Tag Archives: School

April, Already?

      1 Comment on April, Already?

The teachers and I here are just coming off our first “real” break since Christmas. It was a delightful time for me, a whole week off (almost…still had grad school work to do), and time to visit parents, brothers, sisters, and my nephew. I missed meeting my new nephew by only a couple days! My husband and I look forward… Read more »

Google Wrap Up

      2 Comments on Google Wrap Up

Hi friends! It’s been a few weeks since I blogged about the Google Education Summit at Wisconsin Lutheran College. The week went well, and my brain is still reeling from all the information we stuffed in during that week. My biggest takeaway will be using the suite of Google tools in my classroom.  Right now, I’m planning to have my… Read more »

Paper Crafts

      No Comments on Paper Crafts

This week we have done quite a bit of work with paper. Cutting, gluing, folding and labeling have been our top priorities in science and art. In science, we are covering the skeletal system, so I found a site that had downloadable templates of a skeleton.  It was mainly for Halloween decoration, but it fit our purpose! My students have… Read more »

Wherein I Still am Considering Ideas about 1:1 Technology

Our principal’s goal at our K-8 school of (approximately) 200 students includes plans to get rid of our computer lab. We have a 30-station lab with desktop computers that are running Windows XP. The majority of them have a Pentium 4 processor and are outdated. (Most classrooms also include one or two of the same desktop computer.) This year, we… Read more »

Mr. Miagi’s Rules for Students

      2 Comments on Mr. Miagi’s Rules for Students

My family and I were in Cincinnati this weekend for my younger sister’s graduation. (Congratulations on your Masters in Genetic Counseling, Heidi!! We’re proud of you!) When you’re staying in a hotel, it’s inevitable (at least for our family, it seems) to channel-surf. As my brother and I were hanging out this evening, we stumbled upon The Karate Kid. (The… Read more »

Metro-Milwaukee Teachers’ Conference

Today I had the privilege of presenting a sectional at the Metro Milwaukee Teachers’ Conference (MMTC).  My principal and I presented on the use of Technology as a means of Alternative Assessment. We started out with a Poll Everywhere question: “What skill is the most important to develop in our students?” We received lots of good responses! I’m thinking about using this tool in… Read more »

Music Players a Hit as Reading Incentive

      1 Comment on Music Players a Hit as Reading Incentive

We use Renaissance Learning for its Accelerated Reader and STAR Testing capabilities. My homeroom class of 8th Graders have historically gotten about 60% to 70% participation in the program per calendar month. I knew there had to be a way to increase that number. In a conversation with the other teachers on our staff, I brought up the idea of… Read more »

Divine Call Received – It’s Sort of Like a Job Offer

On Monday night, right after I was done on Skype with a few friends, my phone started ringing. It was from a number in my area code, so I answered, thinking it was a parent of one of my students. It was a Pastor from a church about 40 minutes south of here and he called to tell me that… Read more »