Scholastic Printables

I signed up for this service last week and have used it a lot. I was hesitant to pay the fee but I have actually used a bunch of things from here. Plus the subscription is good for a year...taking us into our first jobs as teachers! I know you can get a bunch of free stuff on-line, and I do, but I wanted to add this to my repertoire as well! If others sign up for similar services we can always share resources! :)

http://printables.scholastic.com/printables/home/

Agriculture and Environment Lesson Plans

http://www.khake.com/page81.html

This page provides links to lesson plans, classroom projects and teaching activities for: Agriculture, Aquaculture, Forestry, Animal Science, Environment, Food Science/Culinary Arts, Horticulture, Floriculture, and Landscaping.

Technology -- I might just enter the 20th century yet

I admit I am a bit of a techno-phobe. I resist all change, in any shape or form. I get set in my routines, and really don't like change. I use my phone as a phone and that is all. I watch TV shows when they come on, and if I miss them, I miss them. I got a digital camera, but I still prefer my old 35 mm camera. I am famous for yelling at my computer and walking off in a huff if things don't work perfectly, threatening to throw it off a cliff because things didn't work right. I use Word, but have never put together a Power Point presentation. I can plug things into Excell, but can't do any serious fancy work on it. I write things down on a paper calendar, and never pay any attention to the calendar feature on my computer, unless I want to know what day of the week something will be happening next month.


So for me this tech class is amazing. I was really afraid of it, and am really suprised that I am loving it. ( And Jane, if you read this, I'm not just writing this to kiss up in hopes of getting an A :) After all it is a credit/no credit class ). I don't know yet how I will use this technology in the classroom, but I am really enjoying learning it, and doing it. From the Wiki, to the Blog, to the Google and Pageflakes pages, and the Delicious tags, I am learning alot of things that are really outside of my comfort zone and loving it. I may enter the 20th century yet( notice I am not optomistic enough to say I am entering the 21st century - don't want to curse myself).

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but maybe you can teach this old dog some new technology.

I have to admit, I am not seeing alot of technology, like the Wiki's and Blogs, being used in the classrooms I am interning in right now. Anyone else seeing technology being used?

Online Teacher Resource

I happened across this website today while I was reading a blog. I know I know I was suppose to be studying, but I had to check my emails and the cohort blogs to be sure I didn't miss anything while I was gone today.

Anyway the name of the site is teAchnolgy maybe you have seen it. If not check it out at http://www.teach-nology.com/

Check out the month teacher resources. Also be sure and check out the tecnology teacher forum.

Classroom Management

Teacher Teacher Teacher

Check out this blog! and you MUST watch this video!

I find this to be a great blog and it was NC Teacher of the Year blog. I just read the latest post and had no idea that almost 400 teachers were going to be laid off in Dallas!!!!

http://thedreamteacher.blogspot.com/

Here's the video!

Please Vote for me!

I have included in our blog a very interesting video called " Please Vote for me!" This is a documentary shot in a 3rd grade class in Wuhan, China. The class is learning about democracy by voting for their classroom monitor. This is a coveted position in the classroom. I am doing a lesson plan using this video in my dyad with the students also running and voting for a classroom monitor. If you get a chance to watch the video-it really is facinating to see what a classroom is like in China.

Just say "no"-remember Nancy Reagan!

Us moms have to learn to say no-and then just hang with our kids for their quality time. Our kids have gotten used to us being there at school. But I'm sure you have done that - now it is your time-and my time! We are doing something positive for the family by going to school-improving ourselves-improving our income power. Plus, as parents, we are improving our skills at being a parent. I have learned so much about what is going on at school through this program. Also skills at how to talk to my kids. How to help them with homework-or not!

I am lucky because my mom went back to school when I was in 7th grade and got her degree. She then went on to get her masters in her 50's. She is my inspiration-and she had a whole new career until her 70's which she loved. We deserve to move ahead with our own lives. Think of how inspired our kids can be watching us do our own homework and work for a new goal for ourselves.

I was supposed to chair our school district's reflection program this year. I was all slated to take on that volunteer role-and then I turned it down. I still do small stuff for my kids' activities but I am not going to take on any chair positions this year-and if I get a job next year-I won't be doing it then. We have moved to a new place in parenting. But it can be good. It has to be! Because this is where we are headed.

It is hard to say no to our kids-but instead of volunteering at their school-sit down and have a conversation-have a special lunch out with them-go on a bike ride-but don't volunteer more!

Good luck! It is a challenging year!

juggling in a three ring circus on a unicycle

Currently I feel like I should apply for a job at a circus. I am feeling very qualifed to juggle in a three ring circus on a unicycle. It has got to be easier than what I am doing now! Family, Classes, Internship, PTO stuff, husband stuff, kid stuff, bills... and then you add in the economy, politics and world events. Whew! bring on the straight jacket here I come!

I thought I could do it. I thought I was cutting back enough stuff in my life. I got out of alot of the committees and things I used to do. I felt, still feel, incredibly guilty for not doing more. I'm currently planning the Harvest Festival for my kids elementary school. One of those things I have done for so long, I thought it would be no big deal. I could do it in my spare time. HA! So I pick up my high school daughter from play rehearsals, and take her to Party City so she could get stuff for Spirit Week, and I thought I could buy the colored hairspray for the Harvest Festival while I am there. Good use of time, get one more thing off my list, efficiency at its best. While I am loading up my cart with hairspray my daughter tells me that it bothers her that I'm not more involved in her school. I stop. I freeze. I look at her. "More involved in your school? The high school? You want me involved in the high school?" " Yes" Panic starts to creep up my spine. Guilt starts to roll in, like the morning fog, slowly taking over my brain. Me. Volunteer. High School. More stuff. How? Daughter. Not pushing me away. Good thing, yes? how? How? HOW? Maybe I could do it, I don't need sleep. I could cut out eating too, save some time there. If I cut out eating then I would spend less time in the bathroom, and lose weight too. That would be good.

I need to learn how to say no. I don't know how to say no. The guilt is too much.

I also need to take lessons in juggling.

How is everyone else juggling everything? How is everyone else doing in the saying no area?
How is everyone else keeping family and school balanced? Do you feel one area or the other is getting short changed?

Serenity now!

Class today just about killed me...with confusion and fellow cohort members doing the damage! I told myself on the drive home that I would just put down a quick note here and then be done with it. I feel SO overwhelmed and confused right now. I don't know how anyone can have it totally under control at the moment! I will actually be glad when we are just doing our student teaching and not going to classes as well because I feel my brain can only go in so many directions!!!

Okay, that's it. No more venting. I am off to have a pleasant evening and I hope you all do as well! :)

Make a Puppet Theater from a Box - wikiHow

Make a Puppet Theater from a Box - wikiHow

Shelfari bookshelf

The bookshelf is linked to my shelfari page,but if you email me what books you are reading in your class, I can post it on my shelfari page to go on here. Or if you ladies want, we could also post what we are personally reading. I haven't found a widget that we could put on here and all edit books on.
what do you think? good tool, bad tool?

Hi all

Glad to be aboard.

Wow!

Am I the only one feeling like the pace of this part of the program is extreme? There is so much information to take in and so much to do-I guess I should have known that the "accellerated" program would be accellerated!

Happy to be here

I just want to say that I am happy to be blogging with you ladies, and I look forward to a great couple of weeks conversing with you. :)