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Showing posts from August, 2018

Too busy to think

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I want to write, but I'm too busy to think. The best I can do right now is construct to-do lists. NOT feeling like a thoughtful practitioner.

Myths & Super Teachers

This has a few years on it now, but . . .

How to decorate a classroom!

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Moving from Wordpress to Blogger

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Blogger has some pros and Wordpress has some pros. AND they both have some little idiosyncrasies that could drive a person crazy! Downloading the blog from Wordpress was easy enough (although when you've been blogging as long as I have, there are a lot of files!), and the instructions to upload to Blogger *seemed* straightforward. But nothing happened. After a bit of digging, I found this site . It converts your Wordpress files to a type that will work on Blogger. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Some things that happen naturally on Wordpress, don't on Blogger. Dropdown menus are one of those things. You either need to know a little bit of code or find some to make that happen. BUT it's easier to make Blogger look like you want. Pictures transferred over if they were singles, but galleries are missing. Videos didn't transfer over either. So, it wasn't an easy process, but it hasn't been awful either ;)

Missing the morning sun

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One of the things I love about summer is the long day. Don't get me wrong. I love nighttime too. But I absolutely LOVE getting up early in the morning and being greeted by the sun peeking through the windows. I love not having to turn on the lamps and or feel my way through the hall because no one else is up and it's too dark to see. I love walking up to school in the day light. That morning greeting is gone now, and I'm more than a bit sad about it. Do you hear those screeching tires? It's summer coming to an abrupt halt. Gone is the more relaxed nature of summer, reading in my pajamas, and that second cup of coffee. Say hello to calendaring and meetings and the hectic pace of back to school. Maybe I'm mourning. Maybe not. Maybe an overly busy summer just has be wishing for a little more of it. Things I'll miss: watching Ron read the paper by the window in the morning light.  watermelon for breakfast. watching the morning rain without thinking about

On the road

I had to drive to Raleigh today for a meeting. This gave me the opportunity to observe drivers in action. PSA: Please, Please, Please drive the speed limit on the freeway. You don't have to speed, but keeping to the minimum mph is really helpful for those around you!

Welcome to the new blog . . .

test post

Weekend work for the school librarian

So, I'm behind (mwahahahaha) and Title 1 is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks, and inventory in the classrooms starts when we get back from Spring Break. So this weekend, it's cataloging at the kitchen table time. Two hundred twenty Spanish books purchased with special funding. Little things most of them, but every one has to be cataloged, processed, checked out to a teacher. I'm down to about a dozen. Woo hoo!  

Advance Planning - Stations & Maker Spaces

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I always start with the end in sight. I wish I could remember what class I was taking when I realized this was a great way to operate! So. . . What do I want this station work to look like when it's fully implemented? I want the students to Choose a station independently. Work with their peers cooperatively. Use voice levels appropriate for inside. Clean up thoroughly. ;) Start, pause, and stop as needed for other things that may happen (like class ending, a fire drill, checking out books, etc.) I also need a couple of station ideas with which to start. Hopefully, these can come from something I already have at the library - like games or puzzles. Yes, those are simple things. They won't win any prizes for deep thinking activities, but what we are trying to establish is routine and procedure. We'll develop those thinking skills after routines are automated. Week one (and probably two and three) in year one: I assign the students seats. I like groups of three, an