What happened to spring???

Gee, I thought by now it would be a real Alabama spring. WRONG!  Cold, WINDY, rainy,....... I'm SO ready for warm weather, sunshine, and beautiful flowers.

Come on spring!!
(Goofy Groundhog!)

 

 

I got my pomeranian shaved last week-----  I know Dog Show  Folks,  it's a no-no, BUT I got him shaved and now he's freezing. He loses 2 pounds when he gets shaved. I 
wish I could lose weight that easily!
 It makes him want to snuggle instead of trying to find a cool place to sleep! I can enjoy that! Love me some pom lovin'!!
      Have a happy week!  

           

List of Free Kindle Books on Amazon from Jessica's Coupons

Jessica's Coupons | Because everyone loves a deal Today’s FREE eBooks! March 24, 2013 By Jessica

 Fiction Mystery, Suspense & Action
The Thirteenth Skull (Eileen Reed mystery series)
 Brain Dead
Early To Bed Romance
Lady Maggie’s Secret Scandal
The Elsingham Portrait The Morning After
The Proposition (A Geek, An Angel)

 Paranormal, Fantasy & Science Fiction 
The King Thing Bound by Blood (Paranormal Romance/Time Travel) Wolf Moon Rising Blood Twist (The Erris Coven Series) Corin & Angelique (After the Fall of Night) Treasure Tides (The Coins)

  Christian, Religious & Historical 
The Secret of Counting Gifts Ireland Rose Love’s Stormy Gale (Heartsong Presents) Contemporary Body of Ash Sealed with a Kiss Sex and Key Lime Pie (Books We Love Contemporary Romance) Days Like This (Jackson Falls Series) Afterthoughts: A Charity McAdams Novella (The Charity McAdams Novellas) Hungry for Love

 Classics This Side of Paradise

 Non-Fiction
Faith From 9 to 5: How to Overcome the Seven Deadly Sins and Live Your Faith at Work
25 Blues Scale Licks for Blues Guitar
What I Wish I Knew about Nursing: Real Advice from Real Nurses on How To Deeply Care for Patients While Still Caring For Yourself
How to Paint Kitchen Cabinets: Learn How to Stain, Paint, Resurface & Refinish Your Way to Beautiful Looking Kitchen Cabinets
The 30 Minute Wine Expert: Amaze Your Friends with Your Wine Expertise
 Cookbooks
Easter Cookies And Everyday Treats (Easter Cookies, Icings, and Everyday Cookie Recipes)
Paleo Chicken – 30 Delicious Recipes (Perfectly Paleo)
My First Smoothie Recipe Book
 Children’s
 Children’s Books Ages 4 – 8, Fish,
“Jack and The Shark,” Children’s Picture Books,
Animal Stories The Amazing Adventures of Belinda Bumblebee,
A Tale of Belinda Bumblebee’s Travels Franky the Frolicking Fox (Color Picture Books Collection) Preteens 
The Fifth Codex (The Mayan Adventure Series)
Lola Zola and the Lemonade Crush
Diary of a Horse Mad Girl: My First Pony – Book 1
 Young Adult 
 We Are Savages Scarlette (A Paranormal Fairy Tale)
Roadkill (LiveWire)
Fitz and The Pack: A Teen Werewolf Romance _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Don’t have a Kindle? You can download free versions for Windows, iPhone/iTouch , iPad, PC, Mac, Blackberry & Android Amazon has a selection of Kindles here (prices start at just $69) Please note: Amazon pricing, promotions, and availability are subject to change at ANY time without notice. Please confirm the price is $0.00 before completing your purchase ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Other Deals You May Like: one FREE Audiobook for Audible.com (Can sync with Kindle) 100 Kinde Books for $3.99 or less each Kindle Daily Deals Page Kindle FreeTime Unlimited: Kid’s Books, Apps, Movies and TV Show Subscription for as low as $2.99 month (+ Free Trial Offer) Do You Enjoy the Free eBooks? I would LOVE if you shared this post with your friends and family. You can use the share buttons directly below to share on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, via email and more! Happy Reading! Don’t ever miss a deal: Find Jessica’s Coupons on Facebook & Follow Jessica’s Coupons Tweets on Twitter. This post may contain affiliate links, when you use them, you support this site. Please refer to the Disclosure Policy for more details. Photo Credit: Amazon

Edworld's Top 25 Educator Blogs 2013

From Education World Community: EdWorld Jason's Blog AuthorPost EdWorld Jason EdWorld's Top 25 Educator Blogs of 2013: 1. The Thinking Stick - 2. Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts - 3. Diane Ravitch's Blog - 4. Playful Learning Brooklyn - 5. Linking and Thinking on Education - 6. Ms. Smarty Pants - 7. ScienceFix - 8. MindShift - 9. Learning Is Messy - 10. This Week in Education - 11. The Organized Classroom Blog - 12. The Jose Vilson - 13. World-shaker - 14. Free Technology for Teachers - 15. Dangerously Irrelevant - 16. Steve Haberlin's Blog - 17. Speed of Creativity - 18. Speech Room News - 19. Cool Cat Teacher Blog - 20. Bulldog Readers Blog - 21. Globicate - 22. Kleinspiration - 23. The Principal of Change - 24. Miss D's English and Literacy Blog - 25. A Principal's Reflections -

Spring Break Bucket List Linky

OK, so here's my Spring Break 

Bucket list for my STAYcation:

1. Relax

2. Enjoy watching 

   Duck Dynasty  

 knowing I don't have 

to get up early, Jack!

3. Buy hydrangeas  :-)  

Happy, 

         happy, 

                  happy!

Plant hydrangeas in pots 

so the deer can't get to them!

4. A pedicure would be nice.......

5. Sleep later................   :-)

6. Drink iced coffee in 

     my porch swing.

  7. Spend time with pets: 

     take Baron to get shaved

          and play with Hedgie.

                                                

 8. Spend a day at the outlet mall.

9. Read books I downloaded from Amazon:

~The Pastor's Wife

~Bluegrass State of Mind

~Dying to Get Published

~A Reason to Live

~Dyeing Shame

~With a Twist

~Long Time Coming

~Growing up in Blue  ✓

~Vada Faith ✓ 

10. Maybe a new hair color......

 hmmm....decisions, decisions......

So, not exciting, but 

       NO 

          STRESS!

                                                                                                                                                                          

Another GREAT idea!

School Outfitters-

Classroom tip: Put dice inside mini containers to keep them from flying across the room during games.

I just love gathering great ideas!

Another great idea! This one is from Angie at 

Timeouts and Tootsie Rolls.~~~~~~~ 

No More Name Plates

The most frequently asked question when 

visitors come to my room is "What did you 

use to write the names on your desks?"

Well, my friends, I can't stand name plates. 

Nope, don't like them at all! The kids pick 

at them, tear them, write on them, and they 

basically look a mess!

So, my teacher buddy (Kathy at Kathy's 

Coordinated Class) and I came up with the 

PeRfEcT solution...

Sharpie Paint Pens!

These pens rock!!

They are like your typical Paint Pen 

(shake and shake and shake, press and 

press and press and finally paint 

starts flowing).

The best part is - they don't wipe off! 

Yep, that's right! They stay put, no mess, 

no fuss.

So...

my second most asked question is 

"How does it come off?"

Let me tell you my friend it is simple!

Just rub well with an Expo marker, 

wipe clean with a Kleenex, and viola! 

It is gone!

(Btw, this little trick works with 

any smooth slick surface that is 

written on with Sharpie. For example, 

my laminated birthday posters have 

names and dates written with black 

Sharpie. At the end of the year, I 

clean with my Expo marker and the 

poster is ready to go for the next 

school year. Cool, huh?!)

The markers come in a variety of 

colors. So, go - hurry - pick some 

up now and start your first full 

week after Thanksgiving with a 

clean, neat desk top!

She's a genius! NO MORE TAPED NAMETAGS!!! 

Seriously, how do people figure these things out??!

Yea! It's Spring Break, Y'all!!

*Just found a great nail polish tip on "Madtown Macs" Blog, from July, 2012.  See below:
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

SUNDAY, JULY 01, 2012

Perfect Polish Every Time!

Let's talk toes.

I've been using this 

trick for awhile and thought 
I'd share.

...a cuticle stick, a Q-Tip, 

and greasy lotion.

                                               

Put some lotion onto a Q-Tip

Wipe it around your nail, 
being careful to not 

get it ON your nail. The 
polish won't stick to 

wherever the lotion is.

Use the cuticle stick to wipe 
away the extra.

That's all it takes! Plus,                                                                          after your polish is dry 

rub in the lotion and it 

helps those dry cuticles! 

Hope this little trick helps!

What did he say???

    We had a math question that was not like anything in first grade math or any we've had this year.  One of my students quickly got it. After everyone had time to attempt to get the answer, I called on that student to explain how he answered the question. He wasn't in the mood to elaborate and I continued to try to get him to explain his thinking to the class. I asked, "How did you get that answer?" He looked at me like I'd asked the most ridiculous question ever, and said very matter of factly, "Because I'm smart." ...... No conceit.... just a fact.  I burst out laughing as did the students sitting around him. He just looked puzzled that we were laughing.

I saw this post on She's Kinda Crafty's blog. CUTE spring ribbon charger. Good idea for Christmas too.  Go to her blog to see the pictures!

 ~J~

http://sheskindacrafty.blogspot.com/2013/03/20-minute-tuesday-ribbon-plate-charger.html

(SO, I've gone color-crazy! I'm SO ready for spring!)

Monday, March 11, 2013

20 Minute Tuesday | Ribbon Plate Charger

Welcome back to week three of 20 Minute Tuesday! This week I have a craft project that can be used for any holiday or celebration when you want to add a little extra layer of something special to your table setup. Today I have picked a color combination that is perfect for Easter dinner or Mother's Day brunch, but you can pick anything you'd like, even a different color for each place setting!! 

 Supplies:

·                                    Ribbon of your choice

·                                    Scissors

·                                    Ruler

·                                    Paper Plate

·                                    Stapler or Hot Glue Gun

This combination of mint, lavender, and cream just seemed like it would add a nice pop of color to my white everyday dishes.

To determine how long you'll need to cut your ribbon, place your paper plate under your dinner plate and then, without cutting any ribbon off the spool, play with making a loop from the edge of the paper plate that sticks out as far as you'd like. Then measure how long that ribbon is and cut the rest of your pieces to the same length. I used 13 pieces of 1.5" wide ribbon, 5 pieces of 7/8" wide ribbon, and 8 pieces of 5/8" wide ribbon to complete my plate - all of which were 5.5" long.

Method 1 would be to fold the ribbon over the edge of the paper plate and use a staple to secure the ribbons, working your way all around the plate. Make sure you have more than 4 staples in your possession before choosing this method. :)

The 2nd method you can use is to hot glue the ribbons to the plate. Simply glue one end to the top rim of the plate and then flip the plate over and glue the other end to the bottom of the rim. You can even do several at a time.

When you are finished, just place your dinner plate on top of the paper plate!

The paper plate is completely hidden!

 If you have children old enough to cut ribbon or use a glue gun or stapler this would be a fun family craft project, too!

Book Fair and Nine Week Assessments- not a good combination!

   Don't you just love it when the Book Fair is going on while you're trying to give Nine Week Assessments???  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE TO BUY BOOKS! Unfortunately, trying to keep kids from playing with their money and the"junk" they bought- I'm sorry, I call as I see it. Light up pacifiers are not appropriate for Second Grade!-ANYWAY, it's very distracting. If I see one more kid sucking on a pacifier I'm gonna lose it! Besides the fact that it grosses me out, I'm WAY too ADD to be able to concentrate around them. Even though the kids have been told to put them in their backpacks, THEY are too ADD to leave them there. They just HAVE TO pull them out! I know, ......it could be worse.
   My daughter is taking eight seventh and eighth grade girls to New Orleans for a dance competition tomorrow. I hope she remembers to take her migraine meds with her! Since it's a long drive, the girls are taking a train (fun!) I'm crossing my fingers that everything goes well and the dance team places in the competition. CCMS Cougar Paws Rock!
   Well, I've got grades to put in the computer, shopping to do at the Book Fair, and a Hispanic Parent Night meeting to go to, so........... I'd better stop.  It's a beautiful day in Alabama. :-)

It's time for Duck Dynasty, Jack!

I'm watching my favorite show, Duck Dynasty. 
Hey, I'm happy, happy, happy!

I wish I had a nickel for every student- ESL and native English speakers- who has asked me "how do you spell gotta?" *This is a great article from busyteacher.org. BusyTeacher.org - Free Printable Worksheets > ESL Essentials > Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: How to Teach Reductions Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda: How to Teach Reductions

Teachers of ESL instinctively and unknowingly change their natural pronunciation and speech patterns to increase their students’ comprehension. Studies show that teachers use motherese (the same characteristics women use when speaking to babies), when speaking to nonnative speakers. The qualities of motherese include speaking more slowly, using more dramatic inflection, speaking at a higher pitch and articulating carefully. This may be helpful for students as they learn to speak English, but this will not help them when they are in the real world with native speakers who do not cater to and do not care to cater their speech to your students. Therefore, to adequately prepare your students, it is important to create as realistic an environment as possible for their English studies. Part of this realistic speech needs to include the phonological phenomenon of reduction. What is a Reduction? Reduction is a pronunciation pattern found in all languages in which the phonology, or sound pattern, of a given phrase is changed and simplified. Native speakers do not even realize they are practicing reduction. In reduction, the content words of a phrase are unchanged or minimally changed while more functional words with less content or meaning are downplayed and made less prominent in the phrase. For example, “You should have studied for the test,” sounds stiff and formal coming from a native speaker in a casual context. What you will hear instead, if you listen for it, is “You shoulda studied fertha test.” The grammatical structure words (have, for and the) are reduced. Their vowels are pronounced more neutrally (schwa sound) and there is less time and emphasis placed on them than on the other words in the sentence. The words containing more of the content of the message (should, studied and test) are pronounced without change or reduction. If you listen carefully, and this can be difficult to do if you are a native speaker, you will hear reductions in almost all spoken English. For a native speaker, this is natural and not even noticed. For a second language learner, however, this is confusing and can make even the simplest statements incomprehensible. For this reason, every ESL student should have some instruction on reductions in their English program. Where do Reductions Come From? The first place to start teaching your students about reduction is with helping verbs. This grammatical structure is where most reductions will occur.Should have, would have, and could have are the most common culprits. They make their first move to should of, would of and could of. You will often hear this word change in native speech. If you do not give your students instruction on this point, they will see it as a grammatical change that is confusing. What is really happening in this case, “of” which has a more neutral a vowel than have, replaces the correct grammatical structure. We then end up with, “You could of done better.” The phrase then becomes further reduced. The next step is the reduction of “of”. What happens is the final /v/ sound is dropped simply leaving the neutral vowel (schwa). There is no separation from should and this vowel, and so we end up with shoulda. The same process occurs when “would have” becomes “woulda” and “could have” becomes “coulda.” Though these phrases are not the only ones in which native speakers practice reduction, they are the most straightforward for introducing the concept of reduction to your students and are very easy to practice. Once your students are aware of the reduction phenomena, they will be able to better understand other situations in which reduction occurs. Another of the most common instances of reduction is from the phrase “going to.” In this phrase the “to” is reduced to a schwa and the ‘g’ of “going” is dropped. The result is the all too familiar “gonna.” It is valuable for your students to spend time on this reduction pattern as well because they will hear it many times in their future English conversations. Practice Makes Perfect If you are teaching the future tense, this is the opportune time to give your students practice with the reduction gonna. If your students have already covered the future but have not studied this reduction, simply introduce it now. Have one student ask what a second will be doing tomorrow, next week, or when he returns to his home country. “What are you gonna do tomorrow?” The second will answer, “I’m gonna get up early. I’m gonna go to the library. I’m gonna study for my test. I’m gonna meet my girlfriend for lunch. I’m gonna take my test in the afternoon.” The more practice they have with the reduction, the more comfortable their speech will be with native speakers. The use of reductions in phrases like woulda, coulda and shoulda is also easy for your ESL students to practice by creating a situation in which they give advice. Have your students describe some past situation in which they could have used advice from another. You can have them relate an embarrassing situation to their partner, a frightening situation or a disappointing situation. The student who tells the story will have some good conversation practice. Then the second student then gives advice to the person who told the story using the reduction “shoulda.” When one student describes how she failed an important exam, her partner should say things like, “You shoulda studied. You shoulda gotten enough sleep. You shoulda talked to your teacher about it. You coulda hired a tutor.” The first student can then answer the other student with an explanation. “I woulda hired a tutor, but I had no money. I know I shoulda studied, but I didn’t have the time. I know I coulda done better, and now I’m sorry.” The hardest part of being comfortable with reductions for ESL students is understanding them when they hear them. Because reductions do not follow the grammatical rules we teach our students, we have to take time out to give special instruction on reductions. All teachers want their students to be successful. If we want our students to be truly fluent in English, then reductions must be taught. Don’t worry. It’sgonna be fine.