Looking for Cheesehead Bloggers

It's like a 12-Step Program..."Hi.  I'm Nikki.  And I'm a teaching blog stalker."

I've been out there, really looking at some pretty amazing blogs out there since the start of last school year.  Prior to that, blogs weren't really on my radar.

Anywho...one thing I've noticed is that there are these "blogging communities" that actually get together from time to time.  I've watched in awe as these wonderful groups from Florida, Arizona, California, Florida and Texas connect live and in person.

I've also noticed that bloggers from other states are out there too...but there doesn't seem to be quite the numbers that these other states have.  And, to the best of my knowledge, I have yet to run into a Wisconsin teacher blogger...

So...I'm asking the question, "Are you a teacher blogger from Wisconsin?"  If not a blogger, then a blog peruser or blog browser?   These two sound much nicer than stalker, don't they?

If you are a Cheesehead, drop me a quick email or, better yet, jump on board and join my followers!  We may never be able to have a really cool Florida beach day or a fiesta on a great riverwalk in a giant state, but we can always connect at a tailgate in the future.

Ya!  Who knows?

Nikki

Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop

I ran across this Blog Hop while looking at Blogger Brigid's "Must Have Picture Books" list. Brigid's Daily Lesson Log has some sweet little ideas on it. Stop by and say "Hi!"

I am joining a "Newbie Bloggers Blog Hop." Janis from Grade Three Is the Place For Me started this linky party this past Wednesday. I think this is a great idea for all of us "newbies" to connect! We will all be able share ideas and give suggestions! Link up if you can...SUPPORT each other!

Sooo what are you waiting for....LINK UP!


This is what you need to do:

1. what state you are in


2. your current teaching position


3. your teaching experience


4. when you started blogging


5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource


Here's my information:

1. I live and teach in Wisconsin.




2. I have been teaching 4th grade for the last five years. This has always been my "dream position!"




3. I just finished my 20th year of teaching. I've taught 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, a multi-age 5th/6th grade PLUS 7th-9th grade technology.




4. I started putting together my blog in March, but I didn't "put it out there" until June.




5. Give yourself plenty of time to figure out how blogging is going to fit into your busy life! Before jumping into big endeavors, figure out timing by actually trying. An example is the "Monday Made Its" at 4th Grade Frolics. I'm trying this during the summer and am finding out that this is a pretty time intensive endeavor...plus, it's addictive! Also, make friends with the "Schedule" feature in your blog! This allows you to "post date" your blog entries at busy times!

Must Have Picture Books Linky Party

The Teacher Wife has a really great linky going on right now.  She's asking teachers/bloggers to link up and share their TOP FIVE favorite picture books.  All I'm thinking right now is  "That's cool!  I can't wait to share!" AND "Oh crap!  I can only share five?"

Oh well...this is no slap in the face to all those terrific picture books out there...you are all wonderful.  But...if I have to narrow it down to five, then here goes (in no particular order):

1.  Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith

All of us have felt the "pain" of standardized testing.  Although I'm not sure this is really what the great Dr. Seuss had in mind, Prelutsky and Smith put such a timely spin on this tale that it has become a standard in my class prior to our state testing.  Miss Bonkers and I share the same philosophy:  teach kids how to think, and you put them at a distinct advantage not just on the test, but in life.  I want to be Miss Bonkers when I grow up!

2.  The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco

Polacco is, in my opinion, one of the greatest and most prolific storytellers in children's literature.  Her willingness to share her own struggles with learning to read with her readers has made her a favorite of my students over the years.  (We were fortunate enough to have Ms. Polacco visit our school a few years back and it was certainly an experience I will never forget!)  This is a "teacher's book" in every sense of the word.  Like Miss Bonkers in Hooray for Diffendoofer Day!, the teacher in this story is one I aspire to be like!

3.  The Old Woman Who Named Things by Cynthia Rylant

What's not to love about a classy old lady who names every inanimate object from her chair, to her house, to her car?  The illustrations add to this lovely tale of a lonely old woman who befriends a small brown dog.  Her decision to NOT name the dog shows her fear of loss.  Friends pass away and leave her lonely and guarded.  This is truly my favorite Cynthia Rylant book!

4.  God Bless the Gargoyles by Dav Pilkey

For all the "potty humor" that Pilkey can inspire, God Bless the Gargoyles is truly a standout in Dav Pilkey's lineup.  At once stunning and sad, Pilkey weaves a beautiful, deep and dark poem about those who are misunderstood.  I have a very difficult time reading this aloud as it is so breathtaking and heartbreaking.  The artwork is dark and kind of Goth, but Pilkey also demonstrates his love of classic artwork with a nod towards Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Edward Hopper's "Nighthawks" depicted in the book.  A gorgeous, gorgeous book...

(FYI:  Pilkey is a collector of gargoyles!)

(This final entry is a TIE...an absolute DEAD HEAT that even a flip of a coin cannot decide!)

5.  17 Things I'm Not Allowed to Do Anymore by Jenny Offill

Whether you are reading this book to yourself or to your students, you will find yourself shaking your head at the antics of the little girl in this book.  Written in a "list format," this book is a terrific springboard for creative writing in your classroom.  I love the mixed media approach Nancy Carpenter takes in the illustrations in this book.  A very fun read indeed!

AND 

The Sweetest Fig by Chris VanAllsburg  

VanAllsburg is hands-down, my all time favorite author!  It is so hard to narrow down my book choices without putting one of his picture books in the list!  The Sweetest Fig has a villain that you love to hate!  Bibot absolutely gets his "just desserts!"  Ending with a signature VanAllsburg twist, this is by far one of his most satisfying tales!

Well...there you have it, my five  six "Must Have Picture Books."  Join up with this linky at The Teacher Wife.  You'll be glad you did!

Technology Tuesday

I've been following Kathy Schrock for what seems like FOREVER!  A leading innovator in technology education, Kathy always seems to be on the cutting, BLEEDING edge of the great stuff that technology offers us in the classroom.  She's my hero in terms of all things "techie."

If you haven't ever checked out Kathy's site, click here.  Her "Guide to Everything" is just what it says it is.  I guarantee you'll bookmark her great ideas and refer to them over and over again!

I have always been an Apple Fanatic, and when the iPad came out, my sweetie pie hubby went out and bought one for our 20th wedding anniversary (PLUS the trip to IKEA and Chicago!)

Anywho...wading through the fun that is the world of the Apple App Store and browsing for endless days for the highest quality learning/sharing apps can be a bit daunting.

Enter the brilliant Kathy Schrock!  She not only provides you with an AMAZING list of apps for the iPad, but she organizes it according to Bloom's Taxonomy.  The entire webpage is on STERIODS!  This is serious info for serious tech users!

You've got to check this site out!  Just click on the image above and go directly to Kathy Schrock's Bloomin' iPad graphic.  The beauty of this is that all of the icons are functional and take you directly to the app for more info!  Do this on your iPad and you can automatically download these apps.  All are fantastic apps...no saccharine, sweet, and unfulfilling apps here...everything is absolutely MEATY!

For those of you who crave the apps on Androids...guess what?  She has a Bloomin' graphic for you too!  Google Apps more your speed?  She has one for Google Apps too!  (Guess you could say that Kathy Schrock is a bit of an overachiever!)

She even has a Web 2.0 graphic too!   Love this site to bitty bits...or byttie bytes!  Your choice!

Remember...sharing is caring, so pass this on to a techie sort of colleague.  They'll love you to pieces too!

I'm taking this and sharing it with my friends over at Technology Tailgate!  Join us over there for a great big serving of technology!  (Buns not included!)

Monday Made It #5

Holy cow!  Have I really posted five of these Monday Made Its?  Thanks to Tara over at 4th Grade Frolics for inspiring me to flex my creative muscles with these Monday Made Its!

I need to confess:  I'm really a tech geek that is always looking for great ways to use technology with my students.  However...whenever drill and skill (or drill and kill, whichever you prefer) is called for, I like activities to be "hands on" and manipulative.  I've noticed that my students are also drawn to these types of activities.  No worksheets for this girl and her crew...just paper to record on...YOU BETCHA!

I'm a huge fan of Working With Words, Word Work and Making Big Words...but I find that my students get a little bored with the paper and pencil stuff.  During Morning Meeting, I'll often put a word, letter by letter, on  index cards and have the group try to figure out what the "big word" is.  The kids like this a lot...and they love collaborating.  For kiddos with limited vocabulary, Making Big Words can be a little daunting. They are terrific at finding the "little words" and can be successful there while kiddos with more of a "big word picture" will enjoy being challenged to find the big word. Having classmates collaborate to find words inside of words as well as the big words tends to be more exciting, and in the end, more productive.

So...this past spring, I ran across these carrots and I had a really tough time passing these little cuties up.  I found them at the Dollar Tree before Easter, so they aren't out anymore.  However, you could probably find something similar and equally as clear, glossy and fun at other places.  You might even have a few of these in your own kid's Easter stash.  The SKU on these little honeys is:  3927768617.  I also got some of these at Michael's.  They come in packs of three and are so stinkin' cute, you'll probably want to pick a dozen or so!

I put together this activity:  Digging Up Words.  Click on the link to get a copy of the recording sheet, if you'd like.

Each sweet little carrot holds cut up index cards with single letters on each card.  The letters are then placed in the carrot and can be taken out and manipulated by the group.  The group  is challenged to look for the small words inside the big word.  In the end, you want them to find the BIG WORD that is made up of all the letters in the carrot.  Each carrot has a different word, so if your group finishes early, they can just grab a new carrot and dig up some more words.  I placed these in plastic flower pots with 12 carrots to each pot.  I also made a little "garden sign" with the title and instructions written on the back of the sign.  Pretty easy...and fun!  (Note that for "confusing letters" like d, p, q, b, I always put a dot in the bottom right hand corner to let the students know what the letter is.)

See if you can tell what the big word is...bragging rights go to the winner!

Have fun with this and remember...sharing is caring!  Make another pot for a colleague like "The Wonderful Linda!"

In the spirit of sharing, I'm also linking up with Classroom Freebies.  It's a first for me!

Technology Tuesday

I love, love, love, love LOVE my Smartboard to itty bitty pieces!  It is turned on at the start of every school day and it isn't turned off until the last little honey is long out the door.

I use it for everything...all the time.  The trick is to keep things interesting and yet...simple.  I do use my Smartboard's gallery features like the "timer."  However, these get old in a hurry.  The design style is predictable and, once I start the timer, the kids become so focused on how much time is left that they often neglect the really great super amazing task that I have planned.

Enter Steep It.  This is actually a tea timer that you can set for any amount of time.  Why would I use a tea timer?  (I actually am a huge hater of tea!)

Well...Steep It is very visual.  Yes, there is a numerical timer, but there is also visual feature that does appeal to my students.  As time passes, the color of the screen changes and gets DARKER, just like a cup of tea that is steeping.  Get it?   When time is up, a cheerful little ring (think Grandma's kitchen timer) goes off, signaling for the end of the task.

So...why not dash on over to http://steep.it/ and check this sweet little timer out for yourself?

Monday Made It #4

I don't know about you, but I've been taking a long hard look at what motivates my students and how to best "reward" kids...without being gratuitous.  I have never been a fan of the "blanket compliment," since it downplays what your hardest workers do while giving an unearned compliment to your slackers.  It doesn't do much for the kids in the middle either.

With the sheer volume of testing, benchmarks, baselines, and all things data, I have a tough time keeping everything straight.  With that being said, I do want my fourth graders to help me out by being accountable and by keeping track of this data in a way that is tangible and fun.  Ok...as fun as data can be!

So enter...The Common Core Standards Rewards Ring!

This is a combination of two separate programs that have caught my eye in the last 30 days...

Spirit Monkey Spirit Sticks 

I love the Spirit Sticks, lanyards, keychains and other fun items at Spirit Monkey!  Click on the image to check out their blog or follow them on Facebook.  Their fun approach to student rewards really has me excited and I'm going to pitch their program to my new principal.   

There are also the "I Can..." cards that can be found at the Teachers Notebook and Teachers Pay Teachers stores.  My favorite is the fourth grade math set that is found at Twins-Teaching and Tacos.  Check out her store!  There are some sweet little freebies and the items that are for sale are 

R E A S O N A B L E !

There are other teachers with similar ideas out there...far too many to name...but they have great ideas as well!

Anywho...I designed the Common Core Standards Rewards Ring as a way for the fourth graders at my school to keep track of their progress throughout the year...a magical combination of motivating and useful at the same time!

Start with the 2-inch binder ring.  Any larger than the 2-inch ring and pony beads no longer fit.  If you aren't a pony beads sort of person, pay no attention to this and buy the BIG HONKIN' binder rings!  (I believe that is the industry term for them!)

The VIP All Access Pass and the CCSS Mastery Chips are available below if you want a jumping off point.  I personally believe everyone can do MUCH BETTER than these, but, if you are a little unmotivated or wishing to store up your artsy-craftsy mojo for a better project, then be my guest.

I designed the VIP pass to work with pre-scored business card templates...but I think circle tags would be super-cute as well.  I printed the CCSS Mastery Chips on white cardstock and then cut them out using a 1 1/2 inch square punch from my scrapbooking stash.  A quick hole punch and you have really useful chips that have a place to write in your CCSS # or identifier.  I figured that blanks would be easier to work with and your students could take responsibility for writing in the numbers if they'd like.

If you look closely, you'll see that I used a neon guitar motif here...our school is doing a Rockstar theme for the 2012-2013 school year, so these match up quite nicely.  I'd certainly try to get my motif to match my classroom or school theme if I could...

Click here to find the guidelines that my teaching buddy and I will use as guidelines for the CCSSRR (love that acronym...don't you?).  Personalize to make this fit you and your classroom!

Lastly, I put all of the beads and punched out stars (punched from glitter cardstock in star shapes for extra fun) in a great little organizer that will keep everything together.  You can write with a silver or gold marker on the back of these, so writing your student's MAP scores on the back will allow your students to view their scores and keep track of their progress, right on the CCSSRR!  


Remember...sharing is caring, so make one for your teaching buddy or grade level partner(s).  "The Wonderful Linda" will be getting a set too...if I can make 1 set, I can certainly make 2!  So make another set...You'll be glad you did!

Bonus Monday Make It...for the home!  

Last year, the World's Sweetest Husband took me to IKEA for a little shopping on our 20th wedding anniversary...love this!  We were looking at a great display of black and white photography that they had set up.  Awesome photo layout...but no instructions and no hardware available for purchase.  Just the idea beautifully displayed.

The frames cost less than $3.00 each, so I bought 6.  They sat in my studio for about a year before I pulled them out recently and filled the frames with black and white photos from our trip to Yellowstone last summer.  My sweetheart of a husband helped me to put this together with hooks and eyes and I hung it from a wrought iron curtain rod.  It is above our fireplace and it's the first thing you see when you walk into our house.  I love it!