Our Newest Project--Please Help!!!!

Our newest project through Donor's Choose is to earn an interactive whiteboard. This is like the SMARTboard in our school, but more economical. It works off a regular, magnetic whiteboard and the product, called Mimio, makes that board so that students can "drag and drop" items from websites, special programs, as well as write, draw, and color in items. We have used the SMARTboard in our classroom whenever possible, but that is one board for our entire school. Also, it is very bulky and cumbersome to bring to the classroom and takes up a lot of space. However, if we were to earn our Mimio board, it would make a big impact in our classroom. We would have this equipment as a permanent fixture in our room and be able to use it whenever we wanted!

However, we only have 25 days left to earn $600 for this item. If you know of an individual or business that is looking for a tax deductible donation, no matter the size, please send them our way! We've had $300 funded so far and would like to keep it going! This is our biggest project yet, and we hope to get it funded with your help! THANKS! :)

Erosion Experiment

We have been discussing erosion in Science 2.7 this week and today did an experiment on erosion, using graham cracker crumbs and cake mix for dirt and half/half and chocolate syrup for liquid (half/half was the established lake at the mountains, the chocolate syrup demonstrated the rain that would then freeze on the mountains, then thaw). We had a great time doing our experiment, and missed those of you who could not be here today, so we took pictures to show you!

This picture shows the beginning of our experiment - flat land with a pond. We discussed what wind and weather does to dirt, what drought does to the pond, and what flooding would do to affect the dirt/soil (especially since we noticed there were no trees planted, so that their roots could help hold in the soil!).





However, we wondered what would happen if we added mountains to our scene? How would erosion affect that?








So, in our nice, quiet treeless area, it began to storm and we started to see the effects of erosion. It washed away dirt, sending it down the mountain. It flooded our clean lake, making it dirty. It froze on the mountaintops. When it became warmer, and the ice began to melt, we saw even MORE erosion! At the end, after much time had passed, we started to see less and less dirt in our scene. Check out our photos below!

Great News with Donors Choose! :)

Great news! Our newest funded project is for two netbooks! We hope to see these arriving soon, and plan on using them as an extension to our 3 computers already available in our classroom.

In other great news....Donors Choose is doing their own version of "March Madness." For every dollar donated, Donors Choose will match that dollar towards the project. For instance, if you or someone you know donates $10 towards our current project, an interactive white board (ask your child what a SMARTboard is!), Donors Choose will match it and voila, the $10 turns into $20!!!! This is exciting news, but it's not lasting long! They are only giving us until March 8th! If you, or someone you know, or a business you know, is looking to donate, now is the time! Use the following link:
http://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/139265

so that we can be eligible for the match!

Blogging for Future Teachers (And Donors Choose!)

“Finding a teaching job can be hard, but here is some advice to make it easier…”

In these days of budget crunches, it's hard to find a teaching position when so many positions are being cut! However, here are a few pieces of advice that just might grant you that second look from a school system!

• Be familiar and open to all technology, both new and old
  

When I first started teaching, technology was letting your kids go on the computer and play a few games, and maybe using the Internet to research a few sites for background information for a unit. Today, my room is filled with technology - we use a document camera to showcase books, to help assist students filling out an interactive notebook page, and even demonstrating simple things, such as attraction and repulsion with magnets! Laptops are a great way to keep students involved with interactive websites that help practice concepts. Blogging is a great way for students to express their thoughts on a topic (and they find it much more fun than just pencil and paper!). We have a class wiki site, where videos, pictures, and links help us learn more about a subject. Be open to new technology, keep up with the Web 2.0 tools, and stay informed!

• Be open to new ideas.

Find out what the newest "buzz" is about. Whether it's reaching the students of poverty (Ruby Payne), using teaching strategies to reach all students (CRISS training), or being familiar with school wide goals (correlate committees, Effective Schools), be familiar with what is going on in the school systems. An easy way to do this is to check the websites of the systems you are interested in. Often there will be links or more information available. Being in an interview, and knowing the latest trends in teaching, especially one that the schools are already into, is a definite plus.

• Be flexible!

One of the most important things I've learned with teaching is to be flexible! Snow days, assemblies, observations, meltdowns...these all occur in your room and will often upset even the best laid plans! Sometimes, your lesson also can become a "teachable moment." This is when you might get off track from your original lesson from a question or statement from the student, but I find it turns into a better lesson than one originally planned! After all, we are here to teach the children. And if your students are interested enough in a topic that they want to know more about a certain area, go for it! Be flexible in that you can change your plans without too much stress. Be open to student comments and what they want to learn, and be willing to research a little (Google, anyone?). Also, show students how they can also access the information they are interested in!

• Be yourself!

You can use all the buzz words you want in an interview, give the best answers, but often that comes across as stiff and unnatural. You are going to want to teach in a system where you can be yourself. Know what type of learner you are (visual, kinesthetic, etc.) and expand on that, but note that you may need to work on other ways to reach your students who do not learn like you. Interviews are nerve wracking. After teaching 11 years, I received my masters degree and am now licensed to be a Library Media Specialist. I had my first interview in 11 years for a position. It made me very nervous! However, I took from that interview things that I need to work on next time (learning experience!), as well as ways to present myself in a better way. Learn from your experiences. It's not often that you get the job from that first interview! However, if you are yourself in the interview, you will be more relaxed, and often show a better side of yourself than if you are just quoting journal articles! :)

This is my 12th year teaching and currently, I am a second grade teacher. My class website, as well as our class wiki site and this blog are ways that our class reaches out to the community. Please see links to the side of the blog for further information, or feel free to email me at youelcm@lcps.k12.va.us for any questions. This year, I have really branched out and given myself new experiences! This blog is in its first year. I also presented at a state wide conference on "Voice Threads," a project my students LOVE doing! I have gotten involved with Donors Choose, and so far, my class has earned digital cameras, a document camera, and a listening center. I just received a small grant from Playmobil as well, to enhance our Social Studies curriculum. Be open to new ideas, new experiences, and you'll certainly enjoy that teaching career!

This post is part of the Teaching Jobs Portal: “How to land a Teacher Job”. What was your journey like to become a teacher? If you’d like to share your experience with other aspiring teachers please see this post for more information. For more information, contact http://teachingjobsportal.com.

Happy Valentines/Presidents Day!

Happy (early) Valentine's Day!
While we were going to exchange Valentines today, I would like to postpone that to the first day we are back (hopefully Monday!). If you have not been able to get out and have your child address valentines, know that I am bringing in 25 boxes of donated valentines to the classroom so that your child will not be left out. We will set aside time during the day for everyone to address valentines. :)

I have included a video below that is something funny that deals with one of our famous Americans that also ties in to President's Day on Monday. Enjoy!

Will It Ever End?

Wow! I cannot believe we have been snowed in for this long! I hope everyone is safe and warm. My family lost power from Fri night until yesterday evening (Tuesday). I hope everyone else was luckier than we were!!!! I can honestly say that I am tired of snow days and just want to get back to our "regular schedule." I am sure many of you are feeling the same!

With the Winter Olympics starting this Friday, I wanted to share with you the new folder I have placed on our portaportal about it, from the official site to other "kid friendly" sites. Opening ceremonies look to be amazing!

Thank you to one of the parents who emailed me and reminded me about making the Scholastic flyers available online. My apologies about that. It is now up (user name: youel, password: class).

When we return to school, we will be reviewing time for Math and then taking a test on that subject, so that we can begin probability, our next unit. Please practice with your child with the terms "half past", "quarter till" and "quarter after." Those seem to be the terms giving us the most trouble! In Science, we will begin our life cycle unit (study guides to go home as soon as we return). We will be focusing on flowering/fruit plants, frogs, and butterflies. I have posted some links on the portaportal for practice under "plants" and "animals."

Whenever we do return, we are slated for P.E. that day for resource. Even on a two hour delay day, we've been having resource for 30 minutes, starting at 10am.

Don't forget about the 6 hours of reading for the Six Flags reading incentive! If your child finishes, you can email me and I will add their name to the list! So far, we've had two students complete their 6 hours! Congratulations! :)

Famous American Projects: Great job everyone!