Gifted Gab and the Classroom Corner--Book of the Week Wednesday

This week's book is one of my absolute favorites!  It is the beautiful story of the Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs.  Whether you plan to read it in Sunday School, Children's Church, or to your own personal little ones, this book teaches a beautiful lesson about shining God's light and how God can create something beautiful out of each one of us.  This is just a small snip-it of how we used the book in our class.   

We began with a traditional favorite!  Each child estimated the circumference of our pumpkin by cutting off a piece of orange ribbon at the appropriate length.  Then we measured our guesses.  As you can see, some of our estimates were close, but others were way too long or way too short.  Congratulations to Rachel--she was our closest guesser--just 1 cm off!

We also had 3 learning stations set up around our room.  At one station 1, the children used various cut outs as well as real pumpkin seeds to do a pumpkin sequencing craftivity.  From seed to pumpkin, the children ordered their materials and glued them down.  Along the top we wrote, Thank you, God, for new life!  

At station 2, the children ate a snack to accompany our story--mini-pumpkins (cheese puff balls) and some animal cookies to remind us of the farm animals in today's story. 

Sadie works here at our final station to complete her collage pumpkin using orange construction paper squares.  On our pumpkin leaves we wrote, God makes all things grow, even me!

 Looking for even more great fall devotional ideas?  Follow the link below to take you to a FREE download full of ideas to help your family "Fall" more in love with Jesus!  Enjoy!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Fun-Fall-Ideas-to-Help-Your-Family-Fall-in-Love-with-Jesus

Blessings, Shannon :-)

Monday Moments with Mimi--Marching to the Heartbeat of God

In this week's post, Mimi teaches us some funny, new exercise terminology and introduces us to 2 more special people in her life, all while encouraging us to keep marching on.  Read, share, and enjoy!  Shannon :-)

Marching to the Heartbeat of God

 

I realized the other day as I was leaving the running track after my morning workout that I have never mentioned my two very special son-in-laws to you.  Yes, I have written pages about my life with my daughters and grands, but I have neglected to say that there are two just as wonderful men who are married to my daughters and who are the fathers of my grands.   Each of these young men have accomplished much and are equally as wonderful—I just don’t engage in as many kid adventures or go to as many antique malls shopping with them.  Therefore, there isn’t as much adventure to capture on paper.

 

I am saying all of this because one of the most recent feats of my oldest daughter’s husband is that he loaded all of my favorite Christian songs on my MP3 player—the player that my youngest daughter’s husband gave me for my birthday a few years ago.

 

At this stage of my life, I need new invigorating songs whereby I can lift my tired legs as I run that last lap.  Run being the debatable word.  In all reality, I am progressing forward with a combination of a fast walk and a slow jog.  Sometimes even progressing forward is debatable.  I have claimed my exercise to be either a wog or a jalk.   It in truth is not a genuine run anymore.  And in any event, I sometimes look just as ridiculous as the words jalk or wog sound. ;-)

 

I have been taking my 3 lb weights with me as I speed walk, and then I lay them to the side to do a short jog.  My routine is not dependent on any assigned prescription or any workout formula.  I just go with whatever the beat is to my new energizing songs.   The only “out-of-rhythm” moment I have is when I have to pause, juggle my weights, struggle to find my pulse with my two fingers, and listen closely for my heartbeats.  At this precise moment is when I am most appreciative of my two son-in-laws. Without them, at this juncture as I juggle it all, I would only be hearing my desperate struggle to breathe and thereby quit my workout. But instead, I am listening to the familiar beat of my new energizing songs, and so I have the motivation to continue on.

 

I have learned that as my pulse races, my heart beats harder, and my breathing becomes more difficult, I can just turn up the volume of my music, and all is well.  I have recently developed a new routine to help me get through.  As I cool down I cease my jog, lift my knees higher, and step my feet harder.  Last week it occurred to me that what I am actually doing during this portion of my workout is marching, as if leading a football band.  Instead of a marching baton, I hold my two 3lbs weights strategically positioned in my arms.  I am waving and directing my own band with them for the entire world’s stadium to behold.

 

Twice in one week, I have been finishing up my marching parade with the song Me Without You by Toby Mac as my finale.  It was almost as if that song was commanding me to march back to my beginning point.   It was not so much the words to that song, but the beat.  It is just great to march to!  The combination of its title along with my praise is what caused me to pause last Friday.  As I finished and walked to my car, I thought about what the title said, and YES, Lord let me never be without you.

 

I concluded my marching finale and put my “batons” back in my trunk.  I dismissed my band until the next game’s program.  It was then that I stopped and reflected back on my morning and my marching band routine.  I thought to myself, Instead of marching to my own beat, wouldn’t it be great if I could always be this attentive and listen for all my marching orders to come from God?!

 

Likewise, wouldn’t it be even greater if instead of working out and finding our own pulse, we were working out our lives with our fingers on the pulse of God! And would it not be just greater still if the things of this world did not drown out the sound of His heartbeat!

 

That day it was a slow drive back home with no music on at all.  The radio did not even need to be turned on as I thought a new concept through a little differently.  Just being “with” the Lord wasn’t all that I really desired.  Equally as desirable was for me to be close—close enough to hear the beat of his heart.  So, thanks Kevin and Brad for my new music.  You just never know when God may call us to open the trunk, pick up our batons, and begin our marching again to the notes of His new music and leading. 

Blessings, Mimi (AKA Anne)

 

 

 

1 Corinthians 9:24, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

Gifted Gab and the Classroom Corner--A Web Game for Your Weekend

This weekend's web game for you comes from the web site I mentioned to you last week:  Cool Math!  It is another web game that we absolutely love!

As a part of our 7 Wonders of the Ancient World unit shown below, my students participated in a number of games in honor of Ancient Greek Olypians. 

http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/shannonbryant75/7-wonders-of-the-ancient-world

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/7-Wonders-of-the-Ancient-World

 

You will see here our scorecard that I kept in class and examples of the medals my students were awarded after playing in the games, including today's. 

  

One of the classroom challenges we completed was to see how FIT my students were by playing the critical thinking game of PHIT!

 

During our computer lab time, students all logged on to the game of PHIT.  They then worked to reach the highest level of the game possible by maneuvering shapes to fit in a given yellow box.  Of course, the winners were awarded classroom medals for their mental "PHITness"--gold, silver, and bronze!  We had a blast, and I hope you will check this web game out with your little ones!  Have a super weekend!  Shannon :-)

 



Gifted Gab and the Classroom Corner--Book of the Week Wednesday

Look what came in the mail today!  The Toys R Us Big Book!!!  My kids were so EXCITED! :-) 

 

All of their enthusiasm gave me such awesome inspiration!  Heading into the holidays, just think of all of the fun learning activities we could do with the Big Book! 

 

Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

1) Imagine you have $100 to spend at the toy store.  What would you buy and why?

2) Cut out 10 toys.  Arrange them in order of price, from lowest to highest.

3) Conduct a survey of your classmates.  What toy is the favorite for boys?  Girls?  Graph your results.

4)  Cut out a picture of a toy of your choice.  Complete the "rest of the illustration" to go along with this picture.  Add at least 35 details and a title.  For example, cut out the Strawberry Shortcake cash register.  Glue it down.  What would it look like at the Strawberry Shortcake grocery store?

 

Hope these ideas get your imagination rolling!  And watch your mailbox--you might have one of these books waiting for you there?

 

Monday Moments with Mimi--My Cinderella Story

I am so excited to share another installment of Monday Moments with Mimi with you.  Today's post brought a tear to my eye.  How often do I rush into a situation, assuming that I know what is going on...but how often am I wrong?  I am so thankful for the wisdom of Mimi...Read, share, and enjoy!  Shannon :-)

 

Over the last little bit of time, several of my precious elderly lady friends have faced and are facing extremely serious life-changing surgeries. Even in these later Golden Years, they are still approaching life with a determination that should be applauded.  I am privileged to teach the Sunday School Class that some of these ladies have attended. One in particular from my class is now a resident at a retirement/nursing home that I am honored to visit on Thursday nights with our Church Ministry.

 

In my quiet time this weekend, praying for all of those precious souls, I was reminded of this writing that I did several months ago after one of our nights there.  Although, this story is not about anyone that I knew personally, it serves as a stark reminder of how precious and how valuable the friendships of all these ladies are to me.  More importantly I have come to appreciate how valuable their life lessons still are for us today.

 

 

My Cinderalla Story

 

Remember the original timeless children’s tale of the beautiful princess whom the glass slipper so easily fit after she lost it at the ball.  What a captivating story of a young lass as she quickly went from rags to riches before children’s very eyes, with simply the mere fitting of a glass slipper placed so tenderly on her foot by the young prince – only in a fairy tale!!!!!!!!

 

A few months ago, I was at a nursing home service where songs were being sung with residents mostly in wheel chairs.   One particular older lady was attired a little strangely in her dress for the evening, but she was extremely happy to be there singing songs nevertheless. As a matter of fact, she knew all the words to all the old hymns and mouthed them as she smiled sweetly, with her toothless grin.  Her slippers were a little dirty and did not match, and her long sleeve knit top was on backwards and not buttoned up.  It was as if she were putting it on, to button up her back, and just never finished dressing.  As the program continued, from the corner of my eye I saw that one bedroom slipper had fallen off her tiny foot.  It was now lying on the floor in front of her. She continued on singing merrily, tapping her foot in rhythm, but now with only one slipper.

 

I was in a quandary as to whether to cross the floor in front of all and replace the shoe, or just wait for the attendant to assist.  I waited.  No one else even noticed.  Honestly, I really was not sure how I felt about putting a shoe on this stranger.  But while the program continued, my need to have things in “pairs” almost overtook my rational reason for waiting.  It’s sort of like the urge to straighten or “fix” a mirror on a wall or “fix” a lipstick mark on someone’s tooth!!!!  I wanted to “fix” what appeared not right!!!! 

 

I anxiously kept watching the face and the feet of the one slipper lady, of whose name I did not even know.  One question plagued me:  Why did I really want to “fix” her shoe? Because, honestly, she was a stranger and who knows where those tiny feet had been?!  

 

Call it a convicting moment or just a loss of my selfish arrogance, but it happened to me.  My heart felt checked, and my attitude changed.   I could not wait for the program to be over so I would have an opportunity to return the slipper once again to her little foot.  So, I did.  I raced to her to make sure I would not miss my opportunity to redeem my earlier moment of arrogance. I even made conversation with her as I knelt to retrieve and replace the slipper that had only moments earlier made me feel prideful and reluctant.  I then had the privilege of pushing her back through 2 corridors to her room.  We talked about friends, family, singing, and the Lord…all on our short trip to her door. I was now pleased with my redemption and my new friend.  But, I will never forget the next leg of the trip - entering her room.

 

When we entered in her shared room, I asked her would she like for me to “fix” her long sleeve top the right way so it would not be on backwards.  I felt the need to have my new friend right before I left her.  If one shoe was bothersome to me, imagine what the backwards shirt was doing to my “fixing” obsession.  Her answer was sweet, but swift – a much deserved sword in my heart.  “No thank you, I have a broken arm.  See my cast.  It runs all the way up my arm.  The doctor does not think that it will ever heal.  I fell at my daily dialysis, and it’s broken at the shoulder.  Dressing like this is the only way I can wear my shirt so that I can leave my room to be with ya’ll singing.”

 

Would you like to re-read her answer and really feel the sting of her words…this sting that I acutely felt?  See, I quickly realized that replacing her slipper and fixing her shirt was really about what I wanted, and not about what she needed. The person in the room that needed to be fixed right before they left was me, was not her.

 

Granted, that’s not the traditional Cinderella story, but it’s my story of a lady of royalty that went from the proverbial rags to riches before my very eyes and in my very heart.  As with the other story, I too had been given the privilege of kneeling and tenderly sliding on a slipper for someone very special.

 

  So now, I will wait and watch for carefully the proverbial older ladies in wheel chairs, with their tops on backwards, sporting only one slipper – they could truly be a Cinderella of a different kind.  In the future, I will race to replace their fallen slippers, without worrying about their top’s fashion…… and I will be blessed by their courage, their spirit, and their faithfulness to praise, in spite of their circumstances.  Her story taught me much more than the story of Cinderella ever will.  Blessings, Mimi (AKA Anne)  

 

Gifted Gab and the Classroom Corner--A Web Game for the Weekend

Hi!  Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!  Ours has been busy with birthday parties and errands, but I did squeeze in a nap this afternoon--YAY! :-) 

I was so tired after yesterday's all day field trip with my 4th graders to Cumberland Island.  Cumberland is a beautiful barrier island here in GA known for its history, its variety of ecosystems, and its beautiful feral horses.  We had a wonderful time and the weather was perfect, but I must admit that these teacher legs of mine were TIRED after walking, walking, and walking a bit more! :-)  Here are a few snapshots from our day.

I also wanted to take a moment this weekend to tell you about a website that I absolutely LOVE! 

   

Cool Math is one of our absolute classroom favorites!  These games are excellent for developing critical and strategic thinking.  In fact, this week we used the game Lemonade Stand (http://www.coolmath-games.com/lemonade/index.html) to accompany our ongoing 3rd grade economics unit (http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Creating-a-Classroom-Economy-Economics-Adv-Entrepreneurship). 

There are other great economics games there as well, including Coffee Shop.  I would definitely recommend checking it out with your little learners!  Shannon :-)

Celebrating My 50th Day of School with a SALE!

Guess what today was?  That's right--our 50th Day of School!  And in honor of that I am throwing a weekend sale--20% off of EVERYTHING in my teacher stores!!! :-)  This includes tons of fall resources, as well as great items to build the thinking skills of your learners all year long.  Please come by and visit me there!  Here are just a few examples:

   "Silly Monsters" Interdisciplinary Unit
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Silly-Monsters-An-Interdisciplinary-Unit-for-Elementary-Students
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/shannonbryant75/silly-monsters-interdisciplinary-resource-pack

   Fall BINGO Fun
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FallThanksgiving-BINGO-Game
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/shannonbryant75/fall-thanksgiving-bingo

   Thanksgiving: A Harvest of Thinking
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Thanksgiving-A-Harvest-of-Thinking-Interdisciplinary-Unit
http://www.teachersnotebook.com/product/shannonbryant75/thanksgiving-unit-a-harvest-of-thinking

Thanks so much!  Shannon :-)

PS--Here is my little one all dressed up for her 50th day of school.  She had a great day decked out in her 1950's attire!  She was perfect for the 50th Day Sock Hop! 

Interested in a 50th Day Sudoku for your little ones?  Or older students?  Check out these awesome links to find out more about these critical thinking resources for your own little learners. 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/50th-Day-of-School-Primary-Sudoku

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/50th-Day-of-School-Elementary-Sudoku