Welcome back to school! Over the summer, my husband and I played an Escape Game. If y'all aren't familiar, the concept is that you are "locked" in a room that is filled with clues to help you escape. The clues usually involve code-breaking, riddle-solving and just plain old hide-n-seek. We had so much fun that I decided to bring the concept to the art room. I thought it would be a great way to introduce my kids to the rules, routines and the space that we call the art room. It was such a blast that I thought I'd share it with y'all! As the students entered the art room, I had one kid stand at the door and pass out these small slips of paper. There were 7 different colors with about 5 of each. This year I average about 32 third and fourth graders per class so I needed to make sure I had enough for everyone. Once seated on the floor, I started this video: A whole lotta (poor) editing went into this bad boy. Apparently I forget to edit the part where I adjust my wig. AND, if you make it all the way to the end of this video, you'll catch a look of how I really felt wearing that too-tight head piece and super-sweaty pleather jacket. Regardless, the kids ATE.IT.UP. Just before I let them have at it, I read them the wee rules of the game... Now, if you're worried that the kids will get a lil to wild playing this game, I found a sure-fire trick: Tell them there are SPIES watching. I fibbed to the kids and told them that before class had started, I had pulled aside a couple of kids to be my spies. Their job was to listen and share the secrets they overheard with other teams. Oh my goodness, y'all. Those fourth graders took that so seriously it was bananaz! My only other rule was no running...I have a big room and there was A LOT of excitement. But we can't be running in the art room, y'all. Once I gave them the go-ahead, the kids immediately teamed up and went to their coordinating table. There they found this: To make things easy for myself, I made all the puzzles identical. Some kids figured out that they were just to look for the yellow heart...but my rule was that all puzzles had to be solved before moving on to the next. My favorite was when one team said, "our puzzle is too hard!"...and I'm all, "Dudes. They are all the same." Once the puzzles were solved, the kids went in search of their heart. I made sure to hide these pretty well so it was a bit like an Easter egg hunt. Once they found their box, the kids discovered the following inside: A dry erase board and marker, a decoder and a code to solve. Each of the seven boxes contained riddles which revealed the class rules. They were to solve the riddle and return to our spot on the floor with their dry erase board. Just in case you'd like to use the code feel free! The Rockin' Riddle Rules the kids solved here: have fun, be respectful, follow directions, raise your hand, take pride and be nice. They were highly engaged, that's for sure! Once everyone had their rules, I played the next clip in the video where I chat about each rule. Then we were on to a self-guided room tour complete with a back-stage pass. (Yes, we refer to the place to put our dirty paint brushes as a "hot tub". Don't judge.) I tried to think of the places in my art room where the kids would visit the most. I also came up with fun clues to help them find those places. I had specific dry erase marker colors in each spot so they couldn't just write the answers in. Also, I had them go to the places on their pass in the order listed so we wouldn't have any traffic jams. A peek at how I labeled the places and placed the markers. Where we play the Smartest Artist game. After the passes were full, we met again on the floor. In the next part of the video, I take them on a tour explaining the different places in the art room and emergency procedures. The final phase of the game was a "solo mission". Each artist was given three Post-It's and a Sharpie. They could pick from any of the six questions on my board to answer in a complete sentence. Once finished, they returned to the floor where we played a quick round of Smartest Artist before heading out the door. You.Guys. I hadn't had a chance to read what they had written until this morning. It made my day! I mean... This was only after a couple of classes had a chance to write. I can't wait to see these filled up! I plan to hang them around the school for our Open House Night. Because my focus is Peace, Love and Kindess this year, this is an important question for my kids. Their responses let me know that they KNOW the answer...we just gotta make it happen. Thank you for allowing me to share this super fun way to kick off the school year! Feel free to steal any ideas you see here. I'd LOVE to know if you do this kind of thing with your students. The kids told me that they are excited to play this kind of game again...which can only mean that this will be a new and fun way to introduce new concepts to the kids. An Elements of Art Escape Game, anyone?! YES, PLEASE!

“My room is a continuation of my cosy, plant-core setup”

Welcome to our Escape the Room worksheets section, where you'll find a collection of fun and challenging worksheets designed to help students build their problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills. With our Escape the Room worksheets, your students will get practice with critical thinking, deductive reasoning, and problem-solving skills with the puzzles and find their

Students would much prefer a vocabulary review game instead of being told to “go study your vocabulary words” by their teacher. Since I don’t like using the same review game every week, I always try to add a twist if … Continue reading →

The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony is a compelling, deeply-researched and revealing novel about the illicit lace "sweat-shops" of the 17th century. From the publisher: An enthralling novel centered around the mad French passion for forbidden Flemish bobbin lace in the 1600s, from a writer whose work has been called "unexpected, haunting and powerful" by her readers. For those who want something they don't have, Flemish lace can buy almost anything — or anyone. You don't have to go far to find glowing rave reviews about this novel! I'm pleased to have the author Iris Anthony here to answer a few questions about this fascinating subject. When was lace outlawed in France ... and why? Louis XIII issued five sumptuary edicts that placed prohibitions and restrictions on clothing and on April 3, 1636, he forbid the wearing of lace altogether. That’s the edict which provided for confiscation, fines, and banishment from the kingdom. {17th-century bobbin lace.} Sumptuary edicts were enacted across Europe during this time period. The reasons were several. In France’s case, money was being lost across the border through lace purchases Flanders and Italy at a time when the King desperately needed money to fill his treasury due to expenses from wars and other pet projects. It was hoped that forbidding the wearing of lace would keep all that money in France and, therefore, available to the King. Another reason is more difficult for our modern minds to understand. Europeans had a great need to keep everyone in their place. Most of these sumptuary edicts were very explicit about who could wear what: Princes of the Blood could wear cloth of gold; other princes were only allowed to wear cloth of silver. Dukes could wear gold lace; earls could only wear gold trim, etc., etc. Ever since Europeans first started visiting America as ‘tourists’, they’ve been appalled that they couldn’t tell who was who. Since the founding of the U.S., part of being an American was the ‘right’ to purchase what we wanted to and wear the things that we wanted to wear. In Europe, even an extremely wealthy merchant couldn’t wear cloth of silver, for instance, or lace in our case. In the colonial period the sumptuary laws transferred to the New World, but once the U.S. was established as a nation, if you had the money, no one would stop you from buying (and wearing) what you wanted to. These edicts seem very much like quibbling to us, but they were important tools for social control. {Lace in the 17th-century.} Finally, King Louis XIII himself was quite ascetic. He did what he had to in order to be kingly, but he was very austere. He wasn’t into the whole musketeer look (floppy boots, huge hats, big ruffled lace collars). He was called ‘The Just’ because he really did try to enforce the rules he made (when violations were brought to his attention). He killed the noble who plotted against Richelieu, for instance, in the Chalais Conspiracy. He also executed a court favorite who insisted upon dueling after he had forbidden it. The King was derailed from his natural penchant for justice when his mother and his brother started conspiring against him, but in general, he wanted order. And he didn’t approve of conspicuous consumption. Obviously, many of those at court did since he kept having to issue sumptuary edicts, but that seemed to be how it went back then just about everywhere. {Portrait of Louis XIV.} Louis XIV, his son, had a different focus. He loved glitz and glamor. The more of it, the better! He actively encouraged his nobles to partake in lavishness. He wasn’t personally against lace and consumption the way his father had been. He did, however, have a huge need for funding his wars. Colbert (his minister) decided not only to forbid luxury goods in France (as Louis XIII had done), but also encouraged the creation of domestic rip-offs. For a while, the rip-offs were just that, but eventually, they became even more desired than the foreign goods they had been copied from. The association of France with luxury goods began during Louis XIV’s reign under Colbert’s guiding hand. All of the famous French laces date from that period. The French perfume industry developed then. The glass industry came of age, as did luxury textiles. {Girls making bobbin lace.} What was the result of the sumptuary laws? Like any law, sumptuary laws had unintended consequences. The moment it was forbidden, lace became even more highly prized than it had been. And whenever anything becomes illegal, criminals add it to their list of ways to make money. The result was a surprising paradox: the pairing of ‘smuggling’ and ‘lace’. {"The Lacemaker" by Vermeer.} What were the working conditions like for the lace-makers? Horrible. Since the lace had to be spotless, lace makers worked their long hours in workshops without heat or light. Fire, in any form, produced soot and ashes which would have soiled the lace. Often workshops were housed beside or above stables so that body heat from animals would keep the lace makers from freezing. Because they worked without light, most lace makers were blind by the age of thirty. Because the work was so tedious, their fingers and backs became crippled and deformed. You researched this subject extensively. What surprised you? People and their infinite creativity in finding new ways to maltreat both each other and animals. Whenever I wander through history I’m both amazed and appalled at how similar we are to our forebears. Thank you, Iris! The lace illustrations are from Iris's Pinterest board. I will soon have more on my own blog about Iris's fascinating research and writing processes. Sandra Gulland Author of The Josephine B. Trilogy and Mistress of the Sun ============================================= WEBSITE: http://www.sandragulland.com/ BLOG: http://bit.ly/TheWritingLife FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/SGFBpage TWITTER: http://twitter.com/Sandra_Gulland GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/SandraGulland =============================================

Chalet du Golf shows off modern interior design and chic decorating ideas inspired by comfortable and natural French country home decorating style

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I started back to school this past week with my kids on Tuesday. I had such a great first week and I am so excited to be back making music with them. We spent our first few days going over music room rules and procedures (click here to see rules post), emergency drills, and jumped right into making music. Can I just say that I LOVE pinterest! I found so many great ideas for back to school games through Pinterest as well as from Susan during Level 3. I thought I would share some of the really fun ones that the students enjoyed our first few days back: "Up The Ladder" is a great game for learning the names of your new students. "Down, Down Baby" is from the Amidons. SO FUN! Apparently this is a favorite, because it's being sung on the bus! Hickety Pickety Bumblebee is a fun one to use with K/1. In first grade you could review four voices with "can you sing (whisper, call, speak) your name to me". With kindergarten, it might be a bit intimidating to ask them to sing their name to you on day 1 of music, but let's be honest we are still learning all their names several weeks into the school year. Pull this out with them a little bit later (maybe after you have presented the four voices) and do this then. Mamalama: I learned this in Level 3, and we take it a bit faster than in this video, but it is SO FUN! I even had a student get the last part after just a few listenings. CRAZY! What are some of your favorite first day songs and activities? Still looking for ways to set up and decorate your room? This music room decor catalog will give you lots of idea, plus a back to school tip on each page!

Bonjour ! Je vends un porte-cartouche de jeu en forme d'étoile pour Nintendo Switch. Il peut contenir jusqu'à 12 cartouches de jeu. Les dimensions du produit sont de 6 cm X 5,5 cm X 5,5 cm Il est fabriqué avec du PLA. À propos du service d'expédition La plupart des services d'expédition prennent généralement 2 semaines maximum dans des circonstances normales. Mais Postes Canada et USPS connaissent actuellement des retards importants. Mes clients des États-Unis me signalent que le produit arrive environ 4e à 6e semaine après son expédition. Quel que soit le service que vous choisissez, Postes Canada (la fin de mon service postal) vous indiquera que « Les dates de livraison ne sont pas garanties pour le moment » Veuillez garder à l'esprit que ce sera lent. Merci d'avoir fait vos achats !

DIY Self-Tape Studio: If you're an actor, chances are you've had to send in a self-taped audition. Finding the right light, a quiet environment and a friend with a camera can be a HUGE headache that distracts you from your performance. Of course you can hire a profession…

Sarasponda

Fairly small collection of tattoo and makeup edits that I've drawn myself. Some of them are completely original, some of them were influenced by other media, such as WoW. This mod is planned to grow i

Song Index

I am obsessed with escape rooms! They are so much fun! I wish that I could do one every day. On my spring break trip to Atlanta I was able to do three in one day and it was super exhilarating! Before my state test I decided that I wanted to do a fun review game for my kids and decided to try my hand at an escape room. It took a lot of trial and error, but it was a MASSIVE success. I decided to share my escape room plans with you as best as I can in case you want to try something similar in your classroom. Step 1: The days leading up to the escape room I rolled a suitcase around with me (You will see why) Step 2: I broke the students into four groups Step 3: I created a newspaper article that informed students that I was taking over the world and handed one out to each group. Newspaper Generator Step four: I hid a card in my miniature file cabinet that said, "Don't just stand there in limbo, take a look in the classroom window." Step five: The first set of clues to decipher that opened the Word Lock was hidden behind a book in the window. Figurative Language Word Lock Clues Step six: Inside of Lock #1was the POV clues POV Directional Lock Step seven: Inside of Lock #2 was a set of UV flashlights and 4 pieces of seemingly blank paper. Once the UV lights were turned on students will find a number on each of their pieces of paper. This opened the lockbox. Step eight: Inside the lock box was four ziplock bags with puzzle pieces and a short story for each of the groups. The students need to read the short story and then put together their puzzle. One of the puzzles will have the correct symbol answer written in UV pen, the other three will be distractors with penalties. Symbolism Door Lock Clues Step nine: Each group will get a reading passage with multiple choice questions. Once they finish the passages, if they answered the questions correctly they will get their groups number to contribute to the final lock box. Reading Passages Lock Box Step ten: Students open the suitcase and thwart my takeover! Some pictures of my students completing the tasks Supplies I used (Click on the pictures) (3 boxes)

Library Escape Rooms are really big right now, so I tried to design this program so that any library can try to duplicate it. Because making something like this is kinda daunting–where do yo…

A1 or A2 Speaking and Reading activity aimed to describe a room: furniture and prepositions of place. Key providedHere you are more practice: https://en.islcollective.com/mypage/my-creations?search_key=rooms&type=printables&option=published&id=620769&grammar=&vocabulary=&materials=&levels=&studentTypes=&skills=&languageExams=&dialect=&functions=&page=1&sorting_type=most_newest&filter_type=filter_all&view_type=list&view_length=12 - ESL worksheets

This is a fun idea shared by Jenise B. from the MT View ward in AZ The only direction I have are what is listed below. Relief Society Family History Escape Room #1. Silver number lock on black box…

Make sure you follow my maths or English boards on Pinterest for more ideas, and don’t forget to save the pin for later. I More

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The Circle Game asks students to come up with as many different things as they can from one circle. I thought this activity was really fun! However, my elementary students were not that interested. Most of my kids' papers were dull circles with a scribble on them. I think older kids might "get it" better. I have included the handout from Ande Cook's Art Starters as well as my lesson plan with all the directions for a sub. The Ande Cook handouts were part of a SchoolArts subscription, or you can get her book: Art Starters

They say looks matter. Despite what some naysayers might say, that makes a lot of sense for when, say, you’re going into a job interview or going out dating. Well, the same goes for houses.

If you happen to live in a period home like I do and you’re lucky enough to have lots of architectural features such as coving, ceiling roses, wood panelling, elaborate banisters, mantelpieces and so

Extra Beat, Take a Seat is a really fun game to play with upper elementary students to help them count beats. This can be played with no materials or rhythm sticks.