Living, Laughing and Learning!

July 23, 2014January 4, 2019 mthorne05031 Comment

Living, laughing and learning I believe is something that summarizes the last week that I haven’t been able to blog for. It has been pretty chaotic, but well worth it and hoping I can catch up now. I don’t want to give up on Michelle’s Big Time Blogging Challenge from Big Time Literacy! So, start blogging and link up with us!

So I’ll start from where I left off last and twist some of the topics from there!

7/16 – Favorite TV Shows or Movies
-Recently, one of my favorite TV shows has been “Halt and Catch Fire.” If you haven’t seen it, and you like computers and technology, I highly suggest watching it. It is a TV series based in the 80’s around the design of the first portable computer. This show brings flashbacks to when my dad tried to surprise me with a laptop computer in the 90s. He got it on a deal, but I wanted nothing to do with it because it was so bulky, it even had a charging station as opposed to a power cable. Now, being the technology lover that I am, I regret not holding onto it just as an antique.

AMC TV

7/17 – Favorite Classroom Management Tip
-One of my favorite classroom management tools is Class Dojo. For those that aren’t familiar with the website, each student has an avatar that can be customized. Students can earn points for making positive decisions in the classroom or even have them taken away. It is even setup now where you can weight different rewards so the value of the point increases. I love this website because it is incredibly useful in a 1:1 room. My students can check their points from their own device when I don’t have the whole class displayed on the screen. One of the best parts, I don’t have to be stationed at my computer to award points, it can even be done from my iPad or iPhone. I also love the parent messaging feature that has been recently added since parents can join and view their student’s stats.

https://i0.wp.com/www.santeesd.net/cms/lib/CA01000468/Centricity/Domain/278/class%20dojo%202.jpg

7/18 – Teacher “Must Haves” that you purchase at the start of the year:
– Most teachers are out hitting the penny sales, which I admit I also do at the start of the year, but I think that is more to stock up for the items I know my students won’t bring in. However, I think my must haves tend to be more along the DIY route. Every year, I try to make my classroom feel more like a relaxed home environment. So, sometimes my must haves are projects I have made at home for decorations….like curtains, cushions or stools. Other times, my must haves are stocking up on items that fit my classroom color scheme like contact paper to makeover file cabinets and shelves or plastic table clothes to brighten up my bulletin boards. I spend so much time decorating my classroom because even I want to feel comfortable in there for as much time as I spend in it during the day.

7/19 – What holiday do you enjoy spending most with your students?
– I think over the years, I have become less focused on holiday celebrations. Some of the reason is because I have had students that just didn’t celebrate, but the other part of the reason is because I’ve had students that just were interested in the typical classroom party. Rather, what I have found myself getting more excited about is the reenacting historical events to bring them to life. After having seen Dave Burgess, “Teach Like A Pirate,” speak at our local ICE conference, this really started the fire under me. I’ve never laughed so hard in class compared to the times this previous year when we acted out the taxation from the Brits on the Colonies and when we learned about Henry Box Brown. We really had a lot of fun and I know the days were memorable for the kids.

https://i0.wp.com/www.writerscafe.org/uploads/stories/40afcc0588d9d13c79702b56c184f3af.jpg

7/20 – If money were no object, what experience would you give your students?
-If I had the chance, I think my experience would just be to continue to give my students local experiences they wouldn’t otherwise have the chance to do. Since most of them only travel between our city and their home country, for the most part they haven’t even been to downtown Chicago, until recently. Having moved up with my students from 4th to 5th, I was able to have two great experiences with them. Their first time on a trolley through downtown and a boat tour from the Chicago River onto Lake Michigan. The way their eyes beamed from being on the boat tour was priceless and a day I will never forget. There is so much out there for them to experience locally, so that is what I would continue to do.

7/21 – How do you prefer to read books?
-While I do love my technology, my preference when reading is the good traditional paper book. I know the iPad and/or kindle can do great things for annotating, highlighting, brightness and size adjustments, but there is something about turning the paper pages that I still enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, I still do my share of reading electronically, but I do prefer visiting the library or the excitement of waiting for a new book to come in the mail.

In the classroom though, I do really enjoy the availability of electronic books for my students. With our school library being smaller and students having read most of the books over the past few years, I like that they can still connect to the public library when sometimes their family can’t take them there. The important thing is just to continue to read, no matter if it is paper to electronic viewing.

7/22 – Living, laughing and learning!
– I figured I would end my catch up on posts with the title of my blog…living, laughing and learning.

Living – This past week, as mentioned, has been extremely chaotic. One important thing I have learned this past year is to take care of myself. I have a very hard work ethic, I probably work too much. I’ve really tried this summer to relax, get the rest I need, take care of my health, and make good choices that will help my well-being.

Laughing – They always say that the best medicine is to laugh, and I did just that this past weekend. For the first time, we had a family reunion to travel to. Most of the time we only ever really saw one another was when we had weddings or funerals. As the generations get older, it is important to them to make sure we still keep the connections. So, every 2 years we will be traveling for family reunions. The last time I saw some of my cousins, I was around 18 years old. It was great to introduce them to my husband and my daughter, but also to see my daughter interact with her cousins that she had never met previously. There are also many educators in my family, so the stories there are endless. Overall, it was a great time traveling to Michigan. Just wish I had the time to stop at more sites along the way.

Learning – This is something that we all do on a daily basis. Each day is a learning experience, no matter how your life is structured. Maybe it is a mistake you have made that needs to be corrected, a toddler you are trying to teach something to, or just even trying to educate yourself for preparation. As stress begins to add on before the next school year, I always like to remind myself that tomorrow is a new day. This is what keeps me strong and gets me through the tough times.

21st Century Learners

July 16, 2014January 4, 2019 mthorne0503Leave a comment

The one great thing about this blogging challenge for July, is it is really guiding me to focus and think about what I want to accomplish next year.

Today’s topic from the Big Time Blogging Challenge is about memorable students. Well, there are too many to share. So, I will turn to something that was memorable to them this year and reflect on that.

As a 5th grade teacher, one of the celebrations that my students get to experience is their 5th Grade Farewell. Following tradition, the students each stand in front of the 5th grade families and faculty sharing their memories of their learning journey so far in our district. It is definitely a test for their public speaking skills! I know I would have been nervous as a 5th grader!

Anyways, one topic that came up quite often from my students was that one of their favorite things was Passion Time. Some may also know of it as Genius Hour or 20% time.

While I still experiment to figure it out myself and how to best implement it, I always turn to great resources to guide me more. One educator, who I had the privilege of observing in his own classroom, was Paul Solarz. If you haven’t visited his site, please do! I heard of him through a faculty member that I work with. He had setup an observation and kindly asked me to join him. I’m so glad I went! We were fortunate to gain a previous faculty member of Paul’s at our school, Allison LaFalce, who is also very knowledgeable about the topic, so I spent many times picking her brain.

Besides visiting websites and blogs, this summer I’ve turned to some books. I found these books recommended on the Genius Hour website. Before actually purchasing them as resources for myself, I hit my local library to see what I could get my hands on. So far I’ve obtained…

1. Creating Innovators by: Tony Wagner

2. Drive by: Daniel H. Pink (Very recommended from poster sessions I saw at ISTE)

3. Invent to Learn by: Sylvia Libow Martinez & Gary Stager, Ph.D.

4. 21st Century Skills by: Bernie Trilling & Charles Fadel

Now, I selected to read Creating Innovators first, however my trouble has been finding the time to actually read. Between house hunting, working virtual summer school (I know, you would think piece of cake) and my daughter’s schedule, by the time I have a few quiet minutes, I pass out. From what I have read about Creating Innovators, I’ve really enjoyed. I’ll keep you updated as I move forward, however I think any of the books above would be a great start for getting your kids to just have the drive and motivation in class to learn. If you have read one of the books above, or know of another I haven’t grabbed yet, I’d love to know your thoughts!

Combo Blog Post

July 15, 2014January 4, 2019 mthorne05032 Comments

Well, I’m slacking again. My free time has been consumed with looking at houses online, so I’ve sadly pushed the blogging to the side in order to dive into paying attention to details. Good thing for technology and iPad apps, because it makes it easy to flip through. 🙂

I’m teaming up with Michelle from Big Time Literacy for her Big Time Blogging Challenge.

Sunday’s Topic = Travel: recent excursions or future adventures.

I’ve always had quite the travel bug in me since I turned 18 and was allowed to adventure out on my own. Having a husband from England, definitely has the bonus of being able to fly back and visit the family. I love Europe, if it wasn’t so darn expensive, I would pack and move in a heartbeat. One of my favorites was being able to travel back to London during the time of the Olympics. It was amazing to be able to walk out of my in-laws house and walk down the road to see the bike race. It is something about the atmosphere of London in general, I just feel so relaxed and at home there.

Since we won’t be traveling back to London this year, our traveling adventure is house hunting. As many of you know, finding a home on a teaching budget can be quite difficult. Our budget is low, to allow us to hopefully have that flexibility to travel back and visit Europe when we can. However today, we really begin to see the type of home we get for our price tag. House hunting is an exhausting adventure on its own. I know that when it is time the right one will fall into place.

Monday’s Topic = favorite read aloud books or novels to teach with

One of the best literacy topics that I love teaching with picture books is figurative language. I just have so much fun with the read alouds and the products that can be produced after.

I really love all of the Tedd Arnold books. Parts, More Parts and Even More Parts. Those are great for visuals and just to give the kids a good laugh. Although, I think I find myself giggling more than them. hee hee

One of the books I really like for onomatopoeia is “The Great Fuzz Frenzy,” by Janet Stevens. I bought this on a discount when I worked a book fair once. Every year it is hit or miss with the kids, but my group last year really enjoyed it.

Now, relating this back onto the technology side. There are many great apps or programs that you can complete after read alouds on figurative language. Comics are always one of my favorite activities to do. Programs like Comic Life have great templates that are easy to use and that can be done on a laptop or an iPad. Videos or audio recordings using iMovie or Garageband is great for onomatopoeia since it is based on sound. Having students show a visual and describe the sound that it produces. The ideas are quite endless and you would be impressed what the students may come up with on their own if you give them a little bit of freedom!

Catching up!

July 13, 2014January 4, 2019 mthorne05033 Comments

This is horrible that time has completely strayed away and I haven’t had the chance to blog the last 3 days. So, you are going to get the Thursday, Friday and Saturday blogging challenge all in one.

For those of you who aren’t following, I’m linking up with Michelle, from Big Time Literacy for her Big Time Blogging Challenge. Each day there is a different topic, should you decide to follow along for the month of July. If not, you can blog about whatever applies to you.

For the purpose of the chaotic last few days, I’m going to stick to the blogging calendar.

Thursday’s topic = Who are your teaching idols?
I don’t think that there is a specific individual who I look up to. I think my idols in teaching could be a mix of various qualities. One quality, are those in my district who gave me the opportunity to experiment and showcase what I know, but to also help me in learning even more. I’ve been very lucky to attend various state, country and district PDs. We have a lot of talents in our district alone and I’m very grateful for that. If I want to learn more about a specific topic, there is always someone I can contact.

Another quality in an idol are those who I follow on Twitter that really push the limits to try new things and engage students even more. Sometimes teachers are afraid to try what they read about because they are restricted to a specific map. I feel that teachers learn, just like students. You have to be hands on and you have to almost experiment with your lessons. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t, but that is why we reflect on the experience and we can grow as an individual. Some of those who I like to follow on Twitter for new ideas are Paul Hamilton, Brad Waid, Drew Minock, Paul Solarz, Scott Hagedorn and many more. Anyone who is willing to experiment with the intentions of what is best for the student population is an idol to me.

Friday’s topic = How would your students describe you?

If you were to ask my students what they thought of me, I think most of them would say that I am too relaxed and patient. The one thing about the way I ran my classroom is that it is very relaxed. I don’t yell, nor do I enjoy shouting going on. It always made me cry as a student when a teacher yelled at me, so why would I do it to them? My students and I spend so much time in our room, that I want it to be a comfortable learning environment. I try to make sure the space is as relaxing as possible, we even have a futon and benches to sit on. Pillows can be enjoyed on the floor and some plans for some butterfly chairs next year and stools.

I think my students would also describe me as techy. Around the school, the students very much know me for my experimentation with the technology and for running the school digital newsletter. It’s no doubt, that when they show up on my class list for the next year that they know to expect a lot of technology integration into our daily use.

Saturday’s topic = Share about your most important friendships.

Since this blog is about education, I would like to turn this topic onto the friendships at school. Having previously worked in a very high paced business environment before going into teaching, it was very competitive and you had to play the game well to maintain friendships and not get looked over in the office. It’s that same kind of even playing field that I brought with me into education. I think it is extremely important to get along with everyone in the building, even if you aren’t always on the same page because you will learn something valuable from everyone.

The one thing that I always talk to others about our school building is the family environment that we have. Each wedding, baby shower, birthday, graduations, house purchase and so forth is always a celebration by all. We are so supportive and encouraging of one another and I know that is unique to other districts around. We are just colleagues, we are family and I feel the same way about many other members in our district that I have grown to know. When you respect one another for the educator that they are, it goes along way. Even with my administrators, I never felt that I was looked down on, there was always a common ground where I could easily approach them to discuss ideas I had without fear. I’m very thankful on a daily basis for the friendships that have blossomed at school. I look forward to summer PDs not just because I will learn something I am interested in, but because I know I will get to see individuals I have missed seeing over summer break.

Workout Wednesday

July 10, 2014January 4, 2019 mthorne05031 Comment

So I’ve participated in Monday Made It, Techy Tuesday, Five for Friday…what about Wednesday? So, I figured I would use Wednesdays to focus on my health and lifestyle.

Besides using my blog to help others integrate technology into their lessons, my other passion is educating others about my vegan lifestyle. While, some select this lifestyle to help fight for animal rights, I myself selected it by choice to live a healthier way. I was never a big meat eater growing up, just didn’t like it. I know, some of you probably think I’m crazy…. When I was pregnant, I forced myself to eat chicken because others told me it was good for the baby. I really disliked it and I guarantee I won’t be doing that again when we decide to have more kids.

I almost find being vegan as a fun challenge. This lifestyle has come a long way. I remember when I first started vegetarian, it was hard to even find a veggie burger in the store. Now there are great places, like Whole Foods, who have become my best friend. Even local grocers, like Jewel, have started carrying more options. Even on restaurant menus, more and more are starting to create vegan and gluten-free options. My husband and I enjoy cooking vegan and I love when I hear comments from others about how great the smell is from the kitchen…the meat eaters saying this I mind you. Once they find out it is vegan food, that stereotype response kicks right in…”no thanks.”

So, where am I getting with this. I’m not on a soap box by any means. I will admit, when I am out shopping, one thing I do find myself selecting more of when it comes to clothing and accessories are vegan products. I even purchased vegan Toms once and I have to say, they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever had.

Well, being a runner and following many running companies on Twitter, I saw a tweet come multiple times about a company called GladSoles. My husband, who became a vegan before me, had investigated more about them and found that they are actually a vegan company that makes sandals. However, the nice thing about them, is that they cut the sandals to your actual foot size, because no two feet are the same.

They are a very simple design and you can customize them with a variety of lace colors. They have three different styles depending on the thickness of the foot pad that you want, but you can even run in them. Very similar to the barefoot shoes that they sell. I owned a pair of Newbalance like that once for shorter distances and loved them, I continue to ware them even though they look like they were plucked from the garbage. ha ha

The process for ordering is even easier. On the website, you can download their forms to trace your feet. They have tutorial videos on how to do everything. My husband and I traced each others feet to make it easier. We scanned the images, sent them in and that same day, on a holiday I mind you, they contacted us back immediately. We couldn’t be more impressed with the customer service and were excited for them to ship on Monday! Well, we just received them in the mail today and you better believe it, I got them out to lace up right away!

Like everything else, there is a tutorial on their site for how to lace them, really easy to do if you follow the steps. If you start following them on Instagram, there are tons of other ideas on how to get creative with the lacing as well! I’m excited for them to mold to my feet and become the most comfortable sandals I’ve ever owned! Maybe even venture out in a run one day!

Today’s post was on behalf of part of the Big Time Blogging Challenge #BTBC14. Check out Michelle’s site at Big Time Literacy for more information!