In the Full Swing of Summer - The Meek Moose Makes a Monday

Aside from some required Professional development three days this week- I am actually doing NOTHING this summer.


I didn't sign up for any classes. Partly because I'm tired, and partly because I'm being rebellious, and partly because I decided to get a masters degree as a Math Specialist and it starts at the end of August and I figured that was enough.

I did not agree to take on any sort of job at all.  No tutoring, no summer school, no helping out at a friend's store.  Being a slug and a mediocre Mom is going to be amazingly consuming.  Plus, I figured I would be getting ready to teach fifth grade, and that would be sure preoccupy my thoughts that were not directed towards eating and watching the spawn of my loins.

I DID decide to go horse back riding once a week.  And I'm doing Maker Camp on-line with the kids.  And I have a pile of books that are nothing like The Hunger Games piled up near my pillow to read. I admit, a good portion of them are professional.  But I also decided to go to the library once a week to read a young adult chapter book to get ready for the move from Biscuit to big kid books. I, of course, haven't started that library pilgrimage yet.  Maybe Friday.  I'll pencil it inside my imaginary day planner right now.

I also decided I'd try to make more of a schedule for myself to blog.  I know, I know, I say this all the time. I should at least be able to stick to it for the summer.  That's a good four weeks longer than normal New Year's resolutions.  Should count for something.

Of course, to blog, I sorta have to do things and think about things other than where I can find lemon seeds to harvest on Sims4. That damn tree in Oasis Springs isn't mature!  I can't get a seed from it!  Curses!  Anyway - #geekmoment

So- I'm going to be doing some stuff I find on Pinterest for fun!

This last week I decided to try out this little ditty on my Outside Recess Board from Homegrown Friends:

I had even tweeted about the experience and heard back from Homegrown Friends on Twitter!  Super nice people!

If you click on the picture, it will take you to their blog page, as well as a video of kids doing this art so you can see the dynamics of it.

I decided I'd like to do this one because I needed some wall art for my bedroom. I got these cheap canvases from Walmart- different sizes and enough for each person in my family to make one. And I chose colors for the paint based on my bedspread and room decor.  My first thought was to do the process painting on wrapping paper, and then stamp it onto the canvas.

Ha!  So you can see the trouble we ran in to from the beginning.  The wrapping paper was too flimsy, and her legs too long to get a good swing.  We did eventually try the stamp method with this though.

But it wasn't the look I was wanting.  We relocated to the back yard to try Ye Olde Swing Set, and tried painting directly on the canvas this time.  Long legs and low swings continued to thwart us.

We decided to just sit in the swing the regular way and I'd hold the canvas like a human easel.  This worked better for us.

So I went about having each of the kids make one, and my parents, and even tried to get my dog to walk across the first little one we had tried down by the tree swing in the front yard.  And I made one of course for a total of six paintings.

We all ended up covered in paint, especially since the littlest decided that this was the perfect way to paint using karate moves.  That he has no training for, I might add.  Like I need him to be able to chop me with any precision.  Anyway- I hosed the kids off- which made them happy as clams- and all was well.  Except for the dog.  He is still most displeased.

You might be noticing that art work already up on the wall.  That's from the littlest, during his "I love Sharpies" period.  Picasso would be proud.

To get these hung up on the wall in a decent arrangement, I utilized Pinterest again- recalling an old pin from my old Pinterest account.  I found this one here today, I think the original one I was thinking of was from Martha Stewart- but this one from BHG is the same thing.

So, the basic idea is you make paper templates of the art, and then you can move them around using tape getting them just right without destroying your walls.  Mine was already destroyed of course, but moving the papers around did make things easier.  I had a bunch of very large sheets of construction paper that I used to make the templates.

 I took me three or four arrangements until I decided on this one.  And I found two other little pictures I had around the house to add to it to make it a bit more symmetrical.

Voila! Family art, bedroom wall covered, no more sharpie. Trifecta of success.

As far as getting rid of the wall paper border at the top?  That is another battle I will have to wage with  my mother.  But until I prevail- this makes for a much nicer atmosphere in my room.

Be sure to head over to Tara's page to see what everyone has made this week!

Behind the Logo ~ The Meek Moose Pretends She's Watching VH1

Question:  Does VH1 even exist anymore?

Moving forward...

So, I was playing around on Instagram today.  Like a lot of days.  But with great diligence this morning because I was supposed to be
-updating my resume
-writing a business proposal
-cleaning my room
-making math card games
-creating lesson plans worthy of being peeked at during informal observations
-and NOT EATING bread
when it just so happened that I commented on another gal's picture about an art project she was doing with her students that I love that art pack too and it was on my wish list.

It's this art pack:

Click to check this Pop Art Miracle out!

I'm actually pretty sure I have Jenny's entire store on my wishlist...let me check... yes, yes I do.

Anyway, I made this comment and then ended up chatting with Jenny through email which was unexpected and very cool.  I have to say that one thing I like about blogging, and meeting teachers through FB, Twitter, Instagram, and TpT is that it starts to feel like I know lots of celebrities.  Knowing celebrities pleases my deep seated vanity.  Yes. Yes it does.

Turns out- Jenny is hosting a linky where you explain the story behind your logo.  And she asked if I was interested in linking up since I have this curious moose fetish going on.  And let's all admit it- moose are cool.  Deadly nasty mean beasts- but cool.  We also know I love to talk nonsense about myself.  And I think we all took note of how I'm supposed to be cleaning my room.  Again.  And I'm not.  So here we go.

Word wise- I'm from Alaska, I like moose, and my last name is Meek.  So it probably began as a simple fondness for alliteration.  The Meek Moose.

I had not always planned on being a teacher.  My college degree is in Writing.  I was going to be the next great American author.  I graduated from college, had a brief desire to be an intern at Jim Henson's Muppets that I never followed up on because I didn't want to commute by the LIRR every day to the city, and then ended up working retail at a toy store and then a gift basket shop because you can't make money just wanting to be an author.

My experience at the toy store was great!  It was one of those old buildings with nooks and crannies and had been open 100 years.  My favorite thing was if they would send me next door to the storage building to find something- because that place was LOADED with memorabilia.  I love toys, in case you didn't know.  So I'm 22 and I ended up thinking then that I would like to have my own toy store.  I remember at first I wanted to call it Farley&Fiona.  But then it evolved into The Meek Moose.

Idea tabled when I went back to school to get a teaching license. You don't really make a good living working part-time retail.

Teaching teaching teaching...years go by....teaching fifth grade...not a good fit for me.  Started to dream up other professional endeavor ideas.  And then I was 30.  Ah, 30.  I thought all my dreams would come true at 30.  I decided I was going to leave teaching and open a children's bookstore.  I wanted it to have lots of natural light, and wooden floors and shelves, and a stage with red curtains for poetry night.  And we'd serve snacks like cake pops and fancy lemonade.  I'd even decided that I was going to go with a mix of clean linen and cherry blossom for the general "smell" of the store.

When The Meek Moose dreams, she dives into the details.  But only the ones that have nothing to do with what you actually have to know to run a business. Because I'm cool like that.  I had my sister draw me up a logo of a moose that was feeling meekish.  And then a guy I knew at a T-shirt screening place digitized the image and cleaned up the lines of the pencil drawing.

Anyhow, get a divorce, real estate market bottoms out, house tied up in it- blah. The Meek Moose gets shelved.  But I kept my Meek Moose logo picture in a journal and would look at it from time to time.

Then, 2012, I'm 36 and looking for some teaching inspiration one spring when I discover teacher blogs.  So I think- hey- I could do that.  Seemed like a natural choice to pull out my lovely Meek Moose art and go for it.  so I did.  A year later, my sister decided to join me in a TpT endeavor.

Now Traci, she's a costume designer / freelance mascot builder in New Zealand.  And I'm sure she'll chime in after I post this and tell me how I've not used the correct job title to describe what she does. But her company name is Meek and Wild Creations.  So I asked her to put a sweater on the moose with her MW so we were combined.

When I go my blog design updated by Barbara Leyne Designs in September, she gave my blog moose a face lift with a hipster feel that I LOVE.  And even gave me a chicken!  Love you, Barbara!

As far as my glamour shot - this was a picture taken of me when I was 32.  I was teaching a drama club at a Military School and I was waiting outside the Chapel for our Summer Parent Performance to begin.  A man asked to take my picture.  His wife was one of the administration as I remember, and he had taken my picture once before when I was at dinner with the cadets maybe a year earlier.

Generally, I don't like my picture taken.  I'm guilty of taking fifty shots before I find one that I consider OK.  She brought me the picture the next week.  I liked it.  Sometimes it's nice to think that I haven't aged much since then.  But I guess it's ok that I have. Time presses ever forward.

32

39

So- that's the story of the logo.  I'm from Alaska, I love moose, my last name is Meek, and it would be awesome if I one day become a princess.

If you would also like to avoid cleaning your room- consider telling the story of your logo and linking up with Jenny at Art with Jenny K.

I guess I have to go clean my room now...

An InLinkz Link-up

Fall Fun with the Virginia Teacher Bloggers

Got together again with my Virginia girls for a freebie blog hop!

One thing I have liked about blogging is meeting different people.  It's especially nice to meet people close by that you can connect with in person as well.  I'm glad I found my group of VA folks who like to chat and support each other in our teaching adventures.

Growing up in Alaska- can't say I experienced much of "fall".  It generally snows well and good by the first of October.

Ain't that sweet?

bllllllpppppphhhhhttttt!  I've been enjoying the 70ish temps this week.  Regardless of the rain.  And I do like the colors.  Allergic to it all of course, stuffed up more than the soon to be Thanksgiving turkey- but I still like it.

Even in October, we're introducing new routines in second grade.  Today in Math I just added in a station for starting to count coins.  We've got to get up to two bucks in change by the end of the year, so I'm starting us off with hitting the twenty-five cents mark in the next two weeks.  Today was just about pennies.

I've been taking a graduate class in teaching number sense on Monday's, and learning a lot about concept of number and counting and the hierarchy of math development.  Pair this with giving some AMC assessments and discovering a group of kids who can only conceptualize up through the number 6- and I'm thinking "How do I fix this?"

Today I made up a quick twenty-five frame set, printed it on card stock and slipped it in a sheet protector for the kids.  We rolled the die, added on the pennies, and talked about how much we had.

Level One I called it- told them today only pennies.  Next week- we add in nickels for level TWO.  OOOOOO! They all said.  Level twoooooooo!!   #teacherninja

Sounds too simple, eh?  Twenty-five pennies.  Try it.  Go watch how many of them try to count them by ones.  even after they have told you that one filled in row is always five.  And that the whole rectangle is one ten.  Out comes their finger.  Poke poke poke.  Or they know I'm looking and they try to count with their nose.  This is when I have to cover up a bit with my hand and remind them - "Wait!  How many is in just one row?"  Then we try to work on "and add two more".

Overall, I was pleased with the work we did today.  I found out a lot.  Some kids surprised me with how well they did.  Others baffled me that they struggled.  Some did exactly what I expected them to do, but after working with them a few miutes, tried on some heavier strategies for adding on.

So I came home tonight and decided to spiffy up my twenty-five frame board and give it out as a freebie.  LUCKY YOU!

I'm reprinting this new one on card stock and then slipping it in the sheet protector sleeve for my kids tomorrow.  The sheet protector is my go to when I don't have time to wait in line at the laminator.  I'm super lazy that way, I know.  But, it does have the added bonus of being able to be put in a handy-dandy binder when I'm all done though.

Here's some video of me chatting up some kids playing the game today.  And, yes, super awesome that the kids at the table just behind are completely NOT doing what they are supposed to be doing.  Sheesh.  Oh, well.  Photographic evidence now.  I can just follow them to every station tomorrow....






Click the picture to go get the free download.

Next stop is the Fantastic Sarah over at Learning is for Superstars!

The Meek Moose is an Unmotivated Blob

I do actually have plans to blog more than once a week.  Seriously, I do.  I'm just crap at it.  At least the Sunday Scoop keeps me current.  Although- I could probably easily rewrite the same things every week.  Because I'm also crap at getting anything I put on a list done.  I have the efficiency of a sloth dead in a tree. But even that might be too efficient.  It is, after all, decomposing at a steady rate.  I wouldn't say that I'm doing anything even near that level of efficiency.  Unless you count gaining weight.

BUT- I did start four different drafts of blog posts- so hopefully that will help me get it done. For now though, let's scoop it.

Things I HAVE to do:

1) If I don't take my daughter shopping today, I do truly believe she will stab me with her fork at dinner.  She has decided that she needs something.  Something I'm not allowed to say because Dear God, if a person from North Dakota read it and somehow told someone else and it would certainly get all the way back to here to where we are Eighteen Kabillion states away. So I won't say exactly what it is.  But I will say she does not need it.  And I doubt that she will need it any time soon.  She is not following in the footsteps of her mother in this, seeing as she's a waif.  But whatever.  I'll go buy her one.  She can learn early how annoying they are.

2) I'm taking a grad class in Teaching Numeracy in K - 2.  It's actually a great class, but I am a sloth, remember- and I don't really do my homework like I should.  So I'm actually going to try to do it tonight instead of tomorrow on the way to class.  Like I normally do. 

3) If I don't do laundry, I'll be wearing a bathing suit as underwear tomorrow.  And I sincerely doubt I'd fit in it anyway.  So here we go high efficiency Tide - let's knock this out.  Or, at least, do one load.  I don't want to be an over achiever or anything.  I miss my sister.  She was really, really excellent at keeping the laundry going.  One day if I can afford a housekeeper, I can only hope she can keep up with the laundry as well as Traci did.

Thing I HOPE to do:

1) I went all slacky-mcslack-slack on my 100 Days Project of water coloring birds.  And I would actually like to make an attempt to finish it.  i think I might have one week left.  So we'll see.

2) This morning I found the skiddish Ruby outside of the chicken coop.  After ten minutes of chasing her in circles, I finally caught her - sort of - and put her back inside the run.  It was actually more like I got my hands underneath her just enough to give her the right amount of panicked LIFT to achieve flight over the fencing.  Anyway- I'm hoping to have a sit down with Captain America today and show him this pallet plan I found on-line.

Something I'm HAPPY to do:

1) I was listening to my regular radio morning show during my commute and they were talking about coffee creamer.  So I decided to try some out.  Over at "The -Mart" I discovered a bottle of Southern Butter Pecan.  It told me right on the label that it would taste like Pecan Pie.  SOLD!!!  And yes.  Yes it does.  So, my coffee is now even more ridiculous than it was with milk and finely ground sugar, annnnnnnnd I ended up using it in my oatmeal instead of regular milk and I will NEVER go back.  Until I'm 400 pounds, and maybe I'll stop to think, "Ya know, maybe that coffee creamer in the oatmeal was not the best idea..."  But I doubt it.  if I get myself to 400 pounds, I think it will be obvious that I don't actually give a shit about that sort of thing.  Bring me the truckload of pancakes please.

And now, to fill out this little tidbit from my friend Haley at Owls&Lessons, etc:   It actaully makes me feel like I sort of wrote lesson plans.  Even though I didn't.  Never do. Seriously, I suck.

Pinterest Finds for the Week to help with above:

Reading:  Hoping this really helps make the sequencing concrete.

Science: I bought this last week from Teaching with Style and it's wonderful!  Mucho Awesome, folks! Click to go TpT and get one.

Football Sunday, ya'll!  I'm sure I'll manage to do nothing I planned.

The Meek Moose Sings the Song of Procrastination - Sunday Scoopin'

First off - I have never ever pretended to not be a procrastinator.  I'm not *proud* of the trait, but I recognize the flaw.

I'm claiming all but The Delegator.  And The Paincker - to a small degree.  I do it sometimes.  Delgate, never.  Because I'm also a bit of a control freak.  #Imokwiththat

In an attempt to organize my rambles, I'm linking up with The Teaching Trio's Sunday Scoop again this week:

Have to do:
1) Lesson Plans.  Just like last week.  Which I told myself, and my daughter for that matter, that I would do yesterday.  But I didn't.  Yesterday I was : The Napper, The Social Sharer, The Internet Researcher, The Snacker, The Gamer, and The Perpetuator.  The Perpertuation was brought about through The Social Sharer when Kelly commented on an FB post that she waits until 8pm Sunday.  So I figured, why not join her? Kelly, thou art my muse.

The Gamer was caught up in this app called Rules:

Nothing makes you angrier or more determined to play for another 8+ hours than not being able to remember that whales come after phones but before green monsters with odd numbers.  I highly recommend it to everyone. Please come join me in this seventh ring....

As far as lesson plans go though- let me be The List Maker - because that's my favorite.

This week I must teach: 

Addition facts to ten with missing addends + subtraction

Story Problems with the 4 box plan

(My kids are also ready to move up to time to the half hour)

The scientific process with magnets

Reading Salad, 

Reading Stamina to 12 minutes

Three ways to read a book, 

accountable student discussion

word work activities

Oral storytelling with basic sketch drawings

Beginning, middle, and end

PALS testing

Reading Level Assessments

And I'm not even sure if that's all.  Let's hope though.

2) The dang playdough.  This was on my list last week- and I didn't do it.  I really WANT to do it this week though.  It will help me accomplish that Word Work Activities bit in the lesson plans.  I got a lot of questions about the playdough last week, so I thought I'd elaborate a bit today.

First of all, The Internet Researcher in me loves Pinterest.  It makes me feel like I am actually working even though it's just electronic hoarding.  Personal goal to actually do something with my pins this year, so let's see if I can do it.

I have a playdough recipe board where I collect all sorts of playdough related pins. I am very interested in incorporating sensory activities into my second grade classroom. 

It started with seeing this recipe for Eucalyptus cloud dough and eucalyptus playdough - my kids get stuffed up a lot.  And so do I.  

 

But I wanted to start the year with chamomile and lavender playdough for it's calming qualities. 

  

I am hoping to convert the recipes to this softest dough recipe.

  

I will do my best to make it today and take pictures/video of the ensuing experience.

3) Math Class Homework  I'm taking a class being offered by my school system for teaching Number Sense to students on the K-2 level.  It's going to be awesome.  Except for the not getting home until 9pm and having to go to bed right away.  And the homework that I will put off reading until the last minute.  Other than that- fab!  I love our instructors.  So it will be good.  It's just, they said the words "fifteen more meeting days" on the first class, and that made it sound like a loooonnnnng time.  I'll adjust.

Hope to Do:

1) Clean my room.  Home and at school.  I left a mess when I ran for my life Friday afternoon.  And well, here, my organizational abilities at school do not translate to the house.  So, I've got some work to do.  PLUS- it means I get to utilize The Cleaner procrastination style.  Yay, me.  But I could probably put this off.

2) Get paid on Monday.  As in tomorrow.  Seeing as I haven't got a paycheck since June 15, tomorrow would be really exciting.  Except I got an email Friday afternoon that they messed up something about my check and I won't be getting the full amount until September 30th.  The Meek Moose is feeling a bit irate.  And bankrupt.  And nervous.  And in need of that rich organic strawberry farmer with big hands and nice teeth.

Happy to Do:

Pinning my friend Lucy's pins.  She must be super excited to see my name 1,000 times from going through every single one of her boards last night. (and I'm not done, Babe)  

Do you guys know Lucy?  You should check out her blog : Here's an Idea, her Facebook page, annnnnnnd her Pinterest Boards. It's where I got the Procrastinator graphic.  And one of my favorite snortables from her boards yesterday:

Happy Sunday, one and all!