Christmas products almost ready for bundle!

I have been working on my PowerPoint skills to create some stylized Christmas goodies. I am slowly adding more to my TpT store and I even got my first two sales from these adorable winter clip-arts, frames, and borders!

Link to my Christmas frames and clip-art here! or  Link to "Baby it's Cold Outside" digital papers here!

While I worked on each of those I created a separate set of snowflake art, using the design from the snowflakes I created in the blue and white snowflake background. Each thing I work on, seems to inspire a new creation. As a matter of fact, the candy-cane designs I created in the first two sets were the inspiration  for a much larger set of candy-cane art.  

 

Link to my snowflake collection here!

I decided to try each design in 11 different colors tints and shades, with one set in standard flat colors with outlines, and another set using matching gradients and no outlines!
I just finished my new candy-cane collection and I put them up today! (I thought they would be easy.) These may not look extremely complicating, but they took a long time and a great deal of precise placement. Even though they are created for these winter months, some of them can also be used throughout the year.  

 

Link to my candy-cane clip-art and frames here!

I have to say, when I am in creation mode, I am always thinking of new things, new ideas, ways to expand on what I'm doing, and subtle additions and changes to make more clip-arts. Then I have to decide, 'Do I really want to put in all the work and add more and more, should I stop and get it out there, should I create more sets to sell separately, or should I just put it all together?' With the candy-cane art, it got to be so huge, I finally decided to separate it into two individual items. I have one set of clip art and frames (shown above), and another set of backgrounds (shown below).

Link to my candy-cane backgrounds here!

My next creation will be traditional Christmas clip-art, and I hope I don't take long since Christmas is almost upon us! Then I will set out to make one large Christmas bundle of all of them! I know I got a late start on some of these, but that's fine. They will be all ready for next year, and I'm sure I'll make lots more then. 

I am still learning a lot, and I have a lot to learn. I am enjoying my new work, creating digital art for others to use and enjoy. I hope some of my visitors will stop by my teeny tiny store and take a peak, and just maybe you might find something you like. Who knows, it may even find a new home with you!

More notebook options.

This should go along well with my other post. I don't think the Chromebook is really an option since we are looking at smaller notebooks with a touch screen. We are also not likely to consider an iPad, since it's quite pricy and we are way more into Android products. Lots of research and looking around to do.
Chromebook or iPad: Choose your post-PC device wisely | TechRepublic

So this is techy Christmas!

It's that time if year again. If you have you're own children you must figure out the right presents for them. What do you purchase from the Christmas list, and what do you leave out?
In. my case I have a 5th grade daughter and 2nd grade son. Daughter already has a laptop and wifi galaxy mp3 player, so we're going light on her this year. She's not asking for much any way! The son, however, is eying all those things she already has, plus a couple video games.  We're not going to get him a lap top, but were considering the mp3 player. Oh, he also asked for a 3DS, but we're not entertaining that idea. Then I got to thinking... His computer is old, handles most of his school needs but not holding up well for other things. I wonder if a small notebook would be a good alternative? It's got the mp3 stuff covered, and can handle most of the PC and laptop needs for an 8 year old. Plus, we don't have to shell out the kind of funds necessary for a laptop! Then I see this;
Infographic: Tablets top holiday shopping list | TechRepublic.
Maybe this will be his year for something not on his list, but just a good alternative......Here's another post.

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is here, it's really here! I have so much to be thankful for! I will be visiting family in a couple hours. It  should be a wonderful feast, and best of all it will be with wonderful people! We are watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade while we relax a bit before the drive.

Here's a link to one dish I made for Thanksgiving.

This year I had the great pleasure of seeing my son's 2nd grade class present to their book buddies in fourth grade. Just another fabulous reason to volunteer in your child's classroom! The class of approximately 30 students was separated into groups of 4-5 children. Each group was provided a region of native Americans to learn about. They all researched, put information together, printed it out, cut it out, and created their own projects on pasteboard. All with no help from us parents! Each group presented their projects to the entire fourth grade class. They also sported some conduction paper head gear, beaded necklaces, and they created some adorable kachina dolls. The teamwork was fabulous, and the presentations were wonderful!
Here's a link about Native American dolls.

What is included in educating students about thanksgiving in your school, class or home? What traditions do you follow at this time of year? Do you have anything you are really grateful for this year?  You can post comments in the comment section below.

Hmm the stuff in my head....: Facebook spam apps. OMG!

Hmm the stuff in my head....: Facebook spam apps. OMG!: This color change spam app I stupidly picked up on facebook, is making my tech life miserable! I knew when it asked me to fill out a survey...

Bullying post from another blogger.

Bullying is Broken | The Hero Construction Company I came across this on another blog. It's right on about not having a clear definition of bullying, each person having varying views. However, I don't see banning the word as an option, rather we should try to find a more concise definition that most within the school can come to some agreement on. We also need to clarify what it means to each person.

The insistence on zero tolerance policies are not going to fix the problem, and make no attempt at working at the roots of the problem. They are inflexible, and often unconscionable. Also, though some things in the list on the blog may seem small and petty, not important enough to consider bullying, when done often enough, demeaning others, and diminishing their feeling of self worth can cause serious severe harm. We also need to remember that emotional damage can cause far more lasting problems than some physical damage, and all of it has an emotional attachment which can remain long after the abuse stops and the bully is gone.

Conflict resolution?

As a parent and educator there will be many occasions that a child will come to me, to inform me of the horrible acts of another. How do you respond to these accusations? In some cases, we may want to jump in and come to their rescue. In other cases, we may see this as petty tattling, and brush it away. Either way may not be the best approach.

When we jump in to handle a problem, we essentially make it our own problem and release the child from responsibility. It sounds like a nice, quick, easy way to remove conflict. However, the quick easy way is not always the best, or even the correct way. When we brush the problem away, we choose not to deal with the problem. While we may have reasons, that we don't have time and the problem is petty, we ignore other important and more long lasting problems. This can leave the child to feel that we don't care, and allow the other child to continue the behavior without consequence. After all, we have demonstrated that we aren't going to do anything about it. It must not be all that bad, if the teacher or parent doesn't care.

Maybe that sounds harsh, or a little over the top, but try to consider how your actions may appear to each child. In the first possible response, the children can hand responsibility over to someone else. They don't have any need to handle it, because an adult will do the work for them. They do not learn responsibility because the adult is taking responsibility. They do not learn to handle their own problems, because an adult will handle them for them. In the second possible response, the problem is brushed aside, so no one deals with it. The children may begin to feel that there is no point in saying anything, because they feel that nothing will be done. The other child may continue to behave inappropriately, since there is no real consequence.

So what can be done in situations such as this? We shouldn't have to take complete responsibility of their problems because they need to learn to take responsibility. We shouldn't just ignore it or brush it aside, because nothing gets solved, and problems can fester and expand. I am a big believer in empowering children to handle their own problems. However, we shouldn't expect them to do this on their own, with no guidance. I'm sure there are many methods we can use to help empower children to handle those frustrating situations, which often send them straight to an adult. There are also many ways to provide guidance in helping them take charge of their own problems.

One of the things I have done with my own children and with students, is to direct them to sit down together and discuss the problem. With my own children, I tell them they can get up after they have discussed the problems, created a plan together to fix the problem or make it better, and brought the plan to me for final approval. They don't always get approval the first time around. I ask them to tell me what they decided the problem really was, and to explain their plan to fix it, compromise, or make it better. We then discuss if this should help or solve the problem, if it is reasonable for all involved, and if each person is likely to stick to it. If any of these "tests" fall through, I ask them to sit down and come up with other options.

In a school situation, however, time is far too limited to accommodate this lengthy process. I usually just ask them to sit and discuss the problem, and I tell them they are free to join us after they have come to an agreement or compromise. If they are not ready to speak to each other, I usually have them separate and work apart from each other for a while. After they have had time to calm down, I allow another opportunity to discuss the problem. For very young students, I prefer to set up a game plan ahead of time. I usually have a specific place set aside for the students to talk to each other. During the beginning of the year, we set up guidelines, and try to walk students through a process of describing the event or problem, saying how it made them feel, using I statements, and trying to think of other ways to handle the problem. We can include pictures or posters to help remind students of the guidelines. One idea that I really like, involves setting up an area with hand puppets. Each student selects a puppet, and then they attempt to recreate the situation, discussing what happened, and how it made them feel. Using the puppets allows them to step outside the situation and imagine it involving someone else, yet it still allows them to acknowledge their true feelings. Another option I have heard of is pretending to set back the clock to before the event happened, and coming up with different actions to change the event for the better.

What ideas have you used for your own children, or for your students? What other ideas could you try? 

Importance of repetition, timed tests, and other methods in obtaining mastery

This is a topic that I have seen discussed on the TpT boards. While I included some of my thoughts on the forum, I want to address the issue more thoroughly. When it comes to attaining popper fluency in topics like addition and subtraction facts, multiplication, division problems, and reading fluency, I believe we need to use a variety of methods to ensure each child reaches mastery at appropriate times in their school career.

http://www.lisisoft.com/free-download-version/55124-free-learn-addition-on-orbital-one.html  

I think there needs to be a balance. Some things should be timed, repeated, charted, explained, thought about, etc. There is no one size fits all approach to each topic. I would consider using short timed tests for topics like addition, subtraction, multiplication, or reading fluency, to be a good use of class time. The idea, however, would be working toward improvement and eventual fluency. I also think that once a child has reached mastery they should move on. Previous topics should be reviewed from time to time, but not nearly as frequently.

You can take a look at this fellow TpT blog on Reading Fluency

http://homeschoolparent.blogspot.com/2010/06/reading-fluency.html

I do not see true benefit in having children that have mastered a topic with fluency, continue to practice with the rest of the class. I believe that part of differentiating education should include providing students with work and topics appropriate for their level and ability. For example: when students are learning reading fluency in our first and second grade classes, they are moved to the next level of reading material once they are able to read 100 words correctly in a minute. Much of our Montessori work is approached in a manner that allows students to practice and work on assignments until they can do the assigned work correctly three times, then they are moved on to more advanced work, and when our students are learning multiplication for fluency we use flash cards, parent help, and timed tests until the student can finish a set number of problems correctly in 3 minutes, then they are moved on to more advanced work.

http://www.math-drills.com/multiplication.shtml

Of course there are topics that aren't in need of timing, so we should use our common sense and find the correct approach to ensuring fluency and mastery of individual topics. I would also think we should look at multiple ways to approach every topic, so it really reaches every child in a way they learn and understand. I like to use the analogy of having a toolbox of tools available for appropriate use in each topic or subject area. We need to find the tools that work best for each student, and each topic, to help bring true understanding and comprehension of each topic.

Brain Blasters Math Practice Cards - 

Multiplication and Division, Grades 2-3

Once these children reach fourth or fifth grade most of these topics, like multiplication  addition, subtraction, division, reading fluency, and reading comprehension, should be fluent. If they are not, teachers in those grades are stuck trying to catch students up on topics that should have been mastered a year or two prior. I see this happening in my daughter's fifth grade class. The lack of fluency and practice in math causes severe slow down in everything else that needs to be covered. In that case the teacher was left with little choice but to do frequent repeated timed tests, having parents work at home with flash cards and other activities, and attempting any method available to help students gain the fluency they should have learned years prior. We also must keep in mind, when it comes to parental help, it is very important, but we cannot always depend on this method. Not all parents are diligent, some are very busy, and I hate to say it, but some don't care or think it is exclusively the teacher's job. We have to ensure that every child reaches mastery, even the ones with less then active parental involvement. So what do you all think? What is your take on using methods like flash cards, timed tests, and parental help for ensuring students reach mastery in some of these subject areas?

Lady bug clip-art and frames

These are cute ladybugs in clip art and frames or boarders. They are perfect to dress up your site, lessons, or whatever you like. This is my first time creating clip art, and they are available at my teeny tiny store linked below!

     http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Lady-bug-clip-a rt-and-frames

Clearing Word Comprehension in Complex Text

 This is a simple activity, using a graphic organizer, to help students understand a complex word. It can be used for basic vocabulary words, but is intended more for complex words they may not understand. It is especially appropriate for upcoming lessons that have words the students do not yet know, or do not know well.  
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Clearing-Word-Comprehension-in-Complex-Text

Teachers pay Teachers is so awesome!

I am so happy I found the Teachers pay Teachers site. :) My husband was kind enough to show me a video of Deanna from TpT, and I am really glad he did. Since I haven't been working after I left my school in the summer, my husband has been encouraging me to write books. He thinks I would be good at it, but I told him I don't know enough and I don't think I would make much of a profit. Let's just say, being at home most of the time folding clothes, getting sucked into facebook, and moping about not being in school, gets really old, really fast. :( So I started looking into it, book writing I mean, and I loaded some writing programs, researched book writing, researched selling (I am so not a salesperson) and researched publishing (that part scares me). I decided that I really do like to write, and it doesn't seem too terrible to attempt writing my first book in my late 30's. I mean, what do I really have to lose? I have about six or seven books that I started up, but nothing substantial yet. I also started writing in my other blog. One of the teachers asked how my book writing  was going, and I told her it was very slow. I guess that's just me, I don't want to risk going too fast, too full throttle, because I worry that I will burn myself out. I figure, slow and steady wins the race. That is the approach I've been taking with TpT as well. It suits me just fine, keeps me busy, and happy, and I feel like I'm actually working toward something good! I also don't have to worry quite so much about the never ending laundry! Yay!

You can take a look at my very itty bitty selection if you like. Don't worry, I will get more in there, but it will take time. So follow me if you haven't, and I'll see you at TpT. I'll tell you, I really love the forum! There are so many wonderful people on there. http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Venus-Brown

  

Dust bowl Web seminar today

I think I will be participating in this today. I have to get registered, and I think it starts in an hour. If I get it done I'll post back on it later.  National Youth Summits — National Youth Summit on the Dust Bowl

Science is for everyone!

I am a big fan of TED. This great educational TED clip does not disappoint! Have a look and tell me what you think. Maybe this will inspire some awesome lessons. Beau Lotto + Amy O’Toole: Science is for everyone, kids included | Video on TED.com

It's a brand new day!

This is my brand spanking new blog! Please be patient, and I will have new posts up in no time. For now, I need to go read to my daughter before she goes to sleep. Then It's time to watch the presidential debates on my DVR. TTFN, that's short for Ta Ta for Now! I look forward to posting great educational discussions later.
Thank You,
Venus Brown