I got a free bagel...

This is not going to be about lesson plans or ideas for the classroom. This is going to be a vent post. We had our parent meeting yesterday. I was talking to a coworker afterward.  I told her that when we were children, they were punishments and consequences for bad behavior. Now, it’s almost like the teacher is punished for saying the student is misbehaving. We have to put up with it, because whiny parents go to the principal or board. I’m sick of it. Your child is no different than anyone else’s in the classroom. Why should I have to give them special treatment when there’s no need to? I DON’T CARE who you think you are or who you know. If you want special treatment, maybe you should open your wallet and enroll your child in private school. Oh, that’s right. I remember, because you say your sob story every day, you’re a single mother who made the choice to have a child at a very young age, while not married, and still in school. I just stand there giving you stink face, because I’m tired of hearing your story. Not because I feel bad for you. It’s because I’m a mean person, it’s because I feel bad for people who truly deserve it. I feel bad for people who truly have it bad. I’m not so egocentric that I can’t see that other people have problems…

It’s that time of year again. The schools are starting to put orders in for next year. I’m not ordering anything. There are various reasons why, but I won’t get into it here. I feel like Lakeshore has a monopoly on the school supplies. I’m not sure why. They’re overrated and overpriced. The same products could be gotten for cheaper at other stores. 

This year has to be the year I’ve spent the least on teaching supplies. I still ended up spending $360. I originally spent four hundred dollars. My principal so generously gave me forty dollars and acted like it was the full total. I think my hoard is getting good enough. Next year, I’m not buying anything new.

Spring is in the air?

I’m a fall girl. Fall is my favorite season. I find the other seasons to be a bit meh. I try to do fun activities to teach my students about seasons and to get myself into the season.  Spring is tomorrow. I’m having a hard time trying to get my students to grasp this when there’s still now on the ground where I live.

One thing I like doing in spring is decorating eggs. It’s a fun thing to do before spring break. Depending on your students, you have so many options. You can use boil eggs and dyes. If you want something more permanent, you can use wooden eggs and water color paint. I like to do paper mache eggs. You really have to know what your students are capable of and it will be mess. You have to have all the supplies. I go into more detail in this product: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Russia-Lesson-Plans

One thing I wanted to touch on is I like these projects, because it shows we’re all different and have different abilities. This is an egg that the students didn’t want because they felt it came out bad. 

They covered the balloon knot. So, it came out wrinkly and wouldn’t stand. It was still pretty oval. I’ve adapted it as the class egg. When doing paper mache projects, I always make one in case the students don’t like how their project came out. I think we should keep that in mind. We can’t place our students in molds. They usually rise to the occasions, but it’s ok if they raise up our standards and ok if they sometimes don’t met our standards.

Being a Russophile, I was able to make this less about Easter and more about Russia and Faberge eggs. There’s always a way to do a fun activity if you think it through.  

What did I get in the mail?!

 

A postcard! I think postcards are a fun activity for any grade, but especially with little ones. They’re small. So, they don’t require a ton of writing and there’s the art aspect of it. Postcards are extremely adaptable that can be used with any theme and most subjects.

When I taught older students, I used to love to bust out my Victorian postcards. They usually caught their attention.  It was fun to have them pick an era and a person, or a historical figure, and have them pen and design their own postcards. I’m ALWAYS amazed by how talented my students have been.

Why not add postcards to your routine? It can be as easy or complex as you like. 

Eating Potatoes and Cabbage… And Soda Bread!

Saint Patrick ’s Day is closing in. That means two things. One,  yummy soda bread. The Shop Rite around here makes delicious soda bread, but it’s seasonal. I’ve only had that, and homemade versions, because the bakeries around here are all Italian. 

Two, Saint Patrick’s Day means lots of great ideas to put in my lesson plans. The Emerald Isle is just full of things to fascinate youngsters.  I also want to announce I will be having a sale on Saint Paddy’s Day.  Twenty percent off of all of my products.

Feel free to check out my Ireland lesson plans. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ireland-Lesson-Plans 

I really like this song, but it will get stuck in your head. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRYq3Kla31g 

Dr. Seuss will sue you!

The Seuss estate may send you a cease and desist letter if you use his work in any form in a product. I’m not talking about blatant copyright infringes. I’m talking about just mentioning his name and books. If you don’t believe me, check the copy right section of TPT’s seller forum. 

I’m pretty natural on Dr. Seuss’s material. I don’t think they’re the end all to be all of children’s literature and I’ve read it to some children and gotten stink eye from them, but I don’t think they’re horrible either.  Seuss would not be on my top ten list of children’s literature. 

There are almost eight hundred activity products about Dr. Seuss on TPT. I think that’s insane when he’s banned and there’s so many other great children’s authors out there.  As teachers we should know to expose our children to different texts and authors. Stop sticking to just Seuss. 

Two of my favorite authors are Kevin Henks and Leo Lionni. I’ve read both to multiple grade level and they’re usually a hit. Kevin has two hundred six hit and Leo Lionni has fewer than eighty hits.

If you’re interested, I’ve made two products involving these authors. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Person-Is-Person

and

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Prek-Name-Games