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The Prefect Christmas Gift for the Special Teacher in Your Life!

I am not a fan of electric pencil sharpeners. They are noisy, messy, and they don't last very long. I have very strict rules in my classroom about pencil sharpening. My students are allowed to sharpen 1-2 pencils first thing in the morning before 8:00. They can also switch un-sharpened pencils with sharp pencils. The rest of the day is pencil sharpener-free.

That means I have to make sure our sharpened pencil can is always full. My old electric sharpener allows me to sharpen about 10 pencils before it heats up and stops. Now that I am using my Classroom Friendly Supplies Sharpener, I can sharpen enough pencils at one time to last several days! It comes with a mount that can attach to a table, counter top, or shelf so it stays put while sharpening. Best of all, it's VERY quiet!...no more frazzled nerves form the noisy electric pencil sharpener!

It's really easy to use too. Here is a how-to video:

Order today!

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The Life Cycle of a Snowman 2012

Last year I created a snowman for my classroom and it was a huge success! This year I made 2 snowmen for our entire 2nd grade. All of the students enjoyed watching their snowman change throughout the day. I put the full instructions and the recording page on a Google Document. 
For full instructions and the recording sheet click HERE.

First, I filled balloons with water and froze them.

Lay a plate on top to create a flat surface

Next, after they were frozen, I stacked them. The biggest on the bottom, medium in the middle, and the smallest on top. I used some salt to help the ice stick together. Finally, I added some cut out felt pieces for the eyes, nose, mouth and buttons!

Using salt helps melt the ice a little and create a rough surface for adhesion.

The 3 States of Matter

In the morning, the students named the snowman and predicted what would happen to it by the end of the day. Throughout the day we watched as the snowman changed from solid to liquid as the ice melted.

Our snowman's head fell off while we were at lunch . We also measured the water throughout the day and saw how the  water rose as the snowman melted.

At the end of the day, I put the remains of our snowman in a electric skillet and turned it into a gas!

Using an electric skillet allowed the snowman to melt more quickly. Once the water in the pan came to a boil we were able to see the gas as evaporation occurred!

The students recorded what they saw and drew pictures in the morning, after lunch, and at the end of the day. It was a fun way to learn about the 3 states of matter. There were  many opportunities to talk about how the atoms were staying still or moving in each state. This song by They Might Be Giants is an excellent visual for this concept. We also added hand and body motions. 

We ended our day by discussing how we could use this information in every day situations and we created a question.

**Check out this awesome sequencing activity page 

created by Lauren Lynes!

 Download it for FREE from TeachersPayTeachers!

Pencil Sharpener Giveaway from Classroom Friendly Supplies

Win a Classroom Friendly Supplies Pencil Sharpener!

* Giveaway has ended. Congratulations Kelby Black!

I am not a fan of electric pencil sharpeners. They are noisy, messy, and they don't last very long. I have very strict rules in my classroom about pencil sharpening. My students are allowed to sharpen 1-2 pencils first thing in the morning before 8:00. They can also switch un-sharpened pencils with sharp pencils. The rest of the day is pencil sharpener-free.

That means I have to make sure our sharpened pencil can is always full. My old electric sharpener allows me to sharpen about 10 pencils before it heats up and stops. Now that I am using my Classroom Friendly Supplies Sharpener, I can sharpen enough pencils at one time to last several days! It comes with a mount that can attach to a table, counter top, or shelf so it stays put while sharpening. Best of all, it's VERY quiet!...no more frazzled nerves form the noisy electric pencil sharpener!

It's really easy to use too. Here is a how-to video:

To win your very own sharpener, just fill out out the easy entry Rafflecopter form below. The giveaway starts Sunday September 30th and ends Sunday October 7th at midnight.  One winner will be chosen based on the most points and random number selection. 

Enter now!
U.S. mailing addresses only

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Claco: A space for teachers to create and share

A group of young entrepreneurs in California have created a wonderful space for educators to create and share curriculum across the globe.  Claco is a new site created especially for teachers so they can network together to find the best possible resources to meet the specific needs for their students. 

It's in the early stages, so they are slowly launching and working out the bugs. I have already created several binders and have subscribed to several users.  Shortly, invitations will be going out and more educators will be able to join and share.  

Claco allows you to create binders and add links to websites, videos, and other resources. 

The beauty of Claco is that while it has some similarities to Pinterest or Learnist, it is specifically for educators and curriculum sharing. You won't see recipes, crafts, and snarky e-cards junking up the site.  

I am looking forward to the addition of more educators and more resources.  If you would like and invitation to join this up and coming site, please go to my About Me/Contact Me page and send me your e-mail address. 

To learn more about Claco, read Erin Klein's post about her visit to their headquarters: 

From AOL Squatter to Start-Up Sensation: The Eric Simons Story & Claco Launch

HearALL Assessment Recorder Giveaway!

I have been having so much fun blog hopping today. I haven't done this for a while and I am finding some great blogs are out there! Amanda over at Teaching Maddeness is giving away a HearALL Assessment Recorder - hop on over and enter to win!

Chrysanthemum Activity for the 2nd Day of School

I usually read Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum on the second day of school because it's all about a little girl who loves her name, but when she goes to school, she encounters some unkind children who make her feel embarrassed about her name. This is a good book to teach tolerance, good manners, and kindness.  

To help learn and appreciate each other's names we sing the "Chicky Chicky Song". It's a really fun song that is fun to do even later in the year when you need to liven things up.

Another fun activity incorporates patterns. The students write their name continuously on a 10x10 graph and assign a color for each letter. Once the graph is completely filled in, the students will see the different patterns their names make.

Once the grid is completely filled in, the students cut it out and glue it to a colored piece of construction  paper. This is our first hall display for the year!

The example above is a 5-letter name, so the pattern is very easy to see. Students with longer names will have to wrap their names to the next line and it will take a little longer for them to see the pattern.

This 6-letter name has a more complex pattern that may take a little longer to see. Encourage students to keep going. Eventually, you will hear "Cooolllll!"

To download this activity page, please click HERE!

Books for the First Weeks of School

As the new school year approaches, I am reviewing my plans from previous years and working on ways to improve my lessons. The Daily 5 has completely changed the way I teach and has allowed me more time to read to my students and teach through mini lessons.  Mini lessons are short periods of time where you focus on reading or writing skills and strategies. Mini lessons at the beginning of the year can also cover classroom procedures, rules, and behavior. Here are a few of my favorites for the first few weeks of school:

First Day Jitters 

This is a good book to help break the ice and let the students know that they are not the only ones who get nervous on the first day of school.

Chrysanthemum

I usually read this on the second day and do activities using the students' names.

What if Everybody Did That?

I already used this question a lot in my classroom and was thrilled to see that there was a book with the same title! I like this book because it shows the action and the consequence. It covers some good areas for discussion such as yelling out in class and littering.

No David!

Another book that shows the action and the consequence. My students and I make anchor charts with the classroom rules. These books helps generate ideas for setting our classroom guidelines.

My Mouth is a Volcano

Another good one to help generate discussion about waiting your turn to speak and being a good listener.

The Recess Queen

A fun book with lots of rhyming and a good message about playground behavior and bullying.

A Bad Case of the Stripes

A great book for getting the students to understand that it is o.k. to be different.

The Brand New Kid

A nice story about a new kid who looks and sounds different from the other students.  

Whoever You Are

I use this book to help introduce our involvement in The Global Classroom Project. Students see that there are kids all over the world just like them!

I hope this gives you some good ideas for the the start of school. What books do you read to your students during the first weeks?

My Summer Goals: Update

At the beginning of my summer vacation I set some goals. Now that we are 6 weeks away from the start of school, I thought I would take a look and see how I'm doing:

My Summer of 2012 Goals!

• Clean the garage:  My sister-in-law just retired after 20 years of teaching and I have inherited a lot of her classroom items - which have been dumped in my garage that was already in disarray. I am very excited to go through and see what goodies she has left me! Unfortunately in Texas, it's difficult to work in the garage when it's 90 degrees at 8:00 in the morning so it may take a while to get through everything.  *UPDATE* The garage is clean! We dragged everything out, swept, sorted, and rearranged. We also had a garage sale and made a few extra dollars!
• Learn, Learn, Learn! Last summer I discovered a world of educators on Twitter and through blogging. This summer I plan to get some new ideas and learn even more. *UPDATE* Participating in weekly Twitter chats like #2ndchat and #teachchat keeps me conntected with teachers around the world. I also make it a point to visit at least 2 blogs a day. I also visit Pinterest to collect new ideas.

• Plan for 2012-13: I am already thinking of ways to make what I did last year better: Skyping with a purpose, making the most of student blogging, and fine-tuning the Daily5/Cafe routine are a few things that I will be working on. *UPDATE* My planning is more in my head right now. Now that the beginning of school is getting closer, I will put more thought and effort into it.
• Relax, be healthy, and have fun! I am also going to limit my time on the computer this summer and make time for healthy and fun activities. It's very easy to get stuck on the couch with the laptop and not realize how much time has passed. *UPDATE* ON the couch with the laptop a little more than I wanted, but still accomplishing a lot around the house and getting lots of relaxing down-time so I will feel recharged when school starts.

Garage: BEFORE

Garage: DURING Garage Sale

Garage: AFTER! 

SO organized!

What were your summer goals?

 Have you accomplished anything? 

Have you taken time to relax and recharge? 

The Original Seat Sack!

When I first set up my classroom a few years ago, I was looking for an inexpensive way for my students to store their whiteboard and markers. I discovered that jumbo stretchy book covers fit nicely on the back of the chairs and the whiteboard slid perfectly into the pocket. This was a great way to keep the whiteboards at their desks without getting chipped and scratched.

However, I soon discovered that this was all the book covers could really hold. If the students added books, workbooks, or folders the book cover would stretch and the pocket would flip over, causing all of the contents to fall on the floor.

Adding books and other items caused the book covers to stretch.  With added items, the book covers drag on the floor and the pockets flip, causing all of the contents to fall out.   

The stretched out pocket would sometimes cause the chair to become top heavy and tip it over. The added stress on the stretchy fabric also caused it to tear.

I decided it was time to look for something sturdier that would hold more items - particularly the books my students read every day for "Read to Self" during The Daily 5. Fortunately, one of my readers contacted me and told me about The Original Seat Sack. These sacks are made of durable denim and have a nice deep pocket that will not stretch, flip, or cause the chair to become too top heavy.

Now my students can store books, workbooks, and folders in the seat  sacks!

The blue denim fabric will match just about any classroom decor

No stretching, dragging, tipping, or tearing!

The Original Seat Sacks are designed and hand made by a 3rd grade teacher who was looking for a storage solution. To learn more about this product please visit The Original Seat Sack Facebook page. 


*UPDATE*
A recent blog post over at Pre-K Pages made me realize that the chair in my pictures looks like a full-size student chair, but it is not. It is actually a smaller chair (27" tall) used for 2nd graders. The stretchy book covers and The Original Seat Sack work nicely on any size chair.

How to Create a DonorsChoose Project

DonorsChoose is an online charity that makes it easy for anyone to help students in need. Teachers create projects, donors fund it, and students learn!

How to set up a project:

It is very easy to set up an account and a new project with DonorsChoose. Just go to their website and set up an account. Then, take a look at some of the other projects teachers have submitted. You can even narrow your search to see who has submitted projects in your area or school district. Next, you need to decide what you want for your classroom. Your first project should be no more than $400. Once you decide what you want, click on "create a project" and begin the process. You will need a catchy title and opening sentence to attract attention. You will also need to describe your class and why your students need this project. The next step is my favorite: Shopping! There are quite a few stores in the eSchoolMall to look for your items, so you may want to take some time to browse and select just the right items. I used Best Buy for my first project and Lakeshore Learning for my most recent project, but you can use more than one store. Just find what you need and add it to your list. Once you have everything done you will submit it to the DonorChoose staff for review. If everything looks good, they will publish it. If they feel it needs tweaking, they will allow you fix it before publishing. I did not put a deadline on either of my projects - I just let them run for the 5 month limit. I didn't think my first project was going to get funded because it was getting close to the deadline, but at the last minute, it was fully funded! DonorChoose people work extremely hard to find donors. You can also promote your project via email, Twitter, Facebook, and your blog. 


Why I use DonorsChoose
It is very important for me to keep my students engaged and learning in new ways. Many school districts cannot afford to fund the extra equipment and materials that enhance the learning experience. DonorsChoose allows me to think big and meet the needs of my students without spending my own money!

My Projects: 
My first project (created July 9, 2011 and fully funded by October 2, 2011): webcam, USB microphone, video camera $349 

My current project: (created June 10, 2012): 4 portable cd players, 4 headphones, storage rack, and 3 listening skill packs $517 


*You earn points for doing all of the required steps of the project - including a timely thank-you package to your donor. You must also spend points to create projects, but after a few projects you will have earned enough points to apply for big ticket items including field trips and school visitors.


Key Stats (taken directly from DonorChoose)

Project requests currently in need of funding

18,277

Projects that get fully funded

70%

Projects costing less than $400 that get fully funded

80%

Donations that include the optional donation to our operations

89%

Teachers who said their funded projects increased their effectiveness in the classroom

94%

Summer Vacation, Setting Goals, and Cleaning the Garage

It's the first day of summer vacation and I am already thinking about how I can make the most of my time off.  I have found that if I publicly list my goals I tend to follow through with them. I set some goals for the 2011-12 school year and I am pleased to report that I was able to achieve these goals and then some. So! Without further ado I present:

My Summer of 2012 Goals!

• Clean the garage:  My sister-in-law just retired after 20 years of teaching and I have inherited a lot of her classroom items - which have been dumped in my garage that was already in disarray. I am very excited to go through and see what goodies she has left me! Unfortunately in Texas, it's difficult to work in the garage when it's 90 degrees at 8:00 in the morning so it may take a while to get through everything.
• Learn, Learn, Learn! Last summer I discovered a world of educators on Twitter and through blogging. This summer I plan to get some new ideas and learn even more.
• Plan for 2012-13: I am already thinking of ways to make what I did last year better: Skyping with a purpose, making the most of student blogging, and fine-tuning the Daily5/Cafe routine are a few things that I will be working on. 
• Relax, be healthy, and have fun! I am also going to limit my time on the computer this summer and make time for healthy and fun activities. It's very easy to get stuck on the couch with the laptop and not realize how much time has passed. 

Do you think it is important to set goals? 

What are your goals for this summer? 

Freckle Juice and Shaving Cream

Well, we survived our last days of school and had some fun in the meantime! My students were really helpful in getting things packed up, cleaned, and organized. A few highlights of the week included reading "Freckle Juice"  and using shaving cream to clean our desks:

The shaving cream was really fun. The students loved the texture and smell. They said it made our room smell like a dad!

Fun Activities for the Last Days of School

The last 3 days of school are upon us! I cannot wait to spend these days making memories and finishing strong with my students. Here are a few things I plan to do with my students. How will you be spending your last week?

1. Freckle Juice

All of the 2nd grade teachers read Freckle Juice to their classes and then serve them "Freckle Juice". I always make a big deal about it and say that Mr. Morgan and I stayed up all night making the Freckle Juice exactly like the recipe in the book. I take the first swig and then distract the kids by having them look in another direction. While they are not looking I quickly add freckles to my face with a blue marker. When they turn back around, they see my freckles and want to drink the juice too!  Of course, my students are so smart, they usually figure out that we are drinking Hawaiian punch and want to have freckles added to their face with the blue marker. It's so cute to see all of them leave school with blue freckles!

2:  Whiteboard Drawing Competitions:

Miss over a A Faithful Attempt has a great idea for White Board Drawing Competitions. Give the students a word like "zombie", "vampire", "clown", "monkey", etc and then give them a few minutes to create. You could pick a winner or two for each round or have the students vote. I have a feeling my kids will like this one.

3:  Shaving Cream!

 Denise over at Sunny Days in Second let her kids use shaving cream on their desks. I used to do this when I taught pre-k, but I know that my 2nd graders will LOVE this activity. My plan is to remove all of the name tags and stickers from their desks and let them "clean" with shaving cream!

3: Write a Final Blog Post

My students are writing their final blog post: This is a time for them to reflect on their past year, tell about what they are doing this summer, and to look ahead to the next grade. Some of mine have expressed interest in having a certain teacher for next year so I have sent the link to that teacher for comments.

4: Skype!

Revisit a class that you Skyped with earlier in the year and ask what they will be doing for summer vacation. 

5: Hands-On Fun

Allow students to explore manipulatives before they get packed away. Mine love exploring with magnets, balance scales, linking chains, linking cubes, and geometric shapes.

6: Board Games

Games: Set up stations around room with different games and have students rotate through: Candy Land, Twister, Don't Break the Ice, Connect 4, etc..

Finish Strong, Make Memories, and Have Fun!

Books for the Last Week of School

I am excited about my new collection of books for the last week of school. What will you be reading to your kids?

Gilbert is worried that he won't get an end of year award, but is surprised at the end when he receives the "Good Friend" award.

Companion to the "First Day Jitters". The students worry that Mrs. Hartwell will miss them over the summer.

Companion to "First Day Hooray!" captures the excitement of the last day of school.

A play on "The Night Before Christmas" as a family prepares for summer vacation.

I love this book - it reminds me to be grateful for what we have.

Makes me cry but I read it anyway.