tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59195833871224745802024-02-19T06:37:54.520-05:00Mrs. Goff's Pre-K TalesI teach a half day Pre-K nursery school class on a beautiful college campus. What a perfect job!Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-79740366694258623482014-12-03T17:43:00.002-05:002017-12-02T06:41:33.484-05:00Our Life-Size Gingerbread House<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>UPDATED 2016</i></div>
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<i>I made another gingerbread house this year. Once again, I worked by myself and it took about 2 hours. I took photos of the process this time. My 2016 comments are italicized.</i></div>
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The kids are LOVING the life-size gingerbread that I build for our classroom. <br />
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For the past couple of years I have made some sort of box structure for our classroom. Here are pictures of my previous castles and big red barn: <br />
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In each case I used <span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://mrmcgroovys.com/">Mr. McGroovy's plans </a></span>and most importantly his <a href="http://mazon.com/Mr-McGroovys-Box-Rivets-Kit/dp/B00FD5RNJS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417642681&sr=8-1&keywords=mr+mcgroovys">special box rivets</a>. The box rivets cost less than $20 for a box. The rivets are reusable but I couldn't find my rivets from last year so I ordered more from Amazon Prime and got them in one day. Because there are only 2 seams, the house could probably be connected with tape but I know the rivets will stand up to 20 rambunctious pre-k students so I think they are well worth the cost. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mr. McGroovy's box rivets</td></tr>
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For my other projects I downloaded plans from Mr. McGroovy. For the gingerbread house I pretty much just winged it.<br />
I got 2 large refrigerator boxes and 2 dishwasher boxes from a local appliance store that does its own deliveries. If you can find an appliance store like this it is easy to collect the boxes. I suggest you call around. <i>The trick is to bring a utility knife with you and cut off the top and bottom of the box. </i> It is then easy to fold the box and fit it in your car.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is an illustration from McGroovy's website showing how to fold boxes to fit in car.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I brought the boxes to school and cut them open so I basically had large pieces of cardboard with 3 seams. I took the 2 large boxes and cut them like this (the 3 vertical lines are the box folds):<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A couple hints - put extra cardboard under the piece you are cutting to avoid cutting into your floor. Second, you don't have to be at all exact. In this picture, I am using a piece of cardboard to make the line as I cut the box down/</i></td></tr>
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My boxes weren't the same size but working with cardboard boxes is very forgiving (so are my little ones who don't care at all that the back of the house is a little narrower than the front:)<br />
<i>In 2016, I was only able to find one intact refrigerator box. I got a second but it had been cut in three pieces. It wasn't a problem to put the pieces together with the rivets.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is one of the rivets connecting the side to the back.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorJU59_Kq53TbVRITSP0J6fB49IbuJvdsoGTJzDKrrLVOq5ykgIPOsbdGfBGzWrJX7AYdL5mNy6bRGf03ol0-gKjgeK8avFWw3gLGZoK3rHrfqEKoklmxXy5ztG8l-__kUF20R4o4n290/s1600/IMG_1164.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjorJU59_Kq53TbVRITSP0J6fB49IbuJvdsoGTJzDKrrLVOq5ykgIPOsbdGfBGzWrJX7AYdL5mNy6bRGf03ol0-gKjgeK8avFWw3gLGZoK3rHrfqEKoklmxXy5ztG8l-__kUF20R4o4n290/s320/IMG_1164.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I laid the boxes back down and cut our windows and a door. Once again, don't stress about it being perfect. I cut out one window and then used that cutout as a template and cut around it for the other windows. </i></td></tr>
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<i style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><br /></i><i></i>I cut out windows and a door.<br />
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I then stood the boxes up and connected the front shorter sides to the back shorter sides with a couple of rivets. This is what the house looked like after I put the 2 big boxes together:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">corner brackets</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I cut the corner of a smaller box to reinforce the corners.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is a photo of me adding the corner reinforcement. You can see that I use the awl to make a hole and then put the rivet in.</i></td></tr>
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The house is strengthened with corner brackets made from the corners of small boxes. If you look closely, you can see the brackets in the corners.<br />
The roof was made with the 2 smaller boxes that I cut to the same size and riveted together. It would have been easier to use another big box but I didn't want to go back to the appliance store.<i>(I had to use 2 boxes for the roof again in 2016 :( </i><br />
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The roof is attached by cutting flaps in the roof near the front and back walls. Attach the flaps to the walls using rivets to secure the roof.<br />
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Before attaching the roof, the kids (and teachers) cut close to 100 paper plates in half and then cut out the centers to make the icing for the roof. I then hot glued the plates to the roof and put the roof on the house. The kids used the plate centers and other plates and cardboard to create LOTS of candy decorations. Most of them have been sprinkled with clear glitter when the paint was still wet so the house looks especially sugary and delicious. I have been attaching candy with a glue gun each day after school.<br />
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<i style="font-size: 13px;">In 2016 I hot glued paper plate icing along the top of the roof before I tried it out on the house. As I said, I don't measure too much so I just cut the roof down after I added it to the house.</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_5WxbM2P2Dvh2qFlixQO6VakUPm8-RZRnsaC0YVTbgZUtkMLx06TwUHnFI3tZ82ibJF5snF1j3P8XWvLWx_fW5ibKVdE9dsXoF4WtICheGqrmH2m-BaQUOmdP9GUkMFKhil04Er2rmFQ/s1600/IMG_1169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9_5WxbM2P2Dvh2qFlixQO6VakUPm8-RZRnsaC0YVTbgZUtkMLx06TwUHnFI3tZ82ibJF5snF1j3P8XWvLWx_fW5ibKVdE9dsXoF4WtICheGqrmH2m-BaQUOmdP9GUkMFKhil04Er2rmFQ/s320/IMG_1169.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>This is the house ready for a few more rivets (I need someone inside and outside to connect the roof.) This is what the kids will see when they come to school. </i><br />
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<i>I'll add more photos of how they embellish this year's house.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4tsHpSOgOlWl9rnk7jRe6T3gsv2XbQuI-pP8PrTf1-GmVztIWCddqpKJaPwXzRQKvbcxUhwW3WV5pZIVXdwqZ3TM-JdQrGy0zjIR6_Hx66zVucw8ZxwnfwXWS6_SZU493Nct3qzpt7tY/s1600/IMG_3820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV4tsHpSOgOlWl9rnk7jRe6T3gsv2XbQuI-pP8PrTf1-GmVztIWCddqpKJaPwXzRQKvbcxUhwW3WV5pZIVXdwqZ3TM-JdQrGy0zjIR6_Hx66zVucw8ZxwnfwXWS6_SZU493Nct3qzpt7tY/s1600/IMG_3820.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paper plate icing on the roof. <b>The hole in the roof is the little flap I cut and attached to the front of the house with a rivet. </b><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtokBhEOgWQ4ykO5Zloj3X9lGcZWeJSYfg7a7aU456notrtjZ9h-yPQypennvlWsVX61HgpbJAuG4lRG9p8GvPfbJt7_ie2mIF93LCEZFZmJKt8V3WIIjZWaeNnjzXqMiPJgy48s2Z_mYm/s1600/IMG_3817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtokBhEOgWQ4ykO5Zloj3X9lGcZWeJSYfg7a7aU456notrtjZ9h-yPQypennvlWsVX61HgpbJAuG4lRG9p8GvPfbJt7_ie2mIF93LCEZFZmJKt8V3WIIjZWaeNnjzXqMiPJgy48s2Z_mYm/s1600/IMG_3817.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKosgdz5IpX6Uk1wCFXxOIA45PrPF_XaaiNPzrpdr5psYR18LeaJSye6ZaSYM09oL9LPIsM2_-T4RBPiAiM4momFmukRBc659tHOWTPnGjLECkFxy0QH5E7zlDhnd1uDd7hFAT5j5RcGI-/s1600/IMG_3822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKosgdz5IpX6Uk1wCFXxOIA45PrPF_XaaiNPzrpdr5psYR18LeaJSye6ZaSYM09oL9LPIsM2_-T4RBPiAiM4momFmukRBc659tHOWTPnGjLECkFxy0QH5E7zlDhnd1uDd7hFAT5j5RcGI-/s1600/IMG_3822.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lots of glittery candy - that little orange gummy worm might be my very favorite decoration :) The black dot is the rivet holding the corner bracket in place.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AjqDR87CGBkuBSEsc8JqREDWb_mvFY70d2a3pmxfHu6kyfLlR4YmfsC-D2DfGisogJ1RkdQuHUXatHGG990GNFhZj3A85PVjOMo8AVMwfXmRDjg2ZU3SdyzhcB5B6iyijvzbuJg3HdVu/s1600/IMG_3781.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AjqDR87CGBkuBSEsc8JqREDWb_mvFY70d2a3pmxfHu6kyfLlR4YmfsC-D2DfGisogJ1RkdQuHUXatHGG990GNFhZj3A85PVjOMo8AVMwfXmRDjg2ZU3SdyzhcB5B6iyijvzbuJg3HdVu/s1600/IMG_3781.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">adding glitter</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CSssVrACNsX-MPhfXe2tWonmXyrtPUBARXOVJqhiAv12B3apNnKKArIC699xmYTGnN-pJMu44Jcl7c_qLTNwzLL69cf_vg8bLfm7sZrBUrXv7xxi64uzt88RV6pasUlveV8JNxq3rRAc/s1600/IMG_3783.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3CSssVrACNsX-MPhfXe2tWonmXyrtPUBARXOVJqhiAv12B3apNnKKArIC699xmYTGnN-pJMu44Jcl7c_qLTNwzLL69cf_vg8bLfm7sZrBUrXv7xxi64uzt88RV6pasUlveV8JNxq3rRAc/s1600/IMG_3783.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmy5SnGD0t8yujUDkGTGtUkuyNryl1uMXQoEYIDkenJ21BwAYEi4MHA8X-EnNsv1LdQfDcjv-3ZaqtHoTEP0TY-1y29uEug6cnuqyn8IoYmp6NejHu4mO8RXbVvrFEOrY-mnwZZlhwXtv/s1600/IMG_3782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmy5SnGD0t8yujUDkGTGtUkuyNryl1uMXQoEYIDkenJ21BwAYEi4MHA8X-EnNsv1LdQfDcjv-3ZaqtHoTEP0TY-1y29uEug6cnuqyn8IoYmp6NejHu4mO8RXbVvrFEOrY-mnwZZlhwXtv/s1600/IMG_3782.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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If you have any questions you can email me at gofflyn@gmail.com. <br />
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<span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 500px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 3461px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span><span style="background-color: #bd081c; background-position: 3px 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: 14px; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: none; color: white; cursor: pointer; display: none; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; left: 500px; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; padding: 0px 4px 0px 0px; position: absolute; text-align: center; text-indent: 20px; top: 3461px; width: auto; z-index: 8675309;">Save</span>Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-10438776763342450212014-05-06T19:57:00.001-04:002014-05-07T17:57:20.913-04:00Breakfast in Bed for Mommy … on a very special plate!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnnS-R3BIlmpfY7U1su2JzjyACXdn-Maq-By2mdKyNi03xYz_z48veK4i29X9ppj8cqtsWEJp9AiM9V6hWdcz24Hn84TR7plfrnWfAJM2hlzjD3c43E795fGOE2vwYIstA9OHf_PutLnD/s1600/IMG_9759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFnnS-R3BIlmpfY7U1su2JzjyACXdn-Maq-By2mdKyNi03xYz_z48veK4i29X9ppj8cqtsWEJp9AiM9V6hWdcz24Hn84TR7plfrnWfAJM2hlzjD3c43E795fGOE2vwYIstA9OHf_PutLnD/s1600/IMG_9759.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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My little ones are so excited about the simple plates that they made for Mother's Day this year. I bought ceramic salad plates at the Christmas Tree Shop for $1 and the kids drew pictures of their Mom on the plates with permanent markers. I followed <a href="http://www.heidisongs.com/blog/2013/03/mothers-day-guided-drawing-plates.html">Heidi from HeidiSongs</a>' idea of drawing a circle for the head and somewhat followed her directions for a guided drawing of Mom. I then put the plates in a cold oven and turned the heat up to 350 degrees. After about 40 minutes, I turned off the oven and let the plates cool in the oven. Some of the colors did change a little (several got lighter, and a few got darker). Although the design seems to be permanent I did write "Hand Wash Only" on the bottom of each plate. We will be making muffins later this week and then send them home with the plate, a napkin and a tea bag so that the kids can present their Moms with breakfast in bed.<br />
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There are lots of other Mother's Day Ideas <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/05/adorable-mothers-day-gift.html">here</a> and <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2013/05/moms-are-like-buttons.html">here</a> and <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-love-my-mom_13.html">here</a>.<br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-56711729343093217882014-05-01T19:26:00.000-04:002014-05-10T11:53:00.946-04:00Another Fairy Tale Castle <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3gx7Cq_OX9v_6KnFeYj_z4j5dx5gloLXYYjyxUG4EgyTZ4Ga2f3KIYVAQCGsSFp4MGvw6RyBrYkNL4J9fDIk2spVIt_ZDwo9cLPdnKtWYLIp-2XdQeoFgfxkiNFC0xR_Ui1UAIY-eLsh/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY3gx7Cq_OX9v_6KnFeYj_z4j5dx5gloLXYYjyxUG4EgyTZ4Ga2f3KIYVAQCGsSFp4MGvw6RyBrYkNL4J9fDIk2spVIt_ZDwo9cLPdnKtWYLIp-2XdQeoFgfxkiNFC0xR_Ui1UAIY-eLsh/s1600/IMG_0104.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished castle all "blinged up." The kids love it!</td></tr>
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We have another Fairy Tale Castle! Two years ago, our school did a school wide unit on Children's Literature and I chose Fairy Tales as the genre that our class would focus on. As part of that wonderful unit, I made <a href="http://www.mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/03/our-fairy-tale-castle.html">this huge castle</a> out of 8 large boxes. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK5IMVoclZoLElL4O5Is0v08h-bMF6A_zUkO1W8aHifCI5_SOf1YyaXqT_LPJzWKKwySp18glRTsvG4yfjSLAZPS2XFObzoNeONOjeqfscLLCh0pCO8lX12tvYSMQBSpDnCOOBtF5tt2x/s1600/IMG_9893.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVK5IMVoclZoLElL4O5Is0v08h-bMF6A_zUkO1W8aHifCI5_SOf1YyaXqT_LPJzWKKwySp18glRTsvG4yfjSLAZPS2XFObzoNeONOjeqfscLLCh0pCO8lX12tvYSMQBSpDnCOOBtF5tt2x/s1600/IMG_9893.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>The kids loved it! Last year I made a <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/search?q=barn">giant cardboard barn </a>that was also very popular. I decided to make another castle this year. Fortunately, I have learned a lot about cardboard construction that I can share with anyone thinking about attempting one of these wonderful projects.</div>
<h4>
First - Use Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets and plans</h4>
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This step is critical!! Mr. McGroovy sells simple to follow, downloadable plans for lots of different cardboard structures. The castle plans cost $4.95. He also sells the most important feature of my cardboard creations …Box Rivets. The box rivets look like this:<br />
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<a href="https://mrmcgroovys.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/rivets_unconnected_w500px-78x78.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://mrmcgroovys.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/rivets_unconnected_w500px-78x78.png" /></a></div>
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The cost for a box of 100 reusable rivets is just under $25 (with tax and shipping costs). I will explain how to use the box rivets below.</div>
<h4>
Second - Collect Boxes</h4>
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Collecting the boxes is truly the hardest part of creating a castle (if you follow my advice for the actual construction:) Mr. McGroovy tells you to collect boxes by getting the name of the delivery company used by a a store such as Home Depot. Instead, I found two smaller local appliance companies that do their own deliveries and both were happy to have me stop by and take any boxes I wanted. Each day I stopped by, I could usually find one or two refrigerator or washer-dryer boxes. Following Mr. McGroovy's suggestion, I brought a utility knife with me and cut off the top and bottom of each box. I then folded the box and could take 2-3 boxes in the back of my small sports utility vehicle. It took quite a few trips to collect all the boxes I needed.</div>
<h4>
Third - Get Someone to Help You!!</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG64woRT0wdS23CNEW-yFkZ_y2kXL5XgWdun7cl9hVt9dl39BXDIdO60jAWhqstuMRKMCSaWAf8rStN-M2XT4Zhc-3-hivYTaJSNinyNW_EWUZp1mf3pVfR4sQIIQ9Er2_eBjbGmrqtxAN/s1600/IMG_9666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG64woRT0wdS23CNEW-yFkZ_y2kXL5XgWdun7cl9hVt9dl39BXDIdO60jAWhqstuMRKMCSaWAf8rStN-M2XT4Zhc-3-hivYTaJSNinyNW_EWUZp1mf3pVfR4sQIIQ9Er2_eBjbGmrqtxAN/s1600/IMG_9666.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
If using Mr. McGroovy's rivets is my most important tip, getting help is the the second most important tip. When I made the first castle, I did most of it all by myself. Mr. McGroovy explains how it can be done and it didn't sound that hard. It is!! This year I asked for parents to help and 3 moms came in. What a difference!!! This is what I suggest:</div>
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First, decide how you are going to lay out the castle. Mr. McGroovy's plans are very general. You need to figure out where you are going to put the different sized boxes that you have collected. I laid out the boxes by myself . It is easiest if you have at least 2 boxes that are the same size for the tunnels on either side.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aCM20nzij-TOaBKMQMOjihCtlMPNYXuHWtLQGVGc2_-Mw4GasaEGK35DK7EJlF0OJd3ypo2sgDv8sLao8cRvugZ2MTgs6J_I5Rmu5lsuJ08bljkJ0ukbsNGWSuQ1fvnIaFogi22XjFiR/s1600/IMG_9664.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0aCM20nzij-TOaBKMQMOjihCtlMPNYXuHWtLQGVGc2_-Mw4GasaEGK35DK7EJlF0OJd3ypo2sgDv8sLao8cRvugZ2MTgs6J_I5Rmu5lsuJ08bljkJ0ukbsNGWSuQ1fvnIaFogi22XjFiR/s1600/IMG_9664.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what the room looked like when my first volunteer arrived.</td></tr>
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Mr. McGroovy explains how to cut the boxes even if they are not the same size.<br />
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<a href="https://mrmcgroovys.com/wp-content/themes/storefront-edge-1.0.4/images/instructions/pg003_connect_different_sized_boxes.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://mrmcgroovys.com/wp-content/themes/storefront-edge-1.0.4/images/instructions/pg003_connect_different_sized_boxes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is the point where it REALLY helps to have a second person working with you. I learned that the easiest way to put the rivets in is to have a person inside the box poke a hole through both boxes. I had lent my awl to another teacher and found that a meat thermometer also worked very well for making the holes. The person inside the box should then put their rivet through the hole. The person on the outside will be able to see what's happening and line the 2nd rivet up at a 90 degree angle and then both people push their rivets until they ratchet together. It really is very simple (with help). It took less than 3 hours to put the castle together and cut most of the windows and ramparts.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjJTuXVI2x5QhFr37SFJgvqNyLwepf2pvqBYzFaIPeKRyb8uT79zsyNVvD6MY4avwW-oK3vuQqgP44NFGw64d9kc2_Whk_B-ahBXxphjsi6WQ0HlTz4LLfepNUzRNMZfLvfGjN_EqjBma/s1600/IMG_9701.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjJTuXVI2x5QhFr37SFJgvqNyLwepf2pvqBYzFaIPeKRyb8uT79zsyNVvD6MY4avwW-oK3vuQqgP44NFGw64d9kc2_Whk_B-ahBXxphjsi6WQ0HlTz4LLfepNUzRNMZfLvfGjN_EqjBma/s1600/IMG_9701.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Fourth - Paint the Castle</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCRg-IxGdN7EAfnPoRzcbEoZ8_-SsriUFThIGjzxkIVxoUyhhNJ1pKWg0NuBjzwbcuK-6FAX38vYsLW8XYcsft-ecOPP3EgL0zGtCINHVqw6PzHNHNYLRmTIQkwO5ZCMdCfe7Sb_JogIv/s1600/IMG_9824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtCRg-IxGdN7EAfnPoRzcbEoZ8_-SsriUFThIGjzxkIVxoUyhhNJ1pKWg0NuBjzwbcuK-6FAX38vYsLW8XYcsft-ecOPP3EgL0zGtCINHVqw6PzHNHNYLRmTIQkwO5ZCMdCfe7Sb_JogIv/s1600/IMG_9824.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9iaQU54ODTET_ba1TuBqcbSBPU-gC8UyEwbByUy-jmtQ85LvGyPnlgMGhNRiRtXenoovRlfovkBaoJJ08eHyJ_Fq32QIZilOejlri9BlDFgKzZl0feqr8-tOyemHSIVKBqGDMss8mf8-/s1600/IMG_9838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO9iaQU54ODTET_ba1TuBqcbSBPU-gC8UyEwbByUy-jmtQ85LvGyPnlgMGhNRiRtXenoovRlfovkBaoJJ08eHyJ_Fq32QIZilOejlri9BlDFgKzZl0feqr8-tOyemHSIVKBqGDMss8mf8-/s1600/IMG_9838.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oPwJAMta8otKfY0X3uMvvC0Yzo6MF20j8in94yZMp4JRwY9IR6qluCGND-Qyw8Z-WYnnihUAfGs52-2QU5jr7AdrouFIP2qW9d-BHklDgBxEnnVltqzvtlMqrrBZ8zOtyNJrbu_ObVzt/s1600/IMG_9826.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oPwJAMta8otKfY0X3uMvvC0Yzo6MF20j8in94yZMp4JRwY9IR6qluCGND-Qyw8Z-WYnnihUAfGs52-2QU5jr7AdrouFIP2qW9d-BHklDgBxEnnVltqzvtlMqrrBZ8zOtyNJrbu_ObVzt/s1600/IMG_9826.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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This step can definitely include the kids. I bought latex "OOPS" paint at Lowes for $4. My color choices were hot pink or grey. I chose grey. Following Mr. McGroovy's suggestion, we used paint pads. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHUaxLMGRSXNt6zBCx3l0ZEhpoY8QsRNdILnIj4v8VaOpvB-zTd0VlSgmRCLs8wF19KhrzKckcAIndqAMXVwOAP4uTThWrpg2fDbpcETtdTdxf1qp6qMb8s1Sc4e9RmTNAnprYiZES9Ln/s1600/IMG_9894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNHUaxLMGRSXNt6zBCx3l0ZEhpoY8QsRNdILnIj4v8VaOpvB-zTd0VlSgmRCLs8wF19KhrzKckcAIndqAMXVwOAP4uTThWrpg2fDbpcETtdTdxf1qp6qMb8s1Sc4e9RmTNAnprYiZES9Ln/s1600/IMG_9894.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The whole process was actually incredibly neat. I used extra cardboard that I stuck under the edge of the castle as a drop cloth. I then had the kids take off their shoes and socks. I did this so they would know if they stepped in paint and could wipe their feet before walking across the room. The painters also put on big t-shirts. I had 3 painters working at a time. I put the paint on the paint pad (and took off the extra paint on the edge of the pan) and then handed the paint pad to the child. Each child got three refills of paint and then it was someone else's turn. Although I had to paint the high spots, the kids did a wonderful job painting most of the castle. </div>
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Fifth - Decorate the Castle</h4>
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This is where we are now. We'd love your suggestions for this step!</div>
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UPDATE: We've Added Lots of Bling!</h3>
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This year I have a class that loves bling…They wanted the castle to have jewels, glitter, flowers, lights and thrones. This is what we did.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANYT1bSn4A1Ol8ogvR3uNiSvu5-Osf4F0SsjVZJn0Y9SJOPgWUXgtuDVkmqJm0a154c8I2-phU6Wd2HnlvAFMOLxiFub2qSg8zJhkwy0QqdixF998uEqcrK8cw8Je8RE_lxfHSdWtxila/s1600/IMG_9999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgANYT1bSn4A1Ol8ogvR3uNiSvu5-Osf4F0SsjVZJn0Y9SJOPgWUXgtuDVkmqJm0a154c8I2-phU6Wd2HnlvAFMOLxiFub2qSg8zJhkwy0QqdixF998uEqcrK8cw8Je8RE_lxfHSdWtxila/s1600/IMG_9999.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Princesses, Dragons and Knights made flowers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JHkoweyy5dWQTaWq07FWL4LmWB75_jir5_IuZLQEKIrlA-cR3wgogEvkKSt08VfoV0GKWJfO3wx5Lixs8rr9slZOrVTJ1_QbVJo5bxftgkHDeUAmoJQlg4sA8SSlDZezgY5-r-ddetpi/s1600/IMG_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JHkoweyy5dWQTaWq07FWL4LmWB75_jir5_IuZLQEKIrlA-cR3wgogEvkKSt08VfoV0GKWJfO3wx5Lixs8rr9slZOrVTJ1_QbVJo5bxftgkHDeUAmoJQlg4sA8SSlDZezgY5-r-ddetpi/s1600/IMG_0043.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone made torches (we have enough torches to light a whole kingdom:)</td></tr>
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The finished product is spectacular.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FzqH4O5c6blz7ZwRZYiyn4Q_5js0QLeaw_u8V3dUtioByNRwbCtGAkNWL1AR16SyvvqRgJqa40rwHGX1FQfBtmrYla2Hz3veXW03iLGXvdwz5wM4zfWn_GLafbsc0FegRezGH0v6USEw/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FzqH4O5c6blz7ZwRZYiyn4Q_5js0QLeaw_u8V3dUtioByNRwbCtGAkNWL1AR16SyvvqRgJqa40rwHGX1FQfBtmrYla2Hz3veXW03iLGXvdwz5wM4zfWn_GLafbsc0FegRezGH0v6USEw/s1600/IMG_0076.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers - check</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaVn3uIInVPXUsdI7MhSv4oPjShAKv_X1Qw9HjHTwhuPXTsEJHwpTQHfKhkLRcmmpNk0nJcqPfTiD2hZigEV_PcRKYwk_o4F8z_7Sbc7-hhmiylD-ZuU5cTtO7s91dBNvTUTkrZ3PDH4h/s1600/IMG_0077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzaVn3uIInVPXUsdI7MhSv4oPjShAKv_X1Qw9HjHTwhuPXTsEJHwpTQHfKhkLRcmmpNk0nJcqPfTiD2hZigEV_PcRKYwk_o4F8z_7Sbc7-hhmiylD-ZuU5cTtO7s91dBNvTUTkrZ3PDH4h/s1600/IMG_0077.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flames - check</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabnSOezg3UIc2-uv6Ggk3uZlTPKJTqkKvRk4MPMeKB3no_IgWBhGWU4jb5qYtx16OZU_8TWPI1PalKq_ZaTd_C7B2rPJpYOqc67rNQcO6pyV_db3kcAabcxIRvNTLu58i_0YVr8lKN5NI/s1600/IMG_0094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhabnSOezg3UIc2-uv6Ggk3uZlTPKJTqkKvRk4MPMeKB3no_IgWBhGWU4jb5qYtx16OZU_8TWPI1PalKq_ZaTd_C7B2rPJpYOqc67rNQcO6pyV_db3kcAabcxIRvNTLu58i_0YVr8lKN5NI/s1600/IMG_0094.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Glitter and Jewels - check</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVZpqA5bPhOn73m0WxPZEa85n94VZ3B-YPE-7BgGTzGeejDH5rXfJrR9D38Xd7O2Ib90pz-AmDQrOMscJkUyM0LG4q4g55_h-YjosQmFQnIVW2CIe-vbvwFXu-cGuKDCk9DM-55QRfUHY/s1600/IMG_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHVZpqA5bPhOn73m0WxPZEa85n94VZ3B-YPE-7BgGTzGeejDH5rXfJrR9D38Xd7O2Ib90pz-AmDQrOMscJkUyM0LG4q4g55_h-YjosQmFQnIVW2CIe-vbvwFXu-cGuKDCk9DM-55QRfUHY/s1600/IMG_0070.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thrones - check</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nTCzdYi928DZtBNGaLiuxZLMMK1PlXuxctLhYDfgCqeaN6Gb8ybLWDpv8-dKlKW9WRrLu3zV_LTCLwCohT-wG4J-kCdvFAuNSDFiBrioqs5om97tosmZ89b4tSc1eZaeuSa1u8WVJRHD/s1600/IMG_0037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nTCzdYi928DZtBNGaLiuxZLMMK1PlXuxctLhYDfgCqeaN6Gb8ybLWDpv8-dKlKW9WRrLu3zV_LTCLwCohT-wG4J-kCdvFAuNSDFiBrioqs5om97tosmZ89b4tSc1eZaeuSa1u8WVJRHD/s1600/IMG_0037.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windows (and dragons) - check</td></tr>
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<script src="//widget.rafflecopter.com/load.js"></script>Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-22837579336182508752014-03-13T16:41:00.000-04:002014-03-14T12:00:31.363-04:00Our Chihuly Masterpiece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8OV-hoKho4qKkAKFtd5KbTaOa6HnsRipHyx6MxCiuLeUiJEPXLzgxRio6KdNUc4Bopxnge_xomL9KJUBrO4KqNktv-EruTbt_1V2zC1mx6ftLLcMANIiCm5NaBtPOLH1jsF47sRMUFaM/s1600/IMG_8655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8OV-hoKho4qKkAKFtd5KbTaOa6HnsRipHyx6MxCiuLeUiJEPXLzgxRio6KdNUc4Bopxnge_xomL9KJUBrO4KqNktv-EruTbt_1V2zC1mx6ftLLcMANIiCm5NaBtPOLH1jsF47sRMUFaM/s1600/IMG_8655.jpg" height="320" width="193" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-wonderful-week-in-canada.html">Last summer</a> when I traveled west to see my son (and a few of my favorite bloggers) in Canada, I spent a day in Seattle Washington. One of the things I did was go to the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit that is right next to the Space Needle. Dale Chihuly is an artist who makes amazing sculptures and huge glass installations from blown glass. <br />
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT70D2iF3dj9iXkrSicnjAKX9CyTDLnxUBmmYGRY8G6xEkBsIcb" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT70D2iF3dj9iXkrSicnjAKX9CyTDLnxUBmmYGRY8G6xEkBsIcb" /></a><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGjAat7384fthPG8lqDn0SaEDl1pqXLhP6S9G7_w9lUxekySlz" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRGjAat7384fthPG8lqDn0SaEDl1pqXLhP6S9G7_w9lUxekySlz" width="320" /></a></div>
I actually first learned of Chihuly from Pinterest where I saw all sorts of art projects for kids using crazy straws. The actual art is truly amazing. I especially loved the way the beautiful pieces were lit. The glass practically glowed.<br />
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I decided I wanted to add Chihuly to our <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/search?q=art+show">Art Unit</a> this year and chose to try making something inspired by this ceiling in Las Vegas:</div>
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<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxwJ2RT-4gbGFcm7aSGdtxCD_XX0iiGSqij55jA5-NCiMgF2oBLg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTxwJ2RT-4gbGFcm7aSGdtxCD_XX0iiGSqij55jA5-NCiMgF2oBLg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have melted plastic cups before and saw that Jeanette from <a href="http://artchoo.com/chihuly-inspired-art/">Artchoo! </a>had used them to emulate Chihuly's glass pieces. I had each child color several plastic cups using permanent markers (bigger markers worked better). <br />
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I then put the cup in a toaster oven set to 350. The artist came and stood next to me and told me when he or she thought I should take the cup out of the oven (it was less than a minute). I then removed the cup with my bare hand.<br />
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It was interesting to see how differently each of the cups shrunk and melted. We used several different types of cups that I found around my house and school. Originally, we used clear "soft" plastic glasses. Some turned a little milky and some stayed clear. The Chinet "cut crystal" ones rolled up. When I still need more cups, I found a few blue and pink plastic cups (still transparent) and let the kids decorate those. Because they were too tall for the toaster oven I cut them down which worked well. I'm so glad that we ended up using different types of cups because it added a lot of interest to our final project. I think that all of the cups had the recycle number 6 on the bottom. </div>
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I wanted our Chiluly inspired work to be lit up like the ones I saw in Seattle. Since one of my light covers was broken, I decided to tape it back together and then hot glue our art directly to the light cover. It took a lot of cups to cover the entire area but the result is really cool!</div>
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Of course my iPhone doesn't begin to do justice to how cool this project looks. </div>
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It makes me want to cover all of my fluorescent lights. Now that would be spectacular!</div>
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-16938236053756686042014-03-02T11:56:00.003-05:002023-01-14T06:56:43.202-05:00OREO Words<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Oreo Words in my class. Oreo Words are 2 letter words that we memorize by spending 1-2 minutes a day with our Oreo Words book. I first heard about Oreo Words at a Dr. Jean conference and they are more effective than anything else I have seen at giving young kids a genuine excitement about their emerging ability to read. When I taught Kindergarten, I introduced Oreo Words as soon as school started. In Pre-K, we start learning Oreo Words in January. Below is a page from our Oreo Word book. We usually begin with 5 or 6 words (such as no, go, at, it, my) and add a few new words every week or two (the book has 24 words eventually!!!).<br />
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Oreo Words can be read using real Oreos or just with our hands. I usually introduce the words with real Oreos. I give each child an Oreo (that I twist open as I hand it to the child). The child opens the Oreo and holds a side in each hand. We then say the first letter together as they lick the left inside of the Oreo. We say the second letter as they lick the right side and then they put the Oreo together and say the word. I might then say "Let's try that again" or I often use the word in a sentence "<i>It</i> is a beautiful day." or I ask a child to do it alone. When the children are really comfortable with a word such as "at" I will say "put a b in front of it" and they will say "bat." They also think that is really cool. After we have gone through all the words the kids eat the Oreos.<br />
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We only use real Oreos about once every couple weeks (often when we introduce new words). On the other days, we practice with our hands (we don't lick our hands - we just wave them in front of our mouth!).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"i" "t"</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">"it"</td></tr>
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It is amazing how quickly the kids learn the words this way. However, wh<i>a</i>t makes <i><b>Or</b></i>eo W<i><b>or</b></i>ds <i><b>SO</b></i> cool <i><b>is</b> </i>th<i><b>at</b></i> t<i><b>he</b></i> kids f<i><b>in</b></i>d t<i><b>he</b></i>m everyw<i><b>he</b></i>re. They find them in our Morning Message and on bulletin boards and in books and on signs and .…<b>They LOVE finding Oreo Words! </b>I make a big deal when they point out Oreo Words and the kids' parents naturally get excited when the kids point out Oreo Words. It's hard not to be happy when your 4 or 5 year old child is so delighted to find "m-e, me" in ACME Market. </div>
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After we have been doing our Oreo Words for a few weeks (for just a minute or two a day) I bring out the Melissa and Doug hangman game ( I have actually taped over the word Hangman - We call the game "Build a Person") . </div>
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I introduce the game to the whole class and then put it out for free play. I have the child who will be thinking of a word move away from the kids they are playing with and write the Oreo Word they are thinking of on a small post-it that they put on the back of the board. They then draw 2 lines on the bottom and then the others guess letters. The kids love playing this game and it is great because they are getting writing practice (writing the word on a post-it), fine motor skill practice (turning the letters and body parts), taking turns and following rules practice and great reasoning skills practice (some have already figured out which vowels are most likely to be used). I love that all these complex skills can be practiced without adult supervision and that the kids get so much pleasure out of playing the game.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">writing an Oreo Word on a post-it</td></tr>
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I love Oreo Words even thought I don't think that it is appropriate to push young children to read. As I told our parents in a newsletter:</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Chalkboard; mso-bidi-font-family: Chalkboard; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">What I love about Oreo words is they give kids a
great deal of confidence to explore text and words. Ple<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as</i></b>e c<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">on</i></b>gr<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at</i></b>ul<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">at</i></b>e your
child w<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i></b>n t<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">he</i></b>y <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">no</i></b>tice <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Or</i></b>eo
w<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">or</i></b>ds, e<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">it</i></b>her al<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">on</i></b>e <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">or in</i></b>
bigger w<b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">or</i></b>ds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, Oreo words, like all learning in
Pre-K, should be fun so please let the kids introduce them to you.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Chalkboard; mso-bidi-font-family: Chalkboard; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
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I have serious doubts about whether I should write this post. I know that a lot of people will disagree with my thoughts (and in truth it is not a huge issue so why write something controversial?) Nonetheless, here goes …. I have a rule in my classroom - younger siblings (other than infants) are NOT invited to our classroom holiday parties! I know that this policy is hard for a lot of parents to understand so I'd like to explain my reasoning.<br />
I was a homeroom mom every year from the time my oldest was a kindergartener until my fourth child was a fifth grader (that's 13 years straight) and I LOVED doing it. My favorite part was, without question, planning and running the classroom parties. It was generally accepted at the school my kids attended that homeroom parents "ran" the whole party and that siblings could come to the parties if their parents came to the party. On more than one occassion I was driven crazy when younger siblings "ruined" the party for the older sibling or sometimes the whole class. <br />
Here are a few problems that arise when younger siblings attend an older child's class party:<br />
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1. The party planners have not purchased enough craft supplies for extra children to make the planned craft. The result is crying siblings because they can't do the project or upset older siblings because Mom makes them share the project with the younger sibling or sometimes not enough materials for the children in the class because younger children <b>are</b> doing the craft.<br />
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2. These same problems are even more in evidence with regard to food. It is really hard (and unfair) to not share the party food with younger siblings who are present but its difficult to plan for an unknown number of younger siblings. Once again, older siblings share their goodies or the whole class shares which is a problem if there are only 20 cupcakes and 30 kids (including siblings).<br />
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3. Games are are also interrupted or altered so the youngsters can join in. A game that is appropriate for a 9 year old will probably not work for a 4 year old and yet I have often seen parents insist on letting the little one "have a turn."<br />
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4. One of the biggest problems is that parents who are helping to run the party need to attend to the young child instead of running a game, distributing snacks or supervising a craft.<br />
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5. Far worse than number 4 is the situation where parents who are helping to run the party (or are just present and catching up with friends) are NOT attending to the younger child and that child is putting his snotty fingers in every cupcake or knocking over the bowl of glitter or tearing a class book or…you get the idea.<br />
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In truth, most younger siblings are adorable and most parents try to make sure that the little ones are not disrupting the party. The problem is, I can't say only some siblings are invited. And even if I could, I wouldn't - the little ones will have a chance to attend and enjoy a "big kid party" when they are big kids! As a parent, I never brought siblings to class parties (I was very lucky to have parents and neighbors who were willing to babysit for me). As a teacher, I get to make the rule that siblings don't come to classroom parties but I also make sure that there are lots of opportunities to include younger siblings in special events at school (such as our Christmas sing-a-long, our play, our Art Show and our End of Year Dance Party) because, in the right situation, kids love to have family at school. <br />
I know that many teachers don't want to discourage family participation and many parents don't have daytime babysitters available. I guess I would just ask parents to be very aware of the issues that arise when younger siblings attend a party and focus on what is best for the older child when they choose whether to bring a little one along (and if they have to include the little ones - watch them!).<br />
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What are your thoughts about younger siblings at class parties?Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-2368354424238190892014-02-07T18:08:00.000-05:002014-02-08T09:21:52.235-05:00Simple (and Fast) Valentine Envelopes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we had lots of fun making simple envelopes that we will use next week when we deliver our valentines. Each child laid out paper doilies and various hearts that we found around our class on a piece of white construction paper.<br />
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Next, they sprayed the paper with liquid watercolors. The kids then carefully removed the items and voila…wonderful heart prints. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3BnoHgsgB9BPfCv1ZwsVNFxiueyFZ9vEM_frn-EbxE3ZwtIRrw9hHaqoXdRgHRUfgiq_B8viv44I-NeEpGF_9nfqu1eoyPCDAgBijHML-4EzfrJMIcJZuAcjaH_XfUfoIHWh8EO3gqK8/s1600/IMG_7990.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ3BnoHgsgB9BPfCv1ZwsVNFxiueyFZ9vEM_frn-EbxE3ZwtIRrw9hHaqoXdRgHRUfgiq_B8viv44I-NeEpGF_9nfqu1eoyPCDAgBijHML-4EzfrJMIcJZuAcjaH_XfUfoIHWh8EO3gqK8/s1600/IMG_7990.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kid's paintings were prettier than my sample because they used more paint (although too much sometimes went right through the doily)</td></tr>
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I then simply folded the paper in half and used colorful duck tape to tape up the sides. I've done this type of painting before using blue contractor's tape or contact paper. Unfortunately, I can't find where I recently saw the idea to use doilies and hearts (but it's so pretty and much faster than tape:)</div>
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<br />Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-23850071350342590522014-01-20T11:05:00.000-05:002017-01-06T07:38:28.180-05:00The Crayon Box That Talked<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Since I started teaching, we have celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday on January 15th with a presentation of <b>The Crayon Box That Talked</b>. I introduce Martin Luther King by reading <i>Martin's Big Words</i> by Bryan Collier. This is a wonderful book for kindergarteners and pre-kers.<br />
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The next day we read <i>The Crayon Box That Talked</i> by<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Shane DeRolf. The story is actually a simple poem about a box of crayons that doesn't get along. After a little girl buys the crayons and colors a drawing, the crayons decide that they do like each other and that while "each one (is) unique, when (they) get together the picture is complete." We talk about how at the </span>beginning<span style="font-family: inherit;"> of the book, the crayons didn't like the other colors. At the end of the story, they realize that it is much better to have lots of different colors in a picture and that they do like and need each other. The kids right away make the connection to people not liking each other because of the color of their skin.</span></span></div>
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This was the 7th year I have used the same costumes. I simply took pieces of bulletin board paper and folded them in thirds into large rectangles. I then used another narrow piece of the bulletin board paper folded in half to make the piece that goes around the child's neck and holds the "crayon." The hats are laminated pieces of construction paper made into a cone with a piece of elastic stapled on to it to hold the hat on. Very simple, but very effective. For the last few years, I have thought about making new costumes by simply cutting a piece of poster board in half (a few of my originals do have an awful lot of staple holes:). Maybe next year…</div>
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I start by making a list of all of the colored costumes I have. I let each child pick the color they want. (I usually end up making one or two new ones each year so that everyone is happy:). After everyone has a color, I put their names (and color if necessary) into the Crayon Box That Talked poem that I have typed up.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a page of the script.</td></tr>
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I uploaded a copy of the poem to dropbox <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/sjtuytomg7ux7pr/The%20Crayon%20Box%20That%20Talked.docx?dl=0">here</a>. I then line up the kids in the order they will speak in the poem. Each child has one short line (depending on numbers, sometimes 2 kids speak together). The kids can get in line correctly and remember their line after one or two practices. It really is a perfect little play for young children. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The poem ends "We are a box of crayons each one of us unique but when we get together the picture is complete." The kids pick up this long picture they painted on the back of bulletin board paper when they say "complete."</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> After the play, we recite the poem we learned about Martin Luther King:</span></div>
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<i>I have a dream said Martin Luther King</i></div>
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<i>We're going to make that dream come true.</i></div>
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<i>Let freedom ring said Martin Luther King.</i></div>
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<i>It's up to me and you!</i></div>
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<i>It's not the color of your hair,</i></div>
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<i>It's not the color of your skin,</i></div>
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<i>It doesn't matter what you wear.</i></div>
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<i>It's the character within.</i></div>
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I'm not sure where I first found this poem but I use it as another opportunity to talk about character. I loved that this year, one of my kiddos said that the poem reminded him of <i>Katalina Matalina</i>. Katalina Matalina is a Dr Jean song about a funny looking person with a heart of gold. Makes a teacher's heart happy to see the kids making these text to text connections. :)</div>
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One last thing we always do is talk about the fact that Martin Luther King followed in his father's footsteps to become a leader and a preacher. We talk about what kind of people we want to be like and each child draws a picture of someone they want to be like when they grow up. These are always very sweet (and cute because I add the child's footprint to their drawing). </div>
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-54720299167899359832014-01-12T18:20:00.003-05:002014-02-27T17:12:33.766-05:00Beautiful Snowflakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Colorful Snowflakes</h4>
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I like this fun poem, "If snow came down in colors." I recently received an email from Patty Fotheringham letting me know that she had thought of this poem years ago (during an especially long winter). Last year, we were inspired by the poem to make <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2013/01/colorful-snowman.html">these colorful snowmen </a>with liquid water colors and coffee filters.</div>
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<a href="http://myclassroomconnection.com/Data/Classrooms/1272_06162488/Photos/Folder_15225/Large/arrange_001_IMG_0720%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://myclassroomconnection.com/Data/Classrooms/1272_06162488/Photos/Folder_15225/Large/arrange_001_IMG_0720%202.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This year we didn't have as much time so we just made colorful snowflakes. First we used droppers to add liquid watercolors to a coffee filter. (I piled them up so they shared colors) . After the filters dried, I showed small groups of kids how to fold the the circles in half again and again (until they looked like ice cream cones). I then took a pencil and drew triangles on each of the 3 edges. The kids then followed the lines and cut out the little triangles. Perfectly beautiful snowflakes!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">The folded filters were easy for the kids to cut. I have found that kids are much more confident about cutting snowflakes if they have lines to follow. Several of the kids drew their own lines on subsequent snowflakes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Geometric Snowflakes</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">My photographs don't begin to do justice to these huge snowflakes that were designed by our kindergarteners. The children used notched popsicle sticks and each designed a geometric snowflake. After their designs were complete, they used hot glue to carefully glue the pieces together. They then painted the snowflakes and then added glitter so they sparkle in the sun. Truly spectacular!</span><br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-73717296891758612792014-01-03T20:03:00.001-05:002014-01-03T20:03:08.882-05:00Post-a-Day Blog Challenge - Day 3 <span style="font-family: inherit;">Today's blog prompt from <a href="http://www.kinderchat123.net/2014/01/introducing-2014-january-post-day-blog.html?showComment=1388562649641#c6834754006579689508" style="background-color: white; color: #4c2781; line-height: 23px; text-decoration: none;">Kinderchat's 2014 January Post-a-Day Blog Challenge</a> is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">TGIF: The very best thing about 2013 was….</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Although there were lots of highlights in 2013 for me and my family, my trip to British Columbia defiantly stands out as especially wonderful. I blogged </span><a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-wonderful-week-in-canada.html" style="line-height: 28px;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> about my trip to see my son who was working on a </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 28.796875px;"> </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 28.796875px;">bio-dynamic and therapeutic farm on Victoria Island.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 28.796875px;"> In addition to visiting Tad, I got to explore an area of the world that I have never been to before <b>and</b> I got to meet two of my favorite bloggers! It was a </span><span style="line-height: 28px;">wonderful</span><span style="line-height: 28.796875px;"> experience!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 28.796875px;"><br /></span></span>Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-22668133897359904922014-01-02T13:49:00.001-05:002014-01-03T20:25:02.970-05:00 Post-a-Day Blog Challenge Day 2<span style="font-family: inherit;">Today's blog prompt from <a href="http://www.kinderchat123.net/2014/01/introducing-2014-january-post-day-blog.html?showComment=1388562649641#c6834754006579689508" style="background-color: white; color: #4c2781; line-height: 23px; text-decoration: none;">Kinderchat's 2014 January Post-a-Day Blog Challenge</a> is:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">2. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18px;">One resolution for 2014</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> I don't make resolutions any more. I've never been very successful with it. Last year I tried <a href="http://myoneword.org/">One Little Word</a>. The idea is to pick one word that will inspire you all year. For the life of me, I can't remember what my word was. Obviously, it has not inspired me:) </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> However, I have found a way of working towards goals that I </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">really love. Last July, when I turned 54, I wrote a list of "55 Things I Want to Do During My 55th Year." The list has big and little goals. I keep it on my refrigerator and highlight things as I complete them. Some goals relate to school (lots of sensory bins and walks), some to my interactions with my friends and family (girls weekend, visits to relatives, dates with my husband), some are intended to "improve myself" (go to weight watchers, volunteer somewhere), some will push me out of my comfort zone (eat by myself at a restaurant) and some are just fun (sleep outside, take a picture every day). I'm not sure I will reach all of the goals before July but the list has encouraged me to try to new things and it's been fun too. I'm really happy with this approach to setting goals.</span></span><br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-37937624269419542392014-01-01T19:56:00.000-05:002014-01-01T19:57:48.394-05:00 Post-a-Day Blog Challenge<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="line-height: 23px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been very unmotivated to blog, I'm really not sure why but I just haven't been able to make myself post (even about ideas that I'd like to share). I haven't even been very good about following the blogs that I love which has been really frustrating when I do spend some time on the internet and see the thoughtful posts I've missed. Today I did check out a few of my favorite bloggers and saw that Sandi from </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://rubberbootsandelfshoes.blogspot.ca/2014/01/2013-year-that-was.html" style="line-height: 23px;">Rubberboots and Elf Shoes</a><span style="line-height: 23px;"> has taken the </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.kinderchat123.net/2014/01/introducing-2014-january-post-day-blog.html?showComment=1388562649641#c6834754006579689508" style="color: #4c2781; line-height: 23px; text-decoration: none;">#kinderchat 2014 January Post-a-Day Blog Challenge.</a> </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 23px;">31 prompts in 31 days. 31 posts seems rather ambitious but I think it might be good for me to give it a try. Being reflective about my teaching and life has to be good for me. Right?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #191919;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 23px;">The first challenge is</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;">Wordless Wednesday: A photo to represent 2013 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a photo that my husband and I took after we dropped our youngest off at college. In truth I was pretty sad about the end of my role as "live in Mom" for my four kids. However, this photo sort of represents all the transitions that happened in 2013. It turns out Ed and I really like each other and we are enjoying our empty nest (and LOVING any time at home or on the road that we get to spend with the kids:)</span></div>
Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-75244080410826904022013-12-10T12:27:00.004-05:002013-12-10T13:25:54.091-05:00It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today we have a second snow day! :( Normally, I'm like any other teacher and love snow days but I had so many fun things planned for this week. Oh well... hopefully we'll get back tomorrow for more Gingerbread Fun!</div>
We are reading LOTS of versions of the Gingerbread Man. We've also been talking about characters, setting and plot and have been doing lots of comparing and contrasting. We will be graphing our favorite version later this week. In addition, we've done the following:<br />
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Gingerbread Playdough</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are making gingerbread cookies with our delicious smelling gingerbread play dough. The recipe is from <a href="http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/2011/12/gingerbread-playdough/">Sweet Sugar Belle</a> and the color comes from all the delicious spices in the recipe. </td></tr>
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A Gingerbread Exchange</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06LaOXNhQr3dLn4QGt9ItMnAPDAmkzYsxFdvFPtjL5y29w__bwwc5qy3CdiVtZMv9In9fPlpmDLmb_NWZmuW7CpoEn8x3tlfcvKfu8eTmCtdLsrbGsmNXiPDtSZPTxhUvNmjcKdYOwPSY/s1600/arrange_046_IMG_0417.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi06LaOXNhQr3dLn4QGt9ItMnAPDAmkzYsxFdvFPtjL5y29w__bwwc5qy3CdiVtZMv9In9fPlpmDLmb_NWZmuW7CpoEn8x3tlfcvKfu8eTmCtdLsrbGsmNXiPDtSZPTxhUvNmjcKdYOwPSY/s320/arrange_046_IMG_0417.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We participated in<a href="http://www.growinginprek.blogspot.com/"> Growing in Pre-K</a>'s Gingerbread exchange. Thanks Eilis for organizing this fun exchange.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNZ-_ekVuaVnfzynJ8n84KAsdEudcNRMdLxaUvBTTFsZvkkOLG3ymuH9kEarWXAOA-1SoJ_F6Mie6yhzp10m79GlO4KrdWjVOlfdJc5HFZeK9D-te433Mgoo4nGMshXRCuSqii5KJg8Kk/s1600/IMG_6707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNZ-_ekVuaVnfzynJ8n84KAsdEudcNRMdLxaUvBTTFsZvkkOLG3ymuH9kEarWXAOA-1SoJ_F6Mie6yhzp10m79GlO4KrdWjVOlfdJc5HFZeK9D-te433Mgoo4nGMshXRCuSqii5KJg8Kk/s320/IMG_6707.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gingerbread man we sent to 12 other schools reversed to a reindeer. So cute.</td></tr>
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<h4>
Gingerbread crafts, glyphs and poems<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbddlIhLJSRtwTgLhwrj984sqb7qjPrQMVjFUdniu6vGpxZ9MCcaf6UBpZLGcdSsBOMu5KU-FZEeUOH6h_tA08YhOSewOqZSes4jDdzU_vIIZJIDWhHOnX_Dzcym-O79nWAcxA5fctzL2L/s1600/arrange_038_IMG_0342.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbddlIhLJSRtwTgLhwrj984sqb7qjPrQMVjFUdniu6vGpxZ9MCcaf6UBpZLGcdSsBOMu5KU-FZEeUOH6h_tA08YhOSewOqZSes4jDdzU_vIIZJIDWhHOnX_Dzcym-O79nWAcxA5fctzL2L/s320/arrange_038_IMG_0342.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXw6GaC8rviZ-2cbTWoODCIWIpgsmYzaEd1K77QUmSlUYnBWMFjZKDHvjd3uT1FWxCLjGRumR_ekax_aWQULPK2JlyuhE5QPBHzkJnzD6fuWyP0Fm4mxfivPVCnouV6iG6tmTXx_MwdhE/s1600/IMG_3631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrXw6GaC8rviZ-2cbTWoODCIWIpgsmYzaEd1K77QUmSlUYnBWMFjZKDHvjd3uT1FWxCLjGRumR_ekax_aWQULPK2JlyuhE5QPBHzkJnzD6fuWyP0Fm4mxfivPVCnouV6iG6tmTXx_MwdhE/s400/IMG_3631.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFzr30IY9Rj8Rd2qfSo6Bw7Z4vM7gkA5M3CD7nWoVuOF-HCQtP6XAhMwlEIf2N0wxY9uQFPhFjMTyDuMBRLv0L_BnFUojyeCI17ZsP5WHtSKI3lOJtvYtn7PPqNKxJbbBApDdIfB9QUkO/s1600/arrange_037_IMG_0341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFzr30IY9Rj8Rd2qfSo6Bw7Z4vM7gkA5M3CD7nWoVuOF-HCQtP6XAhMwlEIf2N0wxY9uQFPhFjMTyDuMBRLv0L_BnFUojyeCI17ZsP5WHtSKI3lOJtvYtn7PPqNKxJbbBApDdIfB9QUkO/s320/arrange_037_IMG_0341.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">We decorated paper gingerbread men with white crayons.</td></tr>
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</h4>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5wnmOR97hzOvg1kNQyKclB71FjXBo2VfoAX8Y4L-3NdKRVOXLgppEhG4EaxHKkD0VKDnQyKnHNrAEdbT8X9skTaGP3nC8Kd3F-wSwedNHuijewpmer_DbzKQ0PQIAL_UDXPulR9ImNsr/s1600/arrange_000_IMG_0453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5wnmOR97hzOvg1kNQyKclB71FjXBo2VfoAX8Y4L-3NdKRVOXLgppEhG4EaxHKkD0VKDnQyKnHNrAEdbT8X9skTaGP3nC8Kd3F-wSwedNHuijewpmer_DbzKQ0PQIAL_UDXPulR9ImNsr/s320/arrange_000_IMG_0453.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Of course, we will decorate real cookies too.</td></tr>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
We decorate the classroom </h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfP2hC9Ljrq1rSUE5AbCI5MRGvqZ9ei2iRf2fDBz5ijEWO7RSNmOJs69bddvOkAA9_-JJVpixhn7d2CixA0VOlHNOmpOUl7sMpM_FED4mLVQeZsLxHjCJ7AsxX6EYF1SEPoPNPZDrc7zQd/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-12-10+at+1.18.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfP2hC9Ljrq1rSUE5AbCI5MRGvqZ9ei2iRf2fDBz5ijEWO7RSNmOJs69bddvOkAA9_-JJVpixhn7d2CixA0VOlHNOmpOUl7sMpM_FED4mLVQeZsLxHjCJ7AsxX6EYF1SEPoPNPZDrc7zQd/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-12-10+at+1.18.28+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of Dollar Store decorations and blue ticky-tac to decorate our dollhouse for a gingerbread family!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrRKId2XLaY973cR_cvllnV2cWkSS1lLcjY84otuVDreRug2SASWQEwanQ8-3nvXWEMfzQ1r7NpdKMbiN2vEA0TjTqjJl7VMJS7kAiBAzH-6V5K7C3f1O4C47i2003wMlyIVANVtuxGCn/s1600/IMG_3611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeyfr1wuW_Tbt95-9qZ2PRtN99Gqtvs-WwozpQq9xn7e9iumAwAY1bpx-6ZLLZznJ2xsTPwFa-YidEYYPjl71-CAuEIE04sEIJY6AdVFA8hIbk5kjhzH02m-B2eOW0ox1C-Zm5OmMFzA2/s1600/IMG_3617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaeyfr1wuW_Tbt95-9qZ2PRtN99Gqtvs-WwozpQq9xn7e9iumAwAY1bpx-6ZLLZznJ2xsTPwFa-YidEYYPjl71-CAuEIE04sEIJY6AdVFA8hIbk5kjhzH02m-B2eOW0ox1C-Zm5OmMFzA2/s320/IMG_3617.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
This class LOVES imaginative play and decorating.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUsE4vo26KHzwvef32heDIWTQwEw31PcgE7awk4UIkaKGP6k7N8i4ED0oL2UZNkrWl3iYL2dkfcsG-BZgjUDgjm8rZUTYBXdjkIKoGczry62sO54bEjSo4N_eCud5PABr_aawKP0tbB9I/s1600/IMG_6722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLUsE4vo26KHzwvef32heDIWTQwEw31PcgE7awk4UIkaKGP6k7N8i4ED0oL2UZNkrWl3iYL2dkfcsG-BZgjUDgjm8rZUTYBXdjkIKoGczry62sO54bEjSo4N_eCud5PABr_aawKP0tbB9I/s320/IMG_6722.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">working on an elf home</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhS193G4fgIIautuqAdbIaRtbdTjewP_mpUUpZ42YwZmaQJYQ-_D8RCxvZ3W2RogVR2PA8IJRDijKOOS9xCuU1LAfsIJ5waXdKXWjJ_aLjEcWyxX_kcfFT4_MK5Gypb-xn1kK_agt0xDy/s1600/IMG_6735.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYhS193G4fgIIautuqAdbIaRtbdTjewP_mpUUpZ42YwZmaQJYQ-_D8RCxvZ3W2RogVR2PA8IJRDijKOOS9xCuU1LAfsIJ5waXdKXWjJ_aLjEcWyxX_kcfFT4_MK5Gypb-xn1kK_agt0xDy/s320/IMG_6735.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQJJhl7Kw2RZcNDmQRvs_gLOMl0QOhzjD1jZ_Vl-YriBHuNDoGNtSmWPZH00fqwk3u3KQCA8p8uSBvje45kTiStmfryOpQDCzhyiq-DvIgSyfxCsMn0C0jp6_43IJAwJEmY795wL3G9SK/s1600/IMG_3611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQJJhl7Kw2RZcNDmQRvs_gLOMl0QOhzjD1jZ_Vl-YriBHuNDoGNtSmWPZH00fqwk3u3KQCA8p8uSBvje45kTiStmfryOpQDCzhyiq-DvIgSyfxCsMn0C0jp6_43IJAwJEmY795wL3G9SK/s320/IMG_3611.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">wrapping blocks to use as pretend presents</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii6W6S-gv1k1ba4VCWgO6KdyHv65retM9n2R0xczEBgFF3gjrUFG2mtQ0-iDOzngjGbisCv02ApTODeXReEbkZJVu1RFT8MqtI6cV4cYRELAP9gjUcLRPK9_8_mLwrRWRPE98afdEAB8H/s1600/arrange_042_IMG_0404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhii6W6S-gv1k1ba4VCWgO6KdyHv65retM9n2R0xczEBgFF3gjrUFG2mtQ0-iDOzngjGbisCv02ApTODeXReEbkZJVu1RFT8MqtI6cV4cYRELAP9gjUcLRPK9_8_mLwrRWRPE98afdEAB8H/s320/arrange_042_IMG_0404.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">using our dot markers to make lights</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoadh8okKl25JAw952FO8SvAfj8FqdUyMGlvOEnWSvJueF-s8BWSjYnGjl99ryE5GrPuWMRNzURaKBk_6w2yzXyuz9e9AkjCsPLl1o6RBWCYtTxCraPz3W70iVAE8-6B__7QrCU7OguQL/s1600/IMG_6785.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKoadh8okKl25JAw952FO8SvAfj8FqdUyMGlvOEnWSvJueF-s8BWSjYnGjl99ryE5GrPuWMRNzURaKBk_6w2yzXyuz9e9AkjCsPLl1o6RBWCYtTxCraPz3W70iVAE8-6B__7QrCU7OguQL/s320/IMG_6785.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the elf house or reindeer's home (depending on the day:)</td></tr>
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-78993844971174632032013-12-08T14:18:00.002-05:002014-12-06T11:37:57.199-05:00Adorable Holiday Gifts for My Students<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherrybluSTOS_7AXLQDSuZ7SmCQtv_V9btGCLgjRJb0oleaLPWBOK85QTeZ3Ge8HVaCHcwpXVaiXIFtBdkBQDqLfpKgXp2oOfoW8_QNuScgHyprhmW44zeSQkfDioaRT7iGs61uqia9Gt-/s1600/IMG_3629.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEherrybluSTOS_7AXLQDSuZ7SmCQtv_V9btGCLgjRJb0oleaLPWBOK85QTeZ3Ge8HVaCHcwpXVaiXIFtBdkBQDqLfpKgXp2oOfoW8_QNuScgHyprhmW44zeSQkfDioaRT7iGs61uqia9Gt-/s320/IMG_3629.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
Each year our preschool teachers make gifts that we give to all the students at our holiday program. I love the VERY simple, inexpensive light up snowman ornaments we made this year. These have been all over Pinterest but I'm not sure where they started. <br />
For each ornament we used a battery operated tea light (from the Dollar Store), a small piece of thick holiday scrapbook paper cut in the shape of a hat, a small pompom, and 2 pieces of ribbon (each about 4" long). You will also need a black permanent marker and a hot glue gun.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCLvWoS7bxipgOgQhBIRBNLZoRDonnkJlRvEOFmII4wfA7dNIJQHRzOEYwuSPiQ9zU_UOby8-yosm8bzO_l87rq04LndF6ljAjkl4e-QnwQtULniCdhfjQsqpeRA7qLamoTC7mSi_czFA/s1600/IMG_3625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMCLvWoS7bxipgOgQhBIRBNLZoRDonnkJlRvEOFmII4wfA7dNIJQHRzOEYwuSPiQ9zU_UOby8-yosm8bzO_l87rq04LndF6ljAjkl4e-QnwQtULniCdhfjQsqpeRA7qLamoTC7mSi_czFA/s320/IMG_3625.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOXyMlIzEe00f_snwfgK7txo0ly1nfAMgjYXQDr8tITdYrDbyxg2gGguDISUU2auX3RqCeb6Objpv5nQ0o7y9hReVXsprn5Gi5IO9tyh-8HH3UZ69yLsywbduAGVrFqweeDjnCPHYw-5T/s1600/IMG_3627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZOXyMlIzEe00f_snwfgK7txo0ly1nfAMgjYXQDr8tITdYrDbyxg2gGguDISUU2auX3RqCeb6Objpv5nQ0o7y9hReVXsprn5Gi5IO9tyh-8HH3UZ69yLsywbduAGVrFqweeDjnCPHYw-5T/s320/IMG_3627.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a><br />
We tied a knot in the middle of the wider piece of ribbon (for the scarf) and made a loop with the narrow ribbon (to hang the ornament) . We added face details with the marker (and put our school name and the date on the back of the hat) and then hot glued the ribbons and paper hat to the tea light. When it is lit, the nose is orange! So cute!<br />
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I also made little elf ornaments for our classroom tree. They were also very simple! After they decorated our tree, we used them as gift tags on the hand print calendars we made for our families.</div>
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I started by taking a picture of each child wearing an elf hat with their hands together above their heads (or just in a silly position if they preferred). </div>
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I then cut the student out of the picture, laminated the picture, punched a small hole in the top and threaded a pipe cleaner with a bell on it to make a loop to hang the elf on the tree. The kids love their silly elf ornaments (and I predict they will like them even more in future years when they look back at how cute and silly they were in pre-K).</div>
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Finally, if you'd like directions for the beautiful picture ornaments we made for the kids last year, click <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/11/personalized-christmas-balls.html">here</a>.<br />
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If your looking for a really fun holiday idea for your classroom or home, check out our life-size <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2014/12/our-life-size-gingerbread-house.html">gingerbread house.</a></div>
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I am linking up with <a href="http://www.3rdgradethoughts.com/2013/12/link-up-ho-ho-holiday-gifts-for-your.html#.UqTFiaXrSnY">3rd Grade Thoughts' Ho Ho Holiday Gifts for Your Students linky party.</a></div>
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-44316820908875830152013-11-16T13:15:00.001-05:002013-11-16T13:26:56.710-05:00Lots of Leaves<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The children in my preschool class love fall. They especially love the leaves!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnsHtXQLurBdhCDe9ZH31kFT5olflky6vxeV6MhnxczsIrQUUD-W4jxSmAUCoFamOgyDfc9osZNjxX0ilmxCCIpuhMAyJS1zDQcdY2F-FSVgQtPqHaVvF1w2MhX4B6jfRDsdGc39R5Mha/s1600/IMG_6407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfnsHtXQLurBdhCDe9ZH31kFT5olflky6vxeV6MhnxczsIrQUUD-W4jxSmAUCoFamOgyDfc9osZNjxX0ilmxCCIpuhMAyJS1zDQcdY2F-FSVgQtPqHaVvF1w2MhX4B6jfRDsdGc39R5Mha/s320/IMG_6407.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here are some of the fun things we have done with leaves during the last few weeks. We wrote a list of things that you can do with Autumn Leaves. We then made our list into a poem title "What to do with Autumn Leaves." The last line is "Sometimes you can even LEAVE them!" The kids liked the homophone humor. I'm not sure where I first saw it because I've been doing this for years and years. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88yF8HpO1zBy8GSHLFa2IYrYmHUC-E3hTc2zLUbHIpZ27QOgzgY51XfIwZ7CFkXKQrRaSUKbL14OeEBcfKwYMW1MWC8NSFqkOcvyYMs1HQeTGA-3wLiMNlLcR33lqewMfNKRDotFJI7pN/s1600/IMG_6424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi88yF8HpO1zBy8GSHLFa2IYrYmHUC-E3hTc2zLUbHIpZ27QOgzgY51XfIwZ7CFkXKQrRaSUKbL14OeEBcfKwYMW1MWC8NSFqkOcvyYMs1HQeTGA-3wLiMNlLcR33lqewMfNKRDotFJI7pN/s320/IMG_6424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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One of my very favorite fall projects is our melted crayon leaves. These are truly beautiful!! We cut leaf shapes from brown craft paper (the stuff on big rolls). We then melt crayons (in fall colors) on sheets of foil on top of old fashioned electric warming trays (this is something you want to find at a yard sale if you don't have one). One by one the children drop their leaves onto the melted crayon and then use a pencil to push the paper into the melted crayons. An adult takes the leaf off of the warming tray (again with a pencil). I didn't have my camera the day the kids made the leaves this year.:( The process is very simple and the results are truly spectacular (and last for years!)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNvNx3skDa5LcBVgzRiE0DOCY0qieerlkMFWgweYqRm63_74xDQdXZa_3Ge8pUpw-oVFYeCKWpOxdwvjPsSyAPeigHRUX87pqhKWihPWeEKzW05xZjusL_WiTQIfvvFPbKyCPk0yrqmM09/s1600/IMG_6425.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNvNx3skDa5LcBVgzRiE0DOCY0qieerlkMFWgweYqRm63_74xDQdXZa_3Ge8pUpw-oVFYeCKWpOxdwvjPsSyAPeigHRUX87pqhKWihPWeEKzW05xZjusL_WiTQIfvvFPbKyCPk0yrqmM09/s320/IMG_6425.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMQcT4Xyxv8YrjRq6g6_gHtqkGek9wLWhD_BcWutmUeEkYlgI_iuRFHeOk3jvNcSZ9DaJVbjr4GBXKUb-EFnawC_kFM2NMpglrbJ-XHW3Euud7XXI3-yKg2Woju1KA5jfZHslxrRnBzVN/s1600/IMG_6426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWMQcT4Xyxv8YrjRq6g6_gHtqkGek9wLWhD_BcWutmUeEkYlgI_iuRFHeOk3jvNcSZ9DaJVbjr4GBXKUb-EFnawC_kFM2NMpglrbJ-XHW3Euud7XXI3-yKg2Woju1KA5jfZHslxrRnBzVN/s320/IMG_6426.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The melted crayon leaves look especially pretty on a window because they almost have a stained glass quality. The children also made fall trees for our window by gluing pieces of torn tissue paper to a piece of wax paper. They then glued a trunk to the piece of wax paper. Simple but very pretty on a window.</div>
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Another torn paper project involved making fall trees from torn pieces of construction paper. Tearing the paper is great fine motor skill work and always love the way the kids chose to place their leaves.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTPtIw436micbt1Hvq3ZRapPKtG02KK9E4vAY786Atrcd0GZ0q_FhCnSihVyXeO0iMKKikqjAIY1eRYYxDUl-IrujGCpwgFEfv4RCD0A9wgmw1K9ea6eoErcYyTrx84J6QEhOdX7ybSX8/s1600/IMG_6113.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTPtIw436micbt1Hvq3ZRapPKtG02KK9E4vAY786Atrcd0GZ0q_FhCnSihVyXeO0iMKKikqjAIY1eRYYxDUl-IrujGCpwgFEfv4RCD0A9wgmw1K9ea6eoErcYyTrx84J6QEhOdX7ybSX8/s320/IMG_6113.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIR0ihjHPfwBUBNfYrn-ik-yZfZBh4zJyX-3YkgD05OnCZTUDZnU2KpXDYRp0Ao6ICXz9mqhKH16_rXYHc0KOXWW3HqRy8sRNU6ZyQyITw7QQFjIT1dsavGVRwLLNydTds5xAlb9e3hzft/s1600/IMG_6131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIR0ihjHPfwBUBNfYrn-ik-yZfZBh4zJyX-3YkgD05OnCZTUDZnU2KpXDYRp0Ao6ICXz9mqhKH16_rXYHc0KOXWW3HqRy8sRNU6ZyQyITw7QQFjIT1dsavGVRwLLNydTds5xAlb9e3hzft/s320/IMG_6131.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also had leaves on our homemade light box. I made the light box from a box I bought at Ikea following <a href="http://www.karasclassroom.com/2012/07/super-simple-diy-light-table.html">Kara's Classroom </a>directions. I drew a tree on a piece of contact paper and then taped the contact paper sticky side up on the top of the light box. I put out leaves that I had bought on sale at the Target Dollar Spot. The kids had lots of fun sorting and making patterns on the branches. The sticky background was definitely a big draw. I got the idea from Dyan <a href="http://andnextcomesl.blogspot.com/2013/09/sticky-fall-tree-light-table-activity.html">here.</a></div>
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We also went on lots of fall walks and often collected leaves. After reading Leaf Man, we made our own leaf creatures. The kids used quite a bit of white glue. I then put a sheet of wax paper between the pages and then left them under a heavy box for a week so they dried nice and flat. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9z-UyR7uLnMdwjNdmJxHpFzvyYfMyZj3YZdr8Z55btmRARhStGNpGvL1Phv_syx_tVphamHSBCtF9upd-CgPAtpO_lOWSmg1RyurnXaJB52WqBprdwtiDmce0Psf4DQeH7pmheIAtRnu/s1600/IMG_6453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC9z-UyR7uLnMdwjNdmJxHpFzvyYfMyZj3YZdr8Z55btmRARhStGNpGvL1Phv_syx_tVphamHSBCtF9upd-CgPAtpO_lOWSmg1RyurnXaJB52WqBprdwtiDmce0Psf4DQeH7pmheIAtRnu/s320/IMG_6453.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leaf butterflies</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiLePRQRCS_zn3NK1LoPwwtEXxZWyUeHIqqp9WlgIJC6VexP09xvUwuSkBLsaWXrmUbeB9kgaskwa1zk8P9huVB8yi8BS77rQlsFCPhIWV7uKzc5r_UvZrQKKA7Uj6g-e2oQ821tMaOgO/s1600/IMG_6455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQiLePRQRCS_zn3NK1LoPwwtEXxZWyUeHIqqp9WlgIJC6VexP09xvUwuSkBLsaWXrmUbeB9kgaskwa1zk8P9huVB8yi8BS77rQlsFCPhIWV7uKzc5r_UvZrQKKA7Uj6g-e2oQ821tMaOgO/s320/IMG_6455.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A leaf man.</td></tr>
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We also picked one favorite leaf to describe for our class book about Autumn Leaves.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTZxqLenONdypWBSvEoCWpy9wmErTiq6MimMhGJ1DgwPPsJMWLYXlcYIZaJlgo5hqWYs5eY-HYC-AcgP4BNiusl4Li3J_c4iIW0VfCfDKJb3rXHPoQOIFBN9qzq1oHQEy_dM0SAoHgFnB/s1600/IMG_6458.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsTZxqLenONdypWBSvEoCWpy9wmErTiq6MimMhGJ1DgwPPsJMWLYXlcYIZaJlgo5hqWYs5eY-HYC-AcgP4BNiusl4Li3J_c4iIW0VfCfDKJb3rXHPoQOIFBN9qzq1oHQEy_dM0SAoHgFnB/s320/IMG_6458.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMfsWK-xwnuG-bR0Pa8jBDbPwNgvCCdEfXGkjn3lIVfoK3H7EIIQHLzOCa3i3J-hI-3HtQIrhtINxTZVXIFnhtJZnh0ZF8ebCFKCsYibZO1s1vwtd3Il_PfOVl62-TByntVb4D0Lub2ze/s1600/IMG_6459.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfMfsWK-xwnuG-bR0Pa8jBDbPwNgvCCdEfXGkjn3lIVfoK3H7EIIQHLzOCa3i3J-hI-3HtQIrhtINxTZVXIFnhtJZnh0ZF8ebCFKCsYibZO1s1vwtd3Il_PfOVl62-TByntVb4D0Lub2ze/s320/IMG_6459.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Since we are just beginning to work on handwriting, I wrote the word the child suggested to describe his or her leaf and then the child traced the word.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqh9oS0mdKCib4ra0xtH_tjbSyw2QoDp8rhyphenhyphenU1VnkxehpwKY5cfrX9CNBfhivJnHuYD2EgcgfMFrvclsH90eQvAmYXdu3HMCSOiWrJtm7-a3iYnhLpOB1weir2tPjEhz4UOTu4fJCZi8U/s1600/IMG_6461.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghqh9oS0mdKCib4ra0xtH_tjbSyw2QoDp8rhyphenhyphenU1VnkxehpwKY5cfrX9CNBfhivJnHuYD2EgcgfMFrvclsH90eQvAmYXdu3HMCSOiWrJtm7-a3iYnhLpOB1weir2tPjEhz4UOTu4fJCZi8U/s320/IMG_6461.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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We also did leave rubbings. The secret to great leaf rubbings with little ones is to tape the stem of fresh leaves (NOT dried at all) to the back of a piece of paper. The back side of the leaf (with the veins) should be next to the paper. The kids then used the side of fat crayons to make the leaf magically appear. There were kids in my class who did dozens of leaves. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyI8bzckha4aK5LUhkkFsyEYKrtguL7JrBdc1cx9m6M4CKciMj6hTp6sYcunJHHWIUKQNH_dSejgGDgKRZz0yJgyA1AYY2A_dydEww71ffZ3UusXcHiHHpbVN6kqahdvoGlhmnG2OCBJVq/s1600/IMG_6025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyI8bzckha4aK5LUhkkFsyEYKrtguL7JrBdc1cx9m6M4CKciMj6hTp6sYcunJHHWIUKQNH_dSejgGDgKRZz0yJgyA1AYY2A_dydEww71ffZ3UusXcHiHHpbVN6kqahdvoGlhmnG2OCBJVq/s320/IMG_6025.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Finally, this week we did one of my very favorite fall activities. I found this idea on the <a href="http://lets-explore.net/blog/2009/11/thankful-poems/">Let's Explore blog</a>. After reading T<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Thankful-Book-Todd-Parr/dp/0316181013">odd Parr's Thankful Book,</a> I talked with each child individually about what they were thankful for. Each child gave me a list of 6-8 things they are thankful for. I put them into a simple poem titled Thankful and then printed the poem onto watercolor paper (I trimmed the paper to 8 1/2 x 11 so it would fit in the printer). I then covered the poem with a piece of clear contact paper cut in the shape of a leaf. The kids used liquid water color to paint around the leaf. When the kids finished painting (right up to the leaf), I pulled off the contact paper. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CjMnYFsGLiLWrc8mvh0GtYqqL7sCXPJFQxRAiYaGP4G1frrvUIE78A7P-TEQ01uuDruhdeEzYnkDxf-DocHAC-gpdu02QJq62uT7xdailZOdlYhOgmwXrKlArmgVhtDpFDVwMLJQiq6N/s1600/IMG_6302.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CjMnYFsGLiLWrc8mvh0GtYqqL7sCXPJFQxRAiYaGP4G1frrvUIE78A7P-TEQ01uuDruhdeEzYnkDxf-DocHAC-gpdu02QJq62uT7xdailZOdlYhOgmwXrKlArmgVhtDpFDVwMLJQiq6N/s320/IMG_6302.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before the contact paper is removed</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYnAzeLOCAwnS5rWTiDu1AWxg8flAvInobawV9PWCCEMdtLJPAiYhuofDnpQspkw5md7d4Ec5VJCy1tU5kTVtAX27Lo4_nMiGPATs9R9CUJLC8ri8ZThEV6LVNYV8ky5r7FPW5nwS5yEt/s1600/IMG_6473.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigYnAzeLOCAwnS5rWTiDu1AWxg8flAvInobawV9PWCCEMdtLJPAiYhuofDnpQspkw5md7d4Ec5VJCy1tU5kTVtAX27Lo4_nMiGPATs9R9CUJLC8ri8ZThEV6LVNYV8ky5r7FPW5nwS5yEt/s320/IMG_6473.jpg" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iJmc0c9xQjT42hoyYNGXd5z_luD5DtVx3rEiR2X906Hh0cNDZOTo-TZpynrGj29n8zzb5OHPYrOazIaAjIIXlLk0Yylzea9KYFGWEfjZ3ELsQDU61kOTjQUiZUIE4ryLATsV8QFUWJWN/s1600/IMG_6474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-iJmc0c9xQjT42hoyYNGXd5z_luD5DtVx3rEiR2X906Hh0cNDZOTo-TZpynrGj29n8zzb5OHPYrOazIaAjIIXlLk0Yylzea9KYFGWEfjZ3ELsQDU61kOTjQUiZUIE4ryLATsV8QFUWJWN/s320/IMG_6474.jpg" width="257" /></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrXP_WNj4wLpl8PaClwIaJji90f_uSXR0HpF4nevchv-HEVf4EVfekuIf7NWid3A7ajaggnoFdC9HRT5VmNdwg4Je2fEjEttYH-UrhIVOHEVeF3FH1j_Jt6L05od1gMM0AMRvFRmk38Gk/s1600/IMG_6472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrXP_WNj4wLpl8PaClwIaJji90f_uSXR0HpF4nevchv-HEVf4EVfekuIf7NWid3A7ajaggnoFdC9HRT5VmNdwg4Je2fEjEttYH-UrhIVOHEVeF3FH1j_Jt6L05od1gMM0AMRvFRmk38Gk/s640/IMG_6472.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These make me smile. They are beautiful both visually and because of what the children are thankful for.<br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-5844790097516426212013-11-10T16:14:00.000-05:002013-11-10T16:15:59.101-05:00Soup From a Stone...Fancy That!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> Last week was a wonderful week - all about community and sharing and stone soup. We began the week reading the classic version of Stone Soup written by Marcia Brown. We then acted out the story of the value of sharing and coming together as a community using a big pot and play vegetables from our classroom. The kids LOVE any time we act out stories (and were frequently seen reenacting the story during free play:) Throughout the rest of the week we read other versions of Stone Soup and did lots of comparing and contrasting of the different settings, characters and story lines. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIoTChyphenhyphentHi8LWgxwyHx05WcOZED4yJHqJtdr9dcAUzPEVtuHJvfVb93AlJGMqEwd_lCSmfpYdgj-_Kfo2WgVw7msk5XMG_6SmtIHcK8J946Ih6DP71OnSyXh5Py7syxC1NG3VRlF9EqzK/s1600/Untitled3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXIoTChyphenhyphentHi8LWgxwyHx05WcOZED4yJHqJtdr9dcAUzPEVtuHJvfVb93AlJGMqEwd_lCSmfpYdgj-_Kfo2WgVw7msk5XMG_6SmtIHcK8J946Ih6DP71OnSyXh5Py7syxC1NG3VRlF9EqzK/s1600/Untitled3.png" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0wNHYuToCd5eOQ8_AuZmT_Fw1O53DeqxB8nqBe4PaPpywANB4tthCaDLjm4bA9ZXBO6ollXJp368Rdf8Ht5G7hjWP5izt1-q37yM2GZoV8LNGOiT6nyCF-PWBXIaTDL-lFItf7wxKjt0/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL0wNHYuToCd5eOQ8_AuZmT_Fw1O53DeqxB8nqBe4PaPpywANB4tthCaDLjm4bA9ZXBO6ollXJp368Rdf8Ht5G7hjWP5izt1-q37yM2GZoV8LNGOiT6nyCF-PWBXIaTDL-lFItf7wxKjt0/s1600/Untitled.png" /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRUoBvLlvPeemWd3Y5coAgOGemJNttYicO4o8sg48jFwQX9s-lGIGZBUXWKFS92H8waQ60ZRh1tuSxvCnmMIFHsWpM1hVhAlKsP22vyvPiQPn_3hu5LFV-u1d1kjKLgUGOrbmm_TXA0k0/s1600/Untitled2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRUoBvLlvPeemWd3Y5coAgOGemJNttYicO4o8sg48jFwQX9s-lGIGZBUXWKFS92H8waQ60ZRh1tuSxvCnmMIFHsWpM1hVhAlKsP22vyvPiQPn_3hu5LFV-u1d1kjKLgUGOrbmm_TXA0k0/s1600/Untitled2.png" /></span></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2oodY788yeak4aWwunNrnYsNZsW7ZP2LTJTXxk-_HvuDy8CYB00W0Lyq8s-VbWh6DT4iWn1RI0XX3jdtokF8fUwE6mnPWhzTk3x4k9iG9q5gibjJxcg9lfZ3WW47wES1Rbh9Et8eavQu/s1600/IMG_6085.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2oodY788yeak4aWwunNrnYsNZsW7ZP2LTJTXxk-_HvuDy8CYB00W0Lyq8s-VbWh6DT4iWn1RI0XX3jdtokF8fUwE6mnPWhzTk3x4k9iG9q5gibjJxcg9lfZ3WW47wES1Rbh9Et8eavQu/s320/IMG_6085.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stone soup would be even better if only we had some carrots.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeTTy_GPfzgadH_s-aIzEAAFRYPICZNCuJtlvueBw208RyeWrb2pSG19VYQhE29SVfgXrC6YHpEByKyYajrOLqrtIz0OPd1KXiqD66oWjwjbHAXTVxBAIf92qOjYcfBZIBzqTzodiAGwE/s1600/IMG_6265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLeTTy_GPfzgadH_s-aIzEAAFRYPICZNCuJtlvueBw208RyeWrb2pSG19VYQhE29SVfgXrC6YHpEByKyYajrOLqrtIz0OPd1KXiqD66oWjwjbHAXTVxBAIf92qOjYcfBZIBzqTzodiAGwE/s320/IMG_6265.JPG" width="320" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">We also made Stone Soup collages. I cut out rectangles and squares. The children cut the corners to make circles (onions), ovals (corn and potatoes), cut a diagonal line to make triangles (carrots) and in half to make rectangles (green beans). The kids then used a marker to add details. We added a real rock to our Stone Soup collages. The kids also wrote the words Stone Soup on the top of their pots. I loved this project because it involved cutting and handwriting practice as well as practice following directions. However, despite the guided nature of this project, a lot of the kids personal touches came through on the final product. I found these adorable collages on <a href="http://mssolanoskindergarten.blogspot.com/2012/11/this-past-week-was-wee-bit-crazy-but-we.html">Mrs. Solano's Kindergarten Blog.</a></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCsawT6My0qXJ_Q15MMkKUPXqtgxq_6etcxPz1QHw65KR95wmO5lmurVpCXiwW3qsNNrrvbER8XPAp0rHRVuqaDRkXU5W5hIg2wcu5D5pi1t2grWJiAnnq8g6QJzonpZ2GkblmjRzvkzr/s1600/IMG_6216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></a>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCsawT6My0qXJ_Q15MMkKUPXqtgxq_6etcxPz1QHw65KR95wmO5lmurVpCXiwW3qsNNrrvbER8XPAp0rHRVuqaDRkXU5W5hIg2wcu5D5pi1t2grWJiAnnq8g6QJzonpZ2GkblmjRzvkzr/s1600/IMG_6216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSCsawT6My0qXJ_Q15MMkKUPXqtgxq_6etcxPz1QHw65KR95wmO5lmurVpCXiwW3qsNNrrvbER8XPAp0rHRVuqaDRkXU5W5hIg2wcu5D5pi1t2grWJiAnnq8g6QJzonpZ2GkblmjRzvkzr/s320/IMG_6216.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuDXsJvnsqdCvH4rXm5MKprbUfaE4UOiBK0G2GZRapexnHyVnZkIkqFVeNmPIZMcDiPpdjUbFKTeV1Q8gNIwSB_hH2nT8ENnkG1FK5INydWALSr5aZERwpyqPoXBU_zer-SyEkK1bdWj-/s1600/IMG_6264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAuDXsJvnsqdCvH4rXm5MKprbUfaE4UOiBK0G2GZRapexnHyVnZkIkqFVeNmPIZMcDiPpdjUbFKTeV1Q8gNIwSB_hH2nT8ENnkG1FK5INydWALSr5aZERwpyqPoXBU_zer-SyEkK1bdWj-/s320/IMG_6264.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74yTBc4X7GXxxZCm0ehlh3u2mJn965pl7vwD02My8Iws3hDsdEwT4WqJDTXDESA5w9TKYgRwqnVy6sdXoTXDW8tszuJheBSTCq1_C7msok4AuWl3SncjcRNTVt3upBvqea6IL3CbEq1OK/s1600/IMG_6263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi74yTBc4X7GXxxZCm0ehlh3u2mJn965pl7vwD02My8Iws3hDsdEwT4WqJDTXDESA5w9TKYgRwqnVy6sdXoTXDW8tszuJheBSTCq1_C7msok4AuWl3SncjcRNTVt3upBvqea6IL3CbEq1OK/s320/IMG_6263.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The final activity for our Stone Soup week was our actual stone soup. I put a sign up sheet on line asking for the stone soup ingredients. I supplied a special stone from our lake house. Next year I will collect the vegetables on Thursday and parboil the vegetables. The potatoes and carrots were hard to cut with our child safe knifes (they are like pumpkin knifes and required more sawing than cutting).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFzAB7cQUXXicjSHYLi3jBxpQv6aUWijiGU_f7R9h62IvjmbBFe6r7ME-lp2Wx8wfTLp9wdIl_jkm7XVEpRr1pEs1HzkfeMlSGY-ZsgdtfPHmpJHCEOzS-FylFY64pqVSa0iiC6U9v6HB/s1600/IMG_6229.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZFzAB7cQUXXicjSHYLi3jBxpQv6aUWijiGU_f7R9h62IvjmbBFe6r7ME-lp2Wx8wfTLp9wdIl_jkm7XVEpRr1pEs1HzkfeMlSGY-ZsgdtfPHmpJHCEOzS-FylFY64pqVSa0iiC6U9v6HB/s320/IMG_6229.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3AtcQyBOf0kOjyeUQlljLo26FPpgcjBFbnsNxiSKNX5ZSBUtLv7kecFSlb_S8oZLufc5mxY1Dr-1AF6byypXgOoqYHhTvyEP0XrqxRgGsgvDIqCp6Ogn46buRj0FgPLfGcWOLAkvqQ5e/s1600/IMG_6234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3AtcQyBOf0kOjyeUQlljLo26FPpgcjBFbnsNxiSKNX5ZSBUtLv7kecFSlb_S8oZLufc5mxY1Dr-1AF6byypXgOoqYHhTvyEP0XrqxRgGsgvDIqCp6Ogn46buRj0FgPLfGcWOLAkvqQ5e/s320/IMG_6234.jpg" width="240" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Many kids originally said they didn't want to try the soup but almost everyone did and they were very pleased with their cooking ability.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The final thing we did was write out the recipe. It was so cute because the kids wanted me to post the recipe on our school website so their moms could make the soup at home. That print motivation is such an important early literacy skill.</span><br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-21742153767815987802013-10-29T18:25:00.003-04:002013-10-29T18:26:43.566-04:00A Quick Halloween Project<br />
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I wanted to do something new for Halloween this year. These simple pumpkin and ghost candle holders that I saw at a friend's house were the perfect thing. Luckily, we have a closet filled with art supplies and recycled items so this morning I was able to grab 18 glass jars, white, orange and black tissue paper and white glue. I cut the tissue paper into little squares and the kids used watered down glue to cover the jars with the tissue paper<span style="text-align: center;">. They then cut out the facial features from little squares of black tissue paper. I can't wait to put battery operated candles in them tomorrow, turn off the lights and tell our "scary stories" (we LOVE telling "In a dark, dark woods..." with very scary voices). </span></div>
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<br />Last year I blogged about more than a dozen wonderful halloween projects that we do at our school. Check out that post <span style="color: orange;"><a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/10/lots-of-halloween-craft-ideas.html">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: orange;"><br /></span></span>Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-59271254823849309022013-09-28T15:23:00.000-04:002013-09-29T18:19:46.236-04:00Count and See<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last week I read the book Count and See by Tana Hoban to my little ones. It is a very simple book that uses only black and white photos and numbers. I have wanted to make a similar class book since I first saw Tana's book. On Friday, we went out to our playground and then walked around the college campus where our school is located. There was LOTS of counting as the kids pointed out things I could take pictures of for our book. I used my iphone to take the pictures and then used the free iphone app <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://abeautifulmessapp.com/">A Beautiful Mess</a> </span>to make the photos black and white and to add numerals and text to the photos. It was incredibly easy. I can't wait to share the resulting book with the kids. I love it. Here are a few pages:<br />
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I think we may have to share this book with the younger classes at our school.Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-1830531936960004272013-09-25T19:10:00.001-04:002013-09-30T16:55:43.159-04:00My Parenting Philosophy in a Picture Book This week I read a book to my kiddos that I wrote as a class requirement when I was getting my Masters in Elementary Education. My own kids were still in Elementary and early Middle School and the requirement was to write, illustrate and bind a children's book. Since I am not much of an illustrator, I decided to use photographs. Here is the book:<br />
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When I read the book to kids we always talk about what they will let their kids do when they grow up. Even my little ones understand the power that they will have and some get great joy from suggesting that they will let their kids stay up late or eat candy or play computer games.<br />
What I love about the book is that it actually pretty much summarizes my parenting philosophy. With the exception of the line about not making my kids keep doing things they don't like (I have been known to say, "you owe it to your team to finish the season") I really do think that most of the sentiments are a good way to raise a child. <br />
For example, I think that children should be allowed to decide if they are going to wear their coat outside. I always make my students bring their jackets outside but I let them take them off and put them on the bench if they don't want to wear them. Sure I've seen kids take off their coats just because a friend doesn't wear a coat. I've seen kids look cold. I've also seen kids realize that they wanted to wear a coat even though their friend isn't wearing one. I've never seen a kid freeze to death (well except my own coatless son who would almost freeze in the morning because his elementary teachers made him wear a coat, if he had one, at afternoon recess when it was much too hot for him). Allowing a child to decide whether to wear his or her coat is a simple way to give them control of a decision that matters to them. The downside risk is nothing (they <i>will</i> put on an available coat when they are really cold ;).<br />
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<br />Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-78980439923072507182013-09-22T20:54:00.001-04:002013-09-25T22:34:46.663-04:00Thanks to my Blogging Buddies for these Great Ideas ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Last week was finally our first week of school. It was great!! I was thinking about posting some of the cool things we did and realized that almost all of the things I wanted to share came from ideas I found on other teachers' wonderful blogs. So this post is really a thank you note to those teachers for being so generous and sharing their amazing ideas. Here goes...</div>
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On Talk Like a Pirate Day, we had a wonderful Pirate Letter Hunt that Sandi from <a href="http://rubberbootsandelfshoes.blogspot.com/search?q=pirate+letters"><span style="color: blue;">Rubberboots and Elf Shoes</span></a> created. The kids had a so much fun running around, helping each other, and marking off the letters they found. As one student said, "It's like every letter is a treasure!" Now <i>that's</i> music to a teacher's ears.:)</div>
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I used Sandi's <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8zQt5GjhY1-YzdHektPTlQyQkE/edit?pli=1"><span style="color: blue;">answer sheet</span></a> and gave each child a clip board and a pencil The Kindergarten class taped Amanda's free <a href="http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Shiver-Me-Letters-Pirate-ABC-Activity-351269"><span style="color: blue;">Shiver Me Letters</span></a> around the playground. It was simple, fun and as Sandi pointed out, "the kids didn't even know they were learning."</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marking off letters (and talking about the alphabet!)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was lots of movement...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">and collaboration!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thought</td></tr>
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Sandi was also the inspiration for my<a href="http://rubberbootsandelfshoes.blogspot.com/search?q=chicka+boom"> <span style="color: blue;">Chicka Chicka Boom Sensory Box</span></a>. I am committed to creating lots of different Sensory Boxes this year and I'm off to a great start. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdslPpsAB1KgIyItVXTHfmTaFy8oZ8U3dlZF0n_NUQmv_nkoed8cvWEs5f8hot98DuqDpr0sVxsoFFF-chb71b9_7aKaILc2ZNxL-etlACtYg1JBaTbmIDw6Ds27iU4906Vqo8xRP7R6-/s1600/IMG_4300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdslPpsAB1KgIyItVXTHfmTaFy8oZ8U3dlZF0n_NUQmv_nkoed8cvWEs5f8hot98DuqDpr0sVxsoFFF-chb71b9_7aKaILc2ZNxL-etlACtYg1JBaTbmIDw6Ds27iU4906Vqo8xRP7R6-/s320/IMG_4300.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The box included colored rice and pasta letters. plastic and wooden magnetic letters, pompoms, dollar store coconuts and a palm tree water bottle, rakes and brightly colored detergent caps for scooping and collecting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIX3q2K9BEi_T9P3jl49uwrT1xDE6WauQGMbCnZY9zbUDKiN9rahYQcOn-jUKBxAKu83iiBnZEGwf_2qm1XAxzpu1Ki-oPUwz27KwtwPL4NP_bw6P1NegwS2F6LOkmsQC5_6l9vrg5CIk/s1600/IMG_4538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdIX3q2K9BEi_T9P3jl49uwrT1xDE6WauQGMbCnZY9zbUDKiN9rahYQcOn-jUKBxAKu83iiBnZEGwf_2qm1XAxzpu1Ki-oPUwz27KwtwPL4NP_bw6P1NegwS2F6LOkmsQC5_6l9vrg5CIk/s320/IMG_4538.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids LOVED it!</td></tr>
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We also created a beautiful puzzle that was inspired by<span style="color: blue;"> <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://foreverin1st.blogspot.com/2013/09/we-fit-together.html"><span style="color: blue;">Tammy at Forever in First</span></a>.</span> </span>I thought her idea of a puzzle was a great way to begin talking about how our class was special because we are all part of the class. I began by going online and finding a universal puzzle piece on the <a href="http://www.thecommunitypuzzle.com/category/community_puzzle.instructions/"><span style="color: blue;">Community Puzzle website</span>.</a><br />
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<a href="https://static.zoovy.com/img/capg/-/community/ScaledPuzzlePiece" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://static.zoovy.com/img/capg/-/community/ScaledPuzzlePiece" width="320" /></a></div>
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I enlarged the piece and then made copies on card stock. I had to make some modifications so that the edges of the puzzle would be straight. I saw Tammy's idea before I went to bed and was able to get all the pieces copied and cut out before school the next morning. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqgT-u_Rr9gfLELR3fJmVmoKC7TeZnVTf2HkEOP3Cw-ib2yyjOsVEHXSKaKMkP8OkUrtSgA25VTll7h9Ax4I4NTFenaNcrpQy5S_HpanpbL9tD_IIJ0IGPBJnrM5czYXd7a8rBBtGoM4I/s1600/IMG_4697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdqgT-u_Rr9gfLELR3fJmVmoKC7TeZnVTf2HkEOP3Cw-ib2yyjOsVEHXSKaKMkP8OkUrtSgA25VTll7h9Ax4I4NTFenaNcrpQy5S_HpanpbL9tD_IIJ0IGPBJnrM5czYXd7a8rBBtGoM4I/s320/IMG_4697.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some of my traced pieces</td></tr>
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Tammy had each child draw a picture on his or her puzzle piece. I was worried that the pieces would be too small for a full portrait by my little ones so after numbering the back, I drew a chin on each piece.</div>
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The kids then did a wonderful job of making the piece their own. I LOVE the portraits and how we all fit together!</div>
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I drew a pencil line an inch from the right side and the top of a piece of poster board so that I could call each child up to add his or her piece to the puzzle. I think it would have worked well but I ended up putting the puzzle together myself because we ran out of time. I also ended up tracing around each piece with a colored marker (which added a little color to the edge of each piece) so it was clear it was a puzzle (I was afraid we might fit together a little too well and the puzzle effect would be lost:)<br />
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In addition to Sandi and Tammy's ideas we also played with magic play dough. I'm not sure where I first saw this idea but I've done it every year on the first day of school. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB2euPhU63L9kVz7QPCXPjClISqAM5ZHpD2NfcY6rxNq9MhhyMU-47SJilEfIGtvclDyJ4F8Y1DTuEhmpuxqHjiPxevnjf-Dwcl0eeq3fHvJZVDESh83_9n0mtpUkdx6780VHl1aGDn15/s1600/IMG_4488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOB2euPhU63L9kVz7QPCXPjClISqAM5ZHpD2NfcY6rxNq9MhhyMU-47SJilEfIGtvclDyJ4F8Y1DTuEhmpuxqHjiPxevnjf-Dwcl0eeq3fHvJZVDESh83_9n0mtpUkdx6780VHl1aGDn15/s320/IMG_4488.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The homemade play dough is turning orange! (perhaps helped by the squirt of food coloring put into a finger-poke hole in each ball of play dough:) We all put our magic play dough together to make our first batch of play dough for the classroom.</td></tr>
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So far the magic play dough has always changed color and has always correctly predicted an exciting and fun year. I'm sure this year will be no different thanks, in part, to all my blogging buddies. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful ideas!<br />
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<br />Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-70353610655284754742013-08-13T19:44:00.001-04:002013-08-13T21:34:53.785-04:00Painted Rock Memory Holders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5VV3tThpJzRWKt1ROGGClKvqsRFwMx-WUQlPbrbtrt9T95UKhf6NprgP9SmyiRIjawFx-G1jC8Ej9fsFeqYuOaWskgJvdNaVoZqUqO8u-vdU1mHBtCimHdMgMFGuHeAJyVim_NuxhoR-/s1600/IMG_3909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_5VV3tThpJzRWKt1ROGGClKvqsRFwMx-WUQlPbrbtrt9T95UKhf6NprgP9SmyiRIjawFx-G1jC8Ej9fsFeqYuOaWskgJvdNaVoZqUqO8u-vdU1mHBtCimHdMgMFGuHeAJyVim_NuxhoR-/s320/IMG_3909.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I am on vacation at my family's lake house. One of the kids' favorite activities each year is to paint rocks. The beach is covered with nice flat rocks and the kids love collecting rocks and then sitting on the dock painting them (I like doing it too:). <br />
Last year the kids painted the entire alphabet for me (read about it <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/08/make-it-monday-alphabet-rocks.html"><span style="color: blue;">here</span></a>). They were played with all year long in my classroom.<br />
This year we decided to use the painted rocks as the base for photo holders. We held a beautiful memorial service for my parents at the tiny chapel on the bluff and then family and friends came back to the cottage for lunch. The day before the memorial service we were looking at pictures of my parents and decided that we wanted to put photos on the tables rather than create a poster. We found large colorful plastic clips at the tiny stationary store in town and then hot glued them to the beautiful rocks that the kids painted.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkef4ES_sAHM3iUjXWUmpqVGeXrZyAEeLjMMuFghrq4BmQHBhZEljvQ0rDW8Ca9l27Bf3-e2CEaD0Z0GpXHM4Ns4iBin-NRpJRr0iyZyOinCpuxkizVxpyXGooJFI6BSfMysl_9Ez6xlKM/s1600/IMG_3914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkef4ES_sAHM3iUjXWUmpqVGeXrZyAEeLjMMuFghrq4BmQHBhZEljvQ0rDW8Ca9l27Bf3-e2CEaD0Z0GpXHM4Ns4iBin-NRpJRr0iyZyOinCpuxkizVxpyXGooJFI6BSfMysl_9Ez6xlKM/s320/IMG_3914.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Materials are simply rocks, paint, big clips and hot glue.</td></tr>
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Voila... perfect 2-sided picture holders for the tables. We put 5 or 6 on each table around the flowers. It was wonderful because the guests loved looking at the fun candid shots. It would also be a great decoration for a Thanksgiving table (maybe with fall colors and big gold paper clips). I like that the kids painted things my parents liked such as flowers, dogs and Cornell:).<br />
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At our house, painting rocks<i style="font-weight: bold;"> almost always </i>ends up involving some body painting. This is my Mom with grandson Brandon (who is now 15 years old). It was one of her favorite pictures.</div>
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Lots of guests asked if I make these photo holders in my classroom. The answer was "not yet." I am having my nieces and nephews collect rocks for me to bring home so we can do something similar in school this year.</div>
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-87494967829130837992013-08-01T11:34:00.000-04:002013-08-01T11:41:42.916-04:00Organization Linky Party<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzdoPp8_dtNB3mRJFHBX58n5lzNPuj9tkyBc4qC08q-LvnlEzhTVcvQzARytFpiXXqk2TDvsRuYq8EkHm3I-9Op51pE6siQiYSphGUH3v7m_C3v2D0A401rfi71isXELKYWo_AFRrhyphenhyphensH/s1600/IMG_2794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJzdoPp8_dtNB3mRJFHBX58n5lzNPuj9tkyBc4qC08q-LvnlEzhTVcvQzARytFpiXXqk2TDvsRuYq8EkHm3I-9Op51pE6siQiYSphGUH3v7m_C3v2D0A401rfi71isXELKYWo_AFRrhyphenhyphensH/s400/IMG_2794.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture was taken before I made labels for all of the bins. The missing ABC books are out on the bookshelf ready for the first day of school.</td></tr>
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Last August I reorganized my classroom materials in two large metal cabinets. For each unit I put all the sample projects, project templates, manipulatives, special small toys that relate to the unit (ie. mitten and little animals for retelling The Mitten), bulletin board materials and my notes about the unit in a plastic bin. I then put all the books that I use for the unit in magazine holders near the bin. The books/bins are also organized according to our schedule. So the top bin has back to school/apples, the next is fall, etc. It worked beautifully. <br />
At the start of a new unit, I put the books out on our classroom book shelf and organized the materials in the bin for my use during the unit. Some units required a large bin (for example Winter/Snow) while others fit in a small bin. I have 3 units that have so many books I had to keep the books in bins too (dinosaurs, fairy tales and art). In past years I had kept the books in the boxes with the rest of the unit materials and others in bins according to genre. This did not work nearly as well. I love being able to easily see and find books and the magazine holders made that easy. When I reorganized last year, I donated a lot of books that I had collected for my former kindergarten class that didn't fit within any unit or qualify as a favorite. I figured that other teachers would actually use them and my Pre-K'ers really do better with a more limited number of books that rotate frequently. The boxes on the top of the cabinet hold materials in general categories that don't fit within a unit such as ABC's or math materials. I do have magazine holders for ABC books, number books, and a few other categories that don't fit within a unit. The largest of these other categories is my pretty substantial collection of Mrs. Goff's Favorite Books (books that don't necessarily fit within a unit but that I love and will certainly be using during the year). <br />
This system is not without flaws. Of course, I started the year with the cabinets very organized but also very full. Because I'm a teacher :) I added new units throughout the year. For example, we loved Pete the Cat so I needed to add a new bin and magazine holder for my great Pete the Cat materials. It worked okay last year because I could store some of the extra materials in our school storage room that has now been converted into a classroom. I think I will have to bring home more of my extra "stuff" this year.<br />
I haven't been able to get into my classroom because it was used for a summer program through July and I am now about to go on vacation with my family. However, I know that my materials are well organized and ready for me once I get there.<br />
I am joining <a href="http://www.miss-kindergarten.com/2013/07/how-do-you-stay-organized-linky-party.html">Miss Kindergarten's Organization Linky Party.</a><br />
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<br />Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-21833699372951131262013-07-29T12:32:00.001-04:002013-07-29T20:07:33.380-04:00My Wonderful Week in Canada<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This post really has nothing to do with teaching (well
almost nothing, I will mention two awesome teachers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just returned from a week in Canada and
Seattle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was just about the perfect
vacation and I want to put my pictures and thoughts together and don’t have a
more appropriate forum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son Tad is
spending the summer in British Columbia so I<b> had</b> to go see him (and a part of the world I've always wanted to see and two of my favorite bloggers). I made plans to fly in and out of Seattle (because I wanted to see more of Canada and Washington and because I hate flights that aren't non-stop :). My husband Ed couldn't spend as long so he flew in and out of Vancouver. After arriving in Seattle on Friday, I drove up to Vancouver, checked into my hotel and then explored the city. It is beautiful ... especially Stanley Park where I walked on Saturday morning before picking Ed up at the airport.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I loved Stanley Park!</td></tr>
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After retrieving Ed (whose journey to Vancouver was not nearly as pleasant as mine), we took a ferry over to Vancouver Island where Tad and his girlfriend Hannah are working at a Camp Hill Community called
Glenora Farm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Glenora Farm is a bio-dynamic and therapeutic farm where adults with developmental disabilities (called companions) live and work together with their caregivers (called co-workers). For six days a week, both co-workers and companions work together at 2 workshops a day. The workshops include such things as gardening, cooking, wood cutting, weaving and felting as well as singing and dancing and learning about anthroposophy (Rudolf Steiner's theory that is behind the development of the Camp Hill communities). It is really an impressive place. Here are a few of the pictures I took at the farm during our tour with Tad the first day we arrived:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gate to the Gardens at Glenora Farms</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The herb gardens</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Jj8qeEnTkestOr0TQ2W7Oo4vv6bkaz8XIqS9wtmHippkc4aJd4vti30RM6p9KCOfJFxHOdfW_lQdH7iWiZb-UyUThZsY3arlJfufpvah-yJ2oBltX1YstjqOTUYZIa3yPOt-3KUV7Axz/s1600/DSC00617.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Jj8qeEnTkestOr0TQ2W7Oo4vv6bkaz8XIqS9wtmHippkc4aJd4vti30RM6p9KCOfJFxHOdfW_lQdH7iWiZb-UyUThZsY3arlJfufpvah-yJ2oBltX1YstjqOTUYZIa3yPOt-3KUV7Axz/s320/DSC00617.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tad has wood cutting workshop a couple times a week.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSd63YUi1fzQ9ZrzqM-2XXNUxxqzu5pJ11VwkSVc3bPMdr-JxcxQa_qqyL04iGOvsK9CLXuy-I6AMFxYMcd_2ov789tNXY40wknJLdEa0Oz1Jea52pPxAMSrpS-abhQEKoD3OvZlEIXKH/s1600/DSC00623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWSd63YUi1fzQ9ZrzqM-2XXNUxxqzu5pJ11VwkSVc3bPMdr-JxcxQa_qqyL04iGOvsK9CLXuy-I6AMFxYMcd_2ov789tNXY40wknJLdEa0Oz1Jea52pPxAMSrpS-abhQEKoD3OvZlEIXKH/s320/DSC00623.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside one of the greenhouses.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAYwTK4v3poDE3E2sXDXf0NzyP3eepaFcnKYsOdZILyHWnDOYhR_-J6qm1KOuAw75gtnPzYz4aj-u46GJp1e8qA5OoQISsw0P2-ixiW1i91wsz0nHOBNRzfuHU-8fHIp1bC7ofmwf-nv5/s1600/DSC00627+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAYwTK4v3poDE3E2sXDXf0NzyP3eepaFcnKYsOdZILyHWnDOYhR_-J6qm1KOuAw75gtnPzYz4aj-u46GJp1e8qA5OoQISsw0P2-ixiW1i91wsz0nHOBNRzfuHU-8fHIp1bC7ofmwf-nv5/s320/DSC00627+(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The barn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-TttUT3RirAJRVmUad8VuKovJbTtp8Jn-my7DKX6wHa5OQdejna4Ml09tdACMtVJWUwOaGzMeMB68Bej-MpR9SfUg8CICxw9n2vfnjc2CuyAJ38p5M2tZTFSccqLMNy3kn8SrB1SEveT/s1600/DSC00631+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw-TttUT3RirAJRVmUad8VuKovJbTtp8Jn-my7DKX6wHa5OQdejna4Ml09tdACMtVJWUwOaGzMeMB68Bej-MpR9SfUg8CICxw9n2vfnjc2CuyAJ38p5M2tZTFSccqLMNy3kn8SrB1SEveT/s320/DSC00631+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tad and Ed returning an escaped baby goat to her mama.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ5LFfI5t0MieLLZYVNbnYnLU2-LI0YlopgnnpH7HVra3KhG7t3qD5eslxSMUbOY8hVJSkoZZsGOthNxNFVh-RuKYJZEzZXIeQdTnBrsnQo7UUubjmzJqSIOxBUt_7ZeATqQ2NdeIDpZ1/s1600/DSC00643+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihQ5LFfI5t0MieLLZYVNbnYnLU2-LI0YlopgnnpH7HVra3KhG7t3qD5eslxSMUbOY8hVJSkoZZsGOthNxNFVh-RuKYJZEzZXIeQdTnBrsnQo7UUubjmzJqSIOxBUt_7ZeATqQ2NdeIDpZ1/s320/DSC00643+(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tad teaching us about herbs (another workshop he sometimes participates in is picking herbs for the salves and teas they make.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JioKU5SRL3oXSZO-dYN82IuQI5XSUwBKdB_rW7j1qct0Oxs62zAuUa0i2qf4fQ6yD8uoH-zIgEsQW3VAlAjQU6UA0HLVgvj0zdkBs36mYFzT709ulEh7TrOOisS_sHBePLewVZ_UzwjN/s1600/DSC00648+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6JioKU5SRL3oXSZO-dYN82IuQI5XSUwBKdB_rW7j1qct0Oxs62zAuUa0i2qf4fQ6yD8uoH-zIgEsQW3VAlAjQU6UA0HLVgvj0zdkBs36mYFzT709ulEh7TrOOisS_sHBePLewVZ_UzwjN/s320/DSC00648+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tad's house which is called Helios. There are 3 "small houses" like this where 2-3 companions live with co-workers and house parents and 1 "big house" with more companions and co-workers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BUVI1jwRpJxhFd1Szwrm6G4CRBBd97_DalRs1YaaLaaaUB7ET4u5wwpJKSlee0hxCtOadMxw38WEDEEVp_cLBuqxzUSMwaOrnV4rEgKgMylU0mjqB8IojtPzpHYFTrHXMzRn-X3Dvk4r/s1600/DSC00652+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BUVI1jwRpJxhFd1Szwrm6G4CRBBd97_DalRs1YaaLaaaUB7ET4u5wwpJKSlee0hxCtOadMxw38WEDEEVp_cLBuqxzUSMwaOrnV4rEgKgMylU0mjqB8IojtPzpHYFTrHXMzRn-X3Dvk4r/s320/DSC00652+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tad making dinner for his house. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZO_-y38iRHxAeTmxrjOH3rqA953vF9dhg3FfC-9gTlWZB4xsT_L7OPnXqaxQ7JA9NkrnoXSXfy3xrB6I2hl_J1OCwRdejroy9a_FzwisBfk_1m2EYYRtZG794BIfjJcQe4tbsjxCv7hN/s1600/DSC00655+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-ZO_-y38iRHxAeTmxrjOH3rqA953vF9dhg3FfC-9gTlWZB4xsT_L7OPnXqaxQ7JA9NkrnoXSXfy3xrB6I2hl_J1OCwRdejroy9a_FzwisBfk_1m2EYYRtZG794BIfjJcQe4tbsjxCv7hN/s320/DSC00655+(1).jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The living room.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After our visit on Saturday afternoon, Ed and I drove down to Sooke (which is on the tip of Vancouver Island, right on the ocean) and had a delicious dinner and then stayed at the Sooke Harbor House. I would definitely recommend it if you are traveling to BC.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt2CeDVI-R778jZIatwWlrGy04eJZz_4N4prxYzFvVsdkJ9KGCzRYqJVJavAM8ayK9O7yInDQMZmCIOcE5rs2WkY0yWRCN1TwJ1LFfA589hVGBDEy6wRH2z5pzzUq4DJfPTdMBOJ1DL2O/s1600/IMG_3284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJt2CeDVI-R778jZIatwWlrGy04eJZz_4N4prxYzFvVsdkJ9KGCzRYqJVJavAM8ayK9O7yInDQMZmCIOcE5rs2WkY0yWRCN1TwJ1LFfA589hVGBDEy6wRH2z5pzzUq4DJfPTdMBOJ1DL2O/s320/IMG_3284.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Salad with edible flowers...yum!</td></tr>
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On Sunday we returned to the farm and since Tad had an extra day off, we went for a long hike, to a cafe for lunch and then to a beautiful beach. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89ZHFqn4j8zPcu95rP2bk2DXGPEVO14KgMpmQYB2JLDO-pPD4HH7Lmo7JvTzkxFqKd4fsMFdq0hXFaRUJt-a7ay5TGsAuLR04GEUL_km8ukezKDY6NTxnS4afssl6xq6_etcAa4vd6rTa/s1600/IMG_3338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg89ZHFqn4j8zPcu95rP2bk2DXGPEVO14KgMpmQYB2JLDO-pPD4HH7Lmo7JvTzkxFqKd4fsMFdq0hXFaRUJt-a7ay5TGsAuLR04GEUL_km8ukezKDY6NTxnS4afssl6xq6_etcAa4vd6rTa/s320/IMG_3338.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
We returned to the farm after dinner for a pot luck dessert party. It was wonderful to see Tad with the companions who clearly loved his kind, gentle nature. </div>
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On Monday, since both Tad and Hannah had the day off, we took a picnic lunch to the beautiful Lake Cowichan. When we first found "our spot" we wondered what the circle of rocks in the shallow water could be. Once we started unpacking our picnic we realized it was obviously a perfect cooler for our wine and soda.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopPg6xKJHuvXSBoi4Hy9QBLvtBm_x_tUuAcOZmTnBsi5aj5oihlsnYRgiXnC4KoJkP7InockbdyfXAixbTJDLTt3ld4vkjHHKsvEgdUjkUM9CWKTpo1fGQo1t4Bp7yFEc8xmUVh7OW9rL/s1600/IMG_3351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhopPg6xKJHuvXSBoi4Hy9QBLvtBm_x_tUuAcOZmTnBsi5aj5oihlsnYRgiXnC4KoJkP7InockbdyfXAixbTJDLTt3ld4vkjHHKsvEgdUjkUM9CWKTpo1fGQo1t4Bp7yFEc8xmUVh7OW9rL/s320/IMG_3351.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our wine cooler.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjzE4DlxYznNMyg-kOJD5PvnAVrOaJnLBUNYibBIrBLFqfe-p0lJgT6N7n22LuHseE-NZIixeODC1t-ECz6VTDg5U6HhsgWusDqVAxDwupXmS9_jqDTZ_zFn2OuTQ5pPze9ShNYdFkAxI/s1600/DSC00682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjzE4DlxYznNMyg-kOJD5PvnAVrOaJnLBUNYibBIrBLFqfe-p0lJgT6N7n22LuHseE-NZIixeODC1t-ECz6VTDg5U6HhsgWusDqVAxDwupXmS9_jqDTZ_zFn2OuTQ5pPze9ShNYdFkAxI/s320/DSC00682.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truly spectacular!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZk4alMe8QA61W_6MsBEBNyLEn7k_kSElLEICkxCxCZdZpZTTbYSxbuyzNVE9HkEOpnUVdKzchMjounOtbypKpY8OD98dmC-z0pPJVzpNYHAEL2B8ALc_4lWogERytOeMMeEwIfjjZ11G/s1600/IMG_3370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRZk4alMe8QA61W_6MsBEBNyLEn7k_kSElLEICkxCxCZdZpZTTbYSxbuyzNVE9HkEOpnUVdKzchMjounOtbypKpY8OD98dmC-z0pPJVzpNYHAEL2B8ALc_4lWogERytOeMMeEwIfjjZ11G/s320/IMG_3370.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tad and Hannah are avid chess players so we of course had a chess set with us:)</td></tr>
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After dinner, Ed and I left Duncan so I could drive him down to Victoria where he caught a seaplane on Tuesday morning as the first leg of his journey home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5p_a6fTBgs9fGzSzuzcdGNgm0nlpeTIKMN9Jl-rMG7zK1z1nhwcIgZHBnMe2-ltYDj2OlVb2zIzD1cIcd7_xsCdwr_qP02E9jS0W-NYdEO5n1utmsEAYMx54JSsDCd2EPlksWFhRjnfj/s1600/IMG_3372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5p_a6fTBgs9fGzSzuzcdGNgm0nlpeTIKMN9Jl-rMG7zK1z1nhwcIgZHBnMe2-ltYDj2OlVb2zIzD1cIcd7_xsCdwr_qP02E9jS0W-NYdEO5n1utmsEAYMx54JSsDCd2EPlksWFhRjnfj/s320/IMG_3372.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful inner harbor in Victoria.</td></tr>
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I then headed back towards Duncan (where the farm is) and met Sandi from <a href="http://rubberbootsandelfshoes.blogspot.com/">Rubberboots and Elf Shoes</a> and Barb from <a href="http://www.gradeonederful.com/">Grade ONEderful</a> for a delicious lunch at Merridale Estate Cidery. I was really excited to meet both women who are gifted teachers (and in the case of Barb, also a gifted blog designer) whose blogs inspire me to try new things and have certainly made me a better teacher. I love both of their blogs because, instead of being a forum to promote a teachers pay teachers store, their blogs offer very thoughtful reflections on what they are doing in their classrooms as well as wonderful suggestions about creative ways to teach. Not surprisingly, they are kind and generous people in "real life" too. After lunch we walked around the apple orchard and then peeked into Sandi's trunk that was filled with sensory bin goodies. I can't believe I didn't take a picture of them?!?</div>
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After lunch, I returned to the farm for dinner at Tad's house. On Wednesday, I spent the day at the farm. After the whole community met for their morning meeting (where that day's workshops are assigned and any issues discussed) I "helped" Hannah make lunch (her morning workshop). After that delicious lunch, I visited the felting workshop (so cool) and then headed back towards Victoria to get on a ferry to take me to Washington.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbI2PY5eLacTFuMbhn3tITRMUgCKg-l9_RzPZ1fWRTYSCFM-S2Zh5cqqEx4PmtFRZRKsQwz-ZumxuYPeifkmDTJ3DvyTffsgJKg28q3P5Iy7xZKe5CIEKr1IqrY8ASv1xGGvGJN89sz56Y/s1600/IMG_3387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbI2PY5eLacTFuMbhn3tITRMUgCKg-l9_RzPZ1fWRTYSCFM-S2Zh5cqqEx4PmtFRZRKsQwz-ZumxuYPeifkmDTJ3DvyTffsgJKg28q3P5Iy7xZKe5CIEKr1IqrY8ASv1xGGvGJN89sz56Y/s320/IMG_3387.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bag I bought that was woven at the weavery. Tad is hopefully going to buy and bring home the felted mobile I fell in love with from the Felting Workshop.</td></tr>
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My last full day was spent in Seattle. It's another beautiful city. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pike Place Market was a riot of color.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was really excited to see the Chihuly exhibit at Seattle Center because I keep seeing fun art projects on Pinterest that I could do with my class as part of a study of Chihuly's work.</td></tr>
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As I said, a <i>wonderful </i>week. British Columbia is lovely. I think Tad's experience at Glenora Farm will have a lasting and meaningful effect on him. I was, as always, very proud of the cool person he is. I was also pretty happy with my own independence as I made my way around a new area and I was thrilled to meet Sandi and Barbara. Now, where should I head next?<br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-24286361212229736492013-07-28T14:57:00.000-04:002013-07-28T21:08:27.682-04:00First Day of School Idea<div>
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On the first day of school last year, I took a minute to speak with each child in my class. I sat next to the child and showed them the metal board that I had bought at Target. I told them it said "Hello my name is" and that I would like them to write their name in the white area. I then took a picture of the child holding the sign. That first night I put all of the children's pictures and pictures of my assistant and myself on our classroom website. The whole project was super easy but it gave me a quick little check on where each student was (at least as far as writing their name and answering a few questions about themselves and their summer). It was also very appreciated by the parents who could look up pictures of their child's classmates when they were trying to put a face with a name. <span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiuYpa-t4-0vrn8uVPJJqTvDbhBsO3-4IGu5LhssLBhyphenhyphennk7oPvQHS7zv9_zP09P9wMK4hS0ES8A6Wxg2ThJhx8rcbY67KA-4JbbkV6xUtmOKtfuVIxwesx8w4Fz9kRn77Sj2Bd5eRynSe/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-27+at+1.04.17+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaiuYpa-t4-0vrn8uVPJJqTvDbhBsO3-4IGu5LhssLBhyphenhyphennk7oPvQHS7zv9_zP09P9wMK4hS0ES8A6Wxg2ThJhx8rcbY67KA-4JbbkV6xUtmOKtfuVIxwesx8w4Fz9kRn77Sj2Bd5eRynSe/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-07-27+at+1.04.17+PM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our classroom website (we use myclassroomconnection.com) where I post a newsletter and photos every week.</td></tr>
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It also ended up as part of my "end of year keepsake" that I gave the kids. I used <a href="http://www.collageitfree.com/">CollageIt</a> to make a collage of all of the pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tnZZscBYM2AYDDyyGVAzp4MrJpsm_MJaicIOyTlEHSRyeJSNpxPUU_lolAglePahip1DyAxewEATrjwd-SdbA93-DkgUQjnoEmYfiO9jlt6NuEsUJgEjMlq_s6UiRODuFWb5JT-A5N7Q/s1600/hello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8tnZZscBYM2AYDDyyGVAzp4MrJpsm_MJaicIOyTlEHSRyeJSNpxPUU_lolAglePahip1DyAxewEATrjwd-SdbA93-DkgUQjnoEmYfiO9jlt6NuEsUJgEjMlq_s6UiRODuFWb5JT-A5N7Q/s400/hello.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
I made a second collage of pictures I took at the very end of our school year. I asked each child what they wanted to be when they grew up. I wrote their answer on the red back of the "Hello my name is board." I should have let the children write their answers themselves (or at least sign the board) but I was doing this at the <i>very last minute (second to last day ?!?) </i>and was afraid I wouldn't get through everyone. I made a second collage and then laminated the two collages together.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddxrXGONT5ZFTrqm1LAtgHrF4uFazXBSrmv2FXKSLxzMQeSc745mMxpUcLWu2bERbWUQMPFC5vZJJ0cRWe-BI4GlbooWNYGqCqlg_4CDfA9H3zJ1Ilg9T2UpmJQIPpVE8V6w-vCqdJ6Zi/s1600/IMG_2810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgddxrXGONT5ZFTrqm1LAtgHrF4uFazXBSrmv2FXKSLxzMQeSc745mMxpUcLWu2bERbWUQMPFC5vZJJ0cRWe-BI4GlbooWNYGqCqlg_4CDfA9H3zJ1Ilg9T2UpmJQIPpVE8V6w-vCqdJ6Zi/s320/IMG_2810.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJnjXbwBFvfOahTDEOv69Jw6jDOEGU9QYkPkxoNxf35lTX1a_VfWU9CEJ3dno4kXmQOo6ytrPwLcrkzN5avolmvLC8BJsqHyEhPggtfeINcJV0-RmT75Iela1r3nQAapyJOxkmqZYdJ2X/s1600/IMG_2898.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJnjXbwBFvfOahTDEOv69Jw6jDOEGU9QYkPkxoNxf35lTX1a_VfWU9CEJ3dno4kXmQOo6ytrPwLcrkzN5avolmvLC8BJsqHyEhPggtfeINcJV0-RmT75Iela1r3nQAapyJOxkmqZYdJ2X/s320/IMG_2898.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Both the parents and kids liked seeing how they had grown over the year and I am sure the laminated keepsake will be fun to look back on in future years.<br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5919583387122474580.post-46646294960666218062013-07-18T12:31:00.000-04:002013-07-18T12:32:14.836-04:00Throw Back Thursday - Collaborative Collage I love doing <a href="http://mrsgoffskinders.blogspot.com/2012/07/collaborative-classroom-projects.html"><span style="color: blue;">collaborative projects</span> </a>with my kiddos. This rolled paper collage has been done by teachers in my school for several years. It truly is beautiful (and very different feeling depending on the colors used and the width of the paper rolls). My one problem with collaborative work is what I should do with them afterwards. This past year I made the rolled paper collage the size of the window in one of the 3 doors to my classroom. It will look great covering a somewhat awkward space. I also think that this is beautiful enough that it could be sold at a fundraising auction. We don't do anything like that at our school but I know that a lot of private schools raise lots of money with collaborative classroom projects.<br />
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<b> Collaborative Rolled Paper Collage -Originally published 5/20/12</b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We created this beautiful rolled paper collage in several steps. First we painted the paper. We mixed color and added texture to some of the pieces by running combs through the paint. On other pieces, we used drops of liquid water colors and salt to create the beautiful color combinations and texture. </span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">I used a paper cutter to cut the paper into strips which we then rolled around pencils. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0.5in;">After re-rolling quite a few of the rolls, I hot glued the paper curls to foam board. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0.5in;">We like the color and texture in this piece of art (once again my iphone doesn't begin to do justice to the colors in this cool piece of art).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-indent: 0.5in;">I am linking up with<a href="http://thefirstgradeparade.blogspot.com/2013/07/throwback-thursday_18.html">Cara's Throw Back Thursday Linky Party.</a></span><br />
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Lyn Goffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05670862168416287427noreply@blogger.com5