Happy Holidays!

Another year is coming rapidly to an end. Much faster than I personally have hoped. I recently just starting working as a supply teacher so I would have liked that the school's two week holiday vacation was not for another month or so. But in the end I have no control over my current situation. I enjoyed the few days that I did actually get into the classrooms to teach.

With the holidays here, I cannot try to figure out what to do with my time. So what I am going to do is relax, enjoy my holidays and sort out some more of the websites I have stored on my lovely computer and recently found out that I have websites stored on other household computers as well. This holiday season is going to provide me with the time I need to organize and sort through all of my stuff. Hopefully websites will be finished and then I can move on to some of the other objects I have collected over the years that I can share with everyone that comes across this blog.

Until next time.....HAPPY HOLIDAYS to everyone.

Substitute Teaching

As a recent substitute teacher, I am put into a unique position that the regular classroom teacher doesn't face. I am required to step into a classroom where the students don't know me and I don't know them. I have to come up with ways to regain their attention, to motivate them to do their work and to listen to instructions that have been proved to me by the regular teacher.

Many of the websites that I have come across are perfect for substitute teachers. Several of the worksheets, I have copied out for "busy work" for students when they have completed their assigned work. I have also used several of the game ideas with older students. Some sites I have found also offer useful classroom management strategies.

Hidden Gems

I have been busy cleaning out the basement, trying to create a personal space for my daughter and her friends. Many of the boxes down there have been packed for many years. It has been an interesting process going through the boxes and finding things that are really garbage and then finding some amazing items that are perfect for the classroom.

Hidden gems can be found any where, not just in the home but in stores and else where. I like to keep the plastic buckets for popcorn that you get at the movies. These are great for storing items in like crayons and markers and can be used for centres when classroom space is in short supply.

Some stores to visit for hidden gems that I like to shop at are Dollarama, Buck or Two, party supply stores, and flea markets.

I also find the Internet holds a lot of hidden gems that most people do not go looking for. Having lots of free time right now has made me find new ways to keep myself busy. That is where the Internet has come in handy for me and now for those of you who are reading this blog.

Categorization of Information

Before I start posting information to this blog, I need to inform those of you visiting that what will be posted will be categorized into what I feel are logical groupings for my use. Some of the information will fall under several catagories, so if you see the same webiste listed several times it is because it has multiple uses. If you can find some other form of use for the information that I am gathering here, feel free and if you want share your use for the information.

Along with the information I am going to post I will also do a brief write up on what the information has to offer and how I find it useful.

Enjoy!

Many Names for one Thing

It is interesting how society has come up with many names to describe a trait. What one individual sees as a collection another may see as junk, clutter, or even trash. Many individuals are known by different names for things they collect or keep, for example someone who keeps stamps can be collected a collector, where someone who keeps high school mementos may be called a pack rat. Some people are even called obsessive for the items they collect.

I have been placed in many categories, a collector, a pack rat, a junk keeper, obsessive, a keeper of trash. With all these labels I have justified why I keep the stuff I have, why I look for more stuff, and why I need the stuff I collect, save and look for. My primary reason.....I am a teacher and this stuff will prove useful within my classroom.

I collect children's books, craft kits, toys, stickers, and anything else that kids find interesting. I collect resource books, unwanted paper, pencils, glue, scissors, and other classroom materials. But I think what makes most of the people I come into contact with say I am a pack rat, is the ditto sheets I collect and websites. I am endlessly telling people that these items are very useful to my future classroom. If I acquire a ditto sheet that proves useful than I should be commended for it rather than later down the road saying I saw something once that would work here.

As a collector I am also a sorter. I like to keep similar items together and then I label that box so I know what it contains. Which leads me to the reason why I have created this blog. As an individual who finds the Internet extremely useful, I have come across a number of websites that can be very enriching to the classroom. I am going to place these websites on my blog for easier access rather than storing them within my favourites file.

Feel free to take anything off this blog that you would like to use within your classroom, home or wherever you would find this information useful.