so have you heard of Pinterest?
I am so sure you haven't heard of that right?
Pinterest is only the newest online addiction...
it is ah-mazing and inspiring
and full of why didn't I think of that
and mixed in with a little bit of I wish I could cook, paint, braid, sew, and wear that...
oh and throw in a dash of....
I want that couch, pool, hair, dress, RING, back porch, wreath, pink stove,
tree house, pair of shoes, purse, dog, sink, kitchen, apron, wedding, and house....
it is magical, exhausting, and TIME CONSUMING
I am pretty sure I am not the only person who swears the time goes in fast forward while I am pinning...
it is like a black hole of crafty, envy, yumminess!!!
if you don't pin you should
I mean only the cool kids do it!!!
(that would be called Pin Pressure)
so any who... I saw this idea on Pinterest
and knew I had to do it with my kids!!!
I drew up this new kid and hung him on my easel.
I told the kids he was a new student and told them to start talking to him.
NOW you know I LOVE LOVE my class
BUT even they eventually got to making insults...
every insult resulted in a crumple
the insults kept coming and soon our new kid was a wadded up ball
I ws in shock because I didn't think my
MY class was capable of throwing out that many insults...
if this was a test they would get As
even my SWEETEST tiniest quietest little girl was
like a gangsta
throwing out lashes and Laughing with every wrinkle
I was SCARED
after our New Kid had been
beat up by my crazy out of their minds mob
I brought up how they would feel if this was them.
Smiles turned upside down.
BRING BACK MY
MY CLASS
I redirected them to fix this problem and being the geniuses that they are
they began giving new kid compliments...
we unwadded (is that a word)
and with every nice comment tried to smooth him out....
what we discovered was no matter how nice our words were
our new kid still showed the wrinkles of our insults and harsh words
my former tiny gangsta was VERY UPSET that she had caused a wrinkle
and in the real WORLD she would NEVER do this BUT she was still VERY UPSET
about wrinkling our New Kid
was the lesson learned
OH YES!!!
new kid now hangs in our room to remind us about wrinkling
I have even heard them tell one another
"That Wrinkled Me"
they REALLY got it and we use this lesson A LOT in our classroom!!!
I have even been told that a comment I made might have caused a wrinkle...
I reevaluated what I said and I could see how it might have been a wrinkle...
Wrinkles are not allowed anymore...
I really have to be careful because
I know many of you might be surprised to hear this
BUT I am very sarcastic...
I know SHOCKER
but I too am more aware of how I say things
I suggest ALL of you do this lesson...
(problem from my Thanksgiving Unit in TN and TpT)
I do a lot of group problem solving...
where I give my kiddos a problem to solve independently
they have about 15 minutes to get their ideas and a strategy started
and then we share...
it is very important for EVERYONE to feel comfortable enough to share
I refer back to our New Kid when someone shares a wrong idea or answer
if we create wrinkles during our sharing time that person is NOT going to want to share again!!!
having a WRINKLE FREE environment is very important for classroom community!!!
(think I need to make a poster)
after we get some ideas shared and recorded on our class poster
I send them back to their work...
where they can continue working on their strategy or switch over to a new strategy that was shared...
being able to switch over to a new SHARED strategy is helpful to the kiddos that are not confident in their math skills
they become more confident because this was shared and
they KNOW it is a way to get to the answer.
AFTER we solve the problem
we write about how we got our answer
this is hard (not gonna lie)
I give them about 10 minutes to get their thoughts down and
again we share...
I have a few of the kids write a sentence or two from their reflection
and we finish the class poster
each time we do this it becomes easier and easier...
but again I highly suggest you do this lesson it has proven to be a positive addition in our class
OK now go back and look at my Fab Vocab board...notice any new additions...
yeah me neither...
this is not because we haven't added new words
we ran out of colored ink
the ONLY colored copier is in the library
and we have been waiting on colored ink for oh
100 years
feels like it
ok more like 3 maybe 4 weeks
I need to add 3 more words up there
((((SIGH))))
OK now some free stuff for some lucky winners.....
So I am super excited to have finished in 8th place in the
Circle of Moms Teacher Mom Blog Contest
and like promised here are the winner from my bribery contest!!!
I really want to thank each and every single one of you that voted...
so sweet!!!
Filling out the interview questions was a challenge...
this girl likes to talk and I use ... and !!! A LOT
and I was limited on characters so ... and !!! were on the down low (((sigh)))
but I think I answered the questions honestly and thoughtfully
FOR EXAMPLE
when asked how has teaching helped me be a better parent
I talked about....
how your first challenge as a parent is to give your child the perfect name
and being a teacher helped me pick the PERFECT name
I explained that being a teacher limits your choices on baby names
(you know you have that mental list too)
and also opens your eyes to normal and not so normal names
and how spelling that perfect name is also important
RIGHT?
making sure your baby starts off on the right foot with the right name is a HUGE responsibility
and being a teacher was a HUGE help!!!
so see i shared some deep stuff *ok fun stuff*
OK OK on to the winners...
