Halloween

A favorite holiday of mine, and most children. My activity list of the day includes: carving pumpkins with our care partners, design your own pumpkin, and then carve your own the entire afternoon. Each student will have carved 2 pumpkins today, and they are pumped about it.

We played Halloween music all morning, and I plan on keeping the tunes rolling. Thriller has been played a few times...these kids need to understand good music.

Random fact today: My wedding dress arrived at the FedEx office yesterday. I picked it up this morning before school (because I couldn't stand to wait) and then tried it on during the lunch hour. Yep, just me and two fellow intern friends in the Kindergarten room. My coop teacher came to see me as well. It was a little ridiculous but such an exciting moment!!

Back to real life

The classroom is a disaster and full of pumpkin guts. I love it! A little tip: instead of newspaper on the floor, roll out residential sized poly. Then throw all the pumpkin guts in the middle, roll it up and chuck it. The floor doesn't turn black from the ink in the newspaper, and the clean up is simple. If you need to track some down, ask a friend who has recently built a house or done renovations. Guaranteed they have some lying around.

If you have students with tactile and texture issues (teachers, you know what I mean) I recommend having a pair of rubber gloves in your classroom. I watched one of my students poke and prod his pumpkin with all kinds of tools, refusing to get his hands dirty. Most kids, I just make them dig in and get their hands dirty. But you have to be sensitive to those particular students "on the spectrum" or who cannot handle this type of activity. As soon as the gloves went on, he was in there like a dirty shirt.

We then had a class vote for best pumpkin. This is a school wide competition, so we needed to nominate one from our class.

And the winner is...

A close second and third place

I love Halloween, and I will always celebrate it in my classroom. What did you do for Halloween today?

Thank a Farmer

You might have noticed my name change... Children have this uncanny ability to google their teachers and obsess over their personal lives. So from now on my alias is Hymas. Take that, children!!

My lesson plan post today is something near and dear to my heart - Farmers. I received an email from "Agriculture in the Classroom" a week or so ago about this lesson, and jumped on it immediately. If you are not on their mailing list, do it. My 10 year plan is to expand Ag in the Classroom in to Southern Saskatchewan and develop the Alberta Green Certificate program here as well. But more on my aspirations later.

There are many reasons we should thank farmers, here is the main one:

I love these Memes

I randomly brought this lesson in to my class because I didn't care what subject it "fit", I knew it was important and wanted my students to be a part of it. It's the end of harvest, be thankful you have food. I wasn't this blunt with the kids, but pretty close. I added it to the Daily 5 during work on writing, in case you wanted to know.

I opened the lesson with general discussion about what farmers do. My first question was if anyone knew a farmer. A few responses "My grandparents used to farm", "My Uncle is a farmer" blah blah blah. When one of them remembered that I am a farmer, they all raised their hands and thought I was the coolest! These moments are few, so I cherish them. We brainstormed ideas as to what they would write in their thank-you cards, and I wrote these on the board for reinforcement.

I then gave them a little quiz. Honestly, this was mostly for my enjoyment. Their answers were hilarious and the general ignorance about farming practices is always good for a laugh. Of course, we discussed the quiz once all the student's were finished and hopefully enlightened them about farming practices right here in Saskatchewan.

The students were then given a piece of yellow paper and sent on their way. Here are some examples of their work (I covered their names, obviously):

Thats a Hereford, in case anyone was wondering

The student's were all very engaged, and willing to write their thank-you cards. Not like they had an option of writing the thank-you card, but engaged non the less. 

You can download the lesson and quiz directly from the AITC website found here, the lesson is called "Salute to Saskatchewan Farmers"and they are collecting thank-you cards until November 9th to be send out this year. So get on it! 

Until next time, here is some cat humor to get you through the day:

Teacher clothes

What I think of when someone says they are wearing their best "teacher outfit"

I'm sorry whoever you are, but this is terrible

There is absolutely no reason why teachers cannot be fashionable! To be fair, most of the teachers I see and interact with dress well (not like Mrs. Frump above). The problem we run in to is making each outfit appropriate. I am large (understatement) in the chest area, but I have become somewhat of a master of disguise. No frumpy sweaters for this girl! 

Here are my key fashion tips:

-No low cut anything! It looks trashy and when you bend over and students can see you tatas

-If you are wearing flare bottoms, don't wear a billowing blouse. You look enormous

-Accessorize with a watch. It is function-able and adorable. Add bracelets for an "arm party" if you wish. I wear long necklaces rarely, they always seem to be in the way or getting caught on students' desks. So jazz up the wrists! 

-Black skinny legged pants are your best friend. Wear them with boots, flats, loafers, anything really. I love these from Charlotte Russe because they are affordable and very comfortable. I got a pair from Bryans, but they do not have a website (lame!) Winners is always a good option as well

-Wear boots in the fall, winter, and spring. Riding boots look good with everything, and add a touch of class. I love these and these and these and these. Did I mention I love boots? Wedges are comfortable and dressy, so don't tell me you can't walk in heels. It's a wedge! Suck it up.

-Wear boyfriend style blazers. I have a few "work" blazers that make me look like a british man. Not really, but they are a little too dressy for everyday. Most of my blazers and thrifted because I am cheap. You can buy fashionable gently used clothing at Platos closet. This place will change your life! If you life in Saskatoon click here for their website. 

-Wear scarves. If you know me, you have seen my deep secret stash of well over 35 scarves. Ya, I am definitely obsessed. I buy most of them at Smart-Set because they are ALWAYS on sale. My last 5 scarves are from there, each costing around $5. 

So here is what I wore today. 

Teacher appropriate full frontal with my most favorite item of clothing - black pants!

These bad boys have Quad Comfort. Originally from Marks Work Wear House (ya, they have cute stuff) for $170. Bought them used at Platos closet for $55. Winning! 

Orange blazer - thrifted. Leopard scarf - Reitmans, not on their website anymore but leopard is everywhere this season. White extra long t-shirt - Smart-Set ($4). Watch - Tommy Hilfiger. 

I think I might do this fashion post every Monday! Remember friends, stay fashionable not frumpy. 

Internship eh...

I have been interning for 61 days, and have 53 days left...but who's counting?

The experience has been wonderful of course, but 10 year olds do begin to wear on you. For my fellow interns, you will understand my need for sarcasm at this particular point in my education career. I am nearing the end of my official "teacher test" as I am only full time teaching for another few weeks. The break from the University classroom was much needed. I swear to god if someone mentions pedagogy one more time I will punch them in the face. But seriously, does anyone feel they benefited more from their time at the University opposed to time spent in an actual classroom? But I digress, because this argument could go on for days.

I am teaching in a grade 5 classroom, in Saskatoon. I love bringing rural knowledge in to my classroom as I was born and raised a ranch girl. Stay tuned for my "Thank a Farmer" lesson plan.

I plan on sharing with you my views on teacher appropriate (no cleavage) fashion, interesting lesson plans and a little humor to bring us teachers back to our place of sanity.

Until next time I leave you with this: