An Award!

I can't believe it! My blog was given an award! Thank you to Mrs. D. over at The Silver Lining in Teaching Blog for this....

Wahooooooo!!!! It definitely made my day. :0)

I checked and apparently, there are some things that an

esteemed award winner (hahaha!) such as myself must do!

First,  thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.

Thank you, Mrs. D!!!! Make sure you check out her blog here.

She has a bunch of truly terrific ideas for making learning fun.

Second, share 7 things about yourself.

#1    Never in a million years did I think that I would have a blog! I do, however, and I love it.

I've met so many nice people and learned so much through it.

#2     I just went back to teaching after being a stay-at-home mom for four years. I taught for 11 years before that. I've taught second grade, third grade, GT Resource, and now I'm working with third, fourth and fifth graders in our school's Advanced Academic Center. It is a wonderful position in an

absolutely fantastic school. I'm a very lucky girl!

#3    I once had to dress up like an eggplant for our local Halloween parade. I was a teenager. I had great legs back then, so I totally rocked it. Ahh, the good old days!

#4   I played the cowbell in George Mason University's Pep Band. Honestly, between the

eggplant thing and the cowbell, I'm amazed that I ever got a date.

#5   I'm a sucker for anything in those "As Seen on TV" advertisements.

#6    I love photography and lovingly refer to my Canon 50D as my third baby.

 If I could tuck it into a soft blanket at night, I probably would.

#7  Organization eludes me.

Third, pass this award on to fifteen recently discovered blogs. I love these blogs!

When my blog grows up, it wants to be just like them!!!!

Technology Rocks Seriously

2nd Grade Shenanigans

Oh Boy Fourth Grade

Ladybug's Teacher Files

Sunny Days in Second Grade

Teach Factory

Vintage Teacher

Minds in Bloom

The Lesson Cloud

Runde's Room

Teacher Tam's Educational Adventures

The Best of Teachers Pay Teachers

One Extra Degree

Lesson Plan SOS

The Teacher Wife

Happy surfing!

Fun with Photos

In the mood to have a little fun with your photos or blog button image? Click on over to LoonaPix where you can totally play around like I did. There are several different "frames" such as these that you can plug your image into to create cool effects. This would work with images such as I used of my blog button or even photos of people.  Actually, there are even more options for things to do with images of people than text images.

I haven't quite decided how to use these, but it sure was fun. Any ideas for how to use this in the classroom? Feel free to comment below with how you would use this crafty little tool!

I know that there are other sites out there that also allow you to play with images in this way. Which ones do you recommend?

A Fantastic Blog Find

One of the things I love about teaching is the sharing of ideas. You know how you get really excited about something you've come across or done and can't wait to share it with your teammates?  That's apparently the direction I am going with this blog. Whenever I stumble upon something great I can't wait to share it with someone. That someone is you!

Every now and then I allow my easily distracted mind to run wild when it comes to surfing blogs. You know how it goes…click on one of your favorite blogs which links to another equally wonderful blog which, in turn, links to yet another fabulous blog and suddenly, you are lost in cyberspace with 17 windows open in your browser bar.  I think it’s the blog surfer’s equivalent of the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff.

Anywhoo….  the other day I was happily surfing the internet and indulging my self-diagnosed ADD when I stumbled upon this gem of a blog Technology Rocks Seriously.

Oh…my….word!!!!! In addition to great ideas for lessons in the classroom, Shannon of  Technology Rocks Seriously has absolutely phenomenally super-cute printables that she shares for FREE! I don’t know about you, but since I’ve spent a ton of money getting my new classroom ready to go, FREE is about all I have left in my budget. :0)

These would be great to print and display in either your home or classroom.

How about this one?

Or this?

Click here to go to Technology Rocks Seriously to view these printables!

This one is my absolute favorite. Shannon suggests putting it in a frame and then writing on it with dry erase marker. What a terrific way to let a child in your class or a family member know that you were impressed by them. I know that I would love it!!!!

Click here to link to the "Fabulous" printable.

Have fun looking through Shannon's blog and please leave her a little love to let her know how much you liked her blog!

Happy International Literacy Day!

Happy International Literacy Day!!! Head on over the The Lesson Cloud to find lots of great posts with ideas for celebrating literacy in your classroom all year long. Also, if you scroll down the right hand column on The Lesson Cloud's homepage, you will see a section with tons and tons of freebies in all curriculum areas. Happy browsing!

Grab a soda, relax, and click on the image below to begin surfing the great ideas posted on The Lesson Cloud.