Better Together - Fractured Picture Activity

It is "Spirit Week" and we were asked to decorate our doors for the occasion.  

I decided that I wanted to do a Fractured Picture which I learned about from my favorite Professor at UNM, Dr. Elizabeth Nielson.  

This activity is a wonderful community building activity that illustrates the importance of each individual member of the class.

LA LUZ LEOPARDS ARE BETTER TOGETHER!

The first time Dr. Nielson did this with our CDP group she chose an illustration from a children's book.  Seeing as this is spirit week I thought I should use a picture that represents our school and community.

As I was not able to find anything I had to create it myself. 

Here is what I did:

I used Print Shop to piece together the picture of our school mascot and several NM items.

After the picture was done I laminated it to protect the pieces from wear and tear (This is also a great idea if you are going to re-use the pieces next year).

I then turned the picture over and divided it up into 20 sections.  This would change if you had a bigger or smaller class of course.  The important part is that you have one for each student. 

Now you are ready to get started with the kids. 

I placed all the picture pieces into a cup and had each student pick one.  I also gave each student a piece of 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 square computer paper.

With Dr. Nielson we used just standard 8 1/2 x 11 but I just wanted to make it a little easier for my kids.

Ask students to turn over their picture piece and record the number that is on the back on the back of their white paper.

There are only 2 rules to this activity that you have to explain.  

#1 - Only use crayons

#2 - color boldly - this keeps the consistency of the picture once it is placed back together

Students then begin to draw their piece of the picture. 

As they complete their individual pieces they help to put the picture back together using

the numbers on the back of the pictures. 

While I see the benefit it keeping the pieces for a future activity I decided to post mine next to our final project as a reference for students and parents.

Nine Parent Teacher Conferences in 1 hour!

Much like the rest of the southwest region, Albuquerque had four snow days this school year.  It was decided that instead of making up the snow days at the end of the year we would simply work on the two parent teacher conference days, the Vernal Holiday and ask the state for a pass on the fourth day.  While I thought the idea was crazy and voted instead to extend the school day by 30 minutes, the rest of the city must have disagreed with me.  

So, what do you do when you no longer have the time to meet with parents individually?  I don't know about anyone else, but I threw a little party.  I gave my parents the option of two different days and invited them to come.  Today was session 1 and it was a great success.  The kids and I spent the last half hour of the day cleaning the room and setting up the refreshments table.  I had created a power point to share with parents what the numbers and percentages on their child's report card really means.  With the help of Mrs. Salas, the bilingual teacher/saint, I was able to get some great information into my parents hands.  The kids even filled out a kid friendly report card (you can find it here) and decorated the folder that their important papers were in. 

After the 10 minute presentation I handed out each child's folder and walked around the room to talk to each parent.  I was able to spend time with those parents that had extra questions and just touch base with those that didn't.  Some parents stayed a little longer to talk to neighbors and other parents and some got on their way.  All in all it went really well.  Hopefully tomorrow's session will be just as successful.  

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.

 You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy 

who'll decide where to go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

This week we learned more about our Author of the Month, Dr. Seuss.  We have been reading as much Dr. Seuss as we can squeeze in around our scripted curriculum. 

Thursday morning I decided that I wanted to take an hour out of our very structured day and 

have a little fun.  With the help of my mother and Kaye Lynn Robinson we

had Green Eggs and Ham.  

Being a first year teacher I always learn so much.  I think coming from a business 

background I sometimes focus too much on the final

outcome and not enough on the teachable moment.  So thank you to Kaye Lynn for suggesting that I let the kids watch as I turned the eggs green.  It was fun to watch their eyes and see their little minds at work. 

I asked the kids what flavor they thought the eggs would have.  Some answers were apple, pear, lime, moldy cheese and slime.  

 Awesome Mrs. Robinson (Kaye Lynn) was our master chef and most of the class highly approved.  In fact they have been talking about their green eggs and ham all day. My kids love Mrs. Robinson and ask about her when she misses her usual Thursday visit. 

 What do you think?  "Yummy!"  (She later changed her mind when it became apparent that the girls don't like green eggs and ham nearly as much as the boys).  

* I have received  permission to use images of my students on this blog. 

I love surprises!

This wonderful man that I'm dating, that I'm so crazy about, sent me the most wonderful belated Valentine's gift.  I was so excited when I unpacked this beautiful Lagos bracelet.  

I wore it to class tonight and the best part was thinking of John every time 

I saw it on my wrist.  

I love you John!

Best Day EVER! (in the classroom)

Today was by far the best day I've had in the classroom, EVER!

Ask me why?

Okay, I'll tell you. It was the best day ever because I was 100% completely present. Now by present I mean in the moment; mentally and physically in the moment. It was so AWESOME!

So, the next time I complain about how out of control my kids are, what a bad day I'm having or how I want to throw in the towel... Remind me of this day.

My blog grows up.

My blog got a make-over and grew up in the process. I'm so excited at how great it looks, thanks to Masto Mama Designs!

Oh the love!!!!!!

I haven't had the best track record with Valentine's Day. I'm not one of those people who hate the holiday or think it's totally commercial and therefore unwarranted. I do agree that it's a very commercial holiday but how great is it that we have at least one day a year where we go out of our way to tell just about everyone in our lives how much we love them?

I think that's fantastic.

Being the love addict that I am (yes, I'll admit it) I have dreamt of flowers and boxes of chocolates, jewelry and grand gestures since I was a little girl. The true Valentine curse didn't strike me however until...Justin Hill!! Sophomore year, Timpview High School, I met a boy and I was never quite the same. He was of course WAY out of my league as I was nothing more than a chubby swim team nerd and he was smoking hot and played the drums in the band and had long hair. To add to his mystery he had transferred from Provo High and of course all the popular kids accepted him into their ranks.

Justin Hill, you could never just call him Justin, somehow ended up in my Math class. This is strange to me now as I was never that bright at math and he was a year ahead of me. Once Justin Hill joined my math class my grades dropped significantly as I spend my hour day dreaming and drooling over the Adonis that graced our presence. I spent countless hours writing his name and writing mine and drawing little hearts around them. Needless to say I had my first significant crush.

As February approached I began to make plans for the big love day. I was going to confess my love and I was certain that he would share my feelings and we would be together forever. Looking back I'm certain that I must have known that I was heading for heartache but I guess at that age you just have to hope. The night before the big day I drove to the store and bought several balloons, candy and a card and drove to the Hill home. I tied the balloons to his mailbox and stuck the treat inside with the card and made a hurried escape. I could barely sleep as I waited with anticipation of what would happen the next day in class.

Well...Nothing happened. Well, nothing good happened. Justin did his best to ignore me and I was certain that as soon as I walked away he was laughing and making fun of me. Needless to say I was heart broken and humiliated. I spent the next three months avoiding him and licking my wounds. Thank goodness my parents decided to move us to Albuquerque that summer and I never had to see him again.

The Justin Hill incident set a precedence for many Valentine's Days to come. It has only been in recent years that I have experienced that feeling of chocolates, flowers and such.

Today was an exceptionally good day. I feel loved and spoiled by my boyfriend, sisters (we decided to be each other's Valentine's) and my amazing students. I am truly blessed and have officially broken the curse of St. Valentine!