What I Wore

Don't worry... I wore a 2nd boot this day!

I love, love, LOVE this dress.

And no; love is not to strong of a word to use when it comes to this super cute in summer, fall, AND winter dress (I haven't owned it through a spring yet).

I had to do some quick mending of the dress this morning (there is a tie in the back that somehow broke off one side... it isn't super important but I figured I would fix it then instead of leaving it and forgetting about it).

The cardigan is orange.. I debated between orange, pink, and blue before deciding that even though orange looked a little fallish that it was the best option.

Confession: the cardigan was only $5 at Target!

The boots?

You may recall this post where I stated I didn't care for any of my boots.  Well that was actually a lie because I have a pair of black ones I don't mind.  These ones are new though.  I've wanted brown boots for at least a year and I finally got some!  I'm a happy girl.

Descriptive Words (Part 1)

Here is a lesson that I did with my grade 8's to help improve their use of descriptive words (or just coming up with other words to use).

I started off the class by telling them we were going to make sandwiches (they were jam and butter because I didn't want to be the person to bring peanut butter into the school even though there are no allergies in my grade 8 classes). I showed them the bread and the containers I had put the butter and jam into. Then I asked for a volunteer that wanted a sandwich.

The volunteer went to the back of the room, faced the wall, and told me exactly how to make the sandwich. Whatever they told me I did.

It started off as "take the bread and put the jam and butter on it" so I took the loaf of bread (still in the bag) and put the containers of butter and jam on top of it.

Then it progressed to "take the knife and put it in the container of jam" since they didn't tell me to take the lid off the jam I stabbed the lid of the container with the knife until it broke. The kids loved it.

Eventually we got the containers opened and it turned to "take the jam and spread it all over one piece of bread" so I would take the jam and spread it on every side and edge of one piece of bread.

By this point we had probably made at least 5 sandwiches and they were catching on (after each person had told me how to make their sandwich they turned around to see what it made).

They had a lot of fun and keep asking me if we can make sandwiches again.

Luckily for them, I've volunteered my grade 8 classroom for the board members to come to observe and participate in. I think we will have the board members choose a student to be their "chef" and then they can take turns facing the back of the room. Hopefully something memorable happens (in a good sort of way) so that they remember me when they are thinking about jobs for next year.

I used this lesson in a grade 8 classroom but it would definitely work at a variety of age levels.  I could see my grade 4's loving it (too bad I don't teach them ELA) and I have a friend who did something very similar to describe how the scientific process works.

Part 2 of this lesson is coming up next week.  Stay tuned!

This Week At School

... wait we had school this week?

Confession:  My students were only at school 2 days this week!  The reason?  Friday was a professional development day and on Monday and Tuesday the area was recuperating from a little (big) natural gas emergency leaving the school without heat.  Since we were only at school 2 days this week I hardly have anything to say!.. And if you know me you know this is a lie.  I always have a lot to say!

- On Monday and Tuesday I was supposed to be at a math professional development and have a substitute come in.  BUT Monday was a snow day so I stayed home and just went on Tuesday (yes, I went to PD even though my school was closed)

-  We started multiplying (again) and shocker, my students are actually enjoying it!  Yay!  No one has panicked over it or had a heart attack about it yet.

-  It had probably been about 2 weeks since we had done any science.  So I used a health class to remind us that we do in fact study science and we are doing a light unit.  We did a reflection experiment.  The kids love the experiments because we turn out all the lights in the room and they get to play with flashlights.  I sent them home with homework:  to check out their shadows at different times (morning, noon, and afternoon) hopefully one of them remembers!

-  In ELA we talked about responding to articles with our own opinions.  I used an article on dress codes as an example.  Then handed out articles either on Justin Bieber and his recent arrest or the Seal Hunt.  Now, they have to write a blog post as their response and then respond to another blog post about their topic.  Hopefully they get them done soon... My grade 8 assessments are due at the end of the month!

-  In French we are working on introducing a friend to the class.  They are actually doing quite well with it.  Everyone forgets my STUPID rule (you don't pronounce the S, T, P, or D at the end of French words... usually).

-  We also started a French program online.  I'm the first person in the school to actually use the program with the students.  Someone give me a pat on the back, gold star, and $100!
-  On Thursday I had my hair kind of curly.  My grade 4's thought nothing of it.  The grade 8's though asked if it was my natural hair to which I responded it was... and every other day they had seen me I was wearing a wig.  They thought it was funny and yes, I know they meant to ask if my hair was naturally curly (it isn't) since I normally have my hair straight (which I do with the help of a flat iron)... my natural hair is somewhere in between the 2.

-  I'm going to take a break from our regular health curriculum to talk about inclusion.  I have one small group of students that only like working with each other.  It isn't a huge problem but if I pair them up with someone other than someone from their group they would rather choose to work alone.  There is also a clear leader in the group and if the leader decides they don't want to do something the others don't either (thankfully the leader is a good student and the things they choose not to do are things like decorating cookies or eating ice cream).  If anyone has any great ideas on how to bring this up with my students let me know!  I'll just be happy if those in that tight group start including others in their things or make their own decisions.

I don't have many pictures from the week (okay, I only have one) but come on... we were only there 2 days! My grade 8's wrote stories from an inanimate objects point of view and here is a little excerpt from one of their stories.  Can you guess what this student's inanimate object was?

Looks like this student is admitting the class is stinky!

What I Wore

I bought coloured jeans a while ago the only problem?  I'm too scared to wear colour on top when I have it on the bottom.

BUT I do know my colour wheel and maybe, just maybe, I'll brave some complimentary colour action and throw on a yellow top someday soon with my purple pants.

The flats?

You should know that I do wear boots to school.  Every day.  It is too cold and snowy to go without them.

BUT I'm not really a fan of many of my boots whereas I'm a huge fan of most of my flats. So I swap out my boots for flats as soon as I get to the staffroom.

Confession:  I have even been known to go back and forth from my hut in my flats (yup, that's right I go outside in my flats... in winter.. I'm Canadian!)