The Meek Moose Talks Chalk

Julie at The Teaching Bug is having this most excellent linky.  I am looking forward to participating on a monthly basis.

Click this picture to go to Julie's post about this linky, and link up as well!

 

 

 

Our assignment this month:

 

 



 

My Mom.  We drive each other crazy, I know.  Mostly probably my fault, sometimes.  I guess.  Hmph.

But I will say that my mom is special because she is always there for me and my kids and takes great care of all four of us.  My mom taught both my sister and I tons of crafts as kids.  And if she hadn't, hey, what would I be now?  Because of mom, I can sew, and I can cook, and I can bake, and I am not afraid to try different hobby crafts because they all look like so much fun!  I can make my own cards out of construction paper, and I've taken a Bob Ross style painting class because of her, and two years of ceramics, and jiminy!  I use all of this from my past in my classroom today.  I'd be a completely different teacher if she hadn't done all of that with us when we were kids.  And I've talked to other people my age and they didn't have the same experience- so it wasn't the norm.  So my mom is special.  And because of that now I feel special.  And I can only hope that I can pass that on to my kids too.

I already posted about my Mother's day flowers.  And I did a portrait project last year.  Click to see them if you'd like.

Thanks Julie, for the opportunity to reflect on why my mom is a treasure to me.  I'm looking forward to the next chalk talk!

Cannibalistic Caterpillar Crisis- and possibly the apocolypse...

Why I knew yesterday would not go well:

1.  The mysterious lack of traffic.
Should be a good thing, I know- but I rely on regular patterns to keep my sense of sanity. I have an hour and ten minute commute to work- it's my zen time mind you- but I keep track of my progress by my location on the road when the news comes on, whether or not I've passed the Truck stop before the birthdays, and when the red brake lights of stop and go traffic begin.  Generally, I get to swing right off the interstate just before I get caught in all that foolishness.  But Wednesdays- EVERY Wednesday- this stuff starts before my lovely exit.  Apparently, there is a huge bunch of people who only work on Wednesdays.  I'd really like to know what that job is, but anyway...  Yesterday- there was no one.  And I mean, like, NOBODY.  Even the red brake lights that usually start after my exit weren't there.  I began to wonder if perhaps I had missed the rapture...

2.  The traffic light before I get off the parkway did not turn green when it was supposed to.  It completely skipped my lane twice- which meant I sat there for ten minutes.  The gym teacher was in front of me.  I knew that if it skipped us a third time, that he'd make a left against the red, and then everyone behind me would expect me to do it and be honking and YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- I hate lefts.  But then it turned green after I was properly sweaty above my left eyebrow and had sticky inside elbows. I HATE lefts.

3.  And then there was a train!!!!!!!!  Late LAte LATTTTTE to work!

4.  The Pepsi AND Coke were sold out in the lounge.  Obviously the only conclusion was that I had been LEFT BEHIND.  Where was Kirk?

Disclaimer:  I was however blessed to NOT be the teacher that a student began to discuss the merits of breastfeeding with and whether or not she should be breastfeeding her baby- whilst having her knockers stared at.  Ha! Small miracles...

Ok, so these dang caterpillars.  We were down to five.  One had started to make a chrysalis, but then disappeared.  MYSTERY!  Could not find the bugger anywhere.  Then three climbed up to the top and got in the J-formation, chrysalises here we come!

And then... casually walking over to check on them...

 I discovered this EVIL, REALLY BAD WORD CATERPILLAR eating one of the hanging caterpillars.  In fact, he'd already killed off the other two, and they'd dropped to the bottom.  I pulled him off in an attempt to save the last one, but no good.  Doornail DEAD.

What the hey?!  Stupid Hanibal Lecter of the painted lady butterflies...

my thoughts within moments of the killing:
1) gross
2) damn creepy
3) freaking fifteen dollars, that bug better make an effin chrysalis
4) do I even want to release a killer butterfly into the wild?
5) is this like Jack the Ripper of butterflies?
6) this is all my fault isn't it?
7) it was the radiation from the computers that turned him bad
8) I fed him hallucinogenic thistle and turned him homicidal
9) I'm really projecting my ex-boyfriend issues onto this caterpillar
10) I need to stop doing that, I don't have time for therapy right now
11) I should just stick to killing plants
12) I need a Pepsi.  Or a box of wine...

I even channeled my anger into a sensory poem with the kids:

The Cannibalistic Caterpillar is Disgusting
It looks like murder!
It smells like foul play!
It tastes like bitter disappointment!
It sounds like a silent killer!
It feels like fifteen wasted bucks!
Disgusting  IS the Cannibalistic Caterpillar

I put it on a poster and hung it above his cage.  Not that it shamed him at all.  He sits there, fat, controlling, tapping his little evil thousand fuzzy legs together...BAH!


Ok, so then a kiddo goes out onto the playground and finds me this hairy gorilla:

The kids are all YAY!  We'll still get a butterfly!  And I find another butterfly house, since I'm not risking another murder.  Although this guy is a lot bigger than Hanibal.  But STILL.  And do you know what this cherub ends up being????

It's an ecosystem devastating Eastern Tent Moth!  The thing is a TREE EATER.  Shhhhhhhhhhhheesh.  But I'm thinking the other word okay? 

One more year.  I will try this one more year but if this happens again I am done.  I'll take up snake handling instead.  Lord, help me.

Frontier Culture Museum and a Giveaway

First off, Erin over at I'm Lovin' Lit is having a spectacular 175 follower giveaway.

 So spectacular in fact, that she had to set up three different grade level divisions to fit in all of the goodies.  You can pick your grade group or go for all of them!  You even have a chance at Summer clipart that my sister and I made in the 2nd and 3rd grade grouping. 

 

Head on over there and make yourself a winner!!!

 

 

Now, onto some culture museum...

 

So, it was/is (we tend to make it quite the week of events) my daughter's ninth birthday.  I was graced by God in the opportunity to NOT have to take her to the roller rink.  Any other Moms with me on this?  I am not a big birthday party sort of person with blinking lights and arcade games and the such.  I bamboozled her into going to The Frontier Culture Museum in Staunton, Virginia.

 

 

I've actually been to this place a handful of times on field trips in the past ten years, and my daughter got to go last month- but she said she didn't get to see anything, and was extremely bummed out that they didn't let her go UPSTAIRS in any of the houses.  Which, I admit, always bums me out too.  And they'd opened up a few new exhibits that I hadn't seen yet myself.  We popped in the car for an hour drive and arrived to find ourselves pretty much alone in the parking lot, as everyone had been expecting it to rain all day.  We lucked out with a 73 degree day, a light breeze, and blue skies.

 

Here are some shots of the houses/countries available to visit:

 

 

 

When it's only 3 people, and not 30, I have to say you see a lot more.  And, not surprisingly, a lot more relaxing.  Still though, I feel bad I can't take my class there, as they are three hours in another direction.  And there were two places we didn't get to, an Indian village and another American farmhouse.  I'd like to go back again to visit this summer, maybe take my teammies with me, maybe take video.  If I can't take my class, maybe I can bring it to them.

If you happen to be traveling around that way- try to carve out a three hour stop.  It's worth it.

Mother's Day Fractions and an Update on Mother Nature

This is truly only my second year doing mother's day projects.  Why in eleven years it never really landed on the radar, I don't know, but I can't say I don't like it now that I'm into it.  Trouble comes in when you've got to make sure you prove your craftivity has some academic merit.  Luckily for me, my teammie managed to make this one all about fractions.

Now, her project looked different from mine- she made a card that was brown for the earth, and then they planted popsicle stick stems painted green on the back and then pasted on their flowers- I went for a vase with decorated background- but the fraction part remains the same.

We used eight stems, so the students have to describe their bouquet arrangement in the form of eighths.  Three eighths of my bouquet is orange, two eights are pink, etc.  And then we wrap it all together in a bitty poem:

For this Mother's day, I've made you this bouquet:
?/8 of these flowers are {color},
?/8 of these flowers are {color},
and ?/8 of these flowers are{color},
but I put it together with my WHOLE heart.

Yay for creative teammates! We'll be pasting on the poem tomorrow. 

 I also enjoyed teaching them the artistic points as well- how to make your vase BIG as opposed to microscopic.  How to make flowers if you only want to cut a basic shape or if you want to get fancy with the layering.  The all important "a dab will do ya" lesson.  Whenever we do these projects my kids always say "How do you know how to do this?!"  Because I am OLD sweeties, I am ollllllllllld.

Here's mine- Mommy is going to love it!

 

 

My boys OWNED it, I tell you!  Here's my giant (so sweet, I could fit him in my pocket!) working hard on background wallpaper.

 

This little cherub even went bilingual on me!  And then of course the craze was copied across the room, even by my limited few who don't speak Spanish at home.

 

My resident artist, we all go to her for advice:

 

And this baby doll even cannibalized the unused scrapbooking paper for some flair.

 

Awesome sauce I say!  And, to report on how Mother Nature has not completely failed me- turns out my caterpillars were cold.  Moved their net near the computers, they are now basking in the radiation.  This guy quadrupled overnight.  Sandi- thank you for the hollyhock advice, but my stinking local nursery says they won't be getting any until the end of the month.  Hopefully these guys will be content with the warmth and not die on me.

 

 

 

And miracle of miracles! The beans sprouted over the weekend and went gangbusters.  All but four of them, anyway.  We repotted them after finding that they were way down at the bottom of the carton.  One had mad roots though, so I think it will still sprout.  The other three- ermmmm, I think those poor gardeners will be going home with a lupine or a watermelon.  *sigh*  We are loving noticing how they are all leaning toward the window for sun - as we have so little of it with our forecasted weeklong rain.  Flood date in our future, methinks...

 

 

Caterpillar Envy

This is the first year teaching, or really, in my whole life, that I've ever gotten caterpillars to try to raise into butterflies.  There is something amazing about the fact that they come in the mail.  And then you just pop them into the net and spread out the food and wait.  If only I had been the only one to do this, then I would have never known.  But two of my teammies got the caterpillars too.  And after a couple of days, the truth unveiled itself. 

My caterpillars are anorexic.  Or starving.  Or duds.  Or something.   
 
 
 
 
Just look at this monster.  Two days.  That's it- and it's four times its size.

 

 

And here's mine.  What the hey?

It shouldn't matter.  I'm aware that the size of these caterpillars does not define me as a person.  And yet... Gadzooks it chaps my bum!  RED ALERT!!!  So my kids and I spent the morning researching.  We found this site on Squidoo  that aside from showing some cool video- told us a bit about what they eat.  The only thing was, do we have this out on the playground?  We looked hard at the picture of a thistle plant and decided to go look.  We also came across a reference to that they have been known to eat dandelions.  And we knew we had those.  So off we went.

 

 

We sort of ended up with anything we found.  And what we thought could possibly be a thistle went into the box as well, along with a lot of OW OW OW!  And then we popped half of it into the butterfly cage and now we wait.  Hopefully we didn't poison them.  It's the weekend though, so we won't know until Monday.  Won't that be a tense ride to work? 

 

 

Actually, I've been a lot more hands-on sciencey this year.  We even planted seeds the other week.  Turns out my city kids loved stirring up the dirt the most.  I've really got to start having sensory boxes in my classroom.  I love Sandi's posts on them over at Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes.  And she's given me some pretty neat ideas on how to make them academically linked to second grade.  But, just as I am caterpillar challenged, I am apparently bean challenged as well.  

 

 

Not a sprout.  Sheesh.  We did transplant them the other day and saw tap roots- but now nothing.  Perhaps we traumatized them.  I do not have a green thumb, people.  Plants wilt when they see me coming.  However- it does appear that the forget-me-nots might not be a total loss.  Just, can they survive long enough to be transplanted?

 And, miracle of miracles, looks like the watermelon might just be wanting to make an appearance.

 

 

All in all, even if this totally doesn't work out, it's on my list to have more of this kind of thing more often next year.  Anyone else already in next year mode?

 

 



White-Tailed Deer Freebie

I want to share some Virginia love.

My sister made me some white-tailed deer clip art, and I've used it to create a little fact booklet that goes over some lifecycle bits and adaptation bobs.  Here is her clipart package:

And here is my booklet:

 

 

 

 

The booklet is six pages long.  I made it black and white for easy copying for the kids- plus they can color it themselves- and I even fixed it so you should be able to run it front to back and staple together to save a bit of paper.

 

I know it has been hard to find white-tailed deer stuff- so hey!  My favorite number is eight- so the first eight Virginia teachers that give me their email address get one for free, and the first four folks that aren't as lucky to live here may have one too, if they'd like.

 

You don't have to do anything in return- though it would be sweet if you gave it a rating on TpT- but that is completely up to you.  Annnnnd please totally tell me if you see anything that needs fixing.  Yikes! 

 

Gooooo Capitalism!

Ok.  So My sister and I decided to go into business together and open up a TpT store.   So far, the most difficult part has been setting up the profile page.  I CANNOT, for the life of me, figure out how to post a picture on there.  It's supposed to look like this:

The products in this store are a joint venture between myself and my lovely sister, Traci.  Traci provides the line drawing for our clipart, and then I graphically design them into digital images.  We want you to be pleased with our products.  If there is anything you would like to see please let us know. 

Traci has a undergraduate degree in Art from the University of Tennessee, and a Graduate degree in Costume Design and Puppetry from the University of Connecticut.  She is now an exotic unicorn traversing the world and living in New Zealand. 

Aside from working in the theater industry and freelance design under her brand Meek and Wild Creations- I'm most proud of her short lived stint on a New Zealand soap opera where she was complimented on her "realistic sleeping" as a coma patient.  This ability to sleep anywhere, I believe, is the reason she got a one liner as a head nurse in a later episode before she left the biz.

 

I’m Heather.  I don’t normally look like this.  But I can say that on this particular day, my drama group was performing for Parent’s Weekend, and I had what I thought would be a hot date later that afternoon. To find out how that date ended up, please go to Awards and What-Not and reference question/Answer Number 3...

 

 

This is Traci.  She normally looks like this. You can find Traci on her Facebook page:

Meek and Wild Creations

 

 

 

We are still this cool.

 

 

  But on to the details... Here are the, so far, two packages I am getting ready to put on the site.  They are clip art and paper bundles.  What do you guys think?

I'm planning on putting Spring Floral up as a freebie.

We have all four seasons as well.  I'll be getting the summer package up next, and autumn.  Just waiting on a couple more drawing from Sis for the winter package.  We don't need to worry about snow so soon, do we?

I love my sister's art.  I wish I could draw as well as she does.  I am satisfied at the moment to be able to make her images digital and make things with them.  I also have on the ole desktop here an aquarium/money/technology project for the kids and white tail deer goodness.  I think this is going to be a very fun bonding experience for the two of us.

In the meantime, I am trying to learn about product pricing.  I posted in the forum, but no one is answering, so I think I must have broken a rule or something. Frustration. Any feedback from you guys would be well appreciated.