Kleinspiration: Revolutionize your Teaching with Class Connect! Sign up today and get entered for our awesome Give-Away (Starbucks, Target, and iTunes)

Kleinspiration: Revolutionize your Teaching with Class Connect! Sign up today and get entered for our awesome Give-Away (Starbucks, Target, and iTunes)

Check out this awesome free 21st Century tool!!! Also go to Erin's page to enter the contest!

We have POWER!!

WoW!  We finally have power restored in our home/neighborhood!  You really don't realize how much you depend on the 'necessities' in life, until you DON'T have them!  We had power Saturday night in Hurricane Irene until around 7:30 pm.  Trying to tell a 7 yr old that you don't know when it will come back on, that is another post!  We fared okay during Irene tho.  We did have limbs and lots of leaves in the yard, but we did not lose any trees.  Our neighbors were not so lucky, but no trees damaged houses in our neighborhood.  In Metro Richmond, there are still 245,000 without power, which is why my school is closed again today.  This is to be teacher work week, but with no power at the schools, they county has closed them.  I am getting a bit paranoid, because I have not been able to step foot in my room, AND Open House is Thursday night.  My principal did email that she will open the building today at 9am.  Evidently the power was restored to our school yesterday, but out of 60 schools in my county, many are still without power.  I do hope to get into the building today and work on my 'own' time.  The 'planned' staff development meetings this week have been cancelled, to give teachers a chance to get some order in their rooms.  I do hope to have pictures of what my room will actually look like without everyone else's 'stuff' in there.  (go back a few posts to see my new room and all the furniture in it)  Then I will show the progression as I get it ready for learning!  Thanks to all for the well-wishes during Irene.  We made it thru her wrath and the after affects with no power.  Thankfully we now have internet, air conditioning, and the ability to cook (without using the grill) or get into the fridge whenever we want!

Hurricane Irene is here!

Well, we have removed all the furniture from our deck and porch, moved all plants to ground level, put all toys, etc in the yard away so they won't become missiles, and battened down the hatches.  We have plenty of batteries, water, ice, beer, and wine.....so let the storm begin!  Hopefully we won't lose power, and I will be able to blog hop today, but we shall see!  The rains and winds have begun here in Richmond, VA...gotta get the dogs out before the hard rain hits.  It is going to be a long day/night!

Thanks Hurricane Irene....

In case you were wondering why I was 'back to blogging', my family and I WERE vacationing on Hatteras Island (Rodanthe) on the Outer Banks.  We were evacuated yesterday morning because of Hurricane Irene's expected landfall some time tomorrow.  Although I know I should feel 'safe and sound' now that we are home, it does not make up for the 3 days we missed at the beach.  We always make tie dyed shirts and have a family pic wearing them.  We never thought we would be evacuated so early.  We made the dyes Wednesday, but they had not cured, been rinsed/washed/dried by the time our evacuation began at 8am yesterday.  We do have a family pic, but not in our dyes.  Here we all are yesterday morning before our early and unexpected departure.  You can see the disappointment in and on some faces. 

Now we have to wait on Irene's impact on us in VA, and hope it won't be a bad ride! 
Happy Friday, Blogging Buddies!

Duck® Tape Math Game

What a great idea! Can't wait to make mine!

Duck® Tape Math Game

Heading to the Outer Banks!

Well, since school begins for teachers Aug. 29th, my family is headed to the Outer Banks in the morning for a week.  I will have my laptop with me, but I seriously doubt I will be posting.   I will be blog-lurking in the early morning hours, I'm sure!  Know that you all will be with me in spirit :o)  I can't wait to have the sand between my toes!!!  I hope to be back in 'blog-land' the 28th!

100 Awesome Engineering Projects for Kids

Have you ever done a Children's Engineering project in your classroom to promote problem solving?  I LOVE to walk around and just listen to the students, their way of thinking, explaining how it will work, and watching to see what they put together.   It is fun to NOT be the facilitator for a change!!!  Letting the kids come up with a way to solve the problem is ideal in today's math class. 

Here is a website I found with 100 projects divided into basics, light and electricity, structures, materials, travel and movement, harnessing nature, environment, understanding the everyday, and miscellaneous.

Click here to go to the website and ENJOY!  Let me know if you try one with your class!!!

Student Mailboxes for your classroom

I am a lover of anything 'free' or inexpensive!  But, then again, who isn't?  I also love Pinterest!!!  So many good ideas there!  Anyway, as I was perusing yesterday on Pinterest, I saw the best idea that could be used as student mailboxes in the classroom.  It  comes from Daisy4100 on Scrapbook.com (so no one thinks I am trying to steal and get credit for her idea).  From the pic, and that is all there is (no directions), it looks to be very easy and inexpensive....just a drive to your nearest post office!  After cutting the lid/end off one side, it looks like she has secured 4 boxes with duct tape.  Then you can cover them however you wish!  Easy and inexpensive, which makes this Pinterest idea even better!!!

A Fantastic Website with almost EVERYTHING! Primary Resources

Somewhere in the far reaches of the World Wide Web, lies a website that is quickly becoming a teacher's best friend.  This site has many things to offer.  It is not only a place to get ideas, but it has flash files, power points, documents in Excel, Word, PDF, etc.  It is from the UK, so some things do not match the USA, but can easily be modified.  It has free lesson plans, activity ideas, and resources for primary teachers - PreK-5. 

Primary Resources

Happy 7th birthday to my son, Zach!!!

I know this has nothing to do with Math or teaching, but this lil man takes up more of my time than teaching.  He is the world to me!  This past week he lost his second tooth (bottom one), and today is his birthday.  He is the subject of my blog post today. 

K-5 Math Teaching Resources

I don't know if any of you have been to this site before, but today was my first day, and I can NOT get away from it.  It is jam packed with many ideas, printable games, etc. ready to be used in your classroom.  Check it out!

K-5 Math Teaching Resources

SMART Exchange - USA - Behavioropoly

For those of you with SMARTboards might like this link for Behavior!
This is a free download!!

SMART Exchange - USA - Behavioropoly

3D Figures

Today I have spent some time making some 3D figures, and have 'personalized' them a bit.  I had to do this in ActivInspire (for Promethean), but I also saved them as a PDF.  I am hoping I will be able to upload them for anyone that wishes.  They are not anything special, but my plans are to print each one on its own piece of cardstock, add a speech bubble telling about and naming each figure.  (maybe Candy Cone and Prissy Pyramid) As you see, they have facial features, arms, legs, and attitudes!

 There are 2 more, the cylinder and cube.  You can download all of them below.
 
3D figures

Effective Teaching Articles: Welcome to the Cyber Search Showcase

Effective Teaching Articles: Welcome to the Cyber Search Showcase

Please check out this post by The Organzied Classroom Blog about $85 worth of free stuff to download on Monday, Aug. 8th!!!!!

It's not "cyber Monday" yet, but you can take a peek now!

Let's get started looking for those freebies ....

Visit each blog or website below and you'll find one featured item that's valued between $3.00 and $10.00. You'll see a link to the TeachersPayTeachers.com store where you COULD buy this item, but you won't have to because it will be absolutely free to download from their website on Monday, August 8th!

For now, look for the blue Cyber Search buddy button on each blog or website to help you find the Cyber Search Showcase page. Then take a look around and check out the great teaching resources you'll find there. These bloggers have great teaching strategies, tips, and free items in addition to the items they sell on TeachersPayTeachers.

What a Mess!

Well, I have quite the dilemma.  I am having to change classrooms this year.  My school has been under construction for over a year now.  We are having a new part (6 classrooms) added to the front.  The new classrooms will be for Kindergarten.  I will be moving into one of the 'old' KG rooms.  The new classrooms are 'supposed' to be complete by Aug. 15th.  They can't move into their new rooms until the addition is complete AND cleaned.  Which means I can't move into my 'new' room until the KG teacher moves out.  Here is what my 'new' classroom looks like right now.

The entire office is also being renovated or moved into the new addition, so some of their furniture is also in this room......my 'new' room.  IF (and that is a HUGE if) the new addition is completed by the 15th, they then have to be cleaned.  The KG teachers will move into their new rooms after that......then my 'new' room will need to be cleaned.....and finally I will be able to move MY stuff into MY 'new' room.  I will be at the beach the week of the 22nd of Aug.  Teachers begin school Aug. 29th and the kids begin the day after Labor Day. 

Granted, I will not have kids, as my position is mainly a teacher resource, but I would love to be able to get moved into my room before Back to School night on the 1st of Sept. 

So, that is my dilemma, and you see a few pics of my room as it is now. (without ANY of MY stuff)  All I can do is laugh, and feel blessed that I do have a classroom.

Oh, and for those of you thinking I am lucky because we don't go back until after Labor Day, we also do not get out of school until the middle of June.

TaTa for now :o)

In The Teachers' Lounge: MEGA Birthday Gift Give-Away!

In The Teachers' Lounge: MEGA Birthday Gift Give-Away!: "OK everyone, in case you haven't heard, I'm having a birthday this week! It's actually on Friday, but the party has already started! To celebrate my special day, I am having an ALL OUT GIFT GIVE-AWAY!! Yes, I am giving away gifts!"

Please stop by Cindy's blog, wish her a Happy Birthday, and sign up to win all the great prizes!!!

Thank you to Vintage Teacher for showing me another word cloud tool.  I love Wordle, but Tagxedo is the bomb!!!  It created this from the words on my blog.  WoW....as she said, "Think of all the possibilities!".

Teaching Blog Addict: 1 Year Graphics Factory Membership Giveaway!

Teaching Blog Addict: 1 Year Graphics Factory Membership Giveaway!: "Are you ready for a fantastic TBA giveaway? You could win a 1 Year Membership to Graphics Factory ! With over 2 million pieces..."

Teachers {heart} TBA !!!

Teaching Blog Addict (TBA) is a well known teacher's blog on the web.  It is compiled of many teachers that give free lessons away, give video tutorials on how to do things, connect with fellow teachers to share ideas, etc.  We, members of TBA, are asking our readers (which at this moment I only have 3 members) to join Teaching Blog Addict, follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and subscribe via email.  Let's get all teachers around the world to unite!  Please post something like this on your blog for your readers to do.

To continue my earlier post, here is the latest in the washer/dryer fiasco....

After 7 hours of hunting for a washer/dryer, finding a place that could deliver THIS WEEK, we finally found one.  On Wednesday, we will be the proud owners of a front loading Samsung washer and dryer.  Enough of that!


Thanks  :o) and happy blogging!

*sigh* Looks like we are in for a new washer/dryer....

Well, looks like my blogging for today is shot.  My hubby and I began the laundry this morning, and the washer is making a funny noise.  I finally got the water drained out, but the agitator is not agitating, which is aggravating me!  I guess we will join the 21st Century with a new front loading machine along with its dryer component AND the pedestals that go under them....Hubby has headed to Best Buy and Home Depot to get prices, then we will both head to Lowes and do more price checking =/  Anyway, if we get a washer/dryer today, and it is delivered today, there stands a good chance of an update here with something useful/educational.  If we don't get one delivered today, I will head to the laundry mat.  Wish me luck :o)