Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 10/6/17

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my PLN. As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Note: Each resource is labeled with a level and subject area to make it easier to use.

Levels:  E: Elementary; M: Middle; H: High; G: General, all levels; SN: Special Needs; T: Teachers

Subject Areas: LA: Language Arts, English, Reading, Writing; M: Math; S: Science; Health; SS: Social Studies, Current Events; FA: Fine Arts; Music, Art, Drama; FL: Foreign Language; PE: Physical Ed; C: Career; A: All

Fraction Mash – “Create hilarious and dazzling photo mashups while exploring fraction concepts in Fraction Mash.” (L:E ; SA:M)

What People Don't Get About My Job: From A(rmy Soldier) to Z(ookeeper) – “So we made an encyclopedia. From A to Z, we went through your responses to find the best vocational essays for each letter. These essays are as short as a short sentence and as long as an full article. They are funny, sad, often indignant, and always insightful.” (L:G ; SA:A)

Down for Everyone or Just Me? – Find out if a site is down for just you or everyone (L:G ; SA:A)

Wild Music – Learn about sounds (L:G ; SA:A)

Imendi – “Imendi is free application that lets you practice flashcards of foreign languages. Pick the language you want to practice and start answering flashcards.” (L:G ; SA:A)

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Fear of the Unknown

In Is Fear Holding You Back? from @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin shares,

“At the end of the day, you will most likely regret the risks you didn't take and not the ones you did.”

Most people fear the unknown. My students especially fear the unknown because they not usually succeeded when the unknown happens. I can understand this because that really hurts them emotionally. When I get hurt, physically or emotionally, I tend to avoid tasks that may cause the same pain. So, when I ask my students to do similar activities that have already hurt them, many will do whatever it takes to get out of that activity. This might show up in aggressive behavior or passive behavior.

It helps that I am aware of these feelings and the cause of some behaviors. Since I understand this, it is easier for me to help students get through this fear.

Sometimes I have to face my fears. Sometimes it helps if there is someone holding my hand when I face my fears. I want to be that someone for my students.

I need to first let my students know that I will be there for them and that I understand how some of them feel. Many students will not acknowledge that they are afraid of anything.

I try to share with them some instances where I failed but kept trying until I succeeded. Some of these things surprise my students because they never imagined that I could fail at anything. The more comfortable they see that failure did not kill me and that if I wanted to succeed, I kept trying, the more encouragement they seem to get.

I also need to help them look at the consequences if they fail. Sometimes their worst fears is really not that bad once they verbalize these fears. Also, if they see that others seem to have the same fears, it makes it less threatening.

Another way to help my students is by possibly finding someone who knows about whatever is frightening my student. If the student learns more about it, the unknown becomes more known. The more knowledge we have, the less fearful we become.

How do you help students face their fears? Please share.

Monthly Review of Goals for September 2017

September has been a good month for us. We went on a short camping trip in Georgia and bought a season pass for Six Flags. We started on the Ketogenic Diet on September 11. I’ve gotten a lot of walking in too. I’m very happy with losing 6 lbs. this month!

1.     Lose 10 pounds.

a.     Weight change since January 1 – 6 lbs.

2.     Finish the mitered square blanket. – Completed!

3.  12 Nonfiction books.

a.     I am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb.

b.     In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox by Carol Burnett

c.     Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham

d.     The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge

e.     Carly's Voice: Breaking Through Autism by Arthur Fleischmann

f.      Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

g.     Over the Hills and Far Away: The Life of Beatrix Potter
by Matthew Dennison 

h.     The Dorito Effect by Mark Schatzker 

i.      The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History by Joseph M. Marshall III

j.      Knitting Pearls by Ann Hood

k.     Lights Out: A Cyberattack, A Nation Unprepared, Surviving the Aftermath

by Ted Koppel

4. 12 new recipes.

a.     Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings  

b.     Slow cooker Pork Chops  

c.     Honey Garlic Chicken

d.     Creamy Bacon Ranch Chicken

e.     No Tortilla Chicken Enchilada Bake  

f.      BLT Chicken from 365 Slow Cooker Suppers by Stephanie O’Dea

g.     Kashmir Curry

h.     Keto Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs

i.      Homemade Taco Seasoning

j.      Pork loin wrapped in bacon

5. 12 Digital Scrapbooking pages. - Completed

6. 1400 miles walking

a.     Completed 1201 miles since January.

7.  Photo a day project

a. Completed every day since January.

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So, how are you doing with your goals? Please share.

My Mother

Today my mother would have been 88 years old. She was born in Jacksonville FL, lived most of her life in NY and died in West Palm Beach, FL in 1989. Her family was from Warm Springs, GA. She was one of seven children.

(Showing are my 2 favorite pictures of our family. I'm the youngest in the family. I was spoiled by everyone especially my two sisters: Betsy and Dotty!)

I remember:

·      She made most of my clothes when I was growing up.

·      She made my wedding dress which I never saw until the day before I got married and it fit perfectly.

·      She loved to knit and after I was married, she made our family matching sweaters for Christmas every year.

·      She was a heavy smoker and smoked Chesterfield Regulars.

·      She hated to drive but kept her license so she could be in the car with us as we learned to drive.

·      She never went to the doctor.

·      She never had a job because our family was her job.

·      She was always home when I got home from school.

·      She loved to read.

·      We gave her a kiss every time we left the house.

·      Her life revolved around our family.

·      She was a good mother and I always knew she loved me.

Even after all these years, I still miss her.

Back of the Book Blurb #78 Challenge

From Sioux's Page, Sioux offers this challenge.

She posts a picture and you need to imagine it as a graphic for a book. You choose the genre and book title, and then write a blurb that might appear on the back of the book.

The blurb should be 150 words or less (not including the title). The genre is wide-open.

Each blogger should include their blurb on their own blog, and link back to this post. Have fun with it. Go to the other posts and comment on the other blurbs.  You can do fancy techy things with the photo.

(Join in if you dare...! It sounds like fun! I think this would be a lot of fun to do with students especially since they would be expected to write 150 words or less!)

A New Life

Where was the adoring crowds? Surely everyone knew his grandfather, Morris the Cat and the lucrative acting career he had?

Morris’s owner had an ironclad contract that kept Morris and his descendants rolling in the dough forever. All royalties and monies were passed on to each generation so they never wanted for anything and would be taken care of forever.

Junior’s caretaker decided that Junior was too spoiled and needed to leave LA to move to the wilds of Kentucky.

The motor coach drove into this sleepy country town and the streets were empty. Where was the red carpet and the fancy hotel? Surely, they didn’t expect Junior to sleep outside! How was Junior going to live in a place that didn’t take care of his creature comforts?

The doors opened and Junior tentatively walked down the steps.

Will Junior adapt to a new life in the country? (148 words)