Cake Pops!

I've been dying to try this recipe for Cake Pops!


Take a look at my adventure! :)

 Success!! :)


I'd like to thank Little Miss Mama and her amazing recipe on her blog.  If you want to embark on the same adventure, see her step by step picture recipe!


Time to enjoy one of my pops now!


Adios!

It's cool to read in my class

So the best thing happened yesterday...all by accident!

Yesterday was the day before Thanksgiving break.  The kids finally earned their hot chocolate party with their class points and we had an on-campus field trip scheduled in the morning.  In addition, we had a spelling test and a math test to get through before it was time for our Friday Town Hall assembly. Basically, there was much to do and lots of excitement in the air. 

Since most of the excitment was happening all before lunch, unfortunately (but fortunately for me) that left for the spelling and math test after lunch.  Grrrreat.  I was looking forward to the quiet time, but knew it wouldn't last long.  Knowing our freedom was a mere 2 hours away, I figured the second they finished their tests I'd be swarmed with a bunch of grumpy 5th graders.

I was wrong!  So. Very. Wrong.

Shocked in fact!  After about 35 minutes after distributing the math test, I took a scan of my room.  About 4 kids still working away at adding and subtracting fractions with unlike denominators, and what were the other 26 doing you ask? READING! 

Not whispering to their neighbor asking what time it was.  Not raising their hand, begging to go to the bathroom.  Not trying to sneak in time to draw a picture. READING!

It was the most amazing thing.  And what did those 4 kids eventually do when they finished their test?  They read too!

Why??

Because it's cool to read in my class!

Ahhhhhh!  I can't really express the feeling that I got in that moment.  It was so awesome!

For the past two months or so, I've really been talking to my students about reading.  About picking books that aren't necessarily the easy ones or the ones that are popular in the bookstores like Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  But about reading books that are good fits for them, and are stories that they actually like. 

We started plain and simple.  With a poster that says, Books We Can't Put Down.  And from there, they just started adding titles and titles.  Part of the hype was the fact that they could claim bragging rights by proudly writing their name next to the title.

Then I told them I basically don't care what they do during Reading Workshop, known to them as Daily 5.  I told them, "All I care is that you are reading and writing."

At first I figured they'd do the age old trick of opening a book and just staring at the words to "look" like they are reading.  But really, now, when you look, they really are reading.  And they are standing in my library corner returning a book, not because they are sick of their last selection, but because it's finished.

Ahhhhhh.  Awesome-ness, I tell you!  It's such a crazy feeling!

One of my students wrote in her Home School Journal (a family/school communication notebook we do each week), "Mom, I'm reading The Westing Game.  It's my first mystery!  It's so good!"  Ha!! Caught you bragging about what you're reading!  Without anyone asking you to!  SO COOL! 

The best part about this is that I'm fostering something in my classroom, that, sadly, none of my teachers ever really did for me.  I never really had anyone inspire me to read and that it was cool to read anything.  My mom took me to the library quite often, but I always found myself coming home with a stack of books that I never really ended up reading.

When I was young, Goosebumps and the Christopher Pike books were popular.  Well, I never even liked these books.  But because it was "cool" to read these, I just zoomed through the words as quick as possible so that I could appear "cool" reading them.  But did these books inspire me?  Not really.  Did they inspire me to keep reading other books?  Not really.

So I've found myself as an adult, wishing that I was an avid reader.  I'm not.  In fact, I'm a slow reader and I'm a picky reader.  It takes me forever to select a book, and then even longer to actually finish the book.  (Unless you count The Help, which I finished in the course of 3 days.  Good book!)  I could make you a list of some of my favorite books I've read, but it's a very short list.  And the sad thing, is when I recall my "favorite childhood books" that list is even shorter.

I feel a little behind on the times, because it's hard for me to recommend some of the classics or Newberry authors simply because I've never read those books.  So, silly as it sounds, I've now found myself reading kid chapter books, just so that I can recommend them to my kids.  So far, my favorites include From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Wayside School is Falling Down, and Stargirl.

It's a magic thing, when a kid trusts your reading judgement.  

On my run this morning, I was recalling the beauty of this realization.  This whole idea that kids can feel cool when they sit down with a book and read.  Because I know the feeling they get - putting their name on our class poster, finishing book after book, talking with me and their classmates about the books they read - that feeling will stay with them (hopefully) and reading with just become that habit or hobby I never had.  And to me, that's a pretty cool thing.

What was the book you read as a kid and couldn't put down?

Welcome to my soap box

I can honestly say I've never really had much to say where I've ever felt like I needed to "get on a soap box" and really speak my mind.  Yet I've found myself in this place where I am finding that I've become super passionate about something to the point where I just can't shut up about it.

It all started with this book:

So here's the backstory: My principal recommended it to me after a goal setting meeting.  All the teachers at our school set 3 goals that we want to focus on in order to develop our teaching style and student data.  To sum it up, I basically made goals centered around student choice in the classroom and a student run classroom.  I want to be a facilitator of learning. 

Anyway, this book is all about a teacher who gives her students the choice to read whatever books they want and inspires their love for learning through reading books.  Though she doesn't give them a choice when she requires that all of her students read 40 books in one school year.  (Nope, that sure isn't a typo- 40 books!)  Basically, by providing choice and creating this norm in her classroom that it's cool to read, "Everyone is doing it!" her students are able to buy in and READ.  They actually READ and actually enjoy talking about the books they read.

So, I took this book home and decided I'd attempt to read it.  After all, my boss was the one who suggested I read it.  So to make a good impression, I felt it was best I humor her and see what it had to say.  I figured I'd read it slowly, and by the time I finished it, she'd probably forget she even loaned it to me in the first place.

Well, before I knew it, I was 50 pages deep and had missed half of the X-Factor episode I was hoping to watch that night.  A few days later I was finished.  This book had such great things to say! 

I probably could continue this post for paragraphs and paragraphs.  But tonight, you can call me a little lazy.

  Like I said, I've found my soap box.  Want to get me talking?  Ask me about giving kids the choice on what they want to read.  Ask me about inspiring kids to just love learning, instead of requiring them to read a certain book and fill out a certain graphic organizer about that book a certain way.  Ask me how I am becoming a pioneer of the DAILY 5 and CAFE in my classroom, and how it's working to get my kids to actually get excited about their reading.Ask me about my collegue who challenged her kids to "Find a book you can't put down!"  Ask me how I feel about those things.  I can guarentee I'll have a lot to say, and you probably won't get a word in edgewise...

Whew.

Anyway, what it all boils down to is that I've found my passion within teaching.  I've always known I'd be good at it.  And I've always known I'd love it.  But I never knew I'd love it this much. :)

I'm out of breath.  Or really, my mind is just spinning.  I have so much to say.

Arrrrrrgh!

September 19th is a day of the year

that always brings a little joy into my heart.

You may (or may not) know, but it's a holiday!

It's called International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

It's a day for telling pirate jokes, wearing black and white,

and an excuse to say "Arrrrrrrgh" whenever you feel like it.

I celebrated in the following ways:

1) Wore a black and white striped shirt to school,

complete with a pirate hat and patch. :)

(I wish I would have remembered to take a photo!)

2) Shared pirate jokes with my students

and

3) Read How I Became a Pirate to my students

It was a pretty fun day! 

And, in the spirit of this holiday, I leave you with some pirate jokes:

Why couldn't the pirate go to the movie?

It was rated AAARRRRRRRRRRR!

What's a pirate's favorite letter?

ARRRRRRRRRR!

How much does it cost a pirate to get a piercing?

A buck an ear!

What do you call a pirate that skips school?

Capain Hookey!

The Joy Factor

So an important element of my teaching practice is the what we like to call the "Joy Factor."  This is a best practices that Aspire has shared with many of it's teachers.  I see it as something I already try to do on a regular basis, but it's nice to know that it's emphasized around our organization.  It's basically adding some fun and silliness to your lesson to get the kids more engaged and excited to learn! Easy!


So, here's how my 4/5 team puts the "Joy Factor" into our lesson planning:

Duh!  We come to school dressed up as detectives!


We've been learning about the difference between a "fact" and "opinion," so we had a Fact and Opinion Detective Day!  For the last day of this unit, we dressed up as detectives and "searched" for facts and opinions all day.


I have to admit, it is a "fact" that my mustache started getting on my nerves and crawling into my mouth by first recess, but this "Joy Factor" got the kids excited for our reading lesson later in the day.  

Why?

So I often come across the random person or old friend who asks me, "Why do you run?"  People tell me I'm going to have knee problems when I'm older.  People say that the human body wasn't meant to undergo that kind of stress.  People tell me I'm just plain crazy.

I totally get it.  I never thought I'd be a runner.  In fact, I used to hate it.  Truth is, I joined the track team in high school for one month.  One month!  My wussy self could barely walk myself up the front driveway to my parents house because I was so sore and sick of it, so I quit.  It's probably the only sport I've ever quit. 

But really, let me just give you a picture of this love affair I have with this sport so you can see where I'm coming from.

Before - Unloved, unused, and spick and span.

After - Well loved, broke in, and dirty!

And really, here's what it all comes down to.  Call me a big fat dork, but here's my favorite part.  Here's what makes it worth it.

Today I sat down with my training log for Urban Cow. 

I'm a pencil and paper kinda girl.  I use my Nike+ information online, but I feel like seeing all laid out on a piece of paper is the best part.  See all those stars?  Those are logged miles.  Preparation.  The proof and confidence that I know I am going to KICK butt when Urban Cow finally gets here.

Yes, I will say that signing up to run a half marathon on my 27th birthday was kind of motivation in itself.  But when you sit down with a piece of paper like that, and see that you kick butt, it's the greatest motivation out there.  Because, yeah, I've missed a workout here and there.  But the workouts I almost missed because I was "too tired" or "didn't feel like it" are the ones that led me here today.

13.1 - Here I come!

And THAT is why I run!

Undercover Bribery - DIY style

So this weekend, Abuela and I got together to do one of our "10 minute projects" to create some pillows for my classroom.  They're fun; they're comfy; and they'll be used for undercover bribery to get my kids to read and work hard. :)

As you may remember, this fabric matches the bulletin board that I put together a few weeks ago for my student work.

I use the privilege to sit out of your own desk as a big bribery tool in my classroom.  Basically if you're working hard, you just might get an invitation to work out of your seat for a lesson.  They LOVE it!  I've got all kinds of random areas the kiddos can be, but what they love most are the comfy chairs and now, comfy pillows! 

I've even started a new thing where we have a student of the day, "Bruin of the Day."  If luck floats your way, and you happen to sit with that person in your group, you get first dibs on the pillows and cool chairs in the room (when it's a time to work out of your seat).  They're pretty obsessed with it.  Ahhh, the little things...

Abuela and I call this the "10 minute Project" because it really is.

What you'll need:
3/4 yards of fabric for each pillow
thread
sewing machine (or inspiration to hand-sew the straight stitches...not that hard, I swear!)
pillows or stuffing for the inside

Here's what you'll do:
-Lay the fabric face down on the table.
-Fold left side a little more than half way across the center.
-Fold right side a little more than half way across the center to create a small overlap with the left side.
-Measure the pillow to ensure you have the correct measurements, then pin the edges.  You will not sew where you created your overlap so that the pillow case can be removable.
-Make a straight stitch on the top and bottoms.  Flip the cover right side out, and be sure to poke the corners out. 
-Stuff case with the pillow. 
-Ta-da!