Happy Mother's Day

Let your children pamper you today. If they want to cook, what the heck, even though you know they'll probably burn your toast and create a disaster in the kitchen.



And, check out these links to articles for Mom today:

Renee Kirchner writes about her idea of the Perfect Mother's Day

The Three Angels Gourmet Co. offers a beautiful Mother's Day Poem

Read an article about moms who want to start their own business by work-at-home mom, Carrie Lauth at the Working Writer's Coach blog

Beat the Sugar Blues With This Fruit Medley

Hooray, summer vacation is just around the corner. And yes, you're probably working on getting off those extra pounds you put on last winter. And, today you're suppose to bring treats to the teacher's lounge.



You're probably not the only teacher watching her calorie intake, so today substitute a fresh, fruit medley for the usual carb fare.

Fruit Medley:

3 - Large Bananas
1 - Quart strawberries
1/2 Cantaloupe
A large bunch of seedless grapes
1 - Large can chunk pineapple


Drain pineapple, reserve juice. Dice fruit (except grapes and pineapple) into bite size pieces. Toss together in a large bowl.

Glaze:

1/4 Cup Flour
1/8 Cup Splenda@ sugar substitute
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 Cup orange juice
Reserved juice from pineapple

Blend all ingredients well with a whisk, then bring to a boil in a saucepan. Then, add two tablespoons of butter, mix well.

Let mixture cool. Pour over fruit, mix and chill.

Fruit is full of vitamins and has natural sugar. You won't experience the sugar blues you get from high carbohydrate foods!

Meet Renee Kirchner

Hi, thanks for stopping by today. I want you to meet Renee Kirchner, she and I are members of the Lieurance Group a writer's cooperative.

The Lieurance Group is a cooperative of experienced and gifted writers and graphics designers who would like to help YOU any way we can.



Renee Kirchner is a children’s author and freelance writer living in Carrollton, Texas. She is the author of BIOMES, a non-fiction chapter book published by Kid Haven Press.

Renee has written articles, stories, poems and puzzles for a variety of publications such as Family Fun Magazine, the Dallas Morning News, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Guideposts for Kids, Highlights, and many others. She enjoys writing both fiction and non-fiction for children and adults.

Renee holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Texas Tech University and spent ten years at Verizon working in various marketing positions.

She is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and served as the marketing coordinator for the North Texas chapter during 2005.

Please visit her blog at www.Family-Friend.blogspot.com

Her family and her writing are her life’s greatest passions. Email her about possible writing assignments.

A Brief History - Sneakers

Long gone are high heels and loafers, instead many people are now wearing sneakers to work, especially teachers.




Sneakers are a necessity in the daily routines of many teachers. Moving around classrooms and throughout their schools, teachers are on their feet all day long. Sneakers are not only comfortable, but they come to our rescue and keep our feet warm on those days when we patrol the cold, hard playground.

The first sneaker was used in England about one hundred years ago. These shoes were made primaily for the upper classes, to wear when they played lawn tennis, cricket or croquet. Sneakers then were made of canvas and had rubber soles. Sneakers are also known by other names such as: tennis shoes, gym shoes, cross trainers, and running shoes. Today, sneakers or tennis shoes are the most popular shoe sold, and when people buy a pair they usually have a particular sport in mind for their use.

Pull your sneakers on (or maybe you already have them on) and take a fitness walk with your students. You'll feel more energetic and inspired to finish the day.

Craft Time, Sneaker Fun

Don't toss those old sneakers away, recycle them into colorful teaching aids.



Wash all of your old, beat up sneakers. Then, decorate them up with three dimentional craft paints, beads and glitters. Cut out the old laces and replace them with colorful ones.

Place these decorated sneaker in one of your classroom centers. Students can practice tying and lacing them up.

Reading Aloud, Shoelaces

Make learning to tie shoes fun for kids by reading SHOELACES, by Suzanne Lieurance.



This rhyming story introduces the concept of shoelaces. After you've read this story aloud, have your students see how many different kinds of shoelaces there are in the classroom. Some students may have plain laces and some may have fancy laces. Next, model for your students how shoelaces are tied, then have them practice.

At the end of today's lesson, ask students to bring an old pair of sneakers to school tomorrow.

Simple Pleasures

"A cloudy day, or a little sunshine, have as great an influence on many constitutions as the most real blessings and misfortunes." Joseph Addision



If the weather keeps you inside today, enjoy the comforts your home provides.

Cooking With Kids, Monkey Bread

Saturday morning is a time to relax and enjoy a breakfast treat.



This recipe for Monkey Bread is so easy, older children can easily prepare it on their own.

Ingredients:

2 Cans Pillsbury@ Grands buscuits
1 1/2 Cups sugar
1 1/2 Teaspoons cinnamon
1 Stick melted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease an 8" x 8" baking pan.
In a bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon until well blended.
Remove biscuits from cans, then cut each biscuit into four pieces.
Dip each piece of biscuit into melted butter then sugar mixture.
Arrange all biscuit pieces in baking pan - snuggley against each other.
Sprinkle additional butter and cinnamon mixture on top of biscuits.
Bake 12-15 minutes, or until done.

Server warm with a cold glass of milk

Teacher's Lounge

Tomorrow is Cinco De Mayo, the day Mexico chose to celebrate Independence from France. Here's an easy recipe for tortilla rollups. Enjoy them in the teacher's lounge on Friday.

10 - 12 Flour tortillas
1 Jar Chunky taco sauce
1 Small can green chilies
1 Large can olives
8 oz Sour cream
8 oz Cream cheese
1 Bag grated Mexican blend or Monterey Jack cheese

Mix sour cream and cream cheese, divide this mixture evenly, then spread on top of flour tortillas. Layer each tortilla with green chilies, olives, and cheese. Dot with taco sauce. Roll tortillas up and slice.

Arrange on a serving dish, then chill.

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.