tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11482696293919034652024-03-23T03:14:42.773-07:00Mrs. PhippenStarr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-82401854987916968902014-08-17T23:18:00.002-07:002014-08-18T18:31:20.247-07:00Spotted in First GradeSo, I've officially been back at the teaching game since August 6. Can I just state that I AM EXHAUSTED! Every year I seem to discount exactly how tiring the first of the school year can be. Between prepping your classroom , Meet the Teacher Night, actually teaching your new students, and managing your own household... I'm tired just typing that! I have Curriculum Night in a few days and I'm hoping when that is history I will finish readjusting to teacher life. I miss summer but I am excited for this school year. I've got a great bunch of firsties that I get the honor of working with. Sigh. Smile. And now for a peek at the back to school board I showcased...<br>
<div>
My teacher bud had a parent give her a stack of pre-cut circular scrapbook paper. She came to me asking for an idea to use it. I started bouncing around ideas and I came up with "SPOTTED... Great work". She wanted an area to display her students' work you see. Well, I then liked my thought so much that I created a bulletin board that read "SPOTTED in first grade". I emailed my students' parents and requested that they send me a photo of their firstie. I then displayed the photos inside the dots that I cut with my handy dandy Silhouette machine. Anyway, I was proud of myself so I wanna show it all off. Sometimes we all gotta give ourselves some props you know! ;). What will your back to school board look like?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br></div>
<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCPscWqdZtLjAcyFWc-LnJMqQlR2xuXOb3c7U9gaUrIFfxLlcUf9vJCzV3F8xtV1L9e3wO9V0FEsxK1Ok0Zpux-NOpDs6EOqNFp3eF6VM4-BoRZT4W0nCpzGx2tRBGcNx3pidWwfjiVo/s640/blogger-image-1800367135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCPscWqdZtLjAcyFWc-LnJMqQlR2xuXOb3c7U9gaUrIFfxLlcUf9vJCzV3F8xtV1L9e3wO9V0FEsxK1Ok0Zpux-NOpDs6EOqNFp3eF6VM4-BoRZT4W0nCpzGx2tRBGcNx3pidWwfjiVo/s640/blogger-image-1800367135.jpg"></a></div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPb9-M39x7VgM37UvFHm5eP0VNUFqYsZ_j7oLNVT6_LisXxQnDRv-wP3erCNNF7oWKtRl8kGE5YlDxyEMo7xsnE2rXLVlk08eQ0AlapE7B876Y-yRjjsbfGxL4J5_C_cP_8x4xqExwTCA/s640/blogger-image-1342252225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPb9-M39x7VgM37UvFHm5eP0VNUFqYsZ_j7oLNVT6_LisXxQnDRv-wP3erCNNF7oWKtRl8kGE5YlDxyEMo7xsnE2rXLVlk08eQ0AlapE7B876Y-yRjjsbfGxL4J5_C_cP_8x4xqExwTCA/s640/blogger-image-1342252225.jpg"></a></div>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-42368557805498221402014-07-22T23:31:00.001-07:002014-07-22T23:33:26.418-07:00Vegas Baby, VegasI had the opportunity to attend the Teachers Pay Teachers first ever conference at the Venetian in Las Vegas on July 11. I had so much fun seeing what the teaching blog stars look like in real life and learning how to be more successful at blogging and selling on TPT. I met a few new blogging friends and I feel renewed to blog more. Anyway, it was a cool experience and in honor of the TPT conference I have a few freebies....<br />
<br />
Classroom Subway Art available in four slightly different color palettes....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxO-CJiHeZnYNZymO336Wkeuz_hOG3jfg-5gwUSgwOZCRZ84eU82lLvGBs3pBaMcbj1sOdgSER0l-DIoVO4_5iN4nsDpMYAA-bDSYn0rR_ETIvbQ77h-FcLgliolJeju12Fqv76-aLWMM/s1600/teachersubwaysign_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxO-CJiHeZnYNZymO336Wkeuz_hOG3jfg-5gwUSgwOZCRZ84eU82lLvGBs3pBaMcbj1sOdgSER0l-DIoVO4_5iN4nsDpMYAA-bDSYn0rR_ETIvbQ77h-FcLgliolJeju12Fqv76-aLWMM/s1600/teachersubwaysign_edited-1.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUaxj3bxE-jYTZRLz8L6ZhSp4YG5-UAMkh2rOP9WlLqsu_vmQKDeKBKJYX2ylnfIQjdcBfmKbmfat79D0Df9ot3SRJQSkGIj09oEnK2u4v4GJqga6Vk7r39q0Aa9_aMv6XEjfAx0NfKc/s1600/teachersubwaysignbeachy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdUaxj3bxE-jYTZRLz8L6ZhSp4YG5-UAMkh2rOP9WlLqsu_vmQKDeKBKJYX2ylnfIQjdcBfmKbmfat79D0Df9ot3SRJQSkGIj09oEnK2u4v4GJqga6Vk7r39q0Aa9_aMv6XEjfAx0NfKc/s1600/teachersubwaysignbeachy.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi3gKjQg6CiFsA3wHdIviWJOd_5-pjgt6PSUgL74Bax0L8jTs03XbrPqmPYqI5feB0Vpz1aMzOqqJUkICtMxPcN63Av1EB4A4GP6nxYzJHQZQCRPEhViMPHHlZR-dDBsORa7GNvuJPSU/s1600/teachersubwaysignbeachybrown1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEi3gKjQg6CiFsA3wHdIviWJOd_5-pjgt6PSUgL74Bax0L8jTs03XbrPqmPYqI5feB0Vpz1aMzOqqJUkICtMxPcN63Av1EB4A4GP6nxYzJHQZQCRPEhViMPHHlZR-dDBsORa7GNvuJPSU/s1600/teachersubwaysignbeachybrown1.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnVn1woqnSwlwTAZjlzftUCNEaVdGgRhmrFkUsfrx3J0-mOIyLhQwoVgxIiGp5-8_ok1AfWtDoZpRNSf17uRzfiPAlXgtGUm2A4ZJVMOjesQqvTvQ5iXAln3nYUkCo2VRFOOFS3E5npg/s1600/teachersubwaysigndarker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnVn1woqnSwlwTAZjlzftUCNEaVdGgRhmrFkUsfrx3J0-mOIyLhQwoVgxIiGp5-8_ok1AfWtDoZpRNSf17uRzfiPAlXgtGUm2A4ZJVMOjesQqvTvQ5iXAln3nYUkCo2VRFOOFS3E5npg/s1600/teachersubwaysigndarker.jpg" height="640" width="512" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Right click on any of the above images and save them to your computer. I like to then send the file to Costco's photo department and then have it printed out there. I designed the subway art to print out as an 8x10 or a 16x20 print. Enjoy!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
(font credits in order from top to bottom: 2Peas Renaissance, TXTGroovySmooth, WrexhamScript, 2Peas Gone Postal, 2Peas Class Act, {skinny} jeans solid, 2Peas Duck Duck Goose, TXTSodaShoppe)</div>
<br />Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-79542451596012874942014-07-22T21:13:00.000-07:002014-07-22T21:14:20.012-07:00Bloglovin' Newbie<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/5684023/?claim=htdh3w3dcdw">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-27717371107146165302012-08-14T18:01:00.001-07:002012-08-14T20:42:22.340-07:00In BloomMy ninth year teaching first grade is in bloom. I have 26 darlings in my class and today is our fifth day together. I have been crazy busy, I know I'm preaching to the choir when I post that! Well, I've got the best first grade team to work with. Seriously, the three ladies I work with are amazing. Every year we do a welcome to first grade type of bulletin board. Each grade at our school has a cooperative board space they're in charge of filling to represent what is happening on their grade. We took our first grade photos and turned them in to a sort of circle map to introduce ourselves. They're so fun and our students get a kick out of seeing what we looked like when we were their age. Anyway, I hope your year starts off great and I hope your teaching yields many beautiful blooms this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj876wQaf1_4PKgXU0uyAA5hj3mYpC-9otLSLS1ajviPrw5ItcjgNUmFP769mwwolcR8xmMNbRqBNfJSEKH14w6qA_gayVkmrss6JXgOjfpYaS6V1__l89dOET1Dks7ldOWpi-Nwh4IGOo/s640/blogger-image--2078624549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj876wQaf1_4PKgXU0uyAA5hj3mYpC-9otLSLS1ajviPrw5ItcjgNUmFP769mwwolcR8xmMNbRqBNfJSEKH14w6qA_gayVkmrss6JXgOjfpYaS6V1__l89dOET1Dks7ldOWpi-Nwh4IGOo/s400/blogger-image--2078624549.jpg" width="400" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3xZ3TAfSFDrbNbtU4cC3ZnV5Pt3bnppUgCKc-plCzyGqpXs1BUlSMnZUyW-7cEBeG3CA8Y3_Pdji_yKmwhnv4GSAJdbaQEh8H5ZTzQadjBa6RG8ckYjREclluwnBXqN3xhskm-VBiew/s640/blogger-image-542494604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis3xZ3TAfSFDrbNbtU4cC3ZnV5Pt3bnppUgCKc-plCzyGqpXs1BUlSMnZUyW-7cEBeG3CA8Y3_Pdji_yKmwhnv4GSAJdbaQEh8H5ZTzQadjBa6RG8ckYjREclluwnBXqN3xhskm-VBiew/s400/blogger-image-542494604.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-52231343400812248382012-07-16T16:21:00.004-07:002014-07-22T20:12:10.158-07:00We Are At...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;">So, where are you at in your summer planning and prepping? I am no where near where I'd like to be at. My summer is flying by, a whirlwind of baby craziness, if you will. I have not got nearly enough done to be ready for... duh duh duh duh... BACK TO SCHOOL! My new students will roll into my classroom on August 8! Can you believe that! Here in the Phoenix area that is just asking for heat stroke during recess time if you ask me. I wish the school board would dub me the boss of choosing the start and end dates of school. I'm thinking the first Wednesday in September would be a better starting time and then we should go into June a bit. June is much cooler here than August! Anyway, enough of my rant, I have a freebie! YES! In my endeavors to find ultra cute things to add to my classroom this year I found inspiration from Jen at</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://www.thegototeacher.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">the go to teacher</a><span style="background-color: white;">. She fashioned a fancy little sign to post on the classroom door to inform people where the class is at. So, I had to borrow the idea and make a few signs of my own. You can nab them for FREE by clicking on the image you want and saving it to you computer. I made them as 8x10 images so you can send them to Costco or where ever and print them out. I plan on dressing up a jumbo paper clip with matching ribbons to use as a marker. I'll have to post a photo when I finish. Good luck with your summer plans and don't stress too much.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZN0j3sKWXbKK_HV8xT13tMT3Gfauka4qs0CMIcdZA_UFRjHzWVB0DqhkU-fjkrN_bY1z97Veayxs-JwTOHBf5lVfjAzmmdSS2y6_0ymKb3QDACJuNWJFX3-KtfSiAy9-S0EDZzDvWhA/s1600/2+We_Are_At.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZN0j3sKWXbKK_HV8xT13tMT3Gfauka4qs0CMIcdZA_UFRjHzWVB0DqhkU-fjkrN_bY1z97Veayxs-JwTOHBf5lVfjAzmmdSS2y6_0ymKb3QDACJuNWJFX3-KtfSiAy9-S0EDZzDvWhA/s1600/2+We_Are_At.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is the neat idea from Jen at the go to teacher.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV-RMlWR7MAwSlhg2iddmAWFgk5B1mfnuXwt4A33AzXBVfHwZgsir1j6vCdeB6tn2KyfwX2eICuKtpNz_aClCGtVzTdoVzsOraVzVVE2PYYHdWVTitry0-MkqqT5HOS-jqDZIIOi4jJc/s1600/weareatbluegingham1_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV-RMlWR7MAwSlhg2iddmAWFgk5B1mfnuXwt4A33AzXBVfHwZgsir1j6vCdeB6tn2KyfwX2eICuKtpNz_aClCGtVzTdoVzsOraVzVVE2PYYHdWVTitry0-MkqqT5HOS-jqDZIIOi4jJc/s320/weareatbluegingham1_edited-2.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
fonts: LD Frosting and Century Schoolbook</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs.Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers: unknown</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ruler: unknown</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpq9M_Amy_z7EgjGQiQb_GhoFZBCJGVCyJqhrvH9pRLyoc6dylRq-PNoqVf-S_VS9dddhyphenhyphenaCTt7YKXhDSCHqkKrYmAIKurfOMH4czcipEpQL1gYAoH5E-NNRWOgdicTqE9HUpAEKlcnKo/s1600/weareatbrown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpq9M_Amy_z7EgjGQiQb_GhoFZBCJGVCyJqhrvH9pRLyoc6dylRq-PNoqVf-S_VS9dddhyphenhyphenaCTt7YKXhDSCHqkKrYmAIKurfOMH4czcipEpQL1gYAoH5E-NNRWOgdicTqE9HUpAEKlcnKo/s320/weareatbrown.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: TXT Soda Shoppe and Splendid</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers and Buttons: Summertime Designs</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUMzRXgDtT6JLv2EOGIK2ZHBHNdbaSm4DYQbCUHl_iSmfdBaObjESzRPtZU7HmcA_kocYtp49xM5WYqMi13pYiQy-3H9uLojR-JDlgf7s_0cfz0GBA4Tg0Js8DSUYxC8Lq4h8lBkti3w/s1600/weareatchevron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUMzRXgDtT6JLv2EOGIK2ZHBHNdbaSm4DYQbCUHl_iSmfdBaObjESzRPtZU7HmcA_kocYtp49xM5WYqMi13pYiQy-3H9uLojR-JDlgf7s_0cfz0GBA4Tg0Js8DSUYxC8Lq4h8lBkti3w/s320/weareatchevron.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: TXT Groovy Smooth and TXT Soda Shoppe</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers and Ribbon: Summertime Designs</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV_hNhKsCBnLApq1tOfcuKw79DwbTds8qwXybhQlk3ngUA8eYWz3A4RIC4FWgqChzLATNM0dCUoOLSK5kaL2s94TemngpeHEHezFFmY2wOdRvWJrXwySy2tW8JR-U9QnLoQensvbTQCM/s1600/weareatmulti_edited-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPV_hNhKsCBnLApq1tOfcuKw79DwbTds8qwXybhQlk3ngUA8eYWz3A4RIC4FWgqChzLATNM0dCUoOLSK5kaL2s94TemngpeHEHezFFmY2wOdRvWJrXwySy2tW8JR-U9QnLoQensvbTQCM/s320/weareatmulti_edited-2.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: skinny jeans and TXT Menu Item</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers and Ric-Rac: Summertime Designs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAdTKBD470T9G29eNYGbK3JqLxytocP7iZbtxi39HE7jnM09rLj0ETI7aqMM2XBcm4ZAEH-rRKM-IjIDsICLb8j9XAzYY239_uB7vsokZczO9XXpOYDUCDKCL0BFIBHGpyma52cBwtGo/s1600/weareatowls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtAdTKBD470T9G29eNYGbK3JqLxytocP7iZbtxi39HE7jnM09rLj0ETI7aqMM2XBcm4ZAEH-rRKM-IjIDsICLb8j9XAzYY239_uB7vsokZczO9XXpOYDUCDKCL0BFIBHGpyma52cBwtGo/s320/weareatowls.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: Scrap Loop and skinny jeans</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers and ribbon: Summertime Designs</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRAS5rRHH4HpI2DW4o0-F5wlYvHIRtI7dnBWRaLi0baZ0gN5_hnuEX1dLbvZAL_9t4Zzdq7WtkA0tJS8LQXIntin2FQ0bWwB_Y-E-vRzlfqycqNl2Rt-UepopqFCm0w-wCWxhlIUFYAqM/s1600/weareatpolkadot_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRAS5rRHH4HpI2DW4o0-F5wlYvHIRtI7dnBWRaLi0baZ0gN5_hnuEX1dLbvZAL_9t4Zzdq7WtkA0tJS8LQXIntin2FQ0bWwB_Y-E-vRzlfqycqNl2Rt-UepopqFCm0w-wCWxhlIUFYAqM/s320/weareatpolkadot_edited-1.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: 2Peas Thrift Store Chair and skinny jeans solid</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ribbon: Summertime Designs</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers: Unknown</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N7AAuAvaJ4L2r4NrPUTTlaWr6nf9MEkeZSd576n1XvgwqmBl1_-sOou77_cKfWIz9mIrjaiYkz4xZSApWDir_j5XDqd_MEly7sdHboPKXiNBocAKO1nU3AGQkvrIpLHJWNmVbVHKPGk/s1600/weareatredgingham.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0N7AAuAvaJ4L2r4NrPUTTlaWr6nf9MEkeZSd576n1XvgwqmBl1_-sOou77_cKfWIz9mIrjaiYkz4xZSApWDir_j5XDqd_MEly7sdHboPKXiNBocAKO1nU3AGQkvrIpLHJWNmVbVHKPGk/s320/weareatredgingham.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: LD Traditional Cursive and LD Traditional Cursive Lined</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ruler: unknown</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Paper: unknown</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A2TkabWp3veqHyC1XUVP6RS-UAPN3cPrQo9nrY8ydhQr2zzsRD53Th45MbQRHEW9gjcpw_kRLkn8WY37xqFAzyLbL1Gu0xemv9q0GHsOYWj1sP5L-dbfUGUgutrAPiq2oZ0qkHXNFEw/s1600/weareatyellowblueABC_edited-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-A2TkabWp3veqHyC1XUVP6RS-UAPN3cPrQo9nrY8ydhQr2zzsRD53Th45MbQRHEW9gjcpw_kRLkn8WY37xqFAzyLbL1Gu0xemv9q0GHsOYWj1sP5L-dbfUGUgutrAPiq2oZ0qkHXNFEw/s320/weareatyellowblueABC_edited-1.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
CREDITS</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Fonts: 2Peas Duck Duck Goose and LD Delightful</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Clip Art: Mrs. Phippen</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Papers: unknown</div>
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>
<br />
<br />
<center>
<a href="http://www.classroomfreebies.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Classroom Freebies Manic Monday" src="http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/images/stories/classroom-freebies/manicMondayOrangebutton.png" /></a></center>
Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-28969392688775092232012-06-25T22:57:00.001-07:002012-06-26T07:47:01.406-07:00Target, Tissues, and TeachersSo I ran into Target tonight for a few items. It was bliss because I was all by myself! If you're a momma of young children you know why that's a dream come true. Anyway, as I was meandering through the store, with me, myself, and I; I spotted boutique tissue boxes designed like wooden letter blocks. I couldn't resist examining them further and got a flutter of the back to school excitement as I imagined tissue boxes flooding into my classroom. Well, being a teacher, i could not resist imagining all the fun that could be had with these tissue boxes. I played with the tissue boxes, building words of course, for a good ten minutes. It was jubilant and I was probably a bit too into my tissue spelling game. You should've seen the looks I got. I'm sure I was labeled eccentric in a few minds! Have you spotted any back to school stuff yet?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc15iL4FdeT41qqxduPmNQzuBzNkobyp_TonN3OnWogdIeH48vBVqVCKT3rwGnOd18PpvjZLr75MUt_uxVATYhJu3Qvt4PGf1QYMQybSoRE-oe9jhLr7IWhQi9UwYGolV5tYNthAI117g/s640/blogger-image-768389798.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc15iL4FdeT41qqxduPmNQzuBzNkobyp_TonN3OnWogdIeH48vBVqVCKT3rwGnOd18PpvjZLr75MUt_uxVATYhJu3Qvt4PGf1QYMQybSoRE-oe9jhLr7IWhQi9UwYGolV5tYNthAI117g/s400/blogger-image-768389798.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-26585482511418863942012-06-25T12:31:00.000-07:002012-06-25T12:35:25.241-07:00Writer's Eye Bulletin Board Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;">I'm so stoked to announce that my Writer's Eye Bulletin Board set is up and rocking on Teachers Pay Teachers. So, if you want to check it out it'll be on SALE for the next few days. This is my first "big" product I've designed so I'm pretty excited. </span><a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writers-Eye-Bulletin-Board-Set" target="_blank">Check the product out here</a><span style="background-color: white;">! </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QIxD53RS9pr29296QnYibqISrucJCJFpJLYYHm2w50OaSHQcDvVsSV5XF0BA2CjMVvu7AZ9F3M8nxanNCOUkvEmV4r1QyOAm2uE4TLYm4ClJpGecQibRqTnhXt7iKvY0Rltj4AR5bGg/s1600/IMG_8429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5QIxD53RS9pr29296QnYibqISrucJCJFpJLYYHm2w50OaSHQcDvVsSV5XF0BA2CjMVvu7AZ9F3M8nxanNCOUkvEmV4r1QyOAm2uE4TLYm4ClJpGecQibRqTnhXt7iKvY0Rltj4AR5bGg/s320/IMG_8429.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This is a photo of the older Writer's Eye board. Once I am able to get back in my room I'll "remodel" it with my new, updated version and post a new and improved photo. I can't wait! Thanks for all the support and have a great last week of June.</div>
<br />
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-57903412924519153112012-06-24T20:36:00.003-07:002012-06-25T12:49:52.494-07:00Rookie Mistake and FREEBIES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white;">So, I know I posted about putting the Writer's Eye Board file on Teachers Pay Teachers today. Well, I just tried and I made a rookie mistake. My file is way. too. BIG! It only lets you have a 50 MB file and somehow my zip file was 347 MB. Yowza! I have to go back and tweek it so it'll work. Sorry! Here are a few teasers though...</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboHrLnx1_cEd-ChDAGj2iQRpeGWX_3KDdZx1OsKc6ru4-kehxQYVhC54jV9_U6l1vsehWdF9oRYhgZkCwtcWC0GOhZUm8ZrOY2PDmoDnUHPjtTs2fDsZB1y8bI36P-w1FrZILNSbAiFU/s1600/writerseyecapitalcomment.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhboHrLnx1_cEd-ChDAGj2iQRpeGWX_3KDdZx1OsKc6ru4-kehxQYVhC54jV9_U6l1vsehWdF9oRYhgZkCwtcWC0GOhZUm8ZrOY2PDmoDnUHPjtTs2fDsZB1y8bI36P-w1FrZILNSbAiFU/s400/writerseyecapitalcomment.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFveSlzBcHUoJJP7Fel7E4TDxhhooeNjJwEPXBm8gmIen94aBIxEOknY2Q3NmQaeB05-PMv5fM0ZBHrlBxDukRD4YcPPQ7LP8I_E7T9moC2uZmcUKpYHgHddeYn9hE6H3By9BGZv_JFyo/s1600/writerseyeafricanamboy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFveSlzBcHUoJJP7Fel7E4TDxhhooeNjJwEPXBm8gmIen94aBIxEOknY2Q3NmQaeB05-PMv5fM0ZBHrlBxDukRD4YcPPQ7LP8I_E7T9moC2uZmcUKpYHgHddeYn9hE6H3By9BGZv_JFyo/s320/writerseyeafricanamboy.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFB3loNbNtJ2F6jcp0bQCQ0e-2EaBPZM_ftZnPZ4p7Ubl6f8OXguG9Vv4Kq-md3qUyHN1zqZWH-f7OwISfpPmoU6Ox3FRhRMGss-27WH-yAGiAD5kymTXEqs7biqx1vloequKmVqPkec/s1600/writerseyepunctuationcomment.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcFB3loNbNtJ2F6jcp0bQCQ0e-2EaBPZM_ftZnPZ4p7Ubl6f8OXguG9Vv4Kq-md3qUyHN1zqZWH-f7OwISfpPmoU6Ox3FRhRMGss-27WH-yAGiAD5kymTXEqs7biqx1vloequKmVqPkec/s400/writerseyepunctuationcomment.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJddb3QSmM3aNxRvPY3E3R7Svf9jZlOI7T5IOF7c34SlA25lhAzVD9QL6E257ImjIApdhHG2U1KOz0_ZHK9y63yc-5MNOU6tiLfCutzjropaYpqgxe4sxXryOmnwP55_OpOgs5RKkMV9o/s1600/writerseyeasiangirl.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJddb3QSmM3aNxRvPY3E3R7Svf9jZlOI7T5IOF7c34SlA25lhAzVD9QL6E257ImjIApdhHG2U1KOz0_ZHK9y63yc-5MNOU6tiLfCutzjropaYpqgxe4sxXryOmnwP55_OpOgs5RKkMV9o/s400/writerseyeasiangirl.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmbjGDaUe7weYgT810xSlxn0Cwd-6bBcTsxQ8pGSF8AjQNEcTsPSLq2kPiqXhz-lMkMdS5GGpj4zm-Fq4feA8yu8a8TA3Kb0PNym5tqik5d3oX7OqNVVWqRPYn6FEaSr_MwQql_guJ2I/s1600/writerseyeglasses_edited-2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYmbjGDaUe7weYgT810xSlxn0Cwd-6bBcTsxQ8pGSF8AjQNEcTsPSLq2kPiqXhz-lMkMdS5GGpj4zm-Fq4feA8yu8a8TA3Kb0PNym5tqik5d3oX7OqNVVWqRPYn6FEaSr_MwQql_guJ2I/s400/writerseyeglasses_edited-2.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisK0AiVRHcjFYGzWTzDAR3Ywu_QoNVGKgE_G6AufR5gKYZZkf3DG_j_uAaya2viz4_oY34hXXJviDYu4JYozCucFEw2uEFeoKrUSUGwWoi0_EGFC0WR0xGIDuPRbRIZhW_ZSwfyVKXn94/s1600/writerseyeborder.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisK0AiVRHcjFYGzWTzDAR3Ywu_QoNVGKgE_G6AufR5gKYZZkf3DG_j_uAaya2viz4_oY34hXXJviDYu4JYozCucFEw2uEFeoKrUSUGwWoi0_EGFC0WR0xGIDuPRbRIZhW_ZSwfyVKXn94/s400/writerseyeborder.png" width="308" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
If you'd like any of the above images as FREEBIES just click on any images you want then save it to your computer. (If you have a PC right click on the image and save as). Please remember that all the above images are my own work and they're copyrighted. You may use them for <span style="color: red;">classroom use only,</span> unless you get permission from me. Thanks for being respectful. Have a happy night!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>
<center><a href="http://www.classroomfreebies.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Classroom Freebies Manic Monday" src="http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/images/stories/classroom-freebies/manicMondayOrangebutton.png" /></a></center>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-31841816611874724952012-06-24T11:02:00.001-07:002012-06-24T11:02:59.557-07:00Writer's Eye Glasses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Hello everyone. I'm pleased to post a tutorial for making the Writer's Eye Glasses. I enlisted the help of my hubby, since he is the genius behind the Writer's Eye Glasses. So, without further delay, here goes the tutorial...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqB7PMamKqoGsJvZ9JKsxtGJBbZiOdvXYxYcyvtqrGatd3y48FWfrkmTK97MqG0z41pqdBTXDEFSy1tG7qtta4vJcwB-kxrYkNbfaNd1fD3yjNAIuz4zs5ZqZSvQcI4javYKThHCM5x1I/s1600/glassessupplies.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqB7PMamKqoGsJvZ9JKsxtGJBbZiOdvXYxYcyvtqrGatd3y48FWfrkmTK97MqG0z41pqdBTXDEFSy1tG7qtta4vJcwB-kxrYkNbfaNd1fD3yjNAIuz4zs5ZqZSvQcI4javYKThHCM5x1I/s320/glassessupplies.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
You'll need to gather supplies... 2 embroidery hoops (I used 14 inch hoops here), spray paint, 2 small black paper plates, a cut of vinyl (I had a 16 inch piece cut to ensure it covered my hoops), a piece of wood (I cut a 12 inch long piece of 11/16"x1" pine), and screws (I used #6x3/4" brass wood screws). I bought all of the supplies new and it cost under $14. I also had left over supplies so if you already have some of this stuff use it and save some money honey!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6rWvchwpgCqDIfxkr6IYjs1w1ODFdZS7Aw_ZQhhSuvxk9Q9gzO0I25ycPe9Rw0hjkLH8jC7LEDjLXf3-R2TrlaXlXXoqE0ELqDzS1x5z0ASz8CSyR7ziYzrTYksdPETvneGApqORZgs/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD6rWvchwpgCqDIfxkr6IYjs1w1ODFdZS7Aw_ZQhhSuvxk9Q9gzO0I25ycPe9Rw0hjkLH8jC7LEDjLXf3-R2TrlaXlXXoqE0ELqDzS1x5z0ASz8CSyR7ziYzrTYksdPETvneGApqORZgs/s320/1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
1. Lay out the hoops and wood piece. Decide where you want the wood piece to be on the glasses.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlmzQ-EzS7qa7ZlUOMueDCYUUHT0GSM3enKlGGTsXuFnCLZ3dz8Ny78yYLE3mf9FxZuZiyZze7plYH6sXOEHwlg8G2AGFrpICB86yqTI4GpJ3sluCWl4m1VwymtyWijHs57XlSTuaRNg/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlmzQ-EzS7qa7ZlUOMueDCYUUHT0GSM3enKlGGTsXuFnCLZ3dz8Ny78yYLE3mf9FxZuZiyZze7plYH6sXOEHwlg8G2AGFrpICB86yqTI4GpJ3sluCWl4m1VwymtyWijHs57XlSTuaRNg/s320/2.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
2. After you find the right spot trace the curve of the hoops onto the wood piece.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhLtoGgUE3nnh2CD_s73mlYCMuGDeVR-wkkkaBgHvBcUIhK8lfBNV6mTxsi5H5psubqjwxCd7arzbKlU0fYU6vbmKxHZG5cKZnsmCt__2BeSkMi1nm5XqhIvlJfWfX67SCQPCXLtiuTE/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFhLtoGgUE3nnh2CD_s73mlYCMuGDeVR-wkkkaBgHvBcUIhK8lfBNV6mTxsi5H5psubqjwxCd7arzbKlU0fYU6vbmKxHZG5cKZnsmCt__2BeSkMi1nm5XqhIvlJfWfX67SCQPCXLtiuTE/s320/3.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
3. Here is what the lines look like after being traced.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6WRsJnQL1QxbuqPb5dOpZGOIV1U06lP1H-R48vhwuwH4qh59F_4FV8y6YXp3_wEUvpsgMAmmK5xDBmYcfKT7G0sPzdKAcrZQ3kaAEKGWfJX8nDZ4-xdr3qh6QkybwkAn2M3Jx3d27rw/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw6WRsJnQL1QxbuqPb5dOpZGOIV1U06lP1H-R48vhwuwH4qh59F_4FV8y6YXp3_wEUvpsgMAmmK5xDBmYcfKT7G0sPzdKAcrZQ3kaAEKGWfJX8nDZ4-xdr3qh6QkybwkAn2M3Jx3d27rw/s320/4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
4. Using a saw cut the wood along your trace marks. </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsGb81D6Gq-USm4-GxPUAFjnqYysyriT-9Nyhxf6_l17anMf-Sp-2fAOW5HQ7OR6LovpIDrYZOCb22U76JhCNetBuOYZTyFuhqsG04y4YStFJrLWmWB-FI7ZevNhLWzvZlQ9Kk5ru-rA/s1600/5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTsGb81D6Gq-USm4-GxPUAFjnqYysyriT-9Nyhxf6_l17anMf-Sp-2fAOW5HQ7OR6LovpIDrYZOCb22U76JhCNetBuOYZTyFuhqsG04y4YStFJrLWmWB-FI7ZevNhLWzvZlQ9Kk5ru-rA/s320/5.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
5. Here is what the cut piece of wood looks like.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMDwQdPvaUkncGF9XmC5FDHXha9l5yLA4zw37oAOBzro-aihLwGWyhvmZoZBWLlz3OjShVtMYosofEfKBp2aQuOVtHBlkmH9GXJiibvqa0ihPsrHgPH37e5oJ7Zwp5MxgNmFLRR3siBE/s1600/6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMDwQdPvaUkncGF9XmC5FDHXha9l5yLA4zw37oAOBzro-aihLwGWyhvmZoZBWLlz3OjShVtMYosofEfKBp2aQuOVtHBlkmH9GXJiibvqa0ihPsrHgPH37e5oJ7Zwp5MxgNmFLRR3siBE/s320/6.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
6. Place the wood piece where it belongs between the outer hoops. Mark where you want to place screws being careful to note the screw size. Oh, and if you want to skip the screws you can use gorilla glue or wood glue to attach the wood piece. You'll just have to let it sit overnight after gluing before you can finish the project.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkvUQh3MtgXQFqCt19uo-Y-73rH6f0KVJmR0LyKDDTHW2sBmF94_K_yHAPbUEk7MAZ4WNJ0ZtSwaE6Pvew1cBMCusq67Gwee0E4F04Q6Vg412L2yb4VJ3kd_ROEOJIfLykjPiYmT-rwY/s1600/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvkvUQh3MtgXQFqCt19uo-Y-73rH6f0KVJmR0LyKDDTHW2sBmF94_K_yHAPbUEk7MAZ4WNJ0ZtSwaE6Pvew1cBMCusq67Gwee0E4F04Q6Vg412L2yb4VJ3kd_ROEOJIfLykjPiYmT-rwY/s320/7.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
7. Here are some close ups of the marks.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_P53pM3UmjMV7-uynPbK0DOx5dXl3NrtEd6eG7disEDnT_sfOZMalFH-v65587-jeMenluLyTKIKX7nZ7LXcKAgTYzeXlpK1M66i6C3NpgGeeOHGd4nPbdPJ6DQF-l2oGaH46PfE1AnY/s1600/8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_P53pM3UmjMV7-uynPbK0DOx5dXl3NrtEd6eG7disEDnT_sfOZMalFH-v65587-jeMenluLyTKIKX7nZ7LXcKAgTYzeXlpK1M66i6C3NpgGeeOHGd4nPbdPJ6DQF-l2oGaH46PfE1AnY/s320/8.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XevceU1jXIoZGfpWbkuP3SlsoepDhapPpNHl6PuMAIIiU0cdzONWGF8xj0W26LN1yKciEB9yrtZXFU5Gf79nR1YOazHJiDLP-7siAa3scQqXPjHMR1_FUoegFMu-o8_NjvsXrHdIzq8/s1600/9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2XevceU1jXIoZGfpWbkuP3SlsoepDhapPpNHl6PuMAIIiU0cdzONWGF8xj0W26LN1yKciEB9yrtZXFU5Gf79nR1YOazHJiDLP-7siAa3scQqXPjHMR1_FUoegFMu-o8_NjvsXrHdIzq8/s320/9.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXA5EUteuk3A6-P1O0tQtOz1sgl1krgzaDFgp3MQDAOoMJeV2NmTLGT96Xkaz1N7ZNpRC1IJ0vMA1UuquaR2arkDDRZ33gOlTfp1vzoU6KmV2xJR4oS1_UwsYrmtbR9UQrAfpDtC70nEw/s1600/10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXA5EUteuk3A6-P1O0tQtOz1sgl1krgzaDFgp3MQDAOoMJeV2NmTLGT96Xkaz1N7ZNpRC1IJ0vMA1UuquaR2arkDDRZ33gOlTfp1vzoU6KmV2xJR4oS1_UwsYrmtbR9UQrAfpDtC70nEw/s320/10.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
8. Make pilot holes in the hoop to guide you.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVq3TV9tVGztJY25Oz0XuOgU6XD7tCGxUmiPuVz21RIUEJLnug81uL2_oqd9Osa39B3rSvM6_s460i_4YlbDs_4dSF7qFf2zhRTwasvkXy8zKNFGJAYlg24ZTyO0iS9WyI_zL-Azn4Gg/s1600/11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlVq3TV9tVGztJY25Oz0XuOgU6XD7tCGxUmiPuVz21RIUEJLnug81uL2_oqd9Osa39B3rSvM6_s460i_4YlbDs_4dSF7qFf2zhRTwasvkXy8zKNFGJAYlg24ZTyO0iS9WyI_zL-Azn4Gg/s320/11.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
9. Line up the pilot holes with the wood piece and draw marks to guide you.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZncmXiFNEq4W8GZTUcp3fAG6VoRp8w6K_iXXHNYVDCSrVeLj7kE9ghTjf4AVoeHKCn2pgvVn3VNr8lqTNBLQERtdqcyUWJLi61UDrS2cz6J-Nh2YPW72EiNljFDzGxRO5NCLC7E7EwF0/s1600/12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZncmXiFNEq4W8GZTUcp3fAG6VoRp8w6K_iXXHNYVDCSrVeLj7kE9ghTjf4AVoeHKCn2pgvVn3VNr8lqTNBLQERtdqcyUWJLi61UDrS2cz6J-Nh2YPW72EiNljFDzGxRO5NCLC7E7EwF0/s320/12.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
10. Here is a shot of the marks.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcIh-iRDtsQnMvQkYFWaxAqQVoJSQa4sDTKOYaozt_NTR5An8AGiTes2-BCdcSaEYzPum3Mm5SizlJdWLEtGTOl_qJUdZP-nyQ0JxCLqqRyQR7QiB7VSKvgF3q0IAQuZayN6ABK2eUIM/s1600/13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcIh-iRDtsQnMvQkYFWaxAqQVoJSQa4sDTKOYaozt_NTR5An8AGiTes2-BCdcSaEYzPum3Mm5SizlJdWLEtGTOl_qJUdZP-nyQ0JxCLqqRyQR7QiB7VSKvgF3q0IAQuZayN6ABK2eUIM/s320/13.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
11. Screw holes in the wood piece using the pencil guide marks.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_Kh1BN-5DqMqtn35r6F59a6OjAvNiTsqSpUjOzwXeC7gc-tPJp6bqTee9YTUtmxk2aaH99t-G_WLfITZOsjUB_93qY2Af-slkZoSHyVbwkjPKrpTmFZueUtC6nGX72QSGZktqdinCx4/s1600/14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid_Kh1BN-5DqMqtn35r6F59a6OjAvNiTsqSpUjOzwXeC7gc-tPJp6bqTee9YTUtmxk2aaH99t-G_WLfITZOsjUB_93qY2Af-slkZoSHyVbwkjPKrpTmFZueUtC6nGX72QSGZktqdinCx4/s320/14.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
12. Screw the screws through the pilot holes attaching the outer hoops to the wood piece.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3e2Y_4Ho7B8-vex0JAYaBXFMtyj60THiNYc_KyaUzaZ4oC4NJsWANdoY05zyCSSMxNMXWh3NIGtUFuvpQJl8DlM086wMkweY1lZDJQkWS-tZNlR_MTGsulGifaTzqL8Om8Jh8grZw2U/s1600/15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf3e2Y_4Ho7B8-vex0JAYaBXFMtyj60THiNYc_KyaUzaZ4oC4NJsWANdoY05zyCSSMxNMXWh3NIGtUFuvpQJl8DlM086wMkweY1lZDJQkWS-tZNlR_MTGsulGifaTzqL8Om8Jh8grZw2U/s320/15.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
13. The glasses frames are now assembled!</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Slo_Ca7_iyKnYoblDbX5i6a00RLEYDgnqGc7ioCdA-QEjpzJVeiT0BJjbRhYchx-PtHhRNkPjtB1WxfNYniXQ_dD1AizsELG92Jj3jtGO8CMuPqfthYQBP2PLNMObjBLQ-6YHbNXxKE/s1600/16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4Slo_Ca7_iyKnYoblDbX5i6a00RLEYDgnqGc7ioCdA-QEjpzJVeiT0BJjbRhYchx-PtHhRNkPjtB1WxfNYniXQ_dD1AizsELG92Jj3jtGO8CMuPqfthYQBP2PLNMObjBLQ-6YHbNXxKE/s320/16.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
14. Spray paint all the glasses pieces and let dry.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU0wnpcCao35RIW6Q0zUOXbN8V1WJhbUAFE5dtimvGyJhvxVkKuNYpxZLLFsXesCphEMBtljk9JwHFC5ceuDIumEcyWxSmaK0kawLum9VJaU8ZuSFCng0VzBNFlcR26S1nceB8GKmWdU/s1600/17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCU0wnpcCao35RIW6Q0zUOXbN8V1WJhbUAFE5dtimvGyJhvxVkKuNYpxZLLFsXesCphEMBtljk9JwHFC5ceuDIumEcyWxSmaK0kawLum9VJaU8ZuSFCng0VzBNFlcR26S1nceB8GKmWdU/s320/17.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
15. Lay out the vinyl piece. Cut the vinyl in two.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdFWW4NglF-WZ28dXJYF_pApg-Ae5nqewWxnBJCfhHwKJcCTsStkqxCxHPn_FRUjxw5xPi9bMg_aIEBIEwoNATuY7JOcVrR3LNOqJ2HPOXPU_BXl90dCNifGYmt1PqkT4JPQzQrd99S0/s1600/18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVdFWW4NglF-WZ28dXJYF_pApg-Ae5nqewWxnBJCfhHwKJcCTsStkqxCxHPn_FRUjxw5xPi9bMg_aIEBIEwoNATuY7JOcVrR3LNOqJ2HPOXPU_BXl90dCNifGYmt1PqkT4JPQzQrd99S0/s320/18.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
16. Place the vinyl over the outer hoop. Make sure to pull the vinyl back as tight and smooth as you can to avoid big wrinkles in the "lenses".</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUT_5Tzz2OQgBRwAobZcLyc1SjW4vGtLoyh7pDuuTMsDy2uAF0gGvbKYkizEGL-R9T-Z8McxAUc_HPhOelo_pdLn8Oo7Ag80is1atR9xOT6Zs-H7JcvsAWUiQl9Q_JJkXwBEAYM7nrNk/s1600/19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUT_5Tzz2OQgBRwAobZcLyc1SjW4vGtLoyh7pDuuTMsDy2uAF0gGvbKYkizEGL-R9T-Z8McxAUc_HPhOelo_pdLn8Oo7Ag80is1atR9xOT6Zs-H7JcvsAWUiQl9Q_JJkXwBEAYM7nrNk/s320/19.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aLYaBqHQyqdx-bPQhkQEQbm4tDvc0zbRCw-ONuMZjJU9TXV4QhFjn3wVPauUFJe-QLWU_HrTTYj32Z94G2r1G6I94Tfej0zSe_fQMJsJXfU9Ih0kXrysIWQx8fA0LFhHa666w49b8JE/s1600/20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7aLYaBqHQyqdx-bPQhkQEQbm4tDvc0zbRCw-ONuMZjJU9TXV4QhFjn3wVPauUFJe-QLWU_HrTTYj32Z94G2r1G6I94Tfej0zSe_fQMJsJXfU9Ih0kXrysIWQx8fA0LFhHa666w49b8JE/s320/20.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYnmWAVQa-z-cD5k7wsEHRxP-K_IYxCWmAyQUomFO-RmuL1zi0jpZNpuR3DHuTNrdidTV9W-fL31wF1UgQUHktJUiKRWa1sDxPsHa5l_dxxWtoEqAnTCzuoSh_bITf4ETKQGTg8hoA7E/s1600/21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYnmWAVQa-z-cD5k7wsEHRxP-K_IYxCWmAyQUomFO-RmuL1zi0jpZNpuR3DHuTNrdidTV9W-fL31wF1UgQUHktJUiKRWa1sDxPsHa5l_dxxWtoEqAnTCzuoSh_bITf4ETKQGTg8hoA7E/s320/21.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzMFQ0blNDpEE8f57FNmfvGskUWSMAmKGZ6Cy1fU8F_l7QDzjIgq6-VHzEnL_76MHRVE2NKla5-yS3ywQyNmNdq-FnuwZn40Mtn7P9l13ivH41o6NMLehFa9eZ45U1Zl2cUUbdoqw51c/s1600/22.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYzMFQ0blNDpEE8f57FNmfvGskUWSMAmKGZ6Cy1fU8F_l7QDzjIgq6-VHzEnL_76MHRVE2NKla5-yS3ywQyNmNdq-FnuwZn40Mtn7P9l13ivH41o6NMLehFa9eZ45U1Zl2cUUbdoqw51c/s320/22.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
17. Once you've got the vinyl just right screw the inner hoop down and trim off the excess vinyl from the sides.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzetkb-zOlzI_9ikw-9D1ps4wWZopFQRE2R8o5Wm46F8Xf5ov9uXkJU1BRZiuEPxKNQ0l1ZXooVhelGzHbYJfuHFr5sBK6JnChmudTHKRythSziRIZzc65xMXn_VIwxc17pLYqXOG-S-E/s1600/23.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzetkb-zOlzI_9ikw-9D1ps4wWZopFQRE2R8o5Wm46F8Xf5ov9uXkJU1BRZiuEPxKNQ0l1ZXooVhelGzHbYJfuHFr5sBK6JnChmudTHKRythSziRIZzc65xMXn_VIwxc17pLYqXOG-S-E/s320/23.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
18. You're all done! Now you have a fun pair of giant Writer's Eye Glasses for your classroom.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-45093696706683989432012-06-21T00:04:00.002-07:002012-06-21T08:52:23.283-07:00Blog Crushin' and Bossy e<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;">Summer is cruising, isn't it? I have loads of stuff to get organized and created for next year but I've barely made a dent in the pile of stuff I brought home from my classroom. Yes, I know I</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span>should've<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">known better. The pile is sitting in my FRONT ROOM of all places. I think it's staring at me right now calling out, " Please, please organize me or I'll start haunting you in your teacher dreams" (insert maniacal laugh). The one thing I have almost completed is a digital version of my Writer's Eye board. All I have to do is package all the files together and then put it up on Teachers Pay Teachers. Hooray! My goal is to have it all finished by Saturday. Anyway, instead of tackling the teacher pile,with all my "extra" time, I've developed a bit of an obsession... blog crushing err stalking. Yeah, I've got a major crush on a few teacher blogs. One of the blogs I love, love, love is</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://www.firstgraderatlast.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">First Grader at Last</a><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">by the talented Mrs. Sarah Cooley. She has so many amazing ideas and I love to peek into her classroom via the blog. Her enthusiasm inspires me to be a better teacher. Well, I took one of her activities and did it with my first graders this past May. It was her</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><a href="http://firstgraderatlast.blogspot.com/search/label/bossy%20e" target="_blank">Bossy </a><span style="background-color: white;">E idea. Well, my first grade team and I decided we'd have the whole first grade make wanted posters and display them all over the school so we could catch the rascally bossy e and bring him to "first grade justice". The kids were so into this activity. They took the bossy e concept to lengths that we couldn't have crafted. We'd be walking in the school and one of the kids would point out that they just spotted bossy e on one of the student council posters, the second grade bulletin board, etc. I even asked the other grade level teachers to pop in to our classrooms and say things like,"I wanted to let you know I just saw bossy e. That rascal took my plan and turned it into a plane". Our awesome ELL teacher, who turns out to be quite the actress, told the kids that she had a cute ring on her finger and then bossy e left the word cute and turned the cute ring into a cut! She really did have a big cut and a giant band-aid on her finger so the kids were enthralled. My fellow teacher and myself then cut out a giant lowercase Styrofoam e, painted it read, and dubbed it the infamous bossy e. The grand finale of the whole bossy e showdown was that a police officer, an awesome parent, found bossy e and brought him to our classroom and told us he was taking bossy e down to the station for kicking other vowels in the pants and being too bossy. It was pure learning awesome-</span>ness<span style="background-color: white;">! Thank you Mrs. Cooley for the idea and inspiration.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVZWYjIAO9vcPbaiq4R2FAeMUYo79iyZiSvYp_I3CV3L9BxliEnF-kXupJRjP6C1loyPdqtOiOO1JXSgVsOkNPIDS1hxBBRhllMeVwj_spbbQu1V-DMBZg1_l4Lt02mxFOIkWm9C0UsQ/s1600/IMG_3496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVZWYjIAO9vcPbaiq4R2FAeMUYo79iyZiSvYp_I3CV3L9BxliEnF-kXupJRjP6C1loyPdqtOiOO1JXSgVsOkNPIDS1hxBBRhllMeVwj_spbbQu1V-DMBZg1_l4Lt02mxFOIkWm9C0UsQ/s320/IMG_3496.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcSSv3o44k52hPBfuuhPdkZ1x-LnWs35rIx3M5Ujjeg-ylEH3RbsdHc5fBBmBC5M0-C9AyrSNYXgCrnMn3LQ2QrmE5oDjqlPLlBP-1B3YaY1aYt3hvyX24ODgs3-w-bYoSq1frEu14rg/s1600/IMG_3491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcSSv3o44k52hPBfuuhPdkZ1x-LnWs35rIx3M5Ujjeg-ylEH3RbsdHc5fBBmBC5M0-C9AyrSNYXgCrnMn3LQ2QrmE5oDjqlPLlBP-1B3YaY1aYt3hvyX24ODgs3-w-bYoSq1frEu14rg/s320/IMG_3491.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TuTqSBGRl_b8T4fn4shlB1NEkZoWCS36Z66pqcJW4kitXgzgiQjAy6oYufvKHuSipihyphenhyphenRuVfU8TkHt4OrLkvgJU6h_NoZs8O0M-qK-itF1YUYsM7fE4PMiLyqShPd0H3p8Tp3_Cs5xg/s1600/IMG_3494.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2TuTqSBGRl_b8T4fn4shlB1NEkZoWCS36Z66pqcJW4kitXgzgiQjAy6oYufvKHuSipihyphenhyphenRuVfU8TkHt4OrLkvgJU6h_NoZs8O0M-qK-itF1YUYsM7fE4PMiLyqShPd0H3p8Tp3_Cs5xg/s320/IMG_3494.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT193adEVAeog6jYHplEuJ8ovZUFGRzMkWAoqq2cPqwzsMPMs8cwVxkoiozKywuad1YIDcJtdTOwy3MBLJ9pOMvd1EvDC7y9XH15eg8cmvH8KlYVlglEh96iBZtVNqTRf9BAlmk-QSQhE/s1600/IMG_3492.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT193adEVAeog6jYHplEuJ8ovZUFGRzMkWAoqq2cPqwzsMPMs8cwVxkoiozKywuad1YIDcJtdTOwy3MBLJ9pOMvd1EvDC7y9XH15eg8cmvH8KlYVlglEh96iBZtVNqTRf9BAlmk-QSQhE/s320/IMG_3492.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
P.S If you're wondering what the underline and v-e marking means it's part of the <a href="http://www.fundations.com/" target="_blank">Wilson Fundations</a> program my district implements. It stands for vowel-consonant-e. ;)
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrbuAyZkDz43JRsRDKMEzkRf0vs-phFjPlhJcZdcH2XhNxqtv-GE0XOFhXOwjwr5KcnUXYVGS3mZa8Ql6IPS98HOBrdSTPTQU4zEhpOOYJ5BjKlqBhjFF-R3mEJupsY2FbNY9_BtZ5dc/s1600/bossye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrbuAyZkDz43JRsRDKMEzkRf0vs-phFjPlhJcZdcH2XhNxqtv-GE0XOFhXOwjwr5KcnUXYVGS3mZa8Ql6IPS98HOBrdSTPTQU4zEhpOOYJ5BjKlqBhjFF-R3mEJupsY2FbNY9_BtZ5dc/s400/bossye.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Here is the Styrofoam bossy e we made. I brought him home for the summer to do some embellishing. I'm imagining some Sesame Street style eyes, black eyebrows, and more.</div>
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-51212287179577920502012-06-06T23:05:00.000-07:002012-06-06T23:09:36.811-07:00Do iNeed an iPhone?So I have a decision to make. It's not really that important of a decision but somehow it IS. My smart phone is dying and becoming a dumb phone so I must buy a new phone. I know, I told you it wasn't that big of a deal but I have turned it into a monumental decision. I have spent, wait for it, six months trying to decide if I should get another Android phone or an iPhone. I have been eyeing an iPhone for awhile now but I cannot commit quite yet. I guess I'm wondering if any of you teachers out there in blog land have an iPhone and what you think. Do you love, love, love the iPhone? Do you use it for cool classroom tricks? I really need some help because my dumb phone is barely hanging on now and I simply cannot make up my mind. Help me help my technology loving self.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3vtuJ_daX84h-H3V00yWeAaPLEcoJFAjVOXKxMw_JthX9PZwcDp3cjGkYrzpyIrqKVoOsKqYR9CwHNtaX7HK_0x683AVy4-VL_9U4GUfxQRZXR6KcsxBxnbeA-82nhO26Rm056glxnI/s1600/redphonecase.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ3vtuJ_daX84h-H3V00yWeAaPLEcoJFAjVOXKxMw_JthX9PZwcDp3cjGkYrzpyIrqKVoOsKqYR9CwHNtaX7HK_0x683AVy4-VL_9U4GUfxQRZXR6KcsxBxnbeA-82nhO26Rm056glxnI/s1600/redphonecase.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This cute iPhone case can be purchased <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067R70GC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3KD0OO9H1T8D3" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-17049557349322816462012-05-29T22:25:00.000-07:002012-06-24T20:37:54.439-07:00Just Eat It<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjfTc25BFIAF-AbZUPMtPMaaAN3ZTyyhydG6q2I0PCjr7aNWIaS2M9eVlKF7XUABWNuMD3Qnd4a6-a3x_G5EF_dn557-kkwcz9_QAJwEjUHEaxwXPCKcXGCpeiC_I_yv9glXyf_Qv0jI/s1600/IMG_3101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjfTc25BFIAF-AbZUPMtPMaaAN3ZTyyhydG6q2I0PCjr7aNWIaS2M9eVlKF7XUABWNuMD3Qnd4a6-a3x_G5EF_dn557-kkwcz9_QAJwEjUHEaxwXPCKcXGCpeiC_I_yv9glXyf_Qv0jI/s320/IMG_3101.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdRl_fyywNnkTkHS2XdfEs2Z3uofUeeH8-39alFSEQylDZJMgzuWzNkHyV2djylXlJQDAQRaSfbiaGh2xhtHSW76E_KNmDbHC3yK3yuKJ2bQ25zPpGEDGCH3oGmb49LfeOdnfic6lnYI/s1600/IMG_3102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrdRl_fyywNnkTkHS2XdfEs2Z3uofUeeH8-39alFSEQylDZJMgzuWzNkHyV2djylXlJQDAQRaSfbiaGh2xhtHSW76E_KNmDbHC3yK3yuKJ2bQ25zPpGEDGCH3oGmb49LfeOdnfic6lnYI/s320/IMG_3102.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbKEdg_4SOQKOd3Fiw4UMcIvbTcTReuChLYwlWPujcU237FK_vUXgZ9FPCsYXmhGUxHRvcOPiCY3XDQv1hANDhqsVr87586Qkl0h0v-mUVYmgGG1vT1S1G-DC0lHdxxEvMeJYILj4vZI/s1600/IMG_3103.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbbKEdg_4SOQKOd3Fiw4UMcIvbTcTReuChLYwlWPujcU237FK_vUXgZ9FPCsYXmhGUxHRvcOPiCY3XDQv1hANDhqsVr87586Qkl0h0v-mUVYmgGG1vT1S1G-DC0lHdxxEvMeJYILj4vZI/s320/IMG_3103.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQhX6uJ3ougL5pe9OD7qmfjczwQu7IryviZA9HOk57nHPUkKykI8XA_DRL98_aWRtDF_2vLDeCOqQwGj2biD5jP0Jldo9mkb0mnIOKZ8PSUgBF6X6IYEhNQ1IwKLO34v33CfXlDn6OYY/s1600/IMG_3104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQhX6uJ3ougL5pe9OD7qmfjczwQu7IryviZA9HOk57nHPUkKykI8XA_DRL98_aWRtDF_2vLDeCOqQwGj2biD5jP0Jldo9mkb0mnIOKZ8PSUgBF6X6IYEhNQ1IwKLO34v33CfXlDn6OYY/s320/IMG_3104.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPTFTbTF562EWj7b-xihWrQeSnLimU7P7VMfea22UuOSKsOP94wkYY4OlCyBCfWHTLlv_wgmtJjpetvSjXPmtRVcoowkGEH63Xh9pXgezKgkCUz6AZurjE3eqPvAviMlh2zXsXdSMQtk/s1600/IMG_3106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBPTFTbTF562EWj7b-xihWrQeSnLimU7P7VMfea22UuOSKsOP94wkYY4OlCyBCfWHTLlv_wgmtJjpetvSjXPmtRVcoowkGEH63Xh9pXgezKgkCUz6AZurjE3eqPvAviMlh2zXsXdSMQtk/s320/IMG_3106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhM0SeMK4TgO355bKTYlzgIovZNWY8M5ESGeiwsxGhBRnrHEF3hPg4YFy3ihkYXitcGjyNTVSyxetE5SbKMaAHAVgWJRyNsezRUYjUMPL0Fam8CS05DWPqFpBnNEDm_yJ7Qh5z3-EEmg/s1600/IMG_3123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGhM0SeMK4TgO355bKTYlzgIovZNWY8M5ESGeiwsxGhBRnrHEF3hPg4YFy3ihkYXitcGjyNTVSyxetE5SbKMaAHAVgWJRyNsezRUYjUMPL0Fam8CS05DWPqFpBnNEDm_yJ7Qh5z3-EEmg/s320/IMG_3123.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmO4u6fVP_4iRugMtZNR6hXZKHpMIefxJvltxleZljjGGG-Brcdm-z6mj5NwYR6B-IqnIl6m0CkQTHO0cHstj6OxktsDLohDbIRG-JSvh-F5kIgXQbsaaynA4yuRmQgQuR8z3MZIYxGFI/s1600/IMG_3127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmO4u6fVP_4iRugMtZNR6hXZKHpMIefxJvltxleZljjGGG-Brcdm-z6mj5NwYR6B-IqnIl6m0CkQTHO0cHstj6OxktsDLohDbIRG-JSvh-F5kIgXQbsaaynA4yuRmQgQuR8z3MZIYxGFI/s320/IMG_3127.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJDayeZ7W6WLBC9Imcb_0WRJEgpyaJcB33vV8hEYMnI0x7gPlF2e6wudxTWOUGprbUT2WH8PbFEr3wA5fb_WFISsgxSXivd-2DIZj5nu1Cu4cGklvfVZdhfldZ22iJZ0V5XyipOhHHyA/s1600/IMG_3132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJDayeZ7W6WLBC9Imcb_0WRJEgpyaJcB33vV8hEYMnI0x7gPlF2e6wudxTWOUGprbUT2WH8PbFEr3wA5fb_WFISsgxSXivd-2DIZj5nu1Cu4cGklvfVZdhfldZ22iJZ0V5XyipOhHHyA/s320/IMG_3132.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
So does anyone remember that Weird Al song <i>Just Eat It</i>? For some odd reason that song popped into my head as I was thinking about this post. I remember watching that music video as a wee lass and now I have a hauntingly funny memory of it. Anyway, moving on to the post. One of my favorite math concepts to teach my first graders is geometric shapes. Not only do we explore the standard flat shapes such as triangles and squares but we get to delve into the discovery of three dimensional, solid figures like the sphere and pyramid. I love sending the children on a shape scavenger hunt around school. This year I decided to do an edible math discovery so the kids could not only manipulate a geometric figure but <b>just eat it</b> too! The kids and I had a blast investigating, sorting, and recording data about the snacks. On the last day of school I surveyed my students and this lesson was the winner of THE BEST MATH LESSON EVER award. Try it with your kids, they won't be able to wait to Just Eat It. Get this activity for FREE <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shape-Sort-and-Snack-Activity" target="_blank">here</a>.<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-26746798323797743142012-05-22T23:36:00.000-07:002012-05-22T23:38:56.223-07:00Task Signs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTadAiOPxh2q9mbqSWn6yZtki4D0dtJGmWsuc_285IaboX3RNTCd6RH5z-Hz2F_d9dKBzcT-UhKaVEVfAeL300IsPLzkldGN231zQXpByGivUvgwZUoarfv_-Al8DER_7n4iA42C-ttLs/s1600/IMG_3249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTadAiOPxh2q9mbqSWn6yZtki4D0dtJGmWsuc_285IaboX3RNTCd6RH5z-Hz2F_d9dKBzcT-UhKaVEVfAeL300IsPLzkldGN231zQXpByGivUvgwZUoarfv_-Al8DER_7n4iA42C-ttLs/s320/IMG_3249.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTm8AOtpvw8M6MvPmqYhxv3maHCNHE8GYO1SakAVB8bUskkSfeYqIOA6pDGw5Ddx_-QJZP1b2SnSV7TJsgVi3GyaS70Ou6MZJU0bXSYGtFm2Y1ehn210ZQjcxwI0fUVSTZ2dKDj-G_6I/s1600/IMG_3250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYTm8AOtpvw8M6MvPmqYhxv3maHCNHE8GYO1SakAVB8bUskkSfeYqIOA6pDGw5Ddx_-QJZP1b2SnSV7TJsgVi3GyaS70Ou6MZJU0bXSYGtFm2Y1ehn210ZQjcxwI0fUVSTZ2dKDj-G_6I/s320/IMG_3250.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I have a little post for you in honor of the end of the school year. Do you ever have those teacher moments that aren't the ultra cool a-ha ones? You know, the ones that make you think is anyone out there even listening to a word I say? Well years ago I had the second kind of teacher moment that inspired the first kind of teacher moment. I was getting frustrated that my first graders were not following my directions on how to get a project completed effectively. I would write the steps on the board but to my dismay only a handful of the kiddos were adhering to my ever so particularly scribed instructions. It then dawned on me that the little darlings needed PICTURES to cue them on. Duh, right? Well I made some task signs to use. After years of abuse I decided to retire my old ones and I created new ones. Now whenever I assign my students a task I display the task signs. They have magnets attached to the back of the signs so they stay on my whiteboard. For example, if I want the children to write their name, color the project, cut the project, then glue it onto a background paper to complete a project I display the cards in that order. It is so helpful! Oh, and you may have noticed in the photos that if I want the kids to use a specific tool for coloring I put the matching task sign under the color sign (i.e. color with colored pencils). I find that I'm not having to repeat the directions over and over again. Head over to my <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Task-Signs" target="_blank">TPT store to check out the task signs</a>.<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-28586551058733891242012-05-22T21:03:00.002-07:002012-05-22T21:07:15.134-07:00Burnt Out Blues<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguj1wuZuSEiBmgSYjKjLHpHE7UrmgXV9KRvI-5kx3Z8HjDlAh2zDyPPd9rSr4rttygRO4uKnd_whO9Xtb4lXtxL_TUyR4WowEnw7YZA1_-C-LdIU-OtXEmJXElFtyuy7gWMs4Uqit07RI/s1600/teacherfunny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguj1wuZuSEiBmgSYjKjLHpHE7UrmgXV9KRvI-5kx3Z8HjDlAh2zDyPPd9rSr4rttygRO4uKnd_whO9Xtb4lXtxL_TUyR4WowEnw7YZA1_-C-LdIU-OtXEmJXElFtyuy7gWMs4Uqit07RI/s320/teacherfunny.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I have the end of the school year burnt out blues. How about you? Life has been so busy for me. Besides the end of the school year chaos I had two big whirlwinds hit me. In April my hubby was assigned to work in Texas. Too bad, so sad for me. I am now a semi-single mom. My hubby does get to come home often but all I can say is single moms are a-maz-ing. Seriously, they deserve angel wings! I also suddenly became the mommy of twins. My nephew, who is twelve days younger than my baby, came to live with us. We love him dearly but another "all I can say" is that parents of twins deserve angel wings too. Now it's the end of the school year for me. I have had a really neat group of kids this year. I also have a very disorganized, piles everywhere, mess of a classroom waiting for me to pack up. (Insert exhausted sigh). Needless to say I have had little time to blog or post anything here. I'm hoping to post more this summer as I prepare to take on the common core standards. I'm excited-scared about adopting the CCSS. Excited because I get to create new, fun things for my future students to use. Excited because I feel like I need a refresher to revitalize my teaching practices. Scared because I'm journeying into the unknown. Scared because I have so much to do and so little time to do it with. Is anyone else feeling excited-scared about common core? Is anyone else experiencing the end of the school year burnt out blues? If you are we'll get through it all together! :)<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-28879227020946723682012-03-14T20:20:00.012-07:002014-07-22T20:12:52.769-07:00Value TimeSo, I was snooping around on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Pinterest</span>, my new found addiction, and found a great idea. (The idea is from Mrs. T and her site is great so <a href="http://mrstsfirstgradeclass-jill.blogspot.com/search/label/Math%20Tools">check it out here</a>). Anyway, I decided to modify the idea and use scrapbook paper to make the value mats. First, I cut a 12"x 12" paper in half to make two 12" x 6" papers. I then cut two 3" x 3" squares and two 3" x 1" rectangles. I made a slew of mats at the same time and coordinated the different pieces to match each mat. I wanted to remember which pieces went with what mat so I numbered the back of the mat and the coordinating pieces. I glued the squares onto the mats, being careful to leave space for the little rectangles, then laminated both the mats and the little rectangles. After the laminating was a cut out I attached the little rectangles to the mats with fasteners. Now, the kids can determine if the value of two numbers they're given are less than, equal to, or greater than. So fun and easy.<br />
Here are some pics for you visual learners:<br />
<br />
1. Number on the back of the 6" x 12"<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-iCtJOV_9uZM_NrU3ruCENMvSLqj0Xb30DusaOwx8b4YLrpxk2ZjUvp0yf4PN1s6E_iZBQeB0ffLgd_qqlpMdu_SNcHj_c17rd9WMePMFz42UC-UdLRYP1EUE6Jcn5eyrerboXnwSs0/s1600/IMG_2826.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO-iCtJOV_9uZM_NrU3ruCENMvSLqj0Xb30DusaOwx8b4YLrpxk2ZjUvp0yf4PN1s6E_iZBQeB0ffLgd_qqlpMdu_SNcHj_c17rd9WMePMFz42UC-UdLRYP1EUE6Jcn5eyrerboXnwSs0/s400/IMG_2826.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719962871007914370" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
2. Number on the back of the 3" x 1" little rectangles<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aJJ5t6qXfIiL9yEhXmAuHKlxTssEFEvqn4-BTBz0uUqfROp7AGxaTuod7jPQU1xKqDGci838EfPgW5nejIRbDGNimiX_JN0zD1NKip-LAdtz2hvFAyqypTXmf_yQy2yvtwZ2jEy7FW0/s1600/IMG_2830.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7aJJ5t6qXfIiL9yEhXmAuHKlxTssEFEvqn4-BTBz0uUqfROp7AGxaTuod7jPQU1xKqDGci838EfPgW5nejIRbDGNimiX_JN0zD1NKip-LAdtz2hvFAyqypTXmf_yQy2yvtwZ2jEy7FW0/s400/IMG_2830.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719962865179858882" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
3. Lay out of the value mat before laminating.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuklnHfrpm2oCmuebkj8_orDj__jV6MOoNZJV5KL15cF1Xg0meh1JWDJ-WpIKBBFmg6JgfF39A0DSmmqHp6vnzIvyLgyreQvErxLWF6Vk9AWOUHK4ek7-x4Ze1F2VQGSEXAQULUwozPUc/s1600/IMG_2832.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuklnHfrpm2oCmuebkj8_orDj__jV6MOoNZJV5KL15cF1Xg0meh1JWDJ-WpIKBBFmg6JgfF39A0DSmmqHp6vnzIvyLgyreQvErxLWF6Vk9AWOUHK4ek7-x4Ze1F2VQGSEXAQULUwozPUc/s400/IMG_2832.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719962872512881394" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
4. The value mat with the squares glued on then laminated.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8snPhUk39343TcJ_NwNgWT3mwrWjHgVnqFJrBjOJvrhxN8mX1RI6D6egTisTIpqSQ3gYCJ9BRiE8Z-PNySMa5nAPpOE0Hwisub2BWuNSnDvMm45alhoMTfJNpUbtHnzDYYL5F-61o0Y/s1600/IMG_2827.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8snPhUk39343TcJ_NwNgWT3mwrWjHgVnqFJrBjOJvrhxN8mX1RI6D6egTisTIpqSQ3gYCJ9BRiE8Z-PNySMa5nAPpOE0Hwisub2BWuNSnDvMm45alhoMTfJNpUbtHnzDYYL5F-61o0Y/s400/IMG_2827.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719962862632221042" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
5. The tools and pieces needed to assemble the mat.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eVjNoCuRt0RbQikCLh1orb71qFsznliDFmapof94PqZmQZXK8Z8PlsjlhbzVsGBuPPW05hZdOGB8xe-2rI1N4ugyNhzTYcHySGVAz9_Zxs5lB1b8xIaP-lOXrG_pJTGL7PuUnWlRfd8/s1600/IMG_2833.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5eVjNoCuRt0RbQikCLh1orb71qFsznliDFmapof94PqZmQZXK8Z8PlsjlhbzVsGBuPPW05hZdOGB8xe-2rI1N4ugyNhzTYcHySGVAz9_Zxs5lB1b8xIaP-lOXrG_pJTGL7PuUnWlRfd8/s400/IMG_2833.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719962875599312946" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
6. I put the little rectangles where I wanted them then poked the craft knife through both the rectangle and the mat to make little placement holes to mark the exact spot.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispFAfU4CTE50odpRLG44aysuNN3uOiJDPdPeQgDvggjeL3rg6ZEQ4bpqrNPliXX6GXq2NaDyMoyf7SZcBfM2xbjydl8kLjazeFW3HerDlusL7Bjsum8HEFAFXx4wBvb7cqAF8s1eC5xM/s1600/IMG_2834.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEispFAfU4CTE50odpRLG44aysuNN3uOiJDPdPeQgDvggjeL3rg6ZEQ4bpqrNPliXX6GXq2NaDyMoyf7SZcBfM2xbjydl8kLjazeFW3HerDlusL7Bjsum8HEFAFXx4wBvb7cqAF8s1eC5xM/s400/IMG_2834.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719965801016701570" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
7. I put the fastener through the rectangle.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnK1RAihSLa1cSCnJSI9jvA2VFq6Ckm7YDXLom_DhFMlawM96m7wdkarfwcXbKsTAxDF1nr2sn7KAhzbTjnSk3hEccyz5QIIuVaTYDZ0486q0yL08gJ4ildwy18duYl3IL0q5jLpjpYY/s1600/IMG_2844.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnK1RAihSLa1cSCnJSI9jvA2VFq6Ckm7YDXLom_DhFMlawM96m7wdkarfwcXbKsTAxDF1nr2sn7KAhzbTjnSk3hEccyz5QIIuVaTYDZ0486q0yL08gJ4ildwy18duYl3IL0q5jLpjpYY/s400/IMG_2844.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963530257282386" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
8. Notice the fastener is in the center of the little rectangle.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosHEcHUrl5Bds_XKS-5X6pUYo1EYsCHVyfyvgY-g-ActX6jMhdPamMzqAdxRzL0p0V408_G-gHEDwDGz6h6X5DLt9FyWr2wGhHI0FjyM-bn7955GLE4UblXbVYF7_BKl6Qh0XoIYsOPI/s1600/IMG_2835.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosHEcHUrl5Bds_XKS-5X6pUYo1EYsCHVyfyvgY-g-ActX6jMhdPamMzqAdxRzL0p0V408_G-gHEDwDGz6h6X5DLt9FyWr2wGhHI0FjyM-bn7955GLE4UblXbVYF7_BKl6Qh0XoIYsOPI/s400/IMG_2835.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963526713253794" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
9. I then put the fastener through the mat and spread open the prongs to secure the placement of the little rectangle.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDvQsG8gj1lzUWz3JhNQaYXseC9Rt95DVTfUsAyPsuS6Zjc6seYON0FJDtgPzkTYkv3fjukTOd2tmDt5GGSWhebgQWfWqP3kABW1uEKvcUCMRTINDIyi_xWP5Uj7bKvz4MFYIa7ndF1M/s1600/IMG_2846.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilDvQsG8gj1lzUWz3JhNQaYXseC9Rt95DVTfUsAyPsuS6Zjc6seYON0FJDtgPzkTYkv3fjukTOd2tmDt5GGSWhebgQWfWqP3kABW1uEKvcUCMRTINDIyi_xWP5Uj7bKvz4MFYIa7ndF1M/s400/IMG_2846.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963536274651698" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
10. Here is the mat showing the equal sign.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_yue4VBxWW88IjgxfSiyRj9kYo9376I2MIk662LO_VqQ2nFlSjthS3aww_9dY1o1PhkqtPjrVKVs7pLlYUShWEaXAQlf60ucieW4mLJneN_FiXrPQSPUVeGfEW90Z6NHtYlzWyfRo6Y/s1600/IMG_2850.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4_yue4VBxWW88IjgxfSiyRj9kYo9376I2MIk662LO_VqQ2nFlSjthS3aww_9dY1o1PhkqtPjrVKVs7pLlYUShWEaXAQlf60ucieW4mLJneN_FiXrPQSPUVeGfEW90Z6NHtYlzWyfRo6Y/s400/IMG_2850.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963540644419730" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
11. Here is the mat showing the less than sign.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDLmjlYVSk7ab2WgzO975xe0miKBN2xpsQzbIQvhg8_cZWXExTWOkOHhN84H13nZ5DgCTqcF1EOZEQOI61Znrm-zL6GZNMBxKfPEH8bZGoH4xb3CU9mnGZtPmYQXunOYm5QLXTnGOdK8/s1600/IMG_2852.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoDLmjlYVSk7ab2WgzO975xe0miKBN2xpsQzbIQvhg8_cZWXExTWOkOHhN84H13nZ5DgCTqcF1EOZEQOI61Znrm-zL6GZNMBxKfPEH8bZGoH4xb3CU9mnGZtPmYQXunOYm5QLXTnGOdK8/s400/IMG_2852.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963821434886578" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
12. Here is the mat showing the greater than sign.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFBKHxD6TnLS9uPRvKNC7RnzrkfOiCEtAniPh6rc063Rp9JMUZaJikXj7-xNgLcHHnyl69qs7W8_WG_XHdPPrC9tge-AmKvJZDLe8N7G2BSYB1qC6oNKDnUtbBGhKUuSa4wCW4u5u1wA/s1600/IMG_2851.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAFBKHxD6TnLS9uPRvKNC7RnzrkfOiCEtAniPh6rc063Rp9JMUZaJikXj7-xNgLcHHnyl69qs7W8_WG_XHdPPrC9tge-AmKvJZDLe8N7G2BSYB1qC6oNKDnUtbBGhKUuSa4wCW4u5u1wA/s400/IMG_2851.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963819412147074" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
13. Here is the end result.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVLTYT-AObQIGsrzwGgnEK7NrrUTRjjPd0nvwVSHlkTPa2mnlcL7uSXn4CCCIbag6RVi927w1A6fEZJjTuO40g0CIvW0ZHzca1lZ_5av6b4ydzONeC8pqbffLQ_a5T3G6qTNgI_VgKK1Q/s1600/IMG_2853.JPG"> <img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVLTYT-AObQIGsrzwGgnEK7NrrUTRjjPd0nvwVSHlkTPa2mnlcL7uSXn4CCCIbag6RVi927w1A6fEZJjTuO40g0CIvW0ZHzca1lZ_5av6b4ydzONeC8pqbffLQ_a5T3G6qTNgI_VgKK1Q/s400/IMG_2853.JPG" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5719963831254288994" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> </a><br />
I also typed up the directions as a document. You can download the directions for FREE on my Teachers Pay Teachers store <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Value-Mats" target="_blank">here</a>. Happy creating!<br />
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-87903292073116964222012-03-12T14:37:00.004-07:002012-03-12T14:43:21.559-07:00Back in BlackWell, this poor blog has been most neglected for the past two years. I do have a bit of an excuse though. In the past two years my hubby started traveling a lot for work, which makes me a part time single mom. Also, I had baby number three. By the way, he was born on the first day of this school year! Crazy timing, eh? I was on maternity leave for the first quarter of this year and jumped right back in to first grade life in November. I feel like I finally have enough bearings to attempt to blog again. So... here it goes! Hopefully my big come back isn't too disappointing. ;)<br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-89083354775988445392010-03-08T16:30:00.000-07:002010-03-08T16:51:36.170-07:00The Class Store<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OIpr7G5ri6C_8NLJxXR5cjgRruukuxOxTOvYWd8cFrzFANP0EKFcuOMjhNhShlBP4QuT03zB_-OBxYPbqW0NPf3GZf1Yq9RuPy4Os2YkH-FLGIIxCNitXcdPMXnFFMCuy-nDRwThyphenhyphenTs/s1600-h/IMG_8427.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1OIpr7G5ri6C_8NLJxXR5cjgRruukuxOxTOvYWd8cFrzFANP0EKFcuOMjhNhShlBP4QuT03zB_-OBxYPbqW0NPf3GZf1Yq9RuPy4Os2YkH-FLGIIxCNitXcdPMXnFFMCuy-nDRwThyphenhyphenTs/s400/IMG_8427.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446409675359167026" border="0" /></a>Every class has to have some kind of positive reward system, right? Well, I have the class store. This is how it did it:<br />1. I got little small, plastic containers at the Dollar Tree, they're in the baby section and you get 5 for $1. <br />2. I put labels with the kids' names on the containers, this way they act as a name tag too! <br />3. I bought a giant tub of play money at Lakeshore Learning. <br />4. I went to Wal-Mart and purchased an over the door shoe organizer.<br />5. I had parents send in small items to stock the class store then I placed the items in the organizer and labeled the pockets with price tags.<br /><br />How it works: When the kids are behaving I reward them with a play coin or two. They save the money in their plastic "banks". On Friday afternoons a parent volunteer comes in to help the children count their money. The children then shop at the class store. I allow them to buy one item per week so the store doesn't get depleted too quickly.<br /><br /> Most of the kids say the store is their favorite part of first grade... What, you mean I'm not their favorite part? ;) Tee hee!<br /><br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-22762852307518427072010-03-08T16:14:00.001-07:002012-06-25T16:23:24.128-07:00Writer's Eye Glasses<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxnpuoK12DM7HjgEJ3xLWkitwuGxwXZn4u_PchjnZEEq_6D8OE62-SH7Vs-aSoBy0yb6FJvxrRGQz_eDa8Kc8NZbz5MjqhHBpVFyWtXBdcg8e72yQfhIGSk8qjO2TP9HB2EFe6WfZbu8/s1600-h/IMG_8429.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446405548603700786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguxnpuoK12DM7HjgEJ3xLWkitwuGxwXZn4u_PchjnZEEq_6D8OE62-SH7Vs-aSoBy0yb6FJvxrRGQz_eDa8Kc8NZbz5MjqhHBpVFyWtXBdcg8e72yQfhIGSk8qjO2TP9HB2EFe6WfZbu8/s400/IMG_8429.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
I teach my students to use their Writer's Eye. The Writer's Eye was taught to me when I took my CLIP class through ASU. The basics of the Writer's Eye is to teach the children to ask themselves questions while writing. Here are the basic questions:<br />
1. Do I see a capital letter at the beginning of my sentence?<br />
2. Do I see finger spaces between the words I wrote?<br />
3. Did I use lowercase letters throughout my sentence, unless I needed to use a capital letter?<br />
4. Do I see a punctuation mark at the end of my sentence?<br />
5. Does my sentence make sense when I read it?<br />
To remind my students to ask themselves the above mentioned questions I created this bulletin board. Actually, Mr. Phippen was the genius who came up with the idea of using embroidery hoops to form the glasses. Anyway, you need 2 hoops, a small piece of wood to join the hoops, 2 black paper plates, and spray paint to create the Writer's Eye glasses man. The kids love it!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img alt="school blog signature" border="0" src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" /></a><br />
PS I have updated this Writer's Eye board and even made a <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Writers-Eye-Bulletin-Board-Set" target="_blank">Writer's Eye Bulletin Board product</a> on my Teachers Pay Teachers store if you'd like. Plus, I posted a tutorial on <a href="http://www.mrsphippen.blogspot.com/2012/06/writers-eye-glasses.html" target="_blank">how to make the giant glasses</a> too.Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-6663385934016401122010-03-08T15:57:00.000-07:002010-03-08T16:12:46.850-07:00Author Showcase<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFa53fmWKQngtKPErKKxm539goqYNw2w7WnIJ6CQMvBqwuxUC4hOW7nkOLuHEOYuJuptLRktsNE4Cpz2eW85VBLVmn8Q39n2k7wJswztK1b2SWe1PfXiXD1ipcgtpg9SpvWQNh9AvvU8g/s1600-h/IMG_8432.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFa53fmWKQngtKPErKKxm539goqYNw2w7WnIJ6CQMvBqwuxUC4hOW7nkOLuHEOYuJuptLRktsNE4Cpz2eW85VBLVmn8Q39n2k7wJswztK1b2SWe1PfXiXD1ipcgtpg9SpvWQNh9AvvU8g/s400/IMG_8432.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446401277675894594" border="0" /></a><br />Getting the children excited about reading and writing is sometimes hard to do. One thing I try to do is showcase an author each month. Here's how I do it:<br />1. Choose an author that will appeal to the children.<br />2. Research that author's life story and the books he/she has written.<br />3. Find a photo of the author and a few snippets of their book covers.<br />4. Type up a little blurb stating the facts I learned about the author. I especially try to include facts that the kids will like.<br />5. I print out the blurb and photos and prepare them to be pasted onto a 12 x 12 sheet of scrapbook paper. Sometimes I have to re-size all the pics to ensure a proper layout.<br />6. I build a layout on the scrapbook paper that showcases all the info and photos I collected.<br />7. I place the finished showcase in a 12 x 12 frame and place it where the children will see it. (I found mine at Michael's craft store).<br /><br />Note: I use the same frame each month, I just switch out the author showcase!<br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-11955388430051426752010-03-08T15:40:00.000-07:002010-03-08T15:53:27.942-07:00Classroom Jobs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXfKJAnnOkajRedOcGzUOmuGhu6Soh4Oj3XL6ef7gU9hf-vQ1VL9ltNIqFfYDXVjnwMegtjOShHIs0-KtgRvX9sNPyTdrPXYRxoxJ0P_ouqL86gsd47OzZyRpWxUhd_-WFT5AR7AoF_Y/s1600-h/IMG_8410.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRXfKJAnnOkajRedOcGzUOmuGhu6Soh4Oj3XL6ef7gU9hf-vQ1VL9ltNIqFfYDXVjnwMegtjOShHIs0-KtgRvX9sNPyTdrPXYRxoxJ0P_ouqL86gsd47OzZyRpWxUhd_-WFT5AR7AoF_Y/s400/IMG_8410.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446397006302876162" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2gPVVdDJSOLC_e9vHIGY4Pfw8fSIPaGAlevVHePoni7b3hYSyZ1yBd-v6CfVeMIW3DuKwRoPk8sP1YUvy_0Zs3rm4Ek3w4B04sNZwsI1zl_PN3S6XWhbOGhR797lPn0d5F90dAnZNNY/s1600-h/IMG_8409.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2gPVVdDJSOLC_e9vHIGY4Pfw8fSIPaGAlevVHePoni7b3hYSyZ1yBd-v6CfVeMIW3DuKwRoPk8sP1YUvy_0Zs3rm4Ek3w4B04sNZwsI1zl_PN3S6XWhbOGhR797lPn0d5F90dAnZNNY/s400/IMG_8409.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446397014330884930" border="0" /></a><br />I believe that every child in a class should have a job for the week. Keeping the jobs organized is another matter.<br />Here is how I do it:<br />1. I laminated book pockets.<br />2. I made labels stating the name of the jobs in my classroom and stuck them on the pockets.<br />3. I wrote the names of my students on craft sticks.<br />4. I paired a girl and boy, if possible, to be job partners for the year.<br />5. I put the paired name sticks in the job pockets.<br />6. On Monday mornings I rotate the sticks in a particular pattern so the children have turns doing every job.<br />It's simple and effective. Hooray!<br /><br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-54010898073184205912010-03-08T15:29:00.001-07:002010-03-08T15:53:46.817-07:00Morning Meeting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3DGNkmmw8t5EpmEm259wxyNR6EYipxP0PsNEl63TVrNMqE9nM-Zkfqbi88w8-aFvySdaH3z1EerLV4awp2ViiQzqDmExNh9uIpWGazp0cMnGFXfcRwhkH9T4h-1pUPYTS7rxkqQXC9o/s1600-h/IMG_8419.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3DGNkmmw8t5EpmEm259wxyNR6EYipxP0PsNEl63TVrNMqE9nM-Zkfqbi88w8-aFvySdaH3z1EerLV4awp2ViiQzqDmExNh9uIpWGazp0cMnGFXfcRwhkH9T4h-1pUPYTS7rxkqQXC9o/s400/IMG_8419.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446394100402487698" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYzIthamXpAPCL6Zh9sf9XvcqFQ9myQ_ChsIlFGFGyRFwEJHHoBHEUVpZ0FS_fWqquiw_cXzBLbgty33NSbCJGYNaQOA75driIcEkErdCVAESAd6TwrXmpZu-8PhBG7y-Bm1RQBy03Ck/s1600-h/IMG_8420.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYzIthamXpAPCL6Zh9sf9XvcqFQ9myQ_ChsIlFGFGyRFwEJHHoBHEUVpZ0FS_fWqquiw_cXzBLbgty33NSbCJGYNaQOA75driIcEkErdCVAESAd6TwrXmpZu-8PhBG7y-Bm1RQBy03Ck/s400/IMG_8420.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446394108101563122" border="0" /></a>Each morning the children come in and do morning work. After that is completed we hold our daily morning meeting. During morning meeting the star student of the week gets to run the meeting. The children have little notebooks they bring to the carpet and we go over the daily business.<br /><br />Here is a sample agenda:<br />1. How many days have we been in first grade?<br />2. What is the date today?<br />3. Did anyone loose a tooth and/or are there any birthdays today?<br />4. What is the weather like outside today?<br />5. What was yesterday, what is today, and what will tomorrow be?<br />6. Review months of the year & days of the week.<br />7. Build a word for the day using the magnets and wall mounted cookie sheets.<br />8. Solve the daily math word problem using the magnets as well.<br />9. Add a new word to the monthly word list.<br />10. Review any other skills as needed.<br />11. News and schedule review for the day.<br /><br />For each of the tasks on the agenda the star student picks a stick out the basket. Each stick has a student's name on it. When the star student picks a stick that child completes the task on the agenda. The morning meeting builds classroom community, instills public speaking skills in the children, and helps cement learned skills in the kids' bright brains. All this is accomplished in about 15 minutes...I love having a morning meeting!<br /><br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-53330924442540647422010-03-08T15:10:00.000-07:002010-03-08T15:54:01.439-07:00Books GaloreI heart books. I hope that my students will heart books too! My little obsession with offering a variety of reading materials has landed me with way too many books to mention. Having a plethora of books raises a very serious organization problem. Well, here are my ideas on that subject.<br /><br />1. Have an amazing shelf that showcases the covers of the books you'd like your young ones to see. The cover is what entices the young reader, so entice them!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFDKYGuZMKSdP6M82sVtHa99-6LmEsB7NYEUleEdPgvQweF9JWHjav_tNO1G6uNeR1ayJmOb1Y5cm1f1JBcMTKF2IUIXDtehzXAFHwXcxUWuJRmA-nTTS1yHMB0mOS8eEyGRLSB7M7jc/s1600-h/IMG_8416.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFDKYGuZMKSdP6M82sVtHa99-6LmEsB7NYEUleEdPgvQweF9JWHjav_tNO1G6uNeR1ayJmOb1Y5cm1f1JBcMTKF2IUIXDtehzXAFHwXcxUWuJRmA-nTTS1yHMB0mOS8eEyGRLSB7M7jc/s400/IMG_8416.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446389755170145426" border="0" /></a><br />2. Separate the books into categories. After you've categorized them make labels to distinguish that the particular book is part of a certain category. This makes keeping the books organized much simpler and offers the children a system for browsing certain types of stories.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzySOSkSMsw-ZpMTZf42d4QGAxs3kEP3nNST9ama009dbgm25ZgpY7GkcSOLcUytpBdIwvqYy1A8l772z5HfkFvjPEP0PtCpXRuY4ENZiqeLY4FH7sk8I_2bUAH_7jqSfnyHkcOK6cd4g/s1600-h/IMG_8418.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzySOSkSMsw-ZpMTZf42d4QGAxs3kEP3nNST9ama009dbgm25ZgpY7GkcSOLcUytpBdIwvqYy1A8l772z5HfkFvjPEP0PtCpXRuY4ENZiqeLY4FH7sk8I_2bUAH_7jqSfnyHkcOK6cd4g/s400/IMG_8418.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446389776693080018" border="0" /></a><br />3. Label the book shelf with signs that correspond with the labels on the books.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDGhlDo0byBUwDHNF4jvkDsL1F7ioYDbWikO3Te-eIYAOdH58qS9e6LMTKbu3Tlsubsq0MeiNbhrML1CoOjr7oZRUTnKfEiH6ZcvC9zgj-4hCG-WyXzkIHyONmUzBYIAkKk1tjCqO9CF8/s1600-h/IMG_8417.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDGhlDo0byBUwDHNF4jvkDsL1F7ioYDbWikO3Te-eIYAOdH58qS9e6LMTKbu3Tlsubsq0MeiNbhrML1CoOjr7oZRUTnKfEiH6ZcvC9zgj-4hCG-WyXzkIHyONmUzBYIAkKk1tjCqO9CF8/s400/IMG_8417.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446389762842965090" border="0" /></a>4. If you have special and/or seasonal books that you only want available at certain times place those in bins. Mine are sorted according to months. For example, all of my leprechaun and Dr. Seuss books that I want to read are in my March bin. When March comes around I pull that bin of books down and read those books. This prevents the children from shouting out,"I already read this book", as well as protects those books from rapid handling decay.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8ntk3SJqIS8voaJsbAIL0mz-S5x6Z8wW7NPoc_Km-j0P1_WIH1oQveJKjCDzds81GdguCSjjx9fENIE0KtlE7xpTfX4hrtGJxWbDe4mKztjmd79TBI4ZR4SNf5EtoAOHyyfU92S0y6Q/s1600-h/IMG_8422.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8ntk3SJqIS8voaJsbAIL0mz-S5x6Z8wW7NPoc_Km-j0P1_WIH1oQveJKjCDzds81GdguCSjjx9fENIE0KtlE7xpTfX4hrtGJxWbDe4mKztjmd79TBI4ZR4SNf5EtoAOHyyfU92S0y6Q/s400/IMG_8422.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446389749089954562" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-89178911520654161072010-03-08T15:03:00.000-07:002010-03-08T15:54:14.796-07:00Book Shelves a la First Grade<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ijHe37SCyR-lSiZB7ijzFURXJ2TqNN7-ky0QViA4bYjNB1FIlPkNoSJctsC-QHIBZFgKuOkC2f6Zuq0aJDqcyRWNOMaDVg_hirauTN3nytKCuLc0tmtoZ-pJNNWs-cLcMq7sE4vjvKc/s1600-h/IMG_8416.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ijHe37SCyR-lSiZB7ijzFURXJ2TqNN7-ky0QViA4bYjNB1FIlPkNoSJctsC-QHIBZFgKuOkC2f6Zuq0aJDqcyRWNOMaDVg_hirauTN3nytKCuLc0tmtoZ-pJNNWs-cLcMq7sE4vjvKc/s400/IMG_8416.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446387417179807122" border="0" /></a><br />I believe that a child should be in love with reading from a young age. Well, when you were a little person, what enticed you to pick up a book? It was the cover of course! The problem is that most bookshelves are not designed with the young child's mind in mind, so most shelved showcase the bind of the book. Well, Mr. Phippen built me this first grade friendly book shelf. It is fashioned out of vinyl rain gutters found at Home Depot as well as a few sturdy 2 x 4's. It shows off the book covers and keeps my students going back for more. Maybe I can get Mr. Phippen to post a little tutorial on how to make this beauty!<br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-81494221992001698302009-10-04T11:53:00.000-07:002010-03-08T15:54:34.989-07:00Warm Fuzzies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYCPHf8N8it5UaS6gd8vYhgFaRBsE6kK2mQDVcp5ncahtxn04CR-7Tv9AVOZ6Spe7I6VlQfwZyaa8fIR9CPiEoVn86IYLMmrzNlAd-fg65uIBCL-nYQYZFa6ZgKu58uSaO0yzLbPNI3I/s1600-h/pom+poms.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYYCPHf8N8it5UaS6gd8vYhgFaRBsE6kK2mQDVcp5ncahtxn04CR-7Tv9AVOZ6Spe7I6VlQfwZyaa8fIR9CPiEoVn86IYLMmrzNlAd-fg65uIBCL-nYQYZFa6ZgKu58uSaO0yzLbPNI3I/s400/pom+poms.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388820149654821234" border="0" /></a><br />I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in case you didn't know. :) Every six months my church holds a meeting called General Conference up in Salt Lake City. This conference is broad casted worldwide. Today the prophet, Thomas S. Monson, gave a talk about service. He mentioned a great idea that a group of children carried out. The children were challenged to carry out acts of service that would give them "warm fuzzies" in their hearts. Every time the children accomplished this task they got to place a "warm fuzzy" ball (aka craft pom-pom) into a large jar. In no time the children had filled the large jar and became addicted to service. I think I'm going to try giving this ingenious idea a try in my home and classroom. After all, don't we all need more "warm fuzzies" in our lives?<br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1148269629391903465.post-61810518899563768392009-10-03T00:30:00.000-07:002010-03-08T15:54:51.295-07:00Wall Mural<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiv5HwVvTPQT1Psocyi6mS5onMjzGe1-u6sy_eOhX4UjpbsyBI9zCsO56UytCjrql5htC2LN9WyBL232nFuxM3RFZJhYXRi1eVPXmiyowF1q6uv6jHbaz-L0cFmLtSDVtoNz05069Qos/s1600-h/IMG_0760.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCiv5HwVvTPQT1Psocyi6mS5onMjzGe1-u6sy_eOhX4UjpbsyBI9zCsO56UytCjrql5htC2LN9WyBL232nFuxM3RFZJhYXRi1eVPXmiyowF1q6uv6jHbaz-L0cFmLtSDVtoNz05069Qos/s400/IMG_0760.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388275244522745298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknCInDo79ixu1n7uBZiLzVtb487yH0vf3EfO7r18HcXrWQDMEfkLSAqw8I90VWXdZ_SdunJpFbGLKrpTcLWS65lw_6UIiwCJY1n4jGLLcLm3gpbLu-I-2fmz45Zd1jPvP09nTeyFFTRI/s1600-h/IMG_0762.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknCInDo79ixu1n7uBZiLzVtb487yH0vf3EfO7r18HcXrWQDMEfkLSAqw8I90VWXdZ_SdunJpFbGLKrpTcLWS65lw_6UIiwCJY1n4jGLLcLm3gpbLu-I-2fmz45Zd1jPvP09nTeyFFTRI/s400/IMG_0762.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388275235243765874" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFU1j1oyy_fAF05bPKYmrN8TgOJk6AEYlVnrRQo4uWbQH3CkJd0glUI2GofhS9OR-TkyRfsujSo3iXGc4a4zglO2A4b-jjDmqJRuqQoyH8dqDgwCcmkFmNs2hKqkLC0G3qecDUZ5cr12A/s1600-h/IMG_8438.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFU1j1oyy_fAF05bPKYmrN8TgOJk6AEYlVnrRQo4uWbQH3CkJd0glUI2GofhS9OR-TkyRfsujSo3iXGc4a4zglO2A4b-jjDmqJRuqQoyH8dqDgwCcmkFmNs2hKqkLC0G3qecDUZ5cr12A/s400/IMG_8438.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388275229916809602" border="0" /></a><br />Last year my principal granted me permission to paint a mural in the hallway outside of my classroom. I was hoping that if I painted I would not ever, ever, ever have to move classrooms again. My mom came and helped me. My idea was country field meets a <span style="font-style: italic;">Chicka Chicka Boom Boom</span>/Seasonal tree of sorts. We painted the rolling hills and ground a green with polka-dots and stripes to add interest. The tree is all brown, with black detail... it looks like a bare tree. We cut out leaves from a variety of green papers, crunched and folded them too. I die cut the alphabet in a variety of styles then stapled the leaves and ABC's on top of the tree branches. It's fun. If I'm feeling ambitious I have the kids design fall leaves and post them up in the fall. I take all the leaves off for winter, add some for spring, and deck it out again for summer.<br /><a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/?action=view&current=Untitled-1.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii302/starrbabe78/Untitled-1.png" alt="school blog signature" border="0" /></a>Starr Phippenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16942112499887696678noreply@blogger.com0