Was There Life Before Pinterest?

When I first got invited to join Pinterest, I can remember that I let it sit there, empty, for months.  I don't know why.  Maybe it was during my Farmville obsession period. Regardless - one day, I pinned something.  And now I have over 13,000 pins. And they are a mess.

Recently I felt prompted to start a new Pinterest account to clean up some of that mess- when it comes to my educational pins.

So here's my new cleaned up address:
http://pinterest.com/themeekmoose/boards/

If you still want to see my mess, and get the occasional (ok, all the time) doughnut recipe, you can continue to visit the train wreck at http://pinterest.com/fishbowl75/boards/ .  I don't know HOW to clean up that disaster.  Just let it go for now, I suppose.

In the meantime, in celebration of my new and cleaned up pinterst board - here's a linky I've been keeping my eye on, sponsored by Ashley over at Just Reed

1. Whole Brain Teaching.
When it comes to class management, this particular pin changed my whole style. Aside from the fact that I wish I looked like this woman- it was the first video I ever saw about whole brain teaching that made me think - I can do that!  And now I am hooked.



2. Heather's Heart blogs about using non-judgmental teacher language in the classroom. This post is what changed my mind on how I talk in my classroom to my students.  Even though I haven't been able to convert 100%, I am a work in progress, and a believer in the big picture.



3. Here is a pin I found recently and has my keen interest.  I'm going to be taking a parent involvement course with Fairy Dust Teaching this summer, and this pin seemed to feature great ideas on getting the parents more involved in your classroom. 




4.  I can't wait to try this one.  I've tried all sorts of things to get kids to not interrupt me when I'm at my small group table - but in the end - they just seem to think I am the ONLY person that could possibly answer their question. 



5.  This is something I do, and successfully.  But I don't limit it to running records.  I take anecdotal notes on these during math interviews, writing conferences, and guided reading time. And then I peel them off and stick them to a piece of cardstock I keep in a clear page protector in a three ring binder for data collection.

 


6. Here's another great idea I implemented this last year.  Except I made a separate one for each one of my students.  So when it was time for them to go to the computer, they just grabbed their passcode book and got on to whichever website they'd like.  I do believe that I'll make a second one this year, so that they can have one to take home as well.





7. How can I explain to you how badly I want this?  And not just for the kids - but for ME!  I use timers constantly - but to have one glow red at me when we're almost out of time would be so, so, gads, TUBULAR.  I had to go eighties with that one.  I want it bad!




8. I like this graphic.  A lot.  Granted, I will probably make one to go on the Promethean Board - but I dig the overall concept.



9. This past year I used "The Golden Spatula" to help with lunch room behavior.  And I will be doing it again this year, but I like this pin.  I would really like to have a physical representation of the expectations that they each make and can refer to if we have an "incident".




10. I am a huge fan of music brain breaks.  There are many, many, many that I keep on my computer - but this is a new one I stumbled onto this year that my kids liked A LOT .  I think what appealed to them the most is that they could follow along with the dance moves.  And they love the part where the dinosaur gets something from Burger King.  They thought it was hilarious. 

Ah me.  Just ten?  And there are so many more!

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