Shine on Harvest Moon

Yesterday I picked up Trevor from school. I asked the standard question,  “What did you learn in school today?" Instead of “Not much”, (the standard fourth grade answer) we actually had a conversation about the autumnal equinox which happens to be today.

In class they were supposed to write a couple of sentences about things they knew about an equinox. Well, he had definitely learned my lesson about anything worth doing is worth over-doing. He said he actually wrote 2 ½ pages. I think he got in there somewhere about the days and nights being  equal lengths; and that it marks the beginning of autumn and the end of summer.

But then, he got into the good parts about magicians who have the power to set things right perhaps at the time of the equinox. He told about Mt. Olympia and Poseidon and Zeus and about magic bows, swords, and lightning bolts. He somehow included these words, “the equinox drew near and the sun shined warmer than before.” (I think that was the vernal equinox, but oh, well!  It was an equinox!) I think he has been reading way too much Percy Jackson.

Want to know more about  the characters in the Percy Jackson books?.....Go to the link below.  You would have to ask Trevor to identify the characters. Obviously, something exciting has happened!!! 
http://babbleon5.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/percy-jackson-and-the-olympians-the-lightning-thief-920160.jpg

 He has just finished the last book, The Last Olympian. I love to see a kid with his nose stuck in a book with his mind off to another world and lost in his own imagination. The author, Rick Riordan, has a great website. He started telling the stories to his son who is dyslectic and has ADHD. The stories became books and the rest is history. They really appeal to kids who are interested in adventure, myths, and legends. 

Back to the equinox and
the beginning of fall…

It is really hard to imagine that it is the beginning of fall in Texas when it is 98 degrees outside. So, I turned the air conditioner down to 68 and tossed some of the CTP cut out leaves around my desk. I dreamed of  what it would be like to live in a cooler climate.

Then, I remembered the winters that I spent in upper Michigan and I didn’t miss fall so much. We do get a little cool weather it just comes a little later.
I try to take lots of pictures to remember it.

I made a seasonal scrapbook using all  three sizes of the leaf cut-outs.  Check out 6", 10" Jumbo,  and 1" mini cut-outs.  Together they make  really cute fall scrapbook pages.









CTP printed this on their Facebook pages the other day. One of the comments was…

”Now, that is just adorable!”

 I agree!

So, the autumnal equinox actually occurs at 11:09 (central) tonight. There is supposed to be a big harvest moon, too. Let’s all go out and take a look.

                                                 

"I'll be looking at the moon, but I’ll be seeing you!”

Happy Autumn!

Floral Embellishments

  

I am in California at CTP this week. It is always fun to visit with everyone and to check out the new stuff that’s in the works.

One thing is certain....

Things are always blooming at CTP. 

 

              

Last fall CTP introduced a new bulletin board set with flowers in pots called SPRING GARDEN! The flowers were so cute that we couldn't resist making more. In this most recent fall release, we added to the flower garden theme with a Poppin' Pattern border and the flowers.  The flowers come in six styles in all three sizes…6-inch, 10-inch jumbos, and 1-inch mini cut outs.  Put them all together and you have a great bulletin board.

But you can use the flowers for more than decoration.  Here is center idea for a magnet board. I cut the 6-in. flowers apart and put pictures on each half. In the center the kids match up the flowers. The pictures are from one of the Games Galore books.  This game works on blends.

Or how about using the jumbo cut outs to make a class book?

Each child has a flower with his/her name on it.  Everyone can practice reading the names of the kids in the class. 

Notice how the new borders coordinate so well with the flowers.

These magnet boards are designed for sorting.  Once again, the Games Galore books provide pictures for lots of skills.

This is a T-Graph for sorting

Long a and Short a.

This is a TRIO board for sorting words of one, two, or three syllables.

This is a 4-Square for sorting beginning consonants.

Check out all the Language Games Galore for practice in various language skills. They are great for game pieces.

Another idea is to make greeting cards
from the flowers.

Fold a 9" x 24" piece of construction paper in half (hamburger style).  Then fold back the top part in half again.  You then have      9 " x 12"  card.  Place the pot and the flowers on the card then fold back down.  The words say....My love for you grows and grows as you unfold the card.

 

May inspiration bloom!



Embellishments of the Heart

In 1893, Sears and Roebuck printed their first catalog. Way back in my Grandma’s day there was great excitement about the arrival of the catalog. Everyone took turns making wishes and marking pages. Today, it seems I get a dozen catalogs every day. There are so many! 
I get excited, however, when I see one from CTP because I know samples of the actual products are soon to follow.

                                          Go to http://www.creativeteaching.com/ to view the catalog.

Two weeks ago, I received a box marked PRODUCT SAMPLES. 
The new stuff had arrived!!  
As I opened the big box I actually heard an audible voice that said,

“GO FORTH AND EMBELLISH!”

So much really cute stuff....I could hardy wait! 
In the box there were three new styles of designer
cut-outs...snowflakes, flowers, and hearts. 
I was immediately drawn to the hearts.

The cut-outs were in all three sizes….6”,
as well as the jumbo 10”, and the mini 1”.

Then I noticed that the new borders coordinated
with the cut-outs.

How convenient!

I remembered a part of a little poem,
“I made a hundred valentines, a hundred did I say!
I made a thousand valentines, one cold an wintery day.”
It was something about the valentines being seeds for birds. I couldn’t remember the whole poem.


So, I Googled it. (Isn’t that the greatest invention!)
The only thing that came up was a three year old kid singing it as a song.
It was the poem and the kid was cute.
You can Google, too, and check out the YouTube performance.
So, I had the words and I had my inspiration for my first HEART project.

I copied the poem on a clear packing label and put it on one of the 6" hearts. Then I made a bird feeder to hold my Valentines (seeds) for February birds.

I cut down a milk carton and edged it with the new border. I used a pipe-cleaner attached to each side to hang the birdfeeder. Then, I added a few hearts and of course a bow because "everything looks better with a bow"!

More Embellishments of the Heart

Use heart cut-outs and minis to decorate a small mail box to receive all your Valentine mail.

Make your own Valentine cards.....

Combine hearts to make fish,

love Bugs,

butterflies or

whatever you can imagine.

The hearts match the mini bulletin board which was introduced last year. 

This makes a great Friendship bulletin board.

 Heartbreaker! 

Make a matching game by cutting the hearts apart. 

Add a picture to each piece of the hearts. 

In this game the kids are practicing rhyming words.

 When you have a complete heart your match is correct.  

Hearts are not just for Valentine's Day. 

They also make great Mother's Day gifts. 

Use mini hearts to decorate a memory box to go with

the holiday reader called Celebrating Mother's Day. 

Or make a cluster of mini hearts to create

 a flower for a cork board for Mom.

 

How about you?

I love the new designer hearts, too!

We hold these truths to be self-evident…..

After posting my last blog I found out that Al Roker was not doing a public service announcement. He was doing a commercial. I was corrected by my husband who was actually watching the television program. I was multi-tasking by cooking dinner while watching television. I was having a little trouble hearing Al over the buzz of the microwave.

Which leads me to tell you about the Gilmore Creed.

My three sisters and I were the original Gilmore Girls.

                            

                                                        Gilmore Girls In Your Easter Bonnet circa 1964

Here is our creed….

We hold these truths to be self-evident….

Truth #1 You never let the truth interfere with a good story. Don’t you just hate it when one of your kids says, “Mom, that’s not what really happened.” Like it really matters if it makes a good story!

Truth #2 Anything worth doing is worth OVERDOING!

This is especially true when dealing with a large family gathering and food. Someone once told me “less is more”. That is just ridiculous! Less is less. MORE IS MORE!

Truth #3 Everything looks better with a bow.

I am an excellent bow maker. Last Christmas I made one hundred and twenty-three bows for the altar guild at church. Every poinsettia in the entire church had a bow on its pot. It was all lovely!

(Refer back to Truth #1 about a good story and to Truth #2 about overdoing.)

I like to think of it as embellishment!


We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and (to embellish in) the pursuit of happiness.

So, go forth today and embellish in the pursuit of happiness!

Last night, Kate was handing out cards from her Fancy Nancy notes to everyone in the room. This was mine…

               Fancy Nancy knows about embellishments!

Welcome Back to School

Last week I saw Al Roker of the Today show on television doing a public service announcement about how much teachers spend out-of-pocket on their classroom supplies. He said that teachers spend an average of $500 each year. I spent 20+ years working in an educational supply store. For some teachers (especially those who teach in the lower grades) that number seems a little low.

One year during Back to School, I was in the store working at the check out counter. In the long line were a young first-year teacher and her mother. Since it was her first classroom her mother had come with her to buy her a few things. The bill came to about $60. When they finished the young teacher turned to her mother and said, “Thanks, Mom, but just think we won’t have to do this next year.” A seasoned veteran teacher was behind her in line. She said, “Honey! (We are from Texas.) You have no idea! I have been at this for 23 years and I am still buying stuff!”

 I have been out of the store for four years now. I wondered if the teachers are still buying stuff so I took a field trip this week to two local stores to see for myself what teachers were buying. (Thank you to Teach Mart in Keller, TX, and Teacher’s Tools in Hurst, TX.)

My Shopping Field Trip

Here is what I found in my research.

Calendars and class schedules are still essentials.













Things need to match!
Poppin’ Patterns make that easy!

Dots on chocolate are really sweet!

My School Field Trip

After a day in the stores, I went to visit some teacher friends at our local elementary school. First grade teacher, Rachel Boyd, was getting ready. This year she was moved from second grade to first grade so she was making a few adjustments in her classroom. Thursday was “Meet the Teacher” night so she had lots to do to get ready before the kids and parents got there.

.....desks to be arranged


…..books to be unpacked


…..games to be organized.







……names to be printed on name plates .

……”Welcome” letters to be written.








Did I mention that it was 103 degrees that day!
What happened to starting school in the fall!

Why do teachers continue to spend money and do this all this work?

If you asked the teachers they might mention that they spend most of their days in their classrooms. They want their surroundings to be pleasant and comfortable. They would surely mention that they want their kids to be successful and to pass THE TEST!

But most of all, the reason they do all this is for the anxious little girl walking through the kindergarten door on “Meet the Teacher” night.

Teachers want each child to feel “at home” and excited and ready to learn!

To my precious friend, Sandi Hill, who gives all her kindergarteners the gift of believing in themselves!

To my granddaughter, Kate, welcome to this new great adventure!

I am so happy that this year the two of you will be together!

                                Welcome to School!