Mean Girls and the Issue of Bullying

Hey guys,

I have really dropped the ball with posting fun ideas. This is not really a "fun" idea, but it is something I have been wrestling with all year.

Here are a few articles if you are interested in reading more:

This website has a lot of resources and may be a jumping off point for you.



We have a special group of girls this year. They are consistantly mean and cruel to each other. My school does R-time, which is a great program. Check out their website or my previous post.

I want to do more with my students. I am going to begin a program with my class starting next week. We have 11 weeks until the end of school. We will use a few resources I have found, videos, and discussion to help us plan a video. I want us to make a video that is unique to us and what is happening.

I am really going to lean heavily on this website. It has great webisodes that will lead us into discussions. It also has quizzes and critical thinking questions that go along with each video.

It is not going to be easy finding the time to do this, but I think it is very important. Most of the time I feel like I am just swimming against the current. I have to fight against what my students see and hear from everyone else every day. There are countless negative examples from tv, movies, family members, other people in public, music, and more that all present bullying as acceptable. I want to show them a different way.

What do you do with your students? Do you see this same problem? Do you agree or disagree with the articles?

It's been way too long!

Oh wow. I have not posted anything in a really long time! I have been super busy with school. (Like all of us do I am sure.) We have been testing like crazy. I feel like everything we do is in preparation for a test. Not the most fun thing in the world. I have really been struggling with loving teaching this year because of the high stakes testing. I am working through it.  :)

This has helped me:

Be sure you visit my other website for Promethean flipcharts! I am adding to it all the time. I use my board for almost everything.

Here are 3 great websites that I have recently discovered:

Enjoy! I hope your spring semester is going smoothly. Just remember:

Pinterest Info

Hey our there! I have had a few people tell me they want a Pinterest tutorial. Here is what I came up with. I hope it helps someone!

Happy Pinning!

ANNOUNCING... Files to Share!!!

I am so happy to tell you I finally figured out how to share my Promethean files with you!!!! I have been wanting to do this for a while. It is not fun to individually email people when they request my files. I was doing it because I wanted to share, but I have found an easier way! Yay!!!



<a border="0" href=" https://sites.google.com/a/mesquiteisd.org/resources-to-share/" target="_blank"><img src=" http://i1219.photobucket.com/albums/dd436/rmorrisMisd/purple20polka20dot-1.jpg "/></a>
I will probably end up putting all types of files on here, but for now there are just flipcharts.

Personal Post -- New House!

My hubby and I are building a house. It is so wonderful to see it taking shape.

We wrote scriptures on a wall in each room.

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I am sad that I don't have any fun printables to share with you today. We are going to be really focusing on testing... I am not looking forward to that, but it is our reality. I wish I knew of a way to share my Promethean board resources. If anyone knows of a way, please tell me. I have a lot to share. I use my board for almost everything.

Happy New Year!!

Great Technology Resources

I found a great blog to share with you!

Check it out. You won't be sorry!

Here are some of my favorites that she shared:

Math practice -- all ages

Christmas activity

This site has a ton of fun games.

I really like this one for math.

This is a fun one, but it takes a little while to load.

I have been looking for things to spice up our every day routine. I love these! Have fun!

Whole Brain Teaching

So... I had great aspirations at the beginning of the year. I was going to really jump into Whole Brain Teaching. Yeah, that didn't happen. The only part I really taught my students was the "Class -- Yes" technique. Which works great, by the way!

I am making a resolution today to make this a large part of my classroom from now on. If you don't know what I am talking about, you need to visit the website.

This is a perfect example. I posted about this before school started.  I think the main reason I have not jumped into this (aside from forgetting about it) is that I won't be able to use all of it. I am an all or nothing kind of girl. That is a good and bad thing. 

These are the aspects I am going to implement immediately:

• Class -- Yes  (Check!)
• Our rules will be our R-time rules.
• Teach -- Ok
• Motivator will be our clip chart
• Focuser - Hands and Eyes
• Mirror
• Switch

You should go and register on his website. You can email him at Cbiffle@aol.com for any questions. There are great, FREE resources to improve classroom behavior, writing, math speed, and reading speed. There are some great beginning sight word resources that every kindergarten and first grade teacher should know about. I am going to start using the Super Speed 100 with my class this week.

Let me know if you do this! I want to hear about how you work it in your classroom!

Life Cubby

I was contacted by a website that is a great resource. Check out this video to see what it is all about.



Doesn't this just sound awesome?

Want to see something awesome????? Do you see my button???  =)

Click on the picture to go to the website.

Off Topic -- We are building a house!

So I need to focus on something other than school for a little while. I will be posting about our house periodically over the next few months as it is being built. We are super excited! Here is our floor plan:

We added:

-covered front porch

-study has glass french doors and a closet (so it can be a 4th bedroom if needed)

-2 archways (one in entry to kitchen and one at the doorway to bedrooms 2 and 3 and bath 2)

-brick fireplace

-double vanity in master bath

-garden tub and 5ft shower in master bath

-pendant lights hanging over the bar

-additional footage onto back porch slab

-upgraded front door (it's very pretty)

We will have tile and carpet. I have missed carpet.  =)

We will have a fenced yard, full sod and some landscaping, new kitchen appliances including washer and dryer. The windows are beautiful! Everything is energy efficient. So of course I have been planning for what I want to put in our new house. Guess what has been a great resource?

Pinterest!

It is a blessing and a curse. Anyone who is on Pinterest know what I am talking about.

Here are a few of my favorite pins at the moment:

I am thinking this would be great on plastic containers as well.

Source: Uploaded by user via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: pbteen.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: pinterest.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: roomzaar.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

I am so excited! I can't wait until all our permits are approved and they can start. We have been going out to see our lot, but they have not done much.

It is going to be great.

I am so thankful that I have this outlet to share my thoughts, be they creative, depressed, excited, etc.

Have a good evening!