Transform Your Life: Inspiring Stories of Triumph and Resilience on the Path to Recovery

Although there have been two different Math Mondays touching just tangentially on the wonderful world of string art, it has never covered the basics of the area, and it's high time. (Why is it high time? Hint: in preparation for non-basics to come...) The fundamental idea is that you create one or more series of connection points, regular in some way, and then stretch taut strings between the connections (again, typically in some orderly fashion), producing (hopefully!) an interesting, beautiful, and/or mathematically significant overall pattern.

In a pre-pandemic post, “What to say when you don’t know what to say,” I made a big list of some of my favorite conversational shortcuts that I like to drop to keep conversations from being needlessly confrontational or boring. Stuff like: “It wasn’t for me” when somebody asks you what you thought of something

These fun challenges for couples will bring out your playful side and help you connect in new ways. Re-light that spark and stoke the fire!

Download this Premium Vector about Teamwork concept., and discover more than 175 Million Professional Graphic Resources on Freepik. #freepik #vector #collaboration #teamworkhands #teamhands

How do you turn towards instead of away? In order to understand turning, you have to first understand bids.

Going on a second date can feel just as nerve-wracking as the first. You likely put a lot of time and effort into planning that initial meetup, hoping to make

The Global Ecovillage Network envisions a world of people designing regenerative futures, building bridges of hope, and forging international solidarity.

Over 50 ideas, activities, games, recipes, and more for revolutionizing your family table time! Make your family table a place for laughter, hospitality,

Our Mission Statement Our Facebook groups are an important part of the JenniferMaker community. I created our groups to be warm and welcoming places for crafters, makers, and content creators to ask on-topic questions, share their creations, and support one another. I consider our groups to be extensions of my home and studio, places I‘ve...

Starting counseling sessions with a check-in is something I’ve been doing since my internship in 2011. For a long time, I used Kimochis (you know those little stuffie feelings characters?). I then started using feelings posters, sometimes my feelings/problems size scale, and then for individual sessions I started using this check-in folder almost every time. […]

We are two teachers from Las Vegas that would like to share our ideas and experiences from our classroom. Hope you enjoy!

I never really used anchor charts and if I did they were just plain old boring. I never realized they were boring until I discovered pinterest. I thought "Man, my anchor charts are blaaah, compared to these!" So the creative person in me said "Move over sista, it's time for the real star to shine!" HAHAHA I really don't think THAT highly of myself, maybe just a little. This year our school mandated that we have anchor charts displayed in our classroom AND it needed to be student interacted. Today I introduced use your schema to make connections strategy from CAFE. I pre-made this anchor chart before introducing it to the class. I then introduced each connection one by one using several examples and filling in the pre-made anchor chart. This was our end result. I made a worksheet so students can make connections when they read to self. Click on the picture to grab yours for free. I really love how COLOR makes a huge difference and how it catches the students attention. Here is another example of an anchor chart I made during math instruction. I place the anchor charts on the wall so that students can refer back to them during the week. Once we move on to a new content I switch out the old ones to new anchor charts. Here are pictures of our Science and Math walls. Laters, Mrs. Concepcion

Hey cute Mama! I see you there trying to balance ALL the things. I see you trying to feed and nurture your kids, fit in a work out, help with class assignments, sign up for dozens of volunteer activities, organize your space, balance work and maybe even sleep sometimes too. When did your kiddo outgrow

Conversation starters will help you build stronger relationships with your followers. Once you have gained their trust, they’ll become your best advocates.

Hoping to deepen your connection with your spouse? Discover seven distinct Christian date night ideas that will ignite your love and enrich your spiritual journey together.

https://youtu.be/sNhtc95Azo82021 is the promised year - the year of redemption and even though COVID is still at large, we know we are looking to make the plane

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were able to have a direct line of communication with your spirit team? Have you ever felt a deep desire to tap into a higher source of wisdom and gu…

Hopes and Dreams in the elementary classroom What are your hopes and dreams for the school year? Do you dream of your students being happy? Safe? Optimistic? I dream that my students will come every day to class ready to learn, and to create a warm and safe environment to learn in. Not only teachers ... Read More about How to set up hopes and dreams in the elementary classroom

Infographic Source: Nature Kids Insitute

As teachers, we're always on the hunt for easy ways to build positive relationships with students. That's because a strong connection with student can greatly increase their success in our classrooms. I'm sharing 15 ways to build relationships with students. I'm sure you already do so many of them....so I hope you find a new idea or two. Don't worry! I've put together all of these ideas in a printable set of cards. You can download all the ideas for FREE HERE. Make it a practice to send out a set number of postcards (or even emails) a week celebrating students that made positive contributions to class. TIP: Be sure to record your mailings in a communication log. Give a job that requires trust and responsibility to students that might be a bit more challenging. By doing so and explaining to them why you think they is the right one for the job, you’ll instill a sense of trust. TIP: Many students benefit from the feeling that you see them as responsible. One of the most effective ways to compliment a student is to do it when they are not there. For instance, when a student is absent or leaves the room, make a comment about something you really like about them. Other students in the room will totally tell the student what you said later in the day, and it models genuine love for your students in front of the rest of the class. On day one of a new school year, you will most likely get a sense of who might be a more challenging student in your classroom. So, if that more difficult student had a pretty good day, call home that night. Note specific things they did right in your classroom. By establishing positive contact right away, you make a bit of a deposit in the child’s “bank account.” Then, if something goes wrong on another day, you’ve already established a positive relationship. DOWNLOAD the CARDS HERE. Avoid embarrassing or making an example of a student at all costs. Be positive – always. Instead of “Bob get your packet out,” try complimenting the student next to Bob, “George, thanks for getting your packet out.” Highlight what you want to happen instead of embarrassing a student. Make a connection with your most challenging students. Find a way to genuinely compliment them in your class each day. Write kind notes on their paper. Make an effort to reach out to their parents with positive news (it’s like a bank deposit – fill the bank with as much good news as possible so that when you have to make a withdrawal your contact will be primarily positive). Be excited to see the student each school day. TIP: Even if you have to fake it, loving the hardest kid to love is so important. Sometimes you’ll make a wrong call. Sometimes you’ll overreact. Sometimes you’ll make a kid sad. When you make a mistake, say you’re sorry – publicly – in front of the whole class. Explain what happened, what you did wrong, how you’ll make amends (with an action), and how you’ll try to improve in the future. If this is what we expect from our students when they make mistakes, then it makes sense to model it for everyone to see. Students don’t want you to be perfect. They want you to be consistent, fair, and when you’re not those things, they’d love to hear you say sorry. Say a friendly hello and create a quick connection with students every day by standing at your door. This little gesture reminds them that you are there for them. It shows them that you are excited and engaged as well. TIP: Say goodbye to each of them, by name, at the end of each day, too. Some teachers successfully give nicknames to students. However, many students resent the nicknames that teachers give them. While they may accept it (because what else can they do?), many times the nickname embarrasses them or highlights something different about them. As you know, being different is often not a good feeling as a kid. That’s why it’s important to ask what a student would like to be called and stick with it. It’s human nature to connect with some people more than others. That’s true with students as well. However, it’s important to never pick favorites! If you’re the basketball coach don’t just engage with your athletes. If you tend to like the girls in the classroom more than the boys, don’t show favoritism. Kids struggle with teachers that play favorites. As humans, there will be students we just like more. Make a concerted effort to highlight and connect with those students that you’re not necessarily drawn too. One of the easiest ways to positively connect with students is by being consistent and fair. Students want to feel safe in their classrooms. They want to know that you have systems in place to help all students be successful. Stay consistent in your classroom management so that students can thrive in your loving, fun, and supportive classroom. Reflect on your own school experience growing up. Who was your favorite teacher? Why? (Does it have something to do with how that teacher made you feel?) TIP: Emulate your favorite teacher in your own classroom. Build connections with your students as they build connections with their peers. Intentionally plan activities that encourage students to get to know their classmates. While activities like positive pennant posters and team building games may seem to take away from instruction, they are actually powerful tools for creating a positive learning environment. Have you ever heard that the easiest way to get children to listen is to whisper your message within earshot of someone else? The same principle applies to students. They love to eavesdrop. So, why not brag about individual students to a colleague within earshot of them? Spreading the word about the great things kids are doing (in a whisper) is super powerful! Create homework and classwork with students’ names in the assignments. Make sure their names are associated with positive things and connected to activities and hobbies they care about. TIP: Personalizing assignments is not hard to do, but it helps students connect with you and their learning. Grab your set of cards here. _______________________________________ Thanks so much for checking out these ideas. I hope you've found at least one new way to connect with students. Talk soon, Mary Beth P.S. If you'd like a set of FREE positive notes to give to students, download them here.

Learn how to reconnect with your spouse so you can rekindle that deep and intimate connection you used to have when you first met your husband or wife.

I think, if you are a regular reader, you know my love of PINTEREST by now. It's the best site to lose yourself in. While you can search for pins in a variety of categories, I often look for school ideas. In fact, I have a board full of anchor charts others have found on the web that I liked. I thought today I would share with you some of the literacy anchor charts I have pinned along with the link to the original post if possible. So, in no particular order, here we go! Heart Map for Writing The picture is a little fuzzy and this is one I actually couldn't find a permanent link for, but I think you get the idea. I actually do this writing lesson. It's on writing about the things you love. You draw a big heart and then fill it with all those things. The teacher does one to model, and then your friends create their own. It is writing topic inspiration for your friends. I've always just drawn a heart and filled it in with words, but I love this idea. I am planning to prepare one and laminate it. Then, I'm going to give my friends a heart to do for themselves. Wouldn't this make a great bulletin board? **Edit: Holly from Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade found out who made the heart. It's the brainchild of Cara Carroll from The First Grade Parade. Please stop by her blog, and tell her how much we love her heart! By the way, if you are looking for some turkey flakes, check out Holly's blog. Too cute!** Deep Versus Flat Connections This comes from Ms. Bonger's blog Life in 4B. I can't begin to tell you how amazing this teacher is. You will find many wonderful things in her blog. I am working my way through all her older posts and loving almost everything I read! This anchor chart really hits home for me because a few of my friends are still having a tough time with this at the moment. You have to love her sense of humor, too. Love the "Whoop dee doo. . . " What is a Prediction? This chart comes from Jennifer Jones' blog Hello Literacy. Jennifer's profile says she is an Instructional Teacher Leader. I believe it! Her blog is another that is full of great ideas and resources. This chart about prediction caught my eye because of the way it relates it to so many other things our friends know about such as estimation in math and forecasts in weather. Common Themes in Literature Another one I couldn't find a permanent link to. The link above takes you to a slide show, but I couldn't find any links to a blog or person. I like this chart simply because I can never remember all the themes! I'm always forgetting something. This should be a handy reminder. So that's just four of the anchor charts I really liked and two great blogs I found via Pinterest. I will probably post some more at a later date. Besides anchor charts, Pinterest has tons of tips on other things. For instance, I found via this link at the blog Learning Pavillion that Had no idea! :-) UPDATE 10/21/12: Thanks to Sheri at Learning Pavillion, a great blog with tons of great ideas! This idea and the pictures are from her blog. I should note that the link I originally posted did not link back to Sheri's blog, but I have corrected that. Sorry about that Sheri. Thanks for being so gracious about my error! By the way, thanks to all of you that commented on my post regarding Planning the Impossible. I'm still thinking about your comments. At this point, I might just email my principal, literacy coach, and director asking them to help me make it work. I'm thinking if I go in seemingly befuddled as to how to make it work,they will have to come up with something other than expecting us to just make it happen. If you haven't had a chance to read the post, please take a minute to read and comment if you can. I would really appreciate any thoughts you may have. 

The Gardner by Sarah Stewart is a wonderful choice for modeling determining importance. This post offers teaching ideas and free lessons.

Synonyms and Antonyms Anchor Chart! This blog post contains the material to create this anchor chart, plus a FREE interactive notebook entry for synonyms and antonyms!

Positive affirmations are a powerful tool for children. They improve the wellbeing, boost their self-esteem, and encourage creative thinking. Try these 7 fun and innovative ways of doing affirmations with your children!