Sunday, January 31, 2016

Five for Fraturday: Teacher Meet Up, Bible Journaling,FIND, Sticky Note Love , & Do you want to build a...

It was one of those weeks once again...fighting a cold all week...came home each night to Nyquil & sleep...so, here's my 5 for Frunday!

I was so blessed to attend the Manhattan Beach SoCal Blogger Meet-Up!  I enjoyed talking to everyone that I was able to visit with!  The 4 ladies in the upper right coordinated & planned a very pleasant, casual, comfortable, inviting Meet-Up...there were goodies from TpT...including 2 living breathing goodies~Sam & Jillian!...I was hoping to win a membership to Sheila Jane's Teach Happy Group...I have connected with her a bit on Social Media & I am excited to meet her in 3 weeks at #teacherstakesacramento2016, but no luck this time...one of the highlights for me was meeting Janice from Island Lover Teacher...she had really encouraged me several weeks ago when I was down...I am so excited for TWO Teacher Meet-Ups this month, one on Saturday & the other in 3 weeks!
Just 5 days ago I came across this post from Cara Carroll on Instagram...it got me searching the hashtags #biblejournaling, #illustratedfaith, & #biblejournaling community...I have been finding & following a ton of IGers who are sharing this amazing form of worship...I have been screenshotting, cropping & adding their IG names...I plan to put it as a powerpoint/slideshow on my computer to encourage me...here just a few...





I was very surprised this morning in Sunday school when I did this...
I did this in my lesson book...I really didn't think I had anything like this in me...maybe one day I will venture into Bible journaling, but for now I will enjoy the creations of others!
FIND is my word for 2016 & this Word Doodle was made for me by Jodilyn from Daisy a Day Doodles!  You can buy this along with other Doodle Words in her TpT store.  I am excited to have it on my sidebar to remind me to FIND what I need to FIND this year!
My students have really been enjoying the Sticky Notes that I have created on their assignments when they get them back...I like the Sticky Notes because they can put them on whatever they chose to at their houses.  The response have been wonderful...click on the picture above to find them in my store.
I must say I am SUPER thrilled about this project...about 20 years ago I received a gift of toy soldiers made from terra cotta pots...they stood about 3 feet tall & were made of 5 pots...I thought I could do this to make snowmen...I not only made large ones as gifts, I made them from the mini pots too...I wish I could find pictures of them, no luck yet...I decided K-cups were perfect for making the snowmen...the students were really proud of their snowmen & the materials were simple...so this was NOT Pinterest inspired, but maybe it will inspire others! ;-) {Pin away!}

Have a great week!



Saturday, January 23, 2016

So Cal Winter Blog Hop & Giveaway! Winter Freebies!



I am so excited to be participating in this Blog Hop {my first ever Blog Hop!} with other Southern California Bloggers!  I have lived in Southern California my whole life {okay, 5 years on the Central Coast while I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo}.  I feel so blessed to live in Southern California! I live & teach in the High Desert of California {Teaching in Barstow & living in Newberry Springs}.  We have the most spectacular sunrises & sunsets here!  I love that I am just an hour or two away from wonderful day trips. 

 A favorite of our family is going to Big Bear.  It is only an hour away from our home & yet it is so very different from the desert, it is a beautiful mountain town!  We have gone on a few small boat trips on the lake as well as once going out on wave runners.  Jim & I spent the first few nights of our honeymoon at a Bed & Breakfast right on the lake.  We try to take a trip up there every few months.  Right now it has snow, but we more typically go up in spring, summer, & fall.  We will walk along the lake, wander through the shops, and love many of the restaurants there {I think we have tried most of them!} Our favorite place to grab a special treat is An Ran Ju Gelato & Tea House...their Gelato is soooooo good!!!

 Another place our family enjoys going to is Downtown Disney.  Every December for the last four years we have gone for Tuba Christmas where around 300 tuba players {including my son} play Christmas Music...before & after the performance we like walking around enjoying the unique shops & of course the kids love the Lego Store!  A few blocks away is a treasure~ Tiffy's Family Restaurant that has several player pianos & serves homemade ice cream too!  The nice thing about Downtown Disney is that there is no cost for wandering around and enjoying the scenery!
These are two places my family enjoys in Southern California!  I am looking forward to reading about the places the other Southern California Bloggers enjoy!

My winter Freebie is a special Freebie just for those who stop here because I will be placing it for sale in my TpT store.  It is a set of six Winter Themed Sticky Notes!  The packet includes a template to print on copy paper or cardstock {I recommend the cardstock}, then it has a sheet with all 6 designs as well as a separate sheet for each design.  Simply place the sticky notes on the template and place it back into your printer...print, stick, & enjoy!

 Continue your Hop by heading to...
a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 for Fraturday; Sound Button, Music & Education World Loss, New Student, It's a Gas, Meet Up!

Once again, no Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday blog post, but here it is...Five for Fraturday!!

I have blogged about my sound buttons several times before {check the word cloud on the right & click on Sound Buttons to see the previous posts} 2 weeks ago while shopping at Walmart I spotted this one...it has 17 different sounds/phrases & it is definitely a favorite of my students right now {okay, I love it too!}  
I am copying what I put on Instagram here:
 So sorry to hear of the passing of Mic Gillette.

 #micgillette Such an amazing musician and person!

 He believed in our youth and in music education. He 

has made a lasting impact on the people of our 

community. He had come to teach, encourage, 

inspire, and perform with our Jr. High & High School 

Band students for the last 5 years. When Andrew was

in 8th grade he sold the most tickets for his section 

to Atomic Jazz & received a one on one lesson with 

Mic. Mic & Tom Politzer #tompolitzer both would 

spend lunch with the kids & really interact & engage 

with them. Mic was & Tom is a member of Tower of 

Power #towerofpower These gentlemen have 

created a true legacy by investing in kids & music 

education. Mic's presence will be missed!
Mic passed away last Saturday.  
Mic's daughter left this comment on my Instagram post:
He was so proud of the Barstow kids. My family 

always enjoyed taking the trip and watching the

 magic. Thank you for the memories kids.
Our high school will continue this spring with ATOMIC Jazz {TOM for Tom Politzer~MIC for Mic Gillette}  Tom will still come to work with our music students and may bring another member of Tower of Power.  I am tearing up writing this.  I am sure the upcoming concert & time with our students & music teacher, Mr. Barilone, will be incredibly emotional.  Here is a quote from Mr. Barilone from our local newspaper: “Mic really talked to the kids, and shared stories about when Tower(of Power) was on the road doing gigs with the Rolling Stones,” he said. “That’s stuff that is not everyday conversation. Tom (Politzer) is on board for Atomic Jazz, he may bring someone else from Tower of Power. But what I really want to do is honor our friend Mic. It’s what he would want. No matter how short he was, I’m sure he would be telling me he would kick my butt if we didn’t keep on playing.”
You can read more about Mic & his impact on our community HERE & HERE
 After I hit 'Publish' I thought of more I wanted to share...Mic was a GIFTED musician...during Andrew's one on one lesson Mic shared that when he was in 2nd grade he was bussed to the high school to participate in the high school band...I am so very glad I live in a district that values music education!
We had a new student join our class this week.  Each time we have a new student I use a Koosh ball for the students to introduce themselves & tell a bit about me, our class, &/or our school.  My third thing that they say when they have the Koosh ball is usually some kind of random question like...what is your favorite cookie?...what toothpaste do you use?...what is your favorite fruit?...this time though I had them share something they wanted to do in 2016...all of their responses were so fun to hear...students talked about me being a lifelong learner...them wanting to read more...that I love to read...that we are a Leader in Me school...it is a nice way to introduce them all to each other!  I love that the bag I keep my Koosh balls in has the Truffula trees & they kind of look like Truffulas!


Last night I was able to participate in 'It's a Gas to TEACH Class'...we are so very blessed in the High Desert to have a program that began 5 years ago to encourage attendance in our high school students...each year they have grown the program...it currently involves 10 school districts...it began as It's a Gas to Go to Class...year 1--1 car was given to a high school student who had perfect attendance for the year; year 2--2 cars were given to high school students who had perfect attendance for the year; year 3--2 students were given a car for perfect attendance for the year & then they began It's a Gas to TEACH Class & 1 teacher was given a car for perfect attendance; year 4-- 2 student cars~2 teacher cars & now this year, year 5~2 student cars, 2 teacher cars & one classified car!!!...they did the giveaway for the first car for teachers last night, it was for perfect attendance for the first semester of the year...& I qualified!! The superintendent came by with my {Greenish} Golden Ticket earlier in the week...the event was held at the county fairgrounds & involved 10 districts in the High Desert...no, I didn't win the car, but I did win a toaster/convection oven!!! In addition to the car they had over 100 different prizes that were given away!!  The winner of the FIAT is a 1st grade teacher in Victorville Elementary School District...I also had the chance to speak with & thank the creators of this incredible program, Billy & Kevin...they are from Desert FIAT & Victorville Motors...they have recruited many more businesses to support these programs...this year they also started a program for San Bernardino Unified School District...they shared that after the shooting in San Bernardino in early December, the attendance a the elementary schools was down 70%, but that there was not a significant difference at the high school, the students wanted to keep up their perfect attendance for the chance at a car...if you look at my previous post about the program you can what an impact this has made in attendance over the last 4 years...what a blessing to live in a community that values education at proves it through actions!!!! 


As soon I hit the 'Publish' button, I will hop into the shower, get ready, & start driving 2 1/2 hours to meet up with other Southern California Bloggers in Manhattan Beach...I am SOOOO excited!!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

5 for Fraturday; Life Happens, A Google Find, One Word, Tuna & Dr. King?, & Sticky Notes



I shared this on Instagram yesterday.  I had started this post on Wednesday as one of my Wows! on Wednesday posts, but my daughter needed the computer for her homework...Thursday morning I created the Three on Thursday graphic to shift it one day...I had planned to work on it at Panera while my daughter was at dance {using their wifi}...my husband called & he had come into town & was finished with his errands {we live 25 miles out of town} so I told him to come join me...then my fibro hit...pain all over :( I headed home & went to bed...I did teach yesterday, but was struggling with my fibro all day, so once again~home & bed...so here it is Five for Fraturday!

In the past I had learned that there are some fun responses that you can get from "Okay Google..." such as "Okay Google, Beam me up Scotty." "Okay Google, What does the Fox Say?" Okay Google, do a Barrel Roll" but I discovered a fun response on accident!  I was talking with my son who loves comedy skits & realized he had never heard Abbott & Costello's Who's On First!! I was surprised...I wanted him to see it so I said, "Okay Google, Who's on First?"  I got a good laugh out of Google's response...have some fun & try all of the above & enjoy watching the classic & the Tonight Show's Sequel!


I was really pleased with the words my 3rd grade students came up with for their word for 2016.  They had to fill out a Google form in Google Classroom to tell me what their word is and why...the student who put 'water' wrote "knowledge flows in your head like water" ...they had the chance to create a display for their word...our two most common words were 'kind' & 'family'...my word is FIND...

 I keep this can of tuna in my cupboard & pull it out every January when I talk about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr...I start with a little bit of the history of slavery, President Lincoln, the Civil War, & then talk about how things were not fair in the South around the time I was born {1965}...I feel that in order to talk about Dr. King, I have to start with Rosa Parks & tell her story...once I get to the part about the citizens discussing the bus boycott, I jump to the tuna...I began teaching in 1988 & at that time it had come to the public's attention that dolphin were dying in large numbers in the fishing of tuna...families decided to not eat tuna, I talk about how kids, just like them made a choice to not have tuna & their parents chose not buy tuna FOR A REASON...& that they were not going to until things changed...in 1990 the big 3 tuna companies agreed to only sell 'Dolphin Safe' tuna...the boycott worked...I love using this example to explain the concept of a boycott...then I move forward with discussion of the bus boycott, the challenges that it created, but the difference in our world that it made.

I am so excited to finally get these 2 sets up in my Teachers pay Teachers store!! They are 20% off tonight & tomorrow!  My students really enjoyed getting the Encouraging Set Notes on their desks this last week!


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