Free Books for Kids

I recently learned of a program called First Book that gives new books to children in need. This program partners with various businesses to give physical books to students, schools and other educational facilities that serve children in low income areas. Open eBooks is the ebook component to the program. (see below)

There is a TON of information on their web page so I will not repeat it all here. Below are some quick links to get you started.

To donate click here.
To access ebooks click here.
To register for First Book click here.
Stay connected by subscribing here.

Open eBooks is the digital component to First Books. The only real drawback that I can see is that students must have access to a device to read the books on. The books are only available through an app on  iphone, ipad or ipod touch or Android device.

Sometimes You Just Have To Laugh

Everyone knows that the kids get really wild just before a holiday. They tend to do things that they wouldn't normally do. This year was no exception.

I went through almost a dozen boxes of tissues because of runny noses. There were mysterious illnesses that cleared up when the work was done and free time was to be had.

We had wardrobe malfunctions and lost coats, hats and gloves but the best thing that happened was in one of my kinder classes.

The kids were working on their iStation program. It is a self paced pre-reading program. They work on it each time they come to class.

During this particular class I noticed a red dot on the ceiling. Normally this means that a kiddo has decided to turn the mouse over and use the dot to make designs on the ceiling. Not this time. 

I looked over to see a kinder kid licking the mouse. She was trying to lick the red dot on the bottom of the mouse and couldn't quite figure out why she couldn't get to it. Now remember, we are almost half way through the school year. They have had the lectures about how to treat the equipment and how germs work but still the lure of the red dot called her.

When I saw it I couldn't help it, I just started laughing. 

It was either laugh or cry...so I chose to laugh!

The Mouse in question...

Creating a Calm Environment in the Classroom

This year I am making a conscious effort to be as calm as I can each and every day. Most of the students I teach come from houses filled with chaos. I am striving to give them a place of tranquility when they enter my room. I want it to be an oasis in a sea of rushing lessons and tests.
To achieve this I have covered some of the harsh fluorescent lights with a calming blue material.

Years ago when I taught an ocean unit I wanted to give the room an aquatic feel so I turned to Reynold's Saran Wrap in blue and green. I alternated colors on the recessed lights and wow did it made the room feel cool and calm!!

In the new school I am using blue classroom light filters similar to these. They attach to the metal with round magnets that are sewn into the material.

I was fortunate enough to find them at 80% off when one of our school supply stores was closing so I got them for a song. Below is what they look like in my room. I chose to cover every other light.

If you don't want to spend a lot of money you can make them on a budget. Go to a fabric store and look in the sheer fabric section.  I like JoAnn's because they give teachers 15% off of your purchase.

You can get solid blue or you can get blue with nifty little clouds. These are the sheers that our RM lab teacher put up.

She used plastic covered binder clips to hang them but you can use just about anything. Hers let in a bit more light than mine but they worked just fine. 

I also have two floor lamps in my room. One is silver and has white lights in it. The other is multicolored like the one below. 

The kids LOVE when I put on soft music and turn out the lights and just leave on the lamps and the one safety light in the ceiling. It is amazing how quietly and efficiently they work when the room is serene. 

Good music for the kids are things like Yanni, Enya, James Taylor and almost anything that is elevator type music. They also like some classical. You will find what your kids like just keep trying!

The calm classroom works wonders for them and for me. I find myself fussing less and stressing less. It is a win-win for everyone!

Free Goodies are Good!

Morning!
As I was trolling my email I came across these goodies! Some have free downloads and others are ideas to use with the company's products. I posted all of them, free or not, because sometimes just the picture can spark an idea.

Dr. Seuss reading board idea

Fox in Socks rhyming word board

Color my world bulletin board idea

Color my world multiplication board

Peanuts birthday graph 

Snoopy's strawberry patch

Scratch off rewards 

Easter activities

Snowflake rhyming

Fishing for sight words

Ten Marks

Good Sunday morning!
As I trolled through my TONS of email and then jotted around Facebook I found this: Ten Marks. It is a free math program for teachers to use with their kids. Now I don't teach a regular classroom so all I am doing is passing it on.

The following information is from their website and Facebook page.

About

As an online adaptive math program, TenMarks is proud to be the trusted partner for teachers to help improve student outcomes across the country.

Mission

TenMarks’ web-based math program is used by students across 25,000 schools and 7,000 districts. Each day, students in all 50 states use TenMarks to solve millions of math problems, improving their math skills and confidence. TenMarks believes that students learn best when they're individually engaged, nurtured, and motivated. TenMarks aims to positively impact the lives of over 20 million students by 2016.

Company Overview

At TenMarks, we believe that students learn best when they're engaged, nurtured, and motivated, and that teachers are key to improving math achievement. To help maximize teacher effectiveness in the classroom and to make their lives easier, we've created a web-based learning environment that simplifies assignments, automates grading, and drives student learning through engaging videos and interactive lessons.

Description

TenMarks has just launched the most robust online adaptive math program for practice, instruction, assessment, and intervention, EVER - one that helps teachers reinforce classroom instruction, easily assess, grade and intervene based on CCSS learning trajectories, and drive automated differentiation. Completely redesigned from the ground up and built for Common Core Math Standards.

Here is a Youtube video talking about TenMarks.

I would LOVE your feedback on the program so I can update my information.

Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT)

From their website: Commonly referred to as "TpT," TeachersPayTeachers® is the world's first online open marketplace where teachers buy, sell, and share original educational materials in downloadable formats. Additionally, teachers can buy/sell hard goods, both "teacher-created" original works as well as used educational resources.

You can get all the facts HERE.

I am working to create my TpT page and am finding it is very exciting!
You can follow me as I create more and more items to help others. Find me HERE!

My things will feature the work of the very talented Jeff Perryman. I couldn't be more pleased that he has agreed to team up with me on this project. You can see some of his artwork HERE!

T3

You may be asking, 'What is T3?'
Is it Terminator 3? Is it a glue or a code of some kind?
The latter is closer to anything. In my classroom T3 stands for Time To Think. I have found that a simple quiet place can go a long way in helping the kids who have issues of all kinds.

My classroom has an adjoining door to the library. This door is my T3 corner. It is a quiet place for a student to calm themselves. It can be used after a melt down or before one starts.
There is a purple carpet for them to sit on and they can lean on the wall or in the corner as they regain composure. Under the table by the door is a box of stuffed animals for the children to use as well. Sometimes the kids are just exhausted and will curl up and go to sleep. Since my class is a "specials" class like art and music it doesn't matter if the kiddo misses one day.

In the hectic world of public education we are often forgetful that children don't come from and Ozzie and Harriet household anymore. Gone are the days where mother and father were in a loving and committed marriage. The largest portion of the children are from broken and/or dysfunctional homes. More and more grandmothers are raising children. These children just need a break sometimes. They just need some T3.