Monday Made Its and a Must Have...last chance to win!

I'm linking up once again with Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It and with Sabra over at Teaching with a Touch of Twang for Must Have Mondays.

I've been a very busy teacher this week, making loads of things for my classroom, especially things that coordinate with my chosen theme of polka dots and monsters. I have NEVER ever done "cuteness" like this. My fellow teachers will flip when they see what I've concocted this year. 

With all the cuteness has come A LOT of work! One thing that I have found that I MUST HAVE to make my work easier is my new pair of Wescott scissors. I won them plus six student pairs in June after entering an Education Center online contest. SOOO happy that I did! They are the best scissors I have ever used... they feel great in my hand, don't tire my fingers, and cut like a diamond through glass. LOVE THEM!

I've been using them to cut out all the products that I've been making: homework punch cards, homework brag tags, a writing process clip chart... to name just a few! See what I mean by cuteness? The complete set of Polka Dot/Monster Theme classroom decor is available in my TpT Store. Currently there are eleven products with more coming later this week. 

 And if you'd like a chance to win one of these cute products, just leave a blog post HERE before midnight tonight!

The next "cuteness" project on the docket is to glitterize those clothespins for the clipchart and to washi tape a basket in which to place my brag tags... next week's Monday Made It already planned!

Happy Teaching,

Angela

The Teacher's Desk 6

Must Have Monday and Giveaways

I knew there was something I was forgetting about Monday... Must Have Monday with Sabra over at Teaching with a Touch of Twang.

I've been quite busy of late making all kinds of cute (did I just use that word?) decorations for my classroom! Something that I must have to make this task a whole lot easier is my set of craft punches. I got them on Amazon a couple of years ago, purchasing five of them ranging in size from 1.5"-3".  I've been using the x-large 2.75" and 3" ones a lot this week. Here you see me working on my Common Core Vocabulary Word Wall Letters. Without my punches I would NEVER have attempted to make the letter labels round. Can you imagine cutting out all those round labels? YIKES!

And now for the giveaway! It seems that this summer is quite the time for celebrations in blogging land. Several of my sweet bloggy friends are hosting giveaways. Don't miss out on the chance to win some terrific teaching resources and special prizes.

Kristin over at Teach n' Tex is hosting a 3x3 Giveaway. What you see here is just part of it!

Desiree over at Kinders on the Block is celebrating her second blogiversary.

Jessica from Joy in the Journey has a blogiversary in the works as well!

Happy Teaching,

Angela

The Teacher's Desk 6

Must Have; Eating, Drinking, and Linking

I know now fer shure that it is summer, 'cause I thought today was Monday, not Tuesday! I get my days mixed up in the summer not having to keep a schedule. Never mind that I read a ton of Monday linky blog posts yesterday. Did that click? No siree bobcat tail!!!! Soooo, here goes with my Monday posts, a day late...

Once again, I'm linking up with Sabra over at Teaching with a Touch of Twang for Monday Must Have.

This week I'm sharing a website that I MUST HAVE. When working on my teaching products, I tend to work on one page at a time, not linking them together in one document. I usually have a cover page, the bulk of the activity, an answer key, and an explanation/background/credits page... generally four different sections. If I am going to offer an activity as an online product at Teachers Pay Teachers or Teacher's Notebook then I have to meld them together in some fashion creating one file for purchase.

When I first began creating teaching products on the computer, I would have to copy and paste individual pages into a single document... what a pain! As time progressed I learned about zip folders, being able to pop all the documents into a folder and compressing it... still not what I envisioned, but a little better in a sense. This step saved me all the copying and pasting.

Then I discovered...

... an online tool that has made creating teaching products so much easier! I can work on individual pages as I was accustomed to, skip the copy and paste step, then save each individual file as a portable document file (.pdf). 

I visit PDFMerge, upload each file in order, click a button, and out downloads a single document with all of my pages melded together. PRESTO! FREE!

There are versions available at the site that require you to download software to your computer and charge a fee. They are not necessary, and please be careful that you don't get caught downloading them. Look for the above feature and use the MERGE button, not any download button. I have merged up to 25 individual pdf files containing 53 pages at one time and it worked perfectly! The one catch is that the total size of the files can not exceed 1Mb... remember, it's FREE.

There are other pdf freebie tools offered at the site as well. I've played a bit with them but haven't needed them so I can't say if they are worth your while or not. If you are using Google Chrome you can add an extension to your browser that makes it convenient to use PDF Merge. It's just a click away.

Speaking of just a click away... 

... is Christy over at Teaching Tales along the Yellow Brick Road and her Eating, Drinking, and Linking, Oh My! linky party! This week I'm going to share a simple, yet favorite summer dish of my family:

Gagoots and Eggs

or in English

Zucchini and Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients: (adjust amounts as you like for more or less)

olive oil... you can substitute other oil but it's just not as good

small chopped onion

small zucchini chopped into bite-sized pieces (no need to peel)

2-3 eggs

Romano or Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

To Prepare:

1. Heat olive oil in a 10" or larger frying pan.

2. Saute the chopped onion in the oil for a few minutes.

3. Add the chopped zucchini.

4. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. While the gagoots and onions are sauteing, break the eggs and beat them well by hand until they are frothy.

6. Grate some Romano or Parmesan (or both) into the eggs and mix well.

7. When the gagoots are tender, move them and the onions to one side of the pan and pour in the egg/cheese mixture.

8. Allow the eggs to cook a few minutes, then begin to scramble them as you would for regular scrambled eggs.

9. When the eggs are nearly finished cooking, mix the gagoots and onions together with them, constantly stirring until the eggs are completely cooked.

10. Enjoy eating them with freshly toasted Italian bread and fruit (our favorite way).

This is going to be my dinner tonight... YUM!

Happy Summer,

Happy Teaching,

Angela

The Teacher's Desk 6

Monday Must Have

I have been somewhat remiss and find that I must apologize...

I have blogged about terrific teaching supplies, wonderful web apps, and even my favorite school supply store for my Monday Must Have's, but I have not told you about one of the most, if not THE MOST important must have I have... Ms. Daisy Mae!

Daisy has been my constant companion for the past fourteen years. She came to me via one of my sixth grade students who brought a basket of newborn kittens to show the class one afternoon... and when I say newborn, well.... they were less than a week old, and the cutest little balls of fur you have ever seen. Mama Snuggles was proud to show them off and shared all five of her little ones with us readily. It was that day that I decided I wanted one of her babies... but which one? Time would tell.

That decision was made for me shortly. Snuggles and family visited us each week and we enjoyed watching her babes grow. On the second visit we were able to hold the little ones, and it was then that I noticed one kitten was rather fiesty and vocal... the runt: a teeny, tiny, sassy Tabby. For whatever reason this littlest one decided she liked me. Even though she caterwauled the entire time I held her, she purred and purred as well, constantly rubbing her face against my fingers. Each time that I tried to set her down, she would run back to my hands... too cute! If anyone, even her owners, tried to pick her up, she would struggle and struggle. It was only me that she allowed to hold that day.

By week three the decision had been made... teeny, tiny, sassy Tabby was to be mine! Now for a name. I'm not sure where the idea for Daisy Mae came from, but it came, and it fit her for whatever reason. She learned her name quickly and by week five was actually answering to it since her owners were calling her Daisy Mae at home as well. It was during this same week's visit that I noticed Daisy Mae would answer when I talked to her. Yes, she answered. I would say something to her; she would meow in return... during the entire visit, but only when I spoke to her. If anyone else spoke, she just ignored them. We all got the biggest kick from this behavior.

By week six we all knew that Daisy Mae was made for me. During the weekly visitation, when she was taken from her basket and placed on the floor, she promptly walked over to me, ignoring everyone else, and climbed up my pants leg, settled in my lap, and remained there for the entire fifteen minute stay. When it was time to say goodbye, Daisy cried and cried and carried on terribly. She did not want to leave me. It was verydifficult to keep her in the basket to take her back home.

By week seven, Daisy Mae was ready... she no longer was nursing, she was eating solid foods, and was wild for potato chips... really! So.... after week seven's visitation, Daisy stayed with me while her brothers and sisters went back home. Not once did she look for mama; not once did she cry or show any separation anxiety. She was content!

And for fourteen years she has been my constant companion. She's not so teeny, tiny any more... rather the contrary. However, we still have daily, prolonged conversations, and she still loves potato chips and she still sits on my lap... even now while I'm typing this blog post.


And that's my Monday Must Have for this week... and EVERY week!

Happy Monday,
Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6

It's Monday so...

... it's time for Must Have's. I'm linking up with Sabra over at Teaching with a Touch of Twang for this week's Monday Must Have linky.

I missed last week's link-up; how quickly one gets into vacation mode! I didn't realize Monday had come and gone until Wednesday... LOL! AND... I almost missed Monday this week; however, I happened to see a couple of posts this evening on Facebook about "hating Mondays" so I quickly jumped on my computer to visit my blog!

SOOOOOO, what is something that I must have? Well, the list is as long as my arm, but one thing that has made teaching easier as well as my home life is...

I think I probably spend more money at our local store than any other customer. Most of the clerks know me, not by name but as THAT TEACHER from ST. JOHN SCHOOL. I clean my home, store my food, stock my medicine cabinet, and supply my classroom with items from Dollar Tree. It is this last area for which I REALLY MUST HAVE Dollar Tree. 

This is last year's back-to-school list of things that I purchased for my classroom from the Dollar Tree (they have an AWESOME Teacher's section):

decorative pencils for my prize bin

pencils, pens for myself and extras for students who forget theirs

decorative erasers for my prize bin

bookmarks for awards and birthday prizes

pencil sharpeners

crayons

markers

Sharpie markers

tape

glue

push pins

large and small colored paper clips

decorative file folders

post-it notes, and more post-it notes, and still more post-it notes

construction paper

computer paper

photograph paper

rulers

scissors

poster board

tri-fold boards

index cards

LOTS of plastic bins for storing materials

bouncy balls for gym class

tennis balls for gym class

jump ropes for gym class

hula hoops for gym class

bulletin board borders

bulletin board cut-out pieces

bulletin board letters

cursive alphabet bulletin board pieces

teaching posters: capitalization, punctuation rules; periodic table and common elements; simple machines

cursive alphabet stickers

periodic table stickers

parts of speech stickers

printables for parts of a cell and a microscope

ready to use literacy centers for synonyms, Greek Roots, inferencing

printables for writing prompts

This is just what I remember from off the top of my head. I know there was more, and I purchased items throughout the year, especially for my gr. 6 Science class (I won't go into all those items here). 

I think it's quite easy to see why the Dollar Tree is one of my Monday Must Have's.

Happy Shopping,

Happy Teaching,

Angela

The Teacher's Desk 6

Another Monday Must

I admit it: I am definitely a techie geek teacher. I could easily get rid of books, paper, and all things hardcopy (well, maybe not pens... I love pens.... that's another story). I dream of a completely electronic, in the cloud classroom. I would love to have my textbooks on e-readers that could sync with the laptops that every student would have (our junior high and high schoolers do have them)... ah, someday before I retire!

Because of my love for technology many of my must have's take the form of websites or software programs. Last week I shared four of them. This week I'm sharing two.

1. Animoto... I wrote a blog post about this a while back. You can access it HERE, so I won't expound upon it on this post... just to say that if you are unfamiliar with this web tool, get familiar. Your students and you can create awesome videos for presentation and teaching... AWESOME!

2. Padlet, formerly known as Wall Wisher, is defintely on my Monday Must Have list.

This website allows you to set up a virtual bulletin board upon which you can place post-it notes (see previous Must Have Monday posts about my addiction to these mini-marvels). I've set-up Padlet boards for assessing student comprehension, making connections, answering a particular science question... the possibilities are endless. One thing that is FUN about this web tool is that I can sit at my desk computer and see live the work that my students are doing. As they work I can comment and even jump in and correct if need be. This is a great feature for beginners and is a way to help students with homework. When I assign one of my Padlet boards as homework I also set a time that I will be online that evening.  As students work on the board I am there to help them as needed.

Some new features have just been added that make this web tool even more teacher friendly. Users now have the ability to save Padlet boards as a .pdf, Excel, or image file. The boards can be embedded in webpages or blog posts (see below), and they can be shared via the most popular social media sites. Visitors can even subscribe to a board. LOVIN' Padlet more and more!

I also teach my students how to create boards and require them to build boards that their classmates must visit and respond to. Padlet is a SIMPLE, easy peasy way to incorporate technology into your curriculum, and it can help meet Common Core ELA Standards.

Here is my latest Padlet board (it is still in process as of this post's date). This board is used as a quick final response to the novel Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardner. My fifth grade ELA students are just learning how to use this web tool. They are also learning to include specific textual details in their responses as well as including the question in their answer. They have struggled with these skills all year.

Created with Padlet

Happy Monday,
Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk

It's Monday and I Must Have...

Once again I'm linking up with Sabra at Teaching with a Touch of Twang for Monday Must Have's. Last week I listed my top three "office supply" must have's. This week I'm going electronic and listing my top four "techie" must have's. Here goes...

1. The Hat... Put away your popsicle sticks, cards, whatever you use to select students at random. The Hat is a simple but VERY effective Windows program available for FREE from Harmony Hollow Software that allows teachers to randomly select individual names or pairs of students to the accompaniment of cool sound effects. You can input multiple lists then edit them as needed. 


2. Google Websites is part of the suite of tools offered by Google. Similar to Blogger and just as easy to use, Google Sites allows you to create and maintain a FREE website. For years I had hosted The Teacher's Desk website, which I paid for... Silly me! Two years ago I discovered Google Sites, closed my paid site and opened The Teachers' Desk 6, a site for my sixth graders and their parents... my blog is an offshoot of this site.

3. Pinterest... What in the world did I do before Pinterest? I drowned in browser bookmarks is what I did! I would find a great idea, bookmark it, and move on to another idea and another and another. When I would try to find that one perfect idea I had saved it would be a monumental task. With Pinterest it is easy to sort and store, pin and find any idea! Have a go through my Education Ideas board, my Language Arts board, and my Writing Prompts board... pin away!







4. Google Chrome... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this Internet web browser. I use it on all my computers. What I bookmark at school is found on my computer at home. No matter where I surf the web my history is maintained and I can track where I've visited. I have a TON of apps installed that allow me to play games, read my RSS feed, create photo collages, access my Kindle, et al., AND it's all synced with every device on which I use Chrome!  It has made my techie life so much more simple!

Happy Monday,
Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6

Must Have Monday

I'm linking up with Sabra over at Teaching with a Touch of Twang for a brand new linky party that she is hosting.

Here are just three of my classroom/teaching Must Have's... I emphasize JUST and THREE... I have a LOT!!!!



1. I can not live without my newest Must Have: whiteboard crayons. LOVE them! They have NO odor and do NOT smear or rub off when a student accidentally brushes against the board.


2. I Must Have my post-it notes in ALL sizes and colors. I use them for EVERYTHING, from notes to grading slips, from crafts to learning tools. My co-workers call me the queen of post-it's.

3.  I Must Have index cards. Again I use them for EVERYTHING, from notes to assessment tools, from response booklets to YOU NAME IT!

I'm going to enjoy reading all the other Must Have's posted at this linky! I'm looking for some NEW Must Have's for next year!

Happy Teaching,
Angela
The Teacher's Desk 6