Nov 30, 2010

A very pretty lazy, soft snow fell last evening and part of today, leaving just a thin new layer to cover the dirty slush-covered curb sides. I just stood by the window last night and watched the snow drift thru the orangy hew of the street light...there was just something so peaceful about it.
This morning, getting ready to drive over to over to where Hubby works, while I brushed the fluffy snow from the car, Hubby shoveled the sidewalk and driveway. We did a bit of shopping at the "A Thousand Villages" that had set up in the empty store space located next door to where Hubby works. They were there just for this weekend and Christmas shoppers flocked into the store in crowds! The unique merchandise is appealing and I love the fact that when you buy Christmas gifts there, you are supporting Third World people struggling to support their families. We are so blessed here in Canada, that even on a tight budget, most of us can celebrate Christmas with more than millions of homes in those Countries. I am reminded that Christmas is about SO much more than gifts.

Nov 27, 2010

Teaching Tip: Lesson Plan Ideas For December

Teaching Tip: Lesson Plan Ideas For December

Here are some great ideas for adding the theme of December to your classes. Look at some complete lessons for you.
1. Create a geographic map displaying where different holidays are celebrated in December.

2. Have students research the traditional gifts of Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

3. Show students how poverty can affect the holidays.

4. Have students create an elf cartoon strip.

5. Have students draw a map of what they think Santa's property looks like.

6. Have students chart Santa's route and chart distance and speed needed.

7. Engage students in holiday math word problems.

This Week in History
1782: Britain signs agreement recognizing U.S. independence.
1877: Thomas Edison demonstrates the hand-cranked phonograph.

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
Henry Brooks Adams

About Weekly Teacher Tips
This newsletter is brought to you by teach-nology.com -Source

Weekly Tips for Teachers Issue 542: November 29, 2010

More Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/

Christmas Around the World Festival theme unit lessons activities ideas http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/worldchristmas.htm
Christmas theme units lessons activities ideas printables games books poems http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmaslinks.htm
December Events 2010-Holidays-Special Days http://mrsjacksonsclasswebsiteblog.blogspot.com/

Nov 26, 2010

My poor aching feet....

Yes, they are still throbbing and burning from a day of shopping with Mom. Let me just say right up front....Mom was tuckered right out too, BUT she got pushed around in a wheel chair....just sayin' :P
We won't get into our "wonderful" Walmart with it's packed aisles soooo full you can't get from one side to the other without having to go to the far end of the store. Ok, that out there, we did have fun looking at all the glittery decorations and all the little neat gadgets that only seem to be around at this time of year. TEMPTATIONS....oh the decadent chocolates, the cookies imported from Belgium, the toffee-covered nuts...*sigh*
We managed to fill a cart and Mom's room will be SO pretty, glittery and sparkly. You'll just have to visit her and she'll happily serve tea and delicious cookies and hazelnut chocolate :) I brought over a mini-tree, complete with lights and ornaments. All I can say is that this year mom will celebrate Christmas because she won't be in a dumpy hospital room...Hallelujah!!

Christmas Crafts

Food Gifts-Top 25

Top 25 Food Gifts

Give the gift of great recipes this holiday season. Surprise someone special with one of our favorite food gift ideas—Christmas cookies, fudge recipes, Christmas candy and

more!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Holiday---Celebration-Recipes/Christmas-Recipes/Top-25-Food-Gifts?pmcode=THAA1VH259&_mid=771832&_rid=771832.610100.444810

Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2011! November 2010 News http://www.tasteofhome.com/

MORE RECIPES:

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/recipesatoz.htm

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/recipes.htm

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/

Nov 23, 2010

December Events 2010

This page includes Birthdays and Special Goings-On!
(Don't forget...the blue indicates a link to the WEB!!)Printable Version of December Events

Use this calendar in conjunction with our Daily Writing Prompts!

Also see our other December Lesson Plans, Thematic Units and Activities

Looking for Printable Calendars to add your own events to? Printable December Calendar!

Source: http://www.theteacherscorner.net/calendars/december.php

More December Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/decemberfunbooks.htm

Art Work by Phillip Martin http://holidays.pppst.com/december.html

December Themes and Holidays mrdonn.org

Nov 21, 2010

December Planning Calendar-Events, Holidays, Celebrations

December, 2010

Dec 01, Wed -
Dec 31, Fri

Holiday Gift-Giving Season
Special Occasion Ideas for the Classroom: TeachersFirst Editors' Choices

Dec 01, Wed -
Dec 09, Thu

Hanukkah
TeachersFirst's Hanukkah Resources

Dec 01, Wed -
Dec 31, Fri

World AIDS Day and HIV/AIDS Awareness Month
TeachersFirst HIV and AIDS Resources

07, Tuesday

Pearl Harbor and World War II
TeachersFirst's Pearl Harbor and World War II Resources

Dec 08, Wed -
Dec 18, Sat

Thinking Teacher Blogs China!
Read about TeachersFirst's cross-cultural projects and more. Share comments and questions.

17, Friday

Wright Brothers' First Flight Anniversary
TeachersFirst Presents A Century of Manned Flight

25, Saturday

Christmas
TeachersFirst's Christmas Resources

26, Sunday

Kwanzaa
TeachersFirst's Kwanzaa Resources

Source: http://www.teachersfirst.com/calendar/

More Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/decemberfunbooks.htm

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmaslinks.htm

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmascrafts.htm

http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/worldchristmas.htm

December Events, Holidays, Celebrations

See All Events, Holidays, and Celebrations of December
Hanukkah - Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, Worksheets
December 1st - United Nation's World AIDS Day
December 6th - Harriet Tubman Escaped from Slavery - Resources, Worksheets
December 10th - Human Rights Day
December 14th - George Washington Died - Lesson Plans, Resources, Worksheets
December 15th - Bill of Rights Day - Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, Worksheets
December 16th - The Boston Tea Party
December 20th - The Louisiana Purchase
December 22nd - Winter Official Begins - Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, Worksheets, Full Series
December 21st - The Pilgrims Come Ashore - Lesson Plans, Resources
December 25th - Christmas - Lesson Plans, Teacher Resources, Worksheets
December 26th to January 1st - Kwanzaa - Lesson Plans, Worksheets
December 28th - The Endangered Species Act - Lesson Plans, Resources, Worksheets
Source: http://www.teach-nology.com/monthly/dec/
More Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/decemberfunbooks.htm
http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmaslinks.htm
http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmascrafts.htm
http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/worldchristmas.htm
Graphic-Caleb's Country Corner- http://our.homewithgod.com/ewerluvd/3cindex.html

Nov 20, 2010

Christmas for Kids

Christmas for kids is one of the most special times of the year, and we know it! Christmas is coming! Need help? Free inspiration, crafts, decorating ideas, planning sheets, recipes, printables and more! Starting a collection of Christmas ornaments for a child, someone special, or for yourself can help recreate fond memories each year as you decorate your Christmas tree. Christmas is the perfect time for crafting with your children, so have a look and get some inspiration on these Christmas Craft pages!

Source:

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_pages.htm

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_origami_for_kids.htm

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/online_christmas_games.htm

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_stories_and_poems.htm

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_crafts.htm

More Resources at http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmascrafts.htm

http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/christmaslinks.htm

Nov 19, 2010

Another "First" to live through....

Today would have been Dad & Mom's 56th Anniversary! I can't imagine losing my spouse, especially on the first Anniversary celebrated since Dad's passing, today must be brutal, for an Anniversary truly marks that union between a husband & wife.....it's THEIR special day!! I stand in awe of my Mom, who has endured so much this year and still manages to laugh, love and sing. Mom, I love and respect you deeply.

Pumpkin Spice Cake Recipe

Pumpkin Spice Cake by Rita Mars

Ingredients: 1 Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix ~ 4 eggs ~ 1 cup sour cream ~ 1/2 cup sugar ~ 3/4 cup vegetable oil ~ 1 tsp vanilla extract ~ 1 regular size can mashed pumpkin ~ 1/2 cup chopped pecans toasted in about 1 T butter ~ Caramel ice cream topping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour tube or bundt cake pan. In a large mixing bowl, place all ingredients except the pecans and caramel, beginning with eggs, oil, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin, ending with cake mix on top. Mix on low speed just until dry ingredients are mixed but don't over-mix. Pour batter into prepared cake pan, place on a cookie sheet on the middle rack of preheated oven. Bake around 50 minutes to an hour or just until done. Remove from oven and let cool for about half an hour. Place chopped pecans in small nonstick skillet with butter and just barely toast. Turn upside down on serving plate. Let cool until cake is barely warm to the touch. Drizzle a little caramel over top of cake, sprinkle the toasted pecans on top of caramel and press slightly so they stick, then drizzle more caramel over the pecans, just so it runs down the side of the cake a little, this makes it pretty.

More Recipes at http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/recipesatoz.htm

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/recipes.htm

Nov 18, 2010

SEASONAL HOLIDAY THEMES

PLEASE VISIT MY SEASONAL HOLIDAY THEME PAGES WITH LESSONS, ACTIVITIES, PROJECTS, IDEAS, & RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS:

NOVEMBER FUN THEMES, LESSONS, ACTIVITIES, CRAFTS, IDEAS, AND INFO

PILGRIMS THEMES, LESSONS, ACTIVITIES, AND TEACHER RESOURCES

NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS THEMES, LESSON, IDEAS, ACTIVITIES, & RESOURCES

NOVEMBER CALENDAR EVENTS, CELEBRATIONS, THEMES, IDEAS, ACTIVITIES, AND LESSONS

CHRISTMAS ARTS, CRAFTS, DECORATIONS, THEMES, UNITS

POLAR EXPRESS THEMES, FUN ACTIVITIES, LESSONS, BOOK IDEAS

REINDEER THEMES, LESSONS, IDEAS, AND RESOURCES

GINGERBREAD THEMES, IDEAS, ACTIVITIES, & LESSONS

CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD THEME UNIT, LESSONS, PROJECTS, IDEAS, CRAFTS, & RESOURCES

CHRISTMAS THEME, LESSON PLANS, RESOURCES, PROJECTS, IDEAS, ARTS-CRAFTS

THANKSGIVING THEMES, RESOURCES, ARTS & CRAFTS, LESSONS, ACTIVITIES,

DECEMBER THEME UNIT, LESSON PLANS, ACTIVITIES, PROJECTS, CRAFTS, CELEBRATIONS

WINTER HOLIDAYS, THEMES, LESSONS, PRINTABLES, IDEAS, AND RESOURCES

http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/

Nov 17, 2010

Transition Activities for Teachers

Easy Transitioning for Primary Grades

From Diane Postman, a teacher in Yorktown, Virginia:

“I taught preschool and primary grades. Here are some thoughts
on transitioning for those age groups:

1. Have a visual schedule so transitions are expected.

2. Play music.

3. Give the children a fun way to move from place to place. It can be thematic. E.g., crawl like a spider when teaching spiders. It will make them WANT to change locations.

4. Be ready for the next activity so there is no waiting.

5. Start the activity right away. No need to wait for

everyone to be settled. If you start, stragglers will join more quickly and the fast ones won't get ‘antsy.’

6. Show them that the next activity is going to be fun. Kids transition best when engaged.”

Transition Tactics

From Marilyn Tomaszewski, a second grade teacher in Garden
City, Michigan:

“A couple of my students have difficulty transitioning to the
other locations within the school and difficulty when sitting
without something for their hands to do. At a craft store, I
purchased the mini tote bags for only $1.99 each. They contain
items to assist them with transitions, such as a Koosh ball
for sensory input, a book of photos of school locations,
and items to keep their hands busy but quiet like a
Magna Doodle, a mini dry-erase board with a marker and
an attached eraser. These bags and their contents have
helped prevent behavior problems; helped reduce
disruptive, self-stimulatory behavior; and,helped save
my sanity! The inexpensive mini tote bags could be
used for many purposes.”

Works4Me

Published by the National Education Association, 1201 16th St, NW, Washington, DC 20036. Browse All Tips-Source
http://www.nea.org/tools/BrowseAllTips.html

More Resources: http://www.mrscjacksonsclass.com/classmanagementideas.htm

Nov 13, 2010

November 14, 2010 - World Diabetes Day

Do you know someone with Diabetes? Most of us do.Take some time to get to know more about the disease that affects more than 9 million Canadians today.

Sunday, November 14 is World Diabetes day. At 2 pm, local time (wherever you live), do the Big Blue Test:

1. Test your blood sugar.

2. Get active for 14 minutes.

3. Test again.

4. Enter your results at BigBlueTest.org.

The Harsh Reality

Today, more than 9 million Canadians live with diabetes or prediabetes - a condition that, if left unchecked, puts you at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This means that nearly 1 in 4 Canadians either has diabetes or prediabetes. More than 20 people are diagnosed with the disease every hour of every day.

The serious complications

Diabetes can lead to serious complications and premature death:

* 80% of Canadians with diabetes die from a heart attack or a stroke;

* 42% of new kidney dialysis patients in 2004 had diabetes.

* Diabetes is the single leading cause of blindness in Canada;

* 7 of 10 non-traumatic limb amputations are the result of diabetes complications;

* 25% of people with diabetes suffer from depression;

* The life expectancy for people with type 1 diabetes may be shortened by as much as 15 years; and

* The life expectancy for people with type 2 diabetes may be shortened by 5 to 10 years.

Nov 11, 2010

Remembrance Day 2010

It's more than a day off. It's a day we remember those who have given their lives to protect the freedom our country often takes for granted. Having buried a grown son makes watching film clips of parents mourning a son who has served this country, break my heart. And it also fills my heart with gratitude that these young men and women go out there willingly, putting their lives on the line, losing their lives for us. Thank-you!

Nov 10, 2010

Thanksgiving Books-Theme Resources

Thanksgiving Books-Stories-Poems

The Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
Thanksgiving Is For Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
On The Mayflower by Kate Waters
Pilgrim Children Had Many Chores by Gina Lems Tardif
Did You Know? by Sandi Hill
Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters
Samuel Eaton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy by Kate Waters
Tapenum's Day : A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters
Feeling Thankful by Shelley Rotner
Story of the First Thanksgiving, The by Elaine Raphael
One Little Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims by B.G. Hennessy
Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness
Alligator Arrived With Apples : A Potluck Alphabet Feast by Crescent Dragonwagon
Story of Thanksgiving, The by Nancy Skarmeas
Thanksgiving by Alana Willoughby
The First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story by Laura Melmed
First Thanksgiving, The by Linda Hayward
Thanksgiving Is… by Louise Borden
First Thanksgiving, The by Garnet Jackson
If You Sailed on the Mayflower by Ann McGovern
Off to Plymouth Rock by Dandi Daley MacKall
Story of the Pilgrims, The by Katharine Ross
Thanksgiving Day by Gail Gibbons
Giving Thanks: The 1621 Harvest Feast by Kate Waters
Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636 by Paul Erickson
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
The Wampanoags by Alice Flanagan
Corn is Maize by Aliki
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Judith Schachner
Eating the Plates: A Pilgrim Bokk of Food and Manners by Lucille Recht Penner
Homes in the Wildreness: A Pilgrim's Journal of Plymouth Plantation in 1620 by William Bradford
Gobble: The Complete Book of Thanksgiving Words by Lynda Graham Barber
Turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indian Corn: The Story of the Thanksgiving Symbols by Edna Barth
Colonial Kids: An Activity Guide to Life in the New World by Laurie Carlson
Big Holidays Celebration by E. McKinnon
Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen
Oh, What a Thanksgiving by Steven Kroll
Pilgrim Courage by E. Brooks Smith
Thanksgiving by Miriam Nerlove
The Coming of the Pilgrims by E. Brooks Smith
The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
The Plymouth Thanksgiving by Leonard Weisgard
The Thanksgiving Book by S.O. Higgans

See Source for -List of Books and More

http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/the_pilgrims__first_thanksgivi.html

More Resources:

http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edholiday.htm#Fall November Resources

http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/thanksgiving.htm Thanksgiving Resources

http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/novemberfunthemes.htm November Resources

http://mrscjacksonsclass.com/novembercalendarthemes.htm November Resources

Happy Thanksgiving Card-Poem

Children Learn What They Live

Children Learn What They Live
By Dorothy Law Nolte, Ph.D.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.