Trick or Treat! Everyone Gets A Treat!

Ana at Ingles360 is having a wonderful promotion at Ingles 360.  Everyone will get eight, yes I mean 8, free downloads from her wonderful products!

Be sure to visit her blog to learn the easy to follow directions in order to receive her wonderful products.

Thanks Ana for being so generous!

Stop Bullying Campaign

Most of us deal with students being bullied every day.  How sad?

Stop Bullying has some short webisodes that are cartoons to help address this situation.  There are 12 different episodes for different types of bullying.  Each cartoon is about 2 minutes long.

Humming For Groups

Yesterday I heard a little one humming a song a song and I thought of a grouping activity I haven't used in a while.  I thought I would share it with you as well.

Write on index cards the names of several different tunes your children would know and can hum.  (My students don't know the tunes so I usually have to teach them the tunes.)  You will need one tune for each group.
Examples:  Row, Row Your Boat,  Mary Had a Little Lamb, etc.

Each child draws a card from the group and doesn't tell anyone what tune they have.

When you say go, everyone starts humming their tune and walking around the room trying to locate the other people in their group humming the same tune.  There is no talking and they are NOT allowed to show anyone the card.  When everyone has been "Found" they go to a location on the edge of the room away from the others and hum their song loudly, then stand silently.  (I usually tell them how many people make up a group ahead of time so they will know how many people to find.)

When the last group has gone to a location and the room is now silent, I pick up the cards.  I now have groups for the activity that we are doing.

Page Corner Bookmarks

I stumbled on these page corner bookmarks.  What a great activity or maybe they could be made and given as "prizes" for special readers, etc. To get the directions, go to I Can Make That for directions or click on the bookmarks below.

There are directions to make your own template and a pdf with a template available.  

Riddle Me

Do you use riddles to help your students think at a higher level or maybe just to make them smile.  (I am awful at riddles, does that mean I can't think at a higher level?)

The idea at Education World was to make a bingo cards with just the answers then play giving the riddle as the call out.  Maybe a fun party game for the Halloween party?   What do you think?

Here are some riddles I found at Education World:

Riddle Question: What is a ghosts favorite ride at an amusement park?
Riddle Answer: The roller ghoster.

Riddle Question: Where does a fish keep its money?
Riddle Answer: In a riverbank.

Riddle Question: What kind of car does an electrician drive?
Riddle Answer: A volts-wagon.

Riddle Question: Why did the woman wear a helmet at the dinner table?
Riddle Answer: She was on a crash diet.

Riddle Question: What is the difference between here and there?
Riddle Answer: The letter t.


Riddle Question: Which city has no people?
Riddle Answer: Electri-city!


Riddle Question: What does a duck wear when it gets married?
Riddle Answer: A duck-cedo.

Riddle Question: What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?
Riddle Answer: A towel.

Riddle Question: Which month is the best month for a parade?
Riddle Answer: March.

Riddle Question: What has a foot on each side and another one in the middle?
Riddle Answer: A yardstick.

Riddle Question: Why is Alabama the smartest state in the U.S.A.?
Riddle Answer: It has 4 As and 1 B.

Riddle Question: What do you see twice in a week, once in a year, but never in a day?
Riddle Answer: The letter e.


Riddle Question: Which bone keeps getting longer and shorter?
Riddle Answer: A trombone.

Riddle Question: What did one potato chip say to another?
Riddle Answer: Lets go for a dip.

Riddle Question: What kind of coat only gets put on when its wet?
Riddle Answer: A coat of paint.

Riddle Question: What do you call a deer with no eyes?
Riddle Answer: No eye deer."

Riddle Question: What building has the most stories?
Riddle Answer: A library.

Riddle Question: Where does Friday come before Thursday?
Riddle Answer: In a dictionary.


Riddle Question: What are two things you cant eat for supper?
Riddle Answer: Breakfast and lunch.

Riddle Question: What has just two words but thousands of letters?
Riddle Answer: A post office.


Riddle Question: What runs around your house but never moves?
Riddle Answer: A fence.

Riddle Question: Why did the silly gardener plant a light bulb?
Riddle Answer: He wanted to grow a power plant.

Riddle Question: Why did the cookie go to the doctor?
Riddle Answer: He was feeling crummy.

Riddle Question: What is a cannibals favorite game?
Riddle Answer: Swallow the leader.

I Heart Your Blog Award Received

I would like to thank Maria from Charmed in Third Grade blog for this wonderful award.  She has brightened my week!  Thank you so much for extending this to me.

Here is the story of this honor.

I Heart Your Blog  Award: A dear friend of mine taught me a profound lesson several years ago when she shared her personal mantra, "There Is Only Love". Since then, I have realized that by adopting this mantra in my own life, I have changed my whole approach to everything I experience. That being said, as a total newbie to the teacher's blogging world, I discovered this gold mine of amazingly creative and talented teachers out here in cyber space. There are so many of you spreading the teaching Love around the globe by sharing your ideas and experiences. I just had to create a blog award to celebrate those of you who have touched my heart and inspired me, increasing my LOVE of teaching.   

Thank you for sharing your talent with the world! 

When you are awarded the I Heart Your Blog Award you are asked to do the following things:

1. Give the "I Heart Your Blog "Award to your favorite Top 10 Blogs that have touched your heart and inspired your teaching by listing them on your blog.

2. Contact that person and let them know of their heartfelt award.

3. When you receive the award, copy and paste the graphic on you blog and give a shout out to the person who nominated you.

4. Spread the LOVE by passing the "Heart Your Blog" Award on your Top 10.

I would like to give my I Heart Your Blog Award to the following awesome blogs!

National Punctuation Day

September 24 (which is Saturday)  is National Punctuation Day!  (I didn't know that until I read a post at TBA and followed the link to the Organized Classroom Blog.

I loved this:  Let's eat Grandpa.
                    Let's eat, Grandpa.

If you are Grandpa, punctuation is extremely important!

I am going to try to celebrate it on Monday, since it is on Saturday.

What are you going to do to celebrate National Punctuation Day?  Please share your ideas.

September 19--International Talk Like a Pirate Day

In case you are unaware of it, Monday, September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

If you would like to learn more about this holiday and see the google map showing part of the participants for this years "holiday", visit Talk Like A Pirate.

If you need some pirate jokes to share, I have also posted a list for you.

In honor of the "holiday", I am putting the 'pirate items' in my Teachers Notebook Shop and Teachers Pay Teachers Store on sale.  The sale will run on Sunday and Monday.   (September 18-19.)

On a personal note, the art teacher in the room next to me loved this holiday.  It was his favorite and he looked forward to it every year.  After losing his battle with cancer, the next year the students who knew him all celebrated this holiday at school in his memory.

Pirate Jokes for Talk Like a Pirate Day

Here are some 'Pirate Jokes' for you to share on International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Q. How much does it cost a pirate to get earrings?
A. A Buccaneer! 

Q. What is a pirates favorite kind of cookie? 
A. Ships Ahoy! 

Q. What do pirates like to eat? 
A. BARRRRbecue! 

Q. Why are pirates so mean? 
A. I don't know, they just ARRRRe! 

Q. How much did the pirate pay for his peg leg and hook? 
A. An arm and a leg! 

Q. Why didn't the pirate get hungry on the desert island? 
A. Because of all the sand which is there! 

Q. Why do pirates carry a bar of soap? 
A. So, if they are shipwrecked they can wash themselves to shore! 

Q. What do you get when you cross a pie and a rat? 
A. A Pie Rat! 

Q. Why did the pirate's phone go beep, beep, beep? 
A. Because he left it off the hook! 

Q. What's a pirates favorite color? 
A. Depends on the pirate! 

Q:  Why does it take pirate's so long to learn the alphabet?

A:  Because they get stuck at "C"!

Q:  What is a pirate's girlfriend called?

A:  Peggy

Q:  Why couldn't the pirate play cards?

A:  He was setting on the deck.

Knock knock!  Who's there?  Turner.  Turner who?  Turner round there is a pirate behind you.

Q:  What hook can't you hang your clothes on?

A:  Captain Hook!

Q:  What is a pirate's favorite kind of music?

A:  Arrr and B!

Q:  What do you call a pirate with two arms and two legs?

A;  A rookie!

Q:  Why was the pirate drafted first into the NBA?

A:  He had an awesome hook shot!

Pirate Jokes are from Olive Kids.com and Party Ideas Parade.com

If that is not enough pirate jokes here is a site that has more.  :0)  More Pirate Jokes

MO Teachers This One Is For You!

I was just thinking about what to share today, when I received this email. This is for Math teachers of ALL grade levels. 


Greetings from the Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Our Annual Fall Conference, December 2-3, 2011 in Columbia, MO is right around the corner.

This year, MCTM would like to offer you a 10 for 10 Special:

The first 10 school districts (or group of districts registering together), who send at least 10 full paying teachers to the Fall Conference will receive a half-day workshop from MCTM.  The facilitator will be chosen based on the topic requested by your district (or group of districts).  Together, a mutually agreed time and appropriate number of participants for the workshop will be decided between the facilitator and school district.

For more information or to register, click on the link below:

https://www.moctm.org/Registration.aspx#registration

Have more questions?  E-mail Ruth Knop, Northeast Director:  rknop@parkwayschools.net

We look forward to seeing you and your colleagues in December! 

Missouri Council of Teachers of Mathematics

Department of Mathematics MS6700

Southeast Missouri State University

Cape Girardeau, MO 63701

573-651-2164

573-986-6811 (fax)

O.R.E.O. Project 2011

You have to love anything that uses Oreo® cookies don't you?

In this case it means Our Really Exciting Online Project, but it does use the scrumptious cookies.

Classrooms are invited to participate.  Each classroom will need to have each student stack Oreo® cookies as high as he or she can and then average all their individual results to achieve a final class result.  I can foresee a lot of math in this project and maybe some "cookie faces" as well.

If you want to participate or learn more about the O.R.E.O. Project, don't delay.  The project begins on September 19.

(Be sure to read the Oreo® Trivia.)

Tip: Choosing a Student

Do you ever try to draw the same Popsicle stick to call on a student "randomly" again?

Has one of the sticks ever just "magically disappear" from your set?  {One year I had a student take his, so he wouldn't be chosen.  Boy, was he surprised after I heard him laughing about it.  Somehow five sticks with his name "magically appeared" in my set the next day. :0)  For some reason, none of the rest of the sticks "magically disappeared" the rest of the year.  lol}

Jennifer at Rowdy in First Grade has a great way to help you organize those sticks with a toilet paper roll for optimum use.  Be sure to visit her, but don't forget to return to Vintage Teacher!

A Teacher Tech Tip

Ever need a special character like ✄, but you can't remember the key combination to create it?  Did you ever want to put in a symbol and you couldn't remember how?  Would you like to use a ☂ in your writing and not have to put it in as a picture and have to get it in the just right spot?  Or maybe put a ✎ by the spot your students need to write their answer or their name?

Here is a neat website, shared by Tammy Worcester's Tech Tip of the Week, that will allow you to do those things easily!  I just ♥ how easy it is to use.  All you do is click on the image, then go to your page and paste it.  It is so simple.

Instructions:

1. 1.Go to: http://www.copypastecharacter.com/
   
   
2. 2.Click the desired character.
   (This will automatically copy it to your computer’s clipboard.)
   Note - Do not right-click or control-click. Just a regular mouse-click will copy it.
   
   
3. 3.Go to wherever you want to paste the character.
   This could be a Word document, a Google doc, an email message, a blog post, or even a Tweet. You can paste the character anywhere.  
   
   
4. 4.Paste.  Holding down the control key and typing the letter V will paste the last thing you copied to your clipboard into your document or PowerPoint and is fast.
   
   
5. 5.That’s it!
   
   
   ☞Think of all the time that can be saved!☜
   
   
   

   

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Professor Pig's Magic Math

This summer I was reading one of the forums and someone provided a link to the Professor Pig's Magic Math Site.  It is designed for K-3. It is set up to teach the basic facts and there are comics.  :0)

Although the author is no longer adding new chapters to this math curriculum, there are still ideas that can be used.  There are songs, games, etc. in the downloads.

Click on the image to visit the site.

If you are the person who shared the link, please let me know and I will gladly give you credit.

I Have Been Busy!

This week I have been busy making new items to aid our students.

I have listed at my Teachers Notebook and my Teachers Pay Teachers store TEN new items.

If your students are working on multiplication facts, I have added Multiplication Memory Games to my stores to aid them in this quest.  There are two complete games per set and I have added five new sets.  They are games that require the students to remember the location of the cards to match the multiplication problem to the correct answer.  There are 27 pairs of problems in each game and there are two games in each set.  The multiplication problems for 3-12 area available.

Since there are five different games I am going to provide links to my stores.  

Vintage Teacher's Teachers Notebook Shop

Vintage Teacher's Teachers Pay Teachers Store

I also added a game called Scarecrow Addition to 20.  In this concentration type game players try to match addends to get the sum of 20.  Great fun while practicing addition!

TPT Store-Scarecrow Addition to 20

TN Shop-Scarecrow Addition to 20

I have added 3D Dominoes that requires players to identify 3D nets and shapes. 

TN- 3D Dominoes

TPT- 3D Dominoes

There is also a new Three-In-A-Row Game with Whole Numbers available as well!  Comparison symbols always confuse my students.  That is one skill that is practiced on some of the questions in this game.  This is a read-only PowerPoint game.

TPT Three-In-A-Row Whole Numbers

TN Three-In-A-Row Whole Numbers

These are just a few of the things I have added.  Be sure to visit the Vintage Teachers Pay Teachers Store and the Vintage Teacher Shop at Teachers Notebook.  You will never know what you will find!

Office Max Savings for Teachers

I was contacted by Office Max.  They want to reach out to teachers and schools and offer them a few coupons to their Print Center.

Through the Office Max ImPress Print Center, teachers can take advantage of three deals with the appropriate coupons.  

• This expires TODAY, Saturday 27--$0.29 on color copies (regular price is $0.49)
• Until September 24:  $8.99 on 18"-by-24" posters (regularly $17.98)
• Until September 24:  50% off on lamination services.

In every Office Max store, you will find an ImPress Print Center staffed with experts that can answer your questions and help you with your projects or printing.

Click on the button below to get the coupons.

If you cannot access the coupons, leave your name and email address in the comment section and I will send them to you asap.

My Name is Osama

The story My Name is Osama was first published in Middle Level Learning, a publication of the National Council for the Social Studies.  It is the story of an Iraqi boy named Osama whose family moves to the United States.


I like to use this story at the first of the year with my students.  I usually wait until I start hearing them "picking on someone".  With sixth graders I am usually in full swing taking care of the issue of picking on someone about the second or third week of school.  


Since sixth graders in my district study Ancient Civilizations, it also ties in really well.  We take the references to rivers, etc. in the letter and do map work determining where Osama is from.  I read them the story while they read it and we discuss it.  As a class, they normally have some very powerful discussions for sixth graders.  It usually really affects most of my students and gives them a different perspective on the issue of judging others by their dress, name, etc.  


One year, I had students crying because they identified with Osama and how he felt.  They were extremely brave and shared with the class how they felt and their story of being judged.  That touched the rest of my students more than you can imagine.  They became a very tight knit group that worked together and were very considerate of each other's feelings.


It has been a really poignant lesson since September 11.  Click on the button below to read the story and/or download the pdf.

Coupons for Military Families Opportunity

 Do you have coupons you don't use?  Are you looking for a service project for your students, groups, or family?

This summer Fern Smith's Classroom Blog shared the details about sending coupons to military families to help them.  What a great project.  They will even take expired coupons.

Visit Fern's blog to learn more details about this opportunity to help the families of our military.

Sixth Grade Bloggers--Are You Out There?

Where are you sixth grade teachers?  I know you have to be out there somewhere. The A+ blogs need you.

We are looking for you!  Why not link up with the A+ blogs on TBA? Click on the image to go to sign up as an A+ blog and please leave your name and blog address in the comment section below so we all can visit your blog.

Spread the word through your buildings, we need sixth grade A+ bloggers to join us. Everyone should have as much fun as we are sharing ideas.  I think so,  don't you?

DeLurking Challenge

Are you one of the secret visitors to Vintage Teacher and all the teaching blogs everywhere?  Do you quietly come in, read the posts, download the freebies, and never say anything?  Are you one of those lurkers?  If you are this challenge is for you!


I am challenging you to come out of the shadows, take off that invisibility cloak and de-lurk yourself!  :0)  No more lurking be an active participant in this wonderful world of blogging.


So here's the challenge:


For the next 7 days...Tuesday to Tuesday...you are challenged to comment on every blog you read!  I agree that is a lot, especially if you like to read blogs, so lets say 5 or 10 blogs...or whatever number works for you. 


The idea is to share your wonderful thoughts, and to show appreciation to all the teacher bloggers out there.  With the beginning of school, it is a time for teachers to support each other and to have a little fun, too!


Are you up to the challenge?  Are you ready for fun!  Then take part in the great 2011 De-Lurking Challenge!