teachers color-code notebooks and folders to help kids organize. Seriously, moms and dads, when I ask 28 students to take out their math and I see a sea of blue, I know they’re ready for class.
Teachers usually have a few extras, but not enough for the whole class. One of my pet peeves is the child who refuses to bring in a box of crayons, saying, “I can just use yours.” No, honey, that’s not what the teacher’s crayon box is for. That box helps when a child loses his red or his blue and has to borrow one to do the puzzle correctly. If a family can’t afford to replace a box of crayons, I have connections to get those supplies donated. But a family who can afford to buy pencils and doesn’t? That’s simply not acceptable.
Stepping off my soapbox, setting my teacher thinking cap aside, I’m back to being Mom. Making my lists, checking them twice, and remembering to make time to read. After all, it is still summer. Summer means relaxing, and reading is a big part of that. Offline I go, on to the printed page.
I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms blogging program to be eligible to get a HarperCollins book set. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Back to School with Paper Mate Biodegradable Pens and Pencils

Posted on by
3

>
It’s (shudder) Back to School time!


It’s not easy being green when school is starting. Really. I stock up while supplies are on sale so I don’t have to spend a bundle when my pens and pencils run out in January, and that eases my frugal mind. My eco-conscious sensibilities are a little harder to please. Lunch boxes and water bottles, pencils and pens, and more – many of these items end up in garbage later. Imagine an empty pen, the ink used up in writing fabulous stories and essays, multiply by the 300 students in my school, and there’s quite a pile-up in our local landfill.

When Mom Central offered a chance to try out and review the new Paper Mate pens and pencils, I said, “A biodegradable pen? A mechanical pencil suitable for compost? Count me in!” They sent me a sample of each.

Step one: does it write well? I must admit that I do not like mechanical pencils in my fourth grade classroom. Kids spend more time loading and reloading the lead than they do writing. The pencil writes well, the leads are packaged well in a pencil-sized case (less likely to be lost than smaller cases) with leads on one end and erasers on the other. This has potential; I’ll keep mine in my main desk drawer and write my name on the pencil itself so it doesn’t *ahem* disappear into a student desk. The pens write well, too, with no warm-up time. That’s important; if you’ve ever waited for a child with ADHD to get a brand new pen working, you’ll know what I mean.

Now for the selling point: biodegradable components. Both pens and pencils come in cardboard packages – no plastic. That’s a point in their favor. On the back of the package is a diagram showing which pieces can be composted and which should go in the wastebaskets. This is also a plus, as it prevents students from throwing the entire pen in the compost only to find a rusty spring in the tomatoes next fall. The challenge is this: keeping the back of the package until the pen runs out of ink and the pencil leads are all used up. Will the student know what to do when the writing implement has reached the end of its useful and creative life?

I checked the Paper Mate website, thinking that kids are more likely to look to the Internet than to keep a scrap of cardboard, no matter how important. I found what I needed here: a video showing how to dispose of the pen properly and demonstrating the pen’s decomposition over a year’s time. Paper Mate is also very straightforward about the fact that the majority of its product is biodegradable, not the whole thing. Their honesty keeps them out of the green-washing category and in the serious eco-conscious world.

I plan to use mine before “planting” them in my garden or compost. That’s one challenge to this review; I couldn’t bring myself to waste the product itself in order to test its compost-ability. I am a teacher, though; I go through writing implements quickly. There’s a strong chance that I’ll be able to plant a pen or pencil before winter arrives.

Paper Mate’s web site states that “Every little bit helps.” These utensils may not be completely earth-friendly, but it’s a good start. In fact, it’s a great start.

Thanks, Paper Mate, for taking the time and effort to develop yet another eco-conscious product.

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Paper Mate and received the products necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, I received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate. In my research for this review, I discovered that the new pens are only one of many environmentally responsible products from Paper Mate. They make recycled products, and you can read their company philosophy here and green FAQs here.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Math, math, math.

Posted on by
1

>

I spent my days last week learning more and more and more about math – teaching math.
Here’s what my group’s table looked like at one point. These are Secret Code Cards for teaching place value.

If you’re wondering, there were two coffee cups just out of picture range. I’m holding mine. The training was good, but we teachers do what we have to do to stay focused in the final days of July.

While we’re at it, can you identify the two numbers illustrated below? Write them in words; no fair using numbers.

Get your coffee, and let’s get started. Math time!

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Reading, reading, reading.

Posted on by
2

>Amigo is grumpy today. He slept until 11, which is not typical for him. He’s a teenager, but as teens go, he’s a morning person. Sleeping past 10 is unusual for this kiddo. When he’s grumpy, there’s usually a point at which I just get sick of dealing with him and I have to walk away. When that happens, I think to myself, “Thank goodness for audio books.”

We make regular trips to the public library. I get books for pleasure reading (as opposed to professional reading that I do year-round), and he gets books on CD and books on Play-aways. The Play-away is a cool new kind of technology. It’s tiny, the size of an MP3 player. People who check out a play-away provide a AAA battery and a pair of headphones or earbuds, hook them up, and they’re all set to listen. Amigo likes to pick out two books on CD and two play-aways. At the rate he’s going, he might go through the library’s entire young adult collection before summer ends. He’s already brought up the idea of bringing play-aways on road trips because they take up so little space in his luggage.
Our public library is a hoppin’ and rockin’ place this summer. Finding parking is never easy. Frankly, taking the bus is easier. Librarians have mentioned that the hot weather helps; families want to take advantage of the free air conditioning, and if it means the kids are reading more, great!
Amigo is at an age where I have less influence on how he spends his leisure time. However, he still reads. In part, that’s because our summer reading has always been about fun: sit down on the outside swing, enjoy the breeze, read aloud together. I’ve never pushed him to read from a specific book list or topic. Many times he reads the Braille copy and I have a print copy and we ready together. Sometimes he tucks himself into a bean bag chair with an audio book and just enjoys the story.
When a parent asks me, “What should my child be reading?” I answer, “Let them choose.” Choose a book, enjoy the book, and have fun reading all summer long.

I Can Read! BooksBecome an I Can Read! Member

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Back to School Vaccines: it’s not too early!

Posted on by
Reply

>I’m getting Amigo’s paperwork ready for school in the fall. I’m dealing with my own health issues. And while medical care is all fresh in my mind, I find my mind wandering to my own students, those I will teach in the fall.

Last year the children in my class were hit hard by H1N1. During a three to four week period, I saw five to ten students out each day. Each one missed at least four days; the sickest of the group missed two full weeks of school.

Amigo is 18. La Petite is 23, a recent college graduate. In the five years between them, immunizations changed. It’s very important to keep up on the changes; teens need regular physicals, just like babies and toddlers do.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is asking bloggers to remind parents to immunize their teens and preteens. Did you know that while most infants and children get the vaccines they need, less then half of pre-teens and teens receive the vaccines specifically recommended for their age group?
There are serious diseases that kids are at increased risk for as they approach the teen years such as meningitis, whooping cough, and human papillomavirus (also known as HPV, the virus that can lead to cervical cancer in women).

Meningococcal infections are very serious and can result in long-term disability or even death.
Pertussis, also called whooping cough, is not just a childhood disease—many teens are diagnosed with it each year. Five years ago, one of my 6th grade students had it and generously shared the virus with me – in June.
Certain strains of HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, can cause cervical pre-cancer and cancer.

There are three vaccines recommended specifically for kids at ages 11 or 12 to protect them from these diseases:

Meningococcal vaccine, which protects against meningitis and its complications
Tdap vaccine, which is a booster against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis
HPV vaccine, which protects girls and women against the types of HPV that most commonly cause cervical cancer

In addition, pre-teens (and all kids 6 months and older!) should get the flu vaccine every year. Even healthy kids can get the flu and it can be serious. Just ask last year’s fourth graders!

You might be thinking, “Oh, that’s fine for people with health insurance. What about those who can’t afford vaccines?” Many of my students and their families fall into that category. Lost job or low income doesn’t have to prevent necessary health care. Look into the Vaccines For Children (VFC) program for funding sources.


I focus more and more on keeping my family healthy through holistic eating and natural methods. I will never give up their vaccines, though. Immunizations are too important to miss.

I am writing this post as part of a CDC blogger outreach program. I may receive a small thank you gift from the CDC for my participation in raising awareness about pre-teen immunizations.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>No bladder left untested

Posted on by
6

>It is a cruel, cruel world.

I needed an ultrasound to help figure out what’s going wrong. If you’re familiar with ultrasounds and uteruses (uteri?) you might know that these are done with a full bladder. According to those in the know, the full bladder makes it easier to distinguish the uterus and recognize what’s in it. Hence, the pre-test instructions noted that for a 12:15 appointment, I was to empty my bladder at 11:00, drink 40 oz. of liquids between 11:00 and 11:15, and then refrain from emptying the aforementioned full bladder until after the test was completed.

Enter Teacher Bladder!! Educator humor always mentions teachers’ superhuman bladders. I can look at the clock during class, register that I have 40 minutes until the recess bell, and say to myself, “No problem. I can hold it.” An ultrasound shouldn’t be any different. Or should it?

Well, I was nervous. Nervous about the tests and nervous about the potential results, although I hadn’t yet admitted that to myself. Nerves + full bladder = added nervousness and an increased need to go.

Upon arrival at the clinic, I had to wait in not one, but two waiting rooms. Nervousness + waiting + full bladder = even more increased need to go.

After completing the final registration and getting my fashionable wristband, I had to walk past no fewer than two large, prominently labeled restrooms on the way to the radiology department. Oh, the torture!

Yes, I called on my inner teacher – in July. Now that’s just cruel.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>True friendship lasts: The Girls from Ames by Jeffrey Zaslow

Posted on by
1

>The phone rang just as President Obama started speaking. I thought, “Oh, no! I’ll let voice mail catch it.” Then I saw the caller ID in the corner of my TV (technology is handy that way), and I leaped out of my chair.

It was a close friend calling to tell me that another close friend had lost her father to kidney disease. He’d been failing for a while, and they all knew it was coming, but she needed us. All of us, her closest friends.

We became friends through work and school: five teachers in the same elementary school building earning our graduate degrees together. The others in the program nicknamed us the Fab Five. We car pooled together, we exchanged ideas on projects, rehashed the good and the bad from our weekend on Mondays in the teachers’ lounge. And after our final projects were mailed and graded, after the diplomas arrived, even after I moved to a new job in a different school, we remained friends. We still share the good, the bad, the hilarious, and the traumatic. We email each other. We turn up in each other’s dreams. We still get together to drink coffee and shop, but mainly to talk.

I imagine the ten women who call themselves the Girls from Ames are a lot like us.

The Girls from Ames: a story of women & a forty year friendship is true. It reads like a novel with history and flashbacks, but the back stories are based on scrapbooks and diaries, not an author’s imagination. The book is illustrated with a photos from then and now, but more than that, it’s illustrated with the stories of relationships.

The “Girls” became friends when they were young. Eleven individuals, all unique, bonded with each other during their high school years in Ames, Iowa. Their hometown, a Midwestern college town, provided the kind of stability and small-town atmosphere typical of America’s heartland in the 1960s and 1970s. After their high school graduations, they separated to attend colleges in different states. In a pre-Internet age, without the benefit of email or cell phones, these women stayed in touch and shared marriages, divorces, children, family illnesses, even the death of one of the original eleven.

I’ve heard it said that men take a long time to get to talking, while women take a long time to get to companionable silence. This is a book about women, written by a male author, chronicles the uniqueness of friendships that have lasted more than forty years. Jeffrey Zaslow (also co-author of The Last Lecture) earned the trust of the Girls from Ames and learned from their talk and their silences. He pulled together eleven different life stories into one coherent collection, much like the eleven women still pull together for each other. His book is truly their story: the story of friendship, life, and love.

The Girls from Ames has a companion website with pictures, video, discussion, questions, and other women’s stories of friendship.

I’ll be joining the rest of the Fab Five on Monday to support one of our own friendship circle. Blog readers, as you read The Girls from Ames, I hope you will continue to cultivate your own friendships, strengthening and maintaining bonds for life.

Gotham Books provided me with a copy of The Girls from Ames in order to read it and write this review. I received no other compensation for the review.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Smartboards and Smart Love of Learning

Posted on by
1

>I entered this blog tour with a touch of envy. I’ve sample the joys of interactive boards in other classrooms and I am registered for training before the next school year starts. I don’t have one in my elementary classroom – yet – but I do have access to an interactive board in another location down the hall.

Currently, I have an oldfashioned chalkboard and overhead projector in my room. I share a media cart (laptop and projector) with the other teachers in my unit. My fourth grade students have grown up with technology; they consider a computer as natural as a telephone. Many even have their own cell phones, email accounts, and even Facebook pages. Maybe they’ll friend the Smart Love of Learning page! If you’re not on Facebook, you can find the Smart Love of Learning here.

A Smart Board does much more than provide a writing surface. In fact, it takes the computer and projector several steps farther, incorporating technological options into the projecting surface. This video on YouTube showcases the Smart board’s potential for fun. In addition to its use as a teaching tool, my school also uses the technology in staff meetings to project everything from test statistics to crisis intervention plans to inspirational videos.

MomCentral asked its bloggers to talk about the best teacher ever. I’m biased, of course; I’d like to think I’m the best teacher ever! If you talk to the student who drew the picture below, I think she’d agree. Maybe I’ll keep a small chalkboard around just for kids like her.

I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Smart Love of Learning and Smart Technologies. I did not recieve a Smart Board to facilitate the review, but I did receive an Amazon gift certificate to thank me for my time. I can, however, enter the contest on Smart Love of Learning’s web site with prizes including (you guessed it!) a classroom Smart Board. PTA moms and other advocates, pay attention! Click on the apple, enter the relevant information, and you could win one for your child’s teacher.

Share and Enjoy !

Shares

>Rhubarb Dessert

Posted on by
1

>

A teaching colleague and fellow gardener shared this recipe. It’s perfect for June, when the rhubarb plants are thriving!

Mrs. Enviro-Teacher’s Rhubarb Dessert

Crust:
1 c. butter, softened
2 c. flour
2 T. sugar
Mix together and press into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, or lightly browned.

Mix:
5 c. diced rhubarb
3 egg yolks, beaten
3 T. flour
2 c. sugar
1/8 t. salt
½ c. cream

Pour over baked crust. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven.

Meringue:
Beat 3 egg whites. Add 1/3 c. sugar, a little at a time, and then ½ t. vanilla. Beat until it peaks. (Don’t make meringue until you have taken dessert out of the oven.)
Swirl meringue over top of baked dessert. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.

This sweet and tart treat was a major hit in the teachers’ lounge. I highly recommend it!

And yes, as the badge indicates, I’ve signed up for NaBloPoMo for the month of June. Why not? School’s out, and the mom/garden/teacher blogger will play!

Share and Enjoy !

Shares