Patriotic Day

Today, after you say the Pledge of Allegiance, celebrate Patriotic Day by discussing our nation's history.



Then, make a clever pin out extra large safety-pins, red, white and blue beads.

Creating Your Home Office

Creating a comfortable, productive and inspirational office space should be the goal of every teacher who needs to works from home occasionally. Arranging and organizing such an office can be easy. Consider including the following aspects when setting up your home office:

Dedicate a specific room. You need to define your home office space as where you work and not mix it with where you sleep and relax. Devote a room for your home office.

Create a comfortable home office: Buy a comfortable chair that rolls and make sure your keyboard is at the correct height. Make sure you have adequate lighting and include a radio, if you work better with music and a coffee pot if you work best early in the morning.

Organize your home office: Have everything you need to write or execute projects in your home business efficiently. Place paper near the printer, maintain a rolodex to make call quickly, get a desk caddy for your pens, pencil, stapler, tape and note pads.

*Set up an alphabetized list (using an address book) of your user and passwords for your computer.

*Organize your bookshelves according subject for easy reference.

Create a space that's inspirational: If you can, set up your home office in a room that has a window. Allow sunshine and contact with the outside world to come in. Sometimes bringing the outdoors in can be a distraction, although, many people feel it increases their level of productivity and creativity.

Devote wall space to show your accomplishments. Hang your diplomas, awards and letters of recognition on the wall. Many people hang a picture of someone they admire. This motivates them to achieve their goals.

Create a warm and inviting space. Don't dread going to your home office. Make it pleasing to the eye. Place family pictures on your desk, or on the wall. Tack up children's art projects. Bring the garden inside with fresh flowers and green plants.

When it's all done, you'll love working there!

May Day Baskets In The New Millennium

The custom of celebrating the first day of May began hundreds of years ago by country dwellers. People gathered to share great feasts to bless the birth and joy of spring. Celebrations included dancing around a May Pole (most likely a grain wheel) and picking spring flowers. Over the years this tradition evolved into May Day. In the United States, the May Basket was born when neighbors presented baskets of flower to one another.

With a new millennium well underway, why not create May Day baskets with a whole new look and purpose? Instead of simply a casual assortment of spring flowers, make your May Day baskets a sophisticated collection of useful items which reflect the personal tastes and interests of the receiver.

A few suggestions for creative May Day baskets :

For the Teacher:

- Colorful pencils
- Sticky notes with illustrations or photos of apples on them
- A bag of chocolates, a teacher’s best friend
- Bottle of aspirin
- Cinnamon-apple tea bags
- Mug with apples on it
- Red apples
- Teachers stamps and stamp pad

For the Artist:

- Artist’s palette
- Sketch pad
- Assortment of brushes
- Charcoal pencils
- Bottle of turpentine and linseed oil
- Gum erasers

For the Wine Connoisseur:

- Cork screw
- Wine glasses
- Guide to buying wine
- Assortment of cheeses
- Assortment of Crackers
- Bottles of wine


Creating a May Day basket around a theme is as easy as dropping by the grocery, department or craft store. Decorate your baskets with colored tissues, ribbons and cellophanes. Mixing and matching colors and themes is the fun part.

Simple Pleasures

Images of cool breezes, rustling leaves and fragrant flowers may come to mind when you think of a picnic.

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Being on a picnic is always a pleasant state of mind. Take a break from your daily chores today, put together a picnic and share it with your friends and family.

Cooking With Kids

Preparing healthy snacks with your children teaches them an important life skill -healthy eating habits.



Flour tortillas are a versatile food, that can be made into tacos, burritos and sometimes quesadillas. And, they are low in calories and carbohydrates.

This week, when your kids come home from school, and are hungry for a snack, have a selection of grated cheeses, taco sauces and flour tortillas available.

Help them prepare a quesadilla they can cook in the microwave. You'll only have to show them once and they'll get they hang of it.

This healthy snack will satify their hunger until dinner.

Apples for the Teacher

A slice of apple for every teacher in school.



Bake up this Apple Butter Cake, take it to school, and celebrate the end of the week.

Mix the following into a dough:

1 - Package yellow cake mix
1 - Stick butter
1 - Egg

Press into a lightly greased 9 x 13 -inch pan.

Beat for three minutes:

1 - 8 oz Package cream cheese
2 - Eggs
3/4 box powdered sugar

Pour over dough then bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool then cover with apple pie filling, cut into squares.

Math, Charts and Graphs

To illustrate the use of mathematical graphs record the growth of the herb seeds, in the Mother's Day pots, for three weeks on a chart.



Design a chart with the following data:

1. STUDENT'S NAME
2. DATE
3. KIND OF HERB SEED- PLANTED
4. MEASUREMENTS OF PLANT'S GROWTH


At the end of three weeks convert this data into a graph. You might also discuss which herbs grew faster and why.

Science

Growing plants in the classroom always provides opportunities to teach science. Once your potted seeds start to grow and have leaves, you can perform this easy science experiment to illustrate that plants move just like people and animals.



In the morning turn all the pots, so the leaves are facing the inside of the classroom, away from the sunlight.

At the end of the day, have your students, check to see if the leaves moved. They will probably be facing the windows and the sunshine.

An Herb Garden for Mother

Using inexpensive materials your students can make an herb garden for Mother's Day.



What You'll Need:

8 " terra-cotta flower pots
Assortment of herbs seeds such as: parsley, sage rosemary and ... whatever is available in your area.
pop sicle sticks
gold craft paint
black, fine line permanent markers
assorted colors of ribbon (enough for a 15" piece for each planter)

1. Have students paint pots with gold paint, let dry.
2. With permanent markers, have students print Mother's Day, the day and year on the side of the pot.
3. After students fill their pots with soil give them three seeds, of their choice, to plant (about a 1/2-inch deep).
4. Write the names of the herbs on the board. Pass out popsicle sticks. Have students make a plant marker for their gardens.
5. Cut a 15" length of ribbon. Help students secure it around the top edge, with a bow.
6. Place pots in a sunny spot, water and wait for the seeds to sprout.

If students begin these herb gardens soon, they should have a nice gift by Mother's Day.

Reading , A Path To Writing

"Reading and writing are language arts that are interelated and mutually supportive of one another. . ." Becoming a Nation of Readers, 1985



Creating a garden,is a challenge for Lydia Grace when she comes to live in the big city. A good book to foster the connection between reading and writing is, The Gardener, by David Small. Written as a series of letters, this book lends itself towards lessons introducing letter writing.

Mother's Day is just three weeks away. To extend today's reading aloud session have students write letters to their mothers or grandmothers. These letters can accompany their Mother's Day gifts.

I'll have a cute and inexpensive planter your students can make mom, for Mother's Day, tomorrow.

Simple Pleasures

"The kiss of sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth-
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth."
- Dorothy Gurney



Make this Sunday afternoon a pleasant retreat from the hectic pace of school. Shop for flowers then work in your garden.

Earth Day, Cooking With Kids

Energy Muffins

Celebrate Earth day by taking a hike with your kids. Take along these healthy muffins, your kids can help you make, for an energy snack along the way. Makes 12 to 15 muffins

Before you head out the door, visit this link, http://www.earthday.wilderness.org, read about the history of Earth Day and find activites for your classroom.


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
a pinch of cloves
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup of chopped nuts of your choice (optional)
1/2 cup drained crushed pineapple

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a muffin tin with butter, dust with sugar.
3. In a large bowl, sift the flours, sugar, baking soda, salt, and spices together.
4. In a smaller bowl whisk eggs, then add oil.
5. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients, blend well but do not over mix.
6. Gently fold in carrots, coconut, raisins, nuts and pineapple until blended.

Drop dollops of batter into the prepared muffin tin. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool, then place in ziplock bags.

Pack up your backpack with sunscreen, bottles of water and your Energy Muffins and have great hike!

Goodies for Teachers

What's a teacher's best friend?



CHOCOLATE!

It's Friday! When I taught school, each grade level took turns providing goodies for the staff. We usually had a theme, like a Mexican Fiesta or a spring salad bar. Many times it was just pot luck.

Here's a recipe for Chocolate Rocky Road Candy. It will complement any buffet in the teacher's lounge

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1/3 cup cashews
2 cups mini pretzels
1/2 bag colored miniature marshmallows

Melt chocolate slowly in a double boiler. Blend remaining ingredients into melted chocolate, then pour onto waxed paper. Roll into a log. Chill two hours, then slice into 1/2-inch pieces.

Arrange on a platter

Enjoy!

Phonograms

Here is the final list of phonograms. Remember, most word families are usually rhymes and only require a beginning consonant sound, or consonant blend. For instance: "ill", add p and you have pill, or add sk and you will have skill. Really, word family endings are phonograms.

Teaching word families strikes a balance between whole to part and part to whole phonics instruction. As children encounter common root words, prefixes, and suffixes again and again they begin to recognize these alphabet combinations instantly and no longer need to sound out each letter.

To get started teaching word families take a large piece of poster board. Create a chart by listing the word endings below down the left side of the poster board.

Beginning with "ear" have students think of all the words they know that end in "ear", For example: near fear, clear. Next, list these new words next to the phonogram ending. Repeat this exercise for each word family.

-ear -ice
-eat -ick
-ed -id
-ee -ide
-eed -ies
-eek -ig
-eep -ight
-ett -ile
-ell -ill
-end -ime
-ent -in
-ess -ine
-est -ing
-et -ink
-ew -int

Source: Reading Instruction that Works - Michael Pressley 1998

Dragon food

Ask children what they imagine dragons eat. They'll probably say bugs, mice or worms. Write their ideas on the board. Then tell them you're going serve them some dragon food. It'll be fun to see their reactions.



Here's a recipe for dragon food that I'm sure your children will eat.

What you'll Need:

1 5.9 OZ package chocolate instant pudding, prepare according to package directions
2 cups Oreo@ cookies, crushed
2/3 cup Chocolate Flavor Nestle Nesquik™ Syrup
1 8 OZ container frozen non-dairy whipped topping, thawed
1 12 OZ package gummy worms
8 OZ plastic cups (as many as you need)

Directions:
1. Combine cookie crumbs and Nesquik™ in a bowl - save a 1/4 cup.

2. In disposable cups ( you will have to distribute this as evenly as you can among the cups) make layers of: the pudding and the whipped topping.

3. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture, then top each cup with a gummy worm.

Have Fun!

Craft Time

I hope your kids enjoyed Jack Prelutsky's poems about dragons. To extend this reading aloud lesson, here's a cute dragon your kids can make out of an egg carton.



What you'll need to make two egg carton dragons:

1- egg carton
1- 9" x 11" piece green felt
1- 9" x 11" piece red felt
4- wiggle eyes (found in craft stores)
1- bottle green craft paint
1- bottle craft glue

Directions:
1. Cut the top of the egg carton off. Cut the crate (bottom) in two-lengthwise. Paint the egg carton, inside and out green, let dry.
2. From the green felt cut three 2"x 2" squares. Cut these in half diagonally. You will now have six triangles for the scales.
3. Glue these triangle/scales along the outside of the egg carton.
4. From the green felt, cut another piece of felt 1" x 5". Fold this piece in half and cut it diagonally, you'll have a long triangular piece. Glue this piece to the end of the egg carton for the dragon's tail.
5. From the red felt, cut a piece 1" x 2 1/2". Fold this piece in half and cut diagonally, you'll have a long triangular piece. Glue this piece on the opposite end for the dragon's tongue.
6. Above the tongue glue two wiggle eyes.

Display the kids' dragons along the windowsill or make a bulletin board especially for them.

Have fun!

Reading Aloud

Jack Prelusky's book, The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, is a wonderful book of poems about dragons. This cute and funny book also provides endless possibilities for teachers to extend their reading aloud lessons.

Here's a sample of one of his poems:

I Have a Dozen Dragons

"I have a dozen dragons,
I bought them at the mall,
I keep them in my closet,
It's fortunate they're small.
Their horns are red and silver,
Their scales are green and gold,
All of them are beautiful,
And all of them are bold.. ."

Jack Prelutsky, 1993 Scholastic Books Inc., New York, NY

Read my blog tomorrow and I'll give the directions to make a cute dragon. Hint! You need an empty egg carton.

On Wednesday I'll have an activity on writing poetry.

Note: Those of you who regulary read by blog probably have noticed I've changed the day I give you a reading aloud idea. That's to help you schedule the follow up activities into your lesson plans for the week.

Simple Pleasure

"Be joyful. . . give thanks in all circumstances, for this god's will for you in Christ Jesus."
Thessalonians 5:16-18




As teachers, we sometimes become overwhelmed by the responsibilities of our profession. We often worry too much about grading papers, calling parents or making lesson plans. We forget to slow down, look around and give thanks to the wonderful lives we have, filled with children.

Today, forget about everyday nuisances and remember why you became a teacher.

Sponge Cake Bunnies

This time of year soft, plush bunnies arrive on stores shelves for Easter baskets.



Here's a cute bunny kids can make, then eat to celebrate the Easter holiday.


What You'll Need:

1- box(12 pack)Hostess Twinkies@ (for the body)
1- 12 Oz can Pillsbury@ vanilla frosting
1- 14 Oz bag flaked coconut (for the bunnny fur)
1- 10.5 Oz bag miniature marshmallows (for the tail)
1- package pink Pez@ candy (for the nose)
1- bag red hots candy (for the eyes)
3 to 4 tablespoons of milk
1- 2 Oz bag pink Easter Grass
1- 6 Oz bag jelly beans

Place frosting in a bowl and add milk. Mix until well blended (frosting should be thin enough to spread easily on twinkies). Frost twinkies then sprinkle coconut over them. Pat coconut down to keep in place. On one end on the frosted twinkies place the marshmallow tails. On the opposite end, add the candies for the eyes and noses.
Makes 12

On a cake plate, covered with pink Easter grass, arrange bunnies. Sprinkle jelly beans around for more color.

Reading Aloud:

I bet your students are hopping up and down with excitement. Easter is just two days away!



Settle them down and read the Velveteen Rabbit, by Margery Williams. An old favorite perfect for reading aloud this time of year. Kids love hearing this story - it touches their hearts.

Read my blog tomorrow, I'll have a recipe for cute and easy Sponge Cake Bunnies, kids can make.