New Year

My sister-in-law sent me this ecard today and I thought it was hilarious! I could definitely use some Starbucks in my life this week. I feel like I've been going and going and going. I know we just had Winter Break, but I am seriously in need of another. Luckily, it's a three day weekend and I have one more day off tomorrow for MLK Jr. Day. 

Speaking of which... I wanted to do something a little different to teach my 5th graders about MLK Jr. this year. Instead of talking about his life and listening to his speech (as they've done so many times already), I focused on his legacy. We started off by talking about the Civil Rights movement and different forms of peaceful protests on Day 1. We also shared with them the importance of song during the marches and I played this amazing video of the Morehouse College Glee Club performing "We Shall Overcome."

On Day 2 I had them do a quickwrite about the question: "How did MLK Jr. change America?" We talked about how life is different today than in the 60s and how their lives are directly affected by the Civil Rights movement. We then discussed what a legacy is and then I had them discuss and share what they thought was MLK Jr.'s legacy. 

By discussing MLK Jr. and the fact that one man was able to create so much change, I wanted the kids to begin thinking about their own impacts and how they can influence others. Since they are going to middle school next year, I had them think about what their elementary school legacy would be when they graduated. I had them list their accomplishments, service, and characteristics on a graphic organizer. You can get it here: 

My intent is to make this into a writing assignment and then have the kids create a picture board of their legacy to show to parents at Back to School night or graduation. I was thinking of using Glogster, but I haven't decided just yet. Hopefully the project will help the kids see just how accomplished and important they really are! 

Here are some random outfit pics from my phone. I'm not sure of the dates. 

Dress: Mossimo

Boots: Franco Sarto

Necklace: From my mom :) 

Long-sleeve: Old Navy

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Frano Sarto

Vest: Charter Club at Macy's. Similar one here.

Pants: Merona at Target

Top: Old Navy

Cardigan: Mossimo at Target

Close up of my monogram necklace from Personalize Me Jewelry on Etsy. 

Top: Marshall's 

Leggings: HUE 'Ultra' Wide Waistband Leggings

Boots: Calvin Klein

Shirt: Teacherwear

I got it at the CTA Good Teaching Conference last weekend. I love that it matches my favorite cheetah scarf! 

Here's something new that I created over Winter Break: new Hall passes!! I previously had just a normal pass that the kids carried with them to the restroom or office. However, they were really cheap and the kids broke them in half. They were also just really yucky looking. I found these cute lanyards at our local school supply store. I printed and laminated the labels, attached them to the lanyard, and that's it. I told the kids that they have to wear them around their necks (no excuses) so they don't have to set them down in the restroom (let's hope). 

Mini-museum

My kids studied the early Native Americans for their first Social Studies unit. As a culminating project, we hosted a mini-museum. Each student had previously selected a tribe, wrote a research essay, and then created some sort of artifact to go with their essay. I was really impressed with how the artifacts turned out and I wanted to share them with others. 

One of my favorite memories from elementary school was creating a living history Egyptian museum. I really wanted my kids to be able to do the same. Since this was the first big thing we've done this year, I decided to only invite a couple classes to view the projects. It was really great to see my kids teaching some younger students about their tribes. They loved answering all the questions that they had. I was really proud of them and I can't wait for us to do another kind of museum like this in the future. 

Here are some photos: 

Tuesday 11-05-13

Pants: Merona at Target

Top: Forever 21

Shoes: Gap

Kachinas

In social studies, we are in the middle of our unit on Native Americans. We learned about kachina masks and how they were important to the Pueblo and Hopi societies. We discussed symbolism and how they were used during religious ceremonies. As an art activity, the students created their own kachina masks out of a paper plate. The students had a lot of fun and it was neat to see how creative they became. I finally got around to actually hanging these up (mainly because I never wear shoes that I feel stable enough wearing while standing on a chair) and I love how they turned out. Some of my kids are so artistic!

Monday 9-30-13

Top: Old Navy

Skirt: Kohl's 

Shoes: Shoemint.com

Bracelet: Lucky at Macy's 

Close-up of the shoes. This was the first time I've worn them to school and they didn't hurt at all! I'm looking forward to getting more wear out of them this fall. 

Never Forget

Last night I was trying to figure out how I would teach my kiddos about the tragedy of 9/11 when I realized that they weren't even born when it happened! I can remember where I was and what I was doing so vividly that it's like I'm still there. I pray that they never have to experience a moment like that in their lives.

I decided not to do a formal lesson, but just had the topic as part of our morning community meeting. I had them think about a moment in their lives, good or bad, that they can remember vividly. Then I had them share with a partner because they ALL had memories to share. After that, I explained to them that for me, that moment is 9/11. We talked about what the word "infamy" means and how 9/11 is an important part of our history, yet we are still living with the aftermath today. We talked about the loss of life but I also wanted them to understand the heroism that came from that day as well.

It was a really touchy subject, but one that I think is so important. At the end of the day, I gave the students a homework assignment to interview a member of their families about 9/11. I am hoping that by hearing about the events from the perspective of a family member will help them understand the importance of the day on another level.

On another note, this week is a really difficult one for personal reasons. We lost my grandfather 3 years ago today, and my grandmother 2 years ago this past Monday. Not a day goes by that I don't think of them and miss them very much. I love the Grace Potter and I seem to be listening to this song a lot this week...

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals -- Stars

Wednesday 9-11-13

Electric Blue 

Top: Marshall's

Pants: Gap

Wedges: Payless

Necklace: Gold chain w/ my grandpa's ring

Tour the States

Fifth grade social studies is all about the good U.S. of A. We started the year off by learning our state capitals. I'll admit, even I don't think I could name them all! It's been so long since I learned them myself.

I found this awesome video called "Tour the States" from Marbles: The Brain Store featuring a wonderful artist drawing each state and a picture that pertains to each one. There's also a really catchy tune that I find myself singing all the time. My kids loved it so much that they are always asking me to play it again. Hopefully it will get your kids excited about learning the capitals as well.