Class Outings

Tips for the PSSA!

2012-01-13T17:58:00.000-05:00

Here's a power point that Zoe made several years ago! Go Zoe! Anyhow, a lot of you have been asking me for some pointers... Hope this helps!

And Jizo Was His Name-O!

2012-01-02T19:36:00.001-05:00

I know the song is supposed to be "I knew a farmer had a dog and Bingo was his name-o", but... we just adopted a rescue dog and we're going to name him Jizo! He's about one and a half years old, was found wandering the alleys in Northeast Philadelphia/ Bensalem, and was rescued by the Women's Humane Society! Now he'll be ours... in just 3 days! : )
Guess what ASHLEY, he's a Shih-Tzu mix! Isn't your dog a Shih Tzu??? You'll have to give me pointers on what to do!
So everyone, it's been a long time since I had a young dog... Have any advice? Oh, and what do you think of the name?
P.S. The video is of Jizo at the shelter. I don't know why my sister-in-law is feeding him her finger! Yuck! (The video will come out sideways... so tilt your head. That's the way it streams from TeacherTube!)

HELLO Out There!

2011-12-05T06:22:00.001-05:00

Mrs. Jones says, "I'm DONE!"

Hey! Kashiyah's been writing to me on an OLD post! Let's see if we can get her to write to us following this link. It sure would be good to get a dialogue going. Maybe she can even talk that good old Tamar into writing to us, too!!!!

Any other former students out there that want to say hello??? Would LOVE to hear from you!

Oh... And here's my BFF, Mrs. Jones on her last days last summer for those that asked about her. She's doing just GRRRRRRRRRR-8!

Thankful for YOU!

2011-11-24T05:33:00.001-05:00

It's Thanksgiving today! I was sitting here so early this morning thinking about what I'm thankful for. Guess what? All of you came to mind!

This week has been great. I have had many students come up at lunch to do extra skill work, had students from a long time ago drop by to say "hi", and have had many of you say wonderful things about your learning and lessons. Who could ask for more?

What are you thankful for? Look forward to hearing from you!

WAKE UP! Time to get to work!

2011-09-30T07:59:00.002-04:00

Time to get up and get going! Lots to do this year!

Hello to my chickadoodles! There's so much to ask you. How is your new school year going? Do you like your classes? If you're at a new school, do you like it? What's happening in your world?

I can't believe how quickly time is going by. The month of September whizzed by! PHEW! It FLEW! I've been busy preparing lessons and activities and am just now clearing my head to answer questions many of you had- like when will there be math help and meditation. I hung up a sign up sheet for math help on my board in my room. Drop in and sign up for a Tuesday or Thursday if you need help. The time will be 12:45 (last lunch). Please be sure not to interrupt my classes if there are students in my room. (Just come in quietly and sign the calendar on your own.) Also, are you interested in joining us for meditation? I'm thinking I may try to have a group one day a week at last lunch to start. Which day do you think would be best- Mondays to start the week or Wednesdays in the middle of the week? Let me know.

Having Fun These Last Few Weeks

2011-08-21T18:28:00.000-04:00

Mrs. Jones and I took a wonderful trip to San Francisco to a Meditation Center. (You guys all know how much I LOVE to meditate...) My sister, Zoe, lives in San Francisco, so we spent time with her as well. Here we are standing at the Golden Gate Park with the bridge behind us. Can you see the fog? Check out this cool link that gives information about how the bridge was built. You can also click here to find some fun facts about San Francisco.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California

So now there are only 2 weeks left of the summer. I'll be heading in to school to start putting my classroom "together" again. Any suggestions on room arrangements- or did you like it the way it was?

What will you be doing to get ready for school? How will you spend your last 2 weeks? Looking forward to hearing from you...

See you soon! : )

SUMMERTIME!

2011-07-05T15:23:00.000-04:00

I do yoga on the patio in the morning. A beautiful
hummingbird comes to keep me company.

Hey out there! What's everybody up to? I got a message from Jabrella, Jahnya, and Timia. I know that Jahnya is reading and doing math, Timia has a birthday this week, and Jabrella is "hanging out." So tell me more! What are you reading? I remember reading "A Wrinkle in Time" and "Half Magic" when I was in 4th or 5th grade. Those were 2 of my all-time favorite books!

So far, I've been busy reading, too! I have my library card and my ebook reader and have been enjoying the relaxing down time. I've also been working in my beautiful garden, running 2-3 miles every day, and doing my yoga. (I've been doing yoga on my patio.) Here's a picture of my yard.

Tell me what's up! I miss miss miss you all!!!!!
xxoo

We've Got FRIENDS!

2011-06-23T17:50:00.001-04:00

WOW! Check out the Overbrook Elementary School! They made a really great podcast full of wonderful poems and thoughts. Super job, Overbrook and Ms. Sorentino!

Guess what! They gave the Rowen Reporters and DJ Big & little a shout out, too! They reviewed our podcasts and gave some great thoughts on what they learned.

Well done, Overbrook! We'll be looking to write to you next year! Have a super summer : )

GOODBYE

2011-06-17T06:17:00.000-04:00

Soon it will be time for many of us to say goodbye. Jahnya has been posting about going to a new school; Aishah and Jabrella have been feeling the sadness of the graduates and thinking about their time next year. For me, it's time to say goodbye to students I love and some of my BFFs that I teach with.

Even though they won't be here anymore, I will still be in touch and spend time with them. (In fact, Mrs. Jones and I are going on vacation together this summer!) So let's look to the bright side. They are off to new and exciting adventures, and I am making new friends and still have 2 BFFs- Ms. Cooper and Ms. El- to hang with at school.

So tell me, who would you like to say goodbye to or are glad that's staying here with you? Are your BFFs hanging with you next year?

HELLO JAHNYA!

2011-06-11T15:25:00.005-04:00

I'm so thrilled that Jahnya keeps writing to me. So this post is dedicated to her! She's an amazing kid who comes faithfully to my mediation group. She's already calm and peaceful, so having her there makes ME even more calm and peaceful! I'm so glad we're getting to know each other this year. I look forward to getting to know her better next year, too. (I've known her brother for at least 2 years. He really cracks me up. He'll be leaving this year and I'll miss him!)

Anyhow, remember how some of the guided meditations tell you to go to a beautiful spot? I keep promising to show you a picture of where my mind goes sometimes... and here it is! Do you like it? It's amidst the bamboo at Green Gulch Farms. Tell me what you think.

I blinked and suddenly it's JUNE!

2011-06-03T20:32:00.001-04:00

WOW! Where did the time go? I can't believe I haven't posted anything since the end of March! What have we been doing? Why lots of learning, of course!

Great mathematicians and incredible readers are getting ready to end their school year with me. My Peaceful Positive Meditation Lunch Bunch is still faithfully coming every Monday and Wednesday at lunch. My 5th graders are busy getting ready for their commencement exercises. (I'm going to be so sad to see them go! I'm so very, very proud of all the progress they've made.) My "Friday Friends" had their last session today. We shared our podcasts with our parents and celebrated a job well done. (You should definitely check them out on iTunes or at the School District's site. They did a fabulous job of giving pointers on Internet Safety.)

Sooooo... I don't think I'm ready for the year to be over yet! How about you? Are you ready?

SPRING SPRANG SPRUNG!

2011-03-29T05:59:00.001-04:00

GUESS WHAT? I have a famous friend who is putting together a new album. Her name is Julie Gold and she lives in New York City. I thought I'd share one of her new songs with you because I love it and it makes me happy! Write to me and tell me how it makes you feel and why.

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

2011-03-18T16:58:00.000-04:00

Spring is finally here! I am REALLY happy because there's no more snow! My friends and I are going to go to the playground with our moms. There are a lot of things to play on there. There are things to go inside of and climb on, and you can get spun around. I won't be happy when spring is over because then comes summer and it's too hot!

Write to me and tell me how you feel about spring!
this post is written by Ashley : )

IT'S OFFICIAL! WE HAVE A NAME!

2011-02-14T18:20:00.002-05:00

It looks like our two polls were split on paper and online between The Magic-B-Board and the Wii-B-Board. So the creators of both names decided that we should merge them to become... are you ready for this... drum roll please....

THE Wii-B-MAGIC BOARD!!!!!

Ta-Dum!!!! Hurray! So drop by and check us out in action... WE really do MAGIC in 214!

Your Vote COUNTS!

2011-01-26T12:05:00.001-05:00

Check out the sidebar (on the left) to see the class poll. Choose the name you like best for our class interactive screen.

What's in a Name?

2011-01-24T09:58:00.001-05:00

OK! Room 214 now has an amazing interactive touch screen thanks to the brilliant minds of Johnny Chung Lee and Uwe Schmidt. Now we have to decide what to call it. Write to me and let me know what you think.

The Peaceful Positive Meditation Lunch Bunch

2010-12-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

Did you know that we have a meditation group happening in room 214 on Mondays and Wednesdays? I'm really excited about it. I've been getting some very positive feedback from the students who are participating. The meditation has been helping the students find wonderful strategies for keeping themselves together when they're angry. WOW!

So, my Peaceful Positive Meditation Lunch Bunch... share your thoughts with us. Tell us how you feel about our group and meditation.

Holiday Fun

2010-12-14T06:20:00.000-05:00

Well, here we are... getting close to our Winter Break. How many days are left until then? Are you counting down? I love the smells of this holiday... Fir tree, gingerbread, cinnamon, what else? We have a real Christmas Tree in our dining room. Yum! Right now, it has these really pretty little white lights and just red apples on it. I know you're not surprised about the apples- you all know how much I love love love apples ; )

My daughter, Lara, will be coming home this weekend from college. It will be so very nice to have her home. While we're off, I want to relax and read.

Are you going away or do you have any family coming in? Do you have any decorations up? Tell me what you like about this time of year.

Oh, and if you'd like to practice your multiplication facts, here's a cute game where you can make a Gingerbread House as you solve the problems.

The Rewards Star Readers

2010-11-30T10:47:00.000-05:00

Hi! We're learning about reading using the Rewards Reading Program. To tackle words, we break them down into syllables. One strategy we use is to look for prefixes and suffixes. So far, we've studied 18 prefixes and 35 suffixes. We also look for vowels and vowel combinations. An example would be when there's an "e" at the end of a syllable, the "e" might be silent and the vowel before it might be long. We would mark the long vowel with a macron. We also learned we can try two ways to sound out a vowel. First we try the sound, then we try the name.

Here are a few more interesting things we learned:

A "g" can sound like /j/ when it's followed by e, i, or y-- like gymnasium
A "c" can sound like /s/ and /k/- like cycle or cat
Words can have more than one prefix or suffix-- unintentional has the prefixes un and in, the suffixes tion and al

Check us out later!

Dawud, Jakwana, Jamal, Marquise, Najmah, Nayir, Siani, Tyreese, Vickie, Zaire

Wilson Rocks!

2010-11-30T10:18:00.000-05:00

Wilson is a special reading program and it helps us to read better. We tap out the sounds in the words. That's called decoding and encoding. Our group has been working on this for over a year. When we first started using Wilson, we didn't know how to sound the words out, but now we can sound out multi-syllabic words. Did you know that every syllable in the English language has to have a vowel? That's why we look for the vowels first. Then we look to see if there are consonants or digraphs or blends in between the vowels. That helps us to find the syllables. Here are some of the rules we learned:

If the word only has one consonant between the vowels, close in the first syllable.
Divide between two consonants.
Keep digraphs together.
Watch for digraphs, blends, and welded sounds; divide between them.

If you don't understand, ask us! We are: Neique, Tavon, Leslie, Taz, and Terry.

WELCOME BACK!

2010-10-06T13:37:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Welcome back! I know I'm a little late in posting- it's October already. WOW! Where has the time gone!

We're already well into our instructional program. There are Rewards Readers and Rewards Writers, Wilson Tappers, and Everyday Math thinkers. Did I forget anyone? So let me hear what you're thinking about the school year so far. Are you enjoying what we're doing?

YOW WOW! It's HOT!

2010-07-24T11:33:00.001-04:00

Boy oh boy is it hot! Today is going to feel like 115 degrees. Anyone out there reading these posts? I know Brianna is-- she just sent me new comments on older posts. She's the reason I'm putting up a new post today. I've been kind of busy with summer things- that means fixing things at home like painting and plastering and caulking all around my house. Did you know I was handy like that? What?

Other than that, my sister Zoe came in from San Francisco for a week. It was really good to see her! I don't get to see her that often but I do talk to her a lot. My daughter, Lara, also came home for a visit. She lives in Pittsburgh (if you didn't know that) and is finishing college.

So tell me, what have you been doing?

Here's Zoe and I.
My mom and Lara in the back.

We went to Hershey Park one day!
Boy are those roller coasters wild!

What did you learn?

2010-05-19T13:08:00.004-04:00

So you're back from your trip through Historic Philadelphia. Blake said his group didn't get to go to the mint, which is a shame since that is the topic of his research project. Did you get to go to all of the places? What did you learn? What did you like best? Tell me!!!! : )

Take a Walk Through Philadelphia's History

2010-05-07T13:29:00.005-04:00

Hi guys! So you're going to take a waking tour of Philly! How cool is that! I made a new folder with links on my portaportal if you'd like to learn about the sites you're going to visit. My one group will be making a podcast and taking notes on the trip, so they DEFINITELY need to check out these links! Go to my portaportal, and check out the folder "Philadelphia History" then let me know what you think! (Click here)

FOR ALIZEA (Look! I remembered!)

2010-04-28T13:24:00.009-04:00

So last Friday, a very excited Alizea came up to me before the bell rang to start the school day. Do you know what she asked me? She asked me if I have ever been so excited about a trip that I couldn't get to sleep! The answer is YES!!! Once I was going to visit my sister in San Francisco and I was taking my daughter to visit her for the very first time. Lara was only 5 months old. I was excited and nervous about the trip. I hardly slept! Boy was I tired the next day.

So have YOU ever been so excited about a trip that you couldn't get to sleep? If so, tell me about it!

HERE'S A SHOUT-OUT TO THE KIDS ACROSS THE HALL

2010-04-16T19:30:00.006-04:00

I just want to give a great big shout-out to all of the kids across the hall from my room! You are wonderful, wonderful students! I know you all worked super hard on that PSSA. Aren't you glad it's over? I can't believe that I have 2 more weeks of testing.

I have to test the 5th graders in writing, and then the 4th graders in Science.

Yikes! Do you think we'll EVER get back to our schedule? I certainly hope so...

So the school year's coming to an end soon. What has been your most favorite thing about the year so far? AND, what did you like the least? Can't wait to hear your answers!

CHECK THIS OUT!

2010-04-07T19:09:00.003-04:00

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! Hoops and YoYo created a new manners lesson using one of my homeroom's ideas! We made two movies to send to them on manners, and the very first one had the right and wrong way to raise your hand! You can check out OUR manners movie by clicking here XX . Then you can click on this link to see Hoops and Yoyo's.

Tell me what you think! I think it's VERY VERY cool ; )

Your Opinion, Please

2010-03-10T16:24:00.003-05:00

So the past few weeks, my fourth and fifth grade Extended Day students have been comparing various folk tales. We read Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters and The Rough-Face Girl. The fifth graders also read the traditional story Cinderella. We created "T" Charts and what the 5th graders called "Double T" Charts to take notes as we read. Both groups did a great job of analyzing the information. They learned that if you write information about one character you must include similar information about the other character. You should check out the wall outside of my room to see their great work!

While I like all three stories, one is my favorite. I'm not going to tell you which one. You can try to guess which one I like best- but you must tell me WHY you think that. I was also wondering which story YOU liked best and why.

SNOW!

2010-02-09T05:43:00.004-05:00

Goodness, where has the time gone? I can't believe I haven't posted since the holidays! Must be all of that preparation for the PSSA keeping me busy.

We had yesterday off because of a huge snowstorm over the weekend. This is a picture looking across the back yards of my house during the storm on Saturday. We got 28.5 inches. Did any of you go out and shovel, sled, have a snow ball fight or make snow forts? Can you believe that we're supposed to have another storm tonight? What did you do during the snow day? What will you do tomorrow if we have another day off? All I seem to be doing is EATING! Yikes!

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-25T14:45:00.004-05:00

Hi out there! Anyone online? What are you all doing over this wonderful week off? My daughter is home from Pittsburgh for 4 more days, so we're going to do some fun "Mother/Daughter" things. Right now we're sitting in our living room doing techie stuff. (Are you surprised?) We both have our blogs up and are busy posting. (Lara says "HI!" by the way.) So what are we going to do? Not sure yet. We might go to Longwood Gardens for a visit. Have you ever been there? I've only been once, and that was a very very very long time ago. It's supposed to be quite beautiful at holiday time.

What else am I going to do? I want to put a fire in my fireplace and curl up with my new books. I got 4 new ones to read! (I get so excited about books!) I also want to get back into my yoga and running. (I took about a week off to get a lot of my schoolwork done- for report cards, student special reports, planning all of those exciting class lessons, and of course holiday preparation- I made my friends their gifts this year.) Don't want to get lazy and gain TOO much weight from all of the cookies and holiday goodies ; )

Well, if you're out there reading, drop a comment to let me know what you're doing. Hope you are all safe and happy!

xxoo,

Ms. Becker

p.s. The picture is of a Jizo. Jizo is a special protector of children.

Speaking of food, it's THANKSGIVING!

2009-11-26T13:59:00.006-05:00

Giving Thanks. There's something to ponder. Do you know the history of Thanksgiving- like, the real deal? Check out this site to watch a movie and learn interesting things about this special "All American" holiday! THANKSGIVING STORY

Now, wasn't that interesting? What did you learn? Why were they thankful? Why are YOU thankful? Or what are you thankful for?

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH??

2009-11-20T14:52:00.004-05:00

Do you like the school lunch? Amir thinks the school lunch is nasty. He thinks it tastes undercooked because it's not hot enough. Kailie says that the hot dogs look raw inside. Sayyid thinks we should have steak for lunch instead of those old hot dogs and hamburgers. He also thinks the pizza is naaasty! It has "brown stuff" on it! Nazir is asking for ribs!

Brian thinks the school lunch should go up a notch. He thinks the food should be upgraded! What do you guys think? Is there ANYTHING about the school lunch that you like? If so, what? If not, what should be changed?

Chillin' in Room 214!

2009-10-06T10:36:00.004-04:00

Here we are, the "B2" Group, chillin' in room 214. Mishan thinks it's a cool place, and we all agree. Do you come to room 214 this year? If you do, what's your group? Siani wants to know if there is a group "A". Steven wants to know how many people come to room 214. So tell us! Who are you and why do you come? If you don't come, do you wish you did?

VACATION!

2009-07-30T08:46:00.021-04:00

Here are some photos of where I am RIGHT NOW!!!! Isn't it beautiful!

I'm in Goose Rocks Beach, Maine.
Find me on this map. (Click here and then hit the - minus button to make the map smaller so you can see where I am in relation to Philadelphia.)

JULY, JULY, Doesn't time fly!

2009-07-10T11:55:00.002-04:00

Like my rhyme??? Ha-ha! So. You know how everyone got the flu at the end of the school year? Well... I had to wait until my VACATION to get sick! Yuck! Thanks a lot guys! : /

But now I'm enjoying my beautiful garden. It's very relaxing.

What are all of you doing these days?

June! Graduation, End of School, Summer...

2009-06-14T06:45:00.005-04:00

It's HERE! JUNE! Let's see. Five more days until the 5th graders graduate. Seven more days until school's out for students! WOW!

I had a super time with you guys! This was a great teaching year for me, and will probably go down as one of my all-time favorites! So what do YOU think about your school year? Do you have any "do overs"? (That means if there was something you did that you would have done differently.) Tell me your thoughts... Be sure to check out Hoops and Yoyo's thoughts on the end of the year. Click here.

WOW! A MONTH ZOOMED BY ALREADY!

2009-05-20T16:22:00.003-04:00

Hey! Can you believe a whole month passed since I posted last? (Yeah, I know King... YOU know!) So anyhow, it's almost June and my 5th graders will all be graduating! What's on your minds now as the year is coming to an end?

This is for Daysha

2009-04-23T13:27:00.002-04:00

Daysha posted a comment and wants to know what people are going to do over their summer. I hope to visit my sister, Zoe, in San Francisco and go to Maine with my daughter and husband. I'm also going to work in my garden and read lots and lots of books. So, since Daysha asked... What are YOUR plans?

I SO LOVE YOU GUYS!

2009-04-02T14:20:00.003-04:00

You guys are the greatest. I have been having a hard time moving around or even sitting because my back is so bad. But you have all been busy commenting on my blog and cheering me up. I really tried hard to come in to school each day, but the doctor told me I can't drive. So.... I'm going to get there tomorrow-- Friday-- no matter what!

I love you all and thanks for all of your wonderful notes to me.

xxoo, Ms. Becker

Phew!

2009-03-25T17:33:00.013-04:00

Are you as glad as I am that the PSSAs are over??? Yeah boy! So anyhow, Zoe made this amazing power point about it. It's called "Zoe's PSSA Survival Guide" and it really rocks. You should definitely check it out on my web page... (Click here to see it.) Let us know what you think. Make sure you tell Zoe what an amazing job she did!

Mnemonic Device?

2009-03-09T05:55:00.003-04:00

Hey. Have you ever heard of a mnemonic device? It's a pattern of letters, an expression, or ideas that help you remember something. Like when I said for Daylight Saving Time that you "Spring Forward and Fall Back." I also remember a teacher I had in 6th grade who helped me remember the how to spell dessert and desert. She told me that dessert was "sweet stuff" and had 2 s's. I never forgot after that. Then there's the whole "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" for order of operations in math, or "My Very Elegant Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" for the planets in the solar system.

Do you have a favorite mnemonic device? Do you know what the last 2 I just wrote mean?

SPRING FORWARD?

2009-03-05T05:50:00.010-05:00

Did you know that Daylight Saving Time begins this weekend? Do you know what that means? I remember always getting confused about that. I knew that we changed the clock an hour, but could never remember when we put it ahead or when we moved it back. Then someone helped me by saying we "Spring Forward" in the Spring, and "Fall Back" in the Fall. Pretty cool, huh! (I hope you understand what that means...) Anyhow, check out this neat sight to learn more- IT'S TIME, then come back and tell me if you think we SHOULD change the clocks or not and why. Be sure to read about the controversy to help support your point of view!

Happy Birthday, LARA!

2009-03-02T05:30:00.002-05:00

Well, for all of you that know my daughter Lara, it's a very special day today. This day, March 2nd 2009, is her twenty-first birthday. Yup, that's 21. 2-1. Yikes! So, I want to give a special hello to her since I'm not with her. She's away at college in Pittsburgh, and we won't be able to celebrate this very special day together.

Feel free to join me in wishing her a very very happy day...

So Lara, enjoy your day, eat all the cake and ice-cream you want, and know that I love you.

xxoo,
ur Mom

THANK YOU CEAY!!!

2009-02-24T17:24:00.002-05:00

I would like to make a special post to Ceay! Thank you Ceay for reading my post of Wednesday, February 11th. WOW! Someone reads super carefully!!!!!

How Carefully do YOU Read?

2009-02-19T17:53:00.003-05:00

OK. My last post was a dud. I don't think anyone read it carefully. I was asking about the PSSA, and people answered about how many days are in a week!!!! What's up with that???? If that's how carefully you read, we're DOOMED on the PSSA!!!!

I'm growling! (That's ME at my desk. See what happens when people don't read carefully??? Let's see how well you guys read THIS post! arrgh.)

HOW MANY DAYS??? EEEEEKKKK!

2009-02-11T20:29:00.003-05:00

OK! We're in the great countdown! This week we've been busy taking the PSSA Writing Assessment. (At least the 5th graders have.) We've been doing a great job, working hard, trying our best, and NOT letting the TEST GET US!!! : )

SO... How many days are left until the Math and Reading PSSA's??? We're in the 20's. How are you getting ready for them? Do you have any pointers in how to handle the testing? Like how not to stress out? Or how to tackle the exam? Let me know what works for you, or what you need help with...

What did YOU do on your "Snow Day"???

2009-01-29T17:16:00.002-05:00

Hmmm... Let's see. My alarm went off at 5:30 as it always does. I moaned and groaned (I have a bad cold) and lay very still to see if I could "hear" snow. You see, in my neighborhood, if it snows, the street gets very quiet- unusually quiet. I couldn't tell, so I moaned again and started to get out of bed. My husband came in and told me to go back to sleep- that school was CLOSED!

Alas, I was already awake, so I jumped out of bed, ran to the phone to call Ms. Cooper, had my cup of coffee, listened to the news a little, then got on my treadmill to run for my usual 30 minutes. After that, I did my yoga and meditated. Now fully awake and charged, I got on my boots, gloves, ear warmers, and coat, grabbed my shovel and proceeded to shovel my steps and sidewalk. Feeling very energetic, I continued down the block to my elderly neighbors' houses and shoveled their walks and steps as well. (Gee, aren't I such a nice person.) Then I came back in, drank a nice cup of herbal tea, and watched TV. Yes, you read that right- I watched TV. I was going to do my favorite thing and read, but my cold got the better of me, so I "vegged out" and curled up with a blanket and some mindless television. (I like HGTV.)

So, how did YOU spend your day?

Here's a Special Shout-Out to George and King!

2009-01-10T06:44:00.015-05:00

Hey George and King,

I wanted to give you two a special shout out. You have been blogging with me faithfully for some time now! Thanks for all of your comments and input. You're the greatest!

RESOLUTION???

2009-01-06T17:06:00.002-05:00

Well, it's a new year, a new month, a new day, a new beginning! Because of this, many people decide to make changes in their life or themselves; to make a resolution! I think the most popular ones are to lose weight, eat better, and exercise. I remember making MANY resolutions over the years- some I've kept, and some I didn't. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to make a specific one or not this year. I just want to keep trying to be the best person I can be...

Any thoughts on your end? Making any resolutions this year? Let me know!

YUMMY!

2008-12-16T13:05:00.004-05:00

Well... We did it! Check out our Gingerbread Houses! The whole 2nd floor smelled like sugar! I have to say that I am so very proud of my class! They worked so nicely together and shared with students who forgot to bring in ingredients. Everyone did a wonderful job of creating their masterpiece. To top it off, the class did a spectacular clean-up job! (You all know the word that describes me when it comes to my room... right Daysha?...persnickety!) Oh. And a special thank you to my mom, Mrs. Becker, for the help!

Let's Play MATH games!

2008-12-07T08:13:00.005-05:00

Hey! Let's check out the Everyday Math Games online! Just click on the title of my post, and away you go! If you're not one of my math students, send me a comment, and I'll be happy to add you... Did you know that you can access this from home? Did you know that it has a TALKING copy of your SRB??? How totally cool is that?

Are ya stressed yet?

2008-12-01T17:13:00.003-05:00

Thanks, King, for pointing out I'm a little behind on my posts. Life has been VERY busy! What with entering report card marks, getting ready for Thanksgiving, and starting to shop for the holidays! Not to mention all of our tests lately- Everyday Math tests, WRAPs, Gates, and of course... the BENCHMARKS! Soooo..... I'm just feeling a little frenzied! How about you? Are you gearing up for the season and what's to come, or are you chilled and mellow?

Meet My Dog, Purdy.

2008-11-14T16:45:00.005-05:00

Well, as many of you know, my dog died last weekend. I'm still having a hard time- am very sad. She was like a family member to me. (That's her picture on the left. Isn't she soooo cute?) Anyhow, we had her for 15 years, and she used to play with my daughter, Lara, like a sister. Her name was Purdy, after 101 Dalmatians. (Lara named her that.) Purdy was quite a character! She believed in taking care of the environment by "recycling" paper goods. She would eat toilet paper from the roll, tissues, and was even bold enough to push the dining room chairs out and climb on the table to eat the napkins!

I'll be happy to share more stories about her antics. But first, I want YOU to share something with me! Do you have a pet? Do you wish you did? Tell me....

WAY TO GO 214!

2008-11-10T19:29:00.005-05:00

HEY! CHECK OUT OUR LATEST PODCAST! Click on the link below, listen and watch our podcast, then come back and tell us what you think! I think they're GGGGRRRREAT! : )

Room 214's Podcasts

AND THE WINNER IS...

2008-10-17T17:59:00.003-04:00

King wanted to know what I thought of the volley ball game between the students and the 4th grade teachers. I thought it was amazing! Who knew that those teachers could move like that? Poor Ms. Cooper got knocked over at the end by her cheering fans! Good thing no one got hurt!

So what did YOU think???

HERE'S A SHOUT OUT TO MY KIDS FROM THE PAST!

2008-10-10T17:24:00.003-04:00

HERE'S A GREAT BIG SHOUT OUT TO MY STUDENTS FROM YEARS PAST! I love that the 6th graders are blogging with me- but you guys have GOT to remember to put your NAME instead of clicking on anonymous. Looks like you keep forgetting to choose "NAME/URL" and put your FIRST NAME in, then click publish.

OK????? I won't be retyping your posts anymore after this- so if I get anymore "Anonymous" comments, I'm going to have to delete them... : (

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!!

It's Fall!

2008-10-04T08:26:00.004-04:00

So, Fall is here! It's also known as Autumn. With it often comes magnificent color changes on the trees, brisk air, and warmer clothes! I love to see the trees change- especially when the leaves turn gold, orange, and red. What to you like about Autumn?

OK, OK!

2008-09-29T16:38:00.001-04:00

Alrighty then, chickadees. What shall we comment on this week? Why don't you throw some ideas my way. What's on your mind?

We're BAAACK!

2008-09-16T16:57:00.012-04:00

Well, school's into its 3rd week, and we're already busy with our curriculum and technology! I hope that you guys respond to my posts more this year and that we have the best year yet! What do you hope for? I know that King will answer me- he already commented about our Hoops&Yoyo fame! So... let me know your thoughts, kiddos!

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS EVERYONE?

2008-06-25T18:25:00.002-04:00

HELLO OUT THERE! Anybody around? I'm dying to have some of you comment about your summer! Let me know what's happening! I know it's only been a few days, but let's see if we can keep our lines of communication open! : )

HOW TO COMMENT

2008-06-09T06:05:00.002-04:00

Hey out there! If you would like to comment on our blog, click on "Comments" underneath the Post you want to respond to. You'll see a box on the right after you do that. Type your comments in the box. Make sure your comments relate to my post. After you do that, you'll see choices underneath that box. You must type in the goofy looking letters in the box underneath. Then you must choose an "identity." Click on "Name/URL". Enter your FIRST NAME ONLY next to "Name." Then click PUBLISH.

Time FLIES!

2008-06-06T20:21:00.003-04:00

Hey! Almost a WHOLE MONTH has gone by since I posted. I guess no one responded to my other posts, so I kinda got caught up in the end of the school year stuff. AND our class has been very active making podcasts. Did you know we have 4 on iTunes now? We're about to put up our very last one for the year- it will be the final episode in our History Hunters Trips.

BUT...JASMIN from 207 asked me to post something about PLAYDAY. I had a blast, although I have to admit I'm VERY tired right now. Besides being outside in the fun and sun all day, I think my very favorite part was seeing how nicely everybody got along and watching everyone dancing the line dances together. What did you like? Any thoughts about the end of the year?

WOW! CHECK US OUT ON H&Yy's WEBSITE!

2008-05-05T19:22:00.001-04:00

GUESS WHAT!!! WAAAAY COOL! Hoops&Yoyo put us on their website! Check us out and come back and tell us what you think! (Click on these words: Meet the Creators)

Hello? Anybody there?

2008-05-02T09:44:00.007-04:00

Hoops and Yoyo just LOVED our movie and healthy snacks! In fact, they want to give us a call to say hello! What would you like to say to them when they call us? How will we work this out? Take turns? What are your ideas?

EARTH DAY!

2008-04-25T06:34:00.003-04:00

What does Earth Day mean to you? What did you learn at Earth Fest on Friday? How can we celebrate the Earth and save our environment? You can click on the title to go to an article about Earth Day. Be sure to come back to our blog to tell me what's on your mind about our Earth...

OK, OK!

2008-04-10T17:44:00.002-04:00

OK guys! I see that my last post didn't spark any thoughts. So are you glad the tests are over???? I sure am! Guess what!?! Our podcast in now online! Here's a link you can follow to see and hear it. Be sure to come back to my blog to tell me what you think!
Room 214's Podcast

Stay Cool and Calm!

2008-03-30T12:52:00.006-04:00

It's that time of year! Time to take our PSSA's. Yes, it's an important test, but don't let yourself get stressed out. Remember to keep your cool about it! I like to run, do yoga, and meditate every day to try to keep my calm. What do you do? What should our students do if they get frustrated?

And what did YOU do over spring break?

2008-03-15T06:03:00.003-04:00

I remember when I was a kid in school we always had to write about what we did over our summer vacation... or our Christmas vacation... or our SPRING vacation... SOOOOO.... what DID you do over you Spring vacation????

Report Cards! Yippee or EEEK?

2008-03-11T14:41:00.002-04:00

Report cards are this week! What do you think about them? How do you think you did? Are you excited or worried? What did you do well in? What do you need to do better in? Let's talk about it...

The ZOO!

2008-03-06T05:55:00.006-05:00

We're going to the zoo...zoo...zoo...You can come too...too...too...When I go to the zoo, I just LOVE to visit the orangutans. They are so cute and funny. I love the way they play. They remind me of little children having so much fun. When we go to the zoo on Tuesday, what do you want to see?

Wednesday! Wow!

2008-02-27T16:39:00.006-05:00

So today our school had our 3 R's Party for our students who are consistently

Respectful

Responsible

Resourceful

Did you make it to the party? If so, how was it? If not, what can you do NEXT time to make sure you do?

It's been a LONG short week!

2008-02-21T19:58:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but this has been one of the LONGEST short weeks I've ever had! What made it feel so long? I think it's always hard to come back from an extra day off. Somehow our minds just want to stay home! Especially when it's so brrrrr.....cold out! But we worked extra, extra hard on writing persuasive letters, studying about angles, coordinates, and sequencing, and practicing getting "4's" on open-ended math questions! So tell me, what was the best and the worst of your week?

Shout-Out to YOU!

2008-02-12T17:37:00.000-05:00

Guess what? There's a shout out for our class on Hoops & Yoyo's BLOG!!!! You need to go to their blog and look under Tuesday, February 12- shouty-shouty shout-outs! (or better yet, click here: Hoops & Yoyo Blog.)Find our names under the bullets! What do you think about that? Pretty cool, huh! Is there anyone YOU would like to give a shout out to? If so, who? And what would you like to tell them?

We've got the PSSA Spirit!

2008-02-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

Room 214 made a cheer and dance! Here's the chant we made up:

I don't know but I've been told
Rowen School will get that gold!
We're working hard to be advanced!
PSSA's- you've got no chance!

Can you think of a cheer to get our spirit going?

What did YOU do today?

2008-01-29T19:26:00.000-05:00

Today we had fun working on the computer. We learned about podcasts, saw pictures of our class trips, and began writing a script for our first podcast. We also visited our favorite website- Hoops and Yoyo- and saw the new manner lesson they had up. Let's hear what the class has to say about the experience...

Having a Blast!

2008-01-27T06:44:00.001-05:00

I'm just having the best of times with my computer class. I never really had a chance to take classes for pure pleasure before. We're doing all sorts of things- many of which I don't quite have a complete handle on yet. It's strange. I've always been a natural techie, but now I find that I'm moving much more slowly, taking more time to process things when computers are doing the opposite and processing faster and faster! I can't wait to teach my class all of these cool things. What do YOU think guys? Excited?

Hoops and Yoyo

2008-01-25T20:56:00.000-05:00

Have you had the pleasure of visiting Hoops and Yoyo's website? It's definitely worth the trip. One of my favorite links at their site is past homepages. Some of them are so funny, I laugh so hard I cry! Check it out. Let me know what YOUR favorite thing is that you found.