An Educator's Life

RISING ABOVE

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:46:00 +0000

I don't think that I will post these every month, but I really like how this activity turned out. I knew that going in to a new year, I wanted to focus on an idea that would help my students think about being better and push themselves to be better. Hence, I chose Rising Above. This is the finished board. Each student was given an arrow page that I designed (see below for more detail). This one is my son's. I can do that because I have parental permission to use it on-line. :) Each student wrote in the arrow one or more...

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Snow People (Life Size) Project

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:17:00 +0000

I have done snow people glyphs almost every year for the last 5 years. However, last year I got a crazy idea to do them life size. I decided to wait until this year with my son's class to actually try it. Let's just say that the 45 minutes I had planned for this activity to take were FAR from enough. I figured since I had created an example (well, okay, my wife had), made up a good instruction board for the SMART board, and walked around and helped, that we would easily be finished. NOPERS! However, I will say that they turned...

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2011: A Year in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 21:42:00 +0000

With 2011's last minutes ticking away, it is once again time to share highlights from the past year in An Educator's Life. It has been one heckava ride to say the least. So, without further ado, lets begin by reviewing what my hopes for 2011 were last December 31st! Silly me... Recap of "Looking Forward in 2011"(from last year's post): January:-Take my Praxis test (okay, this isn't really "really good", but it is a necessary step in completing my program!)-My daughter is getting baptized (and she is very excited about...

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Merry Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 04:17:00 +0000

I wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons. Later...

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A Visit From St. Nick

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:17:00 +0000

We went to the firehouse today for the annual visit with St. Nick. It was fun to see the kids excited to see the jolly old elf. While we were waiting, My two youngest were more than happy to give hugs for the camera. What a cuties they are! My little boy was SO sweet. He was very anxious to climb on Santa's lap, but once he was there, he gave Santa a HUGE hug. It was really sweet to see him do that. He also proudly told Santa that he wanted Lego's for Christmas. Way to go buddy! My oldest wasn't too sure about sitting on Santa's lap...

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It is Nice to Be Loved...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +0000

This is what we found when we returned from being up North for a couple days. It was nice to arrive home and find assorted goodies and gifts left on our doorstep. My wife said that is was nice to be loved. I couldn't agree more. Thank you to all of our friends and acquaintances who shared come Christmas spirit with our family this season. Later...

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Secret Elves

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:01:00 +0000

Little did I know how my day would take a turn for the better. It was a Friday like any other Friday. I taught my class and enjoyed spending time with them. We finished out our morning and I got the students ready to go home. Just as the final students were leaving, the secretary paged my classroom and said that I was needed in the office immediately. That made me a little nervous and I tried to get there as quickly as possible. When I made it to the office, I was told that the HUGE box sitting on the counter was mine and that it had...

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A "Giant" Happy Christmas Project

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 17:24:00 +0000

Each time we do a Winter Program at our school, each class is asked to create a decoration to put on the gym walls. Not only does this help with creating a festive atmosphere, it helps the students focus their excited holiday energy on something productive and fun. This year I decided to dig out the Giant Card project. Not only does it cover several art objectives and forces the students to use their mathematical skills, it allows them to see how important their small piece is the to the success of the whole. In my eleven years of...

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Elf Yourself 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 04:27:00 +0000

Hope you all have a very merry holiday! Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab! Later...

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Reading Is A Gift

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 07:01:00 +0000

Each year at our school, each grade is assigned a month to do the bulletin board in the main hallway. This year I was given the month of December. I enjoy this month because you can do such fun things. When I was teaching in Alpine a few years ago, one of the teachers on my team wanted to do a "hand" tree. So each of the 90 students cut 9-10 hands each, and then we complied them into a mammoth tree. For that tree we used lots of hands cut out on white paper to make the tree look snowy. It was really, really neat. Then the students made...

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Hoping...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 00:20:00 +0000

I am so excited to share that some good friends are looking to adopt a child. I have known Joe for a long time, and I can honestly say that he and Amy are going to make the perfect parents for a special little one. You can further check out their profile/site HERE. Pass the word along- Two very special people are looking for a little one to raise and love. Good Luck you two- I hope it happens soon! Later...

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I am SMART

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 04:40:00 +0000

Six- day long sessions of SMART mentor training. That is what has been eating my time for the last three weeks. The only downside to the whole event has been writing lesson plans for my guest teachers (which I appreciate SO much!). I have to say, that despite being thrown oodles of extra work that was painfully tedious, I have enjoyed learning the little in's and out's of the SMART Notebook software. Seeing as I have had a SMART Board in my room for the last 5 years, it was nice to know of the upgrades, additions, tweaks, and...

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Reach for New Heights

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:58:00 +0000

This has become one of my favorite activities to use in my classroom. I learned long ago in the 11 glorious years of instructing students, that these mini-adults need a focus, a driver, an ideas to believe in, a GOAL! Too often I saw students who would aim for the 'dirt' as it were, rather than set a goal that seemed JUST out of reach and strive and work hard to achieve it. I knew it had to be something that would motivate without allowing for students to be harassed or embarrassed. Something big and visual, yet not a complete...

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Hard Work

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:36:00 +0000

I have started something in my classroom that I think will leave a lasting impression on my students. As a teacher, you can request the Foundation for a Better Life Values posters. While you can't select the posters you get, you CAN design awesome lessons around those that are sent. A link will be provided at the bottom for those educators that want to try doing this as well. Last month our poster focused on Compassion. It was a poster with Mother Teresa on it. We learned about her and her life. We studied what...

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May the Force be Thankful...

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 06:22:00 +0000

Each month I try to do a bulletin board that reflects the season. I love doing the fall leaves. The students color them to their taste and then write what they are thankful for on them. This year several of the students got very creative and made the words look like part of the veins in the leaf. In fact, if you enlarge the photos you can see some of them. P.S. Thanks my dear wife for making the background and tree, they look wonderful. Happy Thanksgiving! Later...

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Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:14:00 +0000

Thanksgiving. Gratitude. Pondering on our blessings. Looking beyond ourselves. What a wonderful time of year this is. A time that is filled with crisp mornings, warm blankets, hot chocolate, and homemade toast. A time of crunching leaves, gusty winds, scarves, hats, mittens, and thoughts of a tasty bird with all the trimmings gathered 'round. Family, friends, smiles, hugs, and well wishes. Laughter, pumpkin pie, and lazy naps. These are the things that bring a smile to my face and memories to my...

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Jealous

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:54:00 +0000

Free. Soaring. Lighter than air. Jealous. As we stood in a circle, arms extended to symbolize unity and trust, the excitement continued to build. We recited the required school wide cheer, "I will keep the color in me. I won't do drugs" and then released our anxious friends who wanted nothing more than to soar into the blue-stained sky. Cheers erupted and excitement continued to be felt and shared as fingers pointed and words like "Mine is higher than yours" and "Wow! Look how beautiful" reached my ears. As the colors faded and the sky...

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Happy Birthday to Me

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:17:00 +0000

So, the day began with a wonderful good morning kiss from my wife and only got better from there. School went really well today. After a field trip yesterday, I was a little apprehensive to see what kind of behavior I would get to deal with. My class was a teacher's dream. After our bi-weekly trip to the library (which was totally awesome), we returned to the classroom to find that a wonderful mother of one of my students (and no, it wasn't my wife) arrived with cake and ice cream for all the students. It was...

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October Already!?!?!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 19:40:00 +0000

Use a QR reader to see this! Where has the time gone? More than a week has blurred before my very eyes and I haven't really had a spare moment to share any of it with you. School seems to be humming along. My class is really a great class this year (and I am STILL saying that after 30 full days of school...lol). We seem to get much more done than in past years and I am very pleased with how all my students are doing. In fact, our last math test saw a rise of over 10% in the class average! That is very exciting. My goal this year has...

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Congratulations, Son!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 03:20:00 +0000

Tonight was Pack Meeting. My oldest son's last cub scout meeting. We all gathered in the cultural hall of the church and waited on our metal chairs. It was noisy and busy and wonderful... I cheered as the boys received their hard earned awards. It is exciting to see something so positive happen in the lives of these amazing youth. But, I couldn't be more proud of my oldest. As he got in line to get his many awards, I beamed with pride. After all, that was my boy up there getting all those awards. When all the packs had received their...

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Christmas in September...and Other Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:51:00 +0000

Who would have thought that my son would be curled up under a Christmas tree in September. However, regardless of the time of year, this is one stinking cute picture of my Z man. Yesterday was our friends 3rd annual Christmas in September. Now, three years ago, I didn't know that Mr. Z existed. Heck, TWO years ago I didn't know he existed. However, being at the 3rd annual event was a true pleasure. Our little herd left Saturday morning (after a breakfast of hot chocolate and toast to help set the holiday mood) packed and ready for a...

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The Ship Has Sailed Me Mateys!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 05:51:00 +0000

Ahoy Mateys... Piratey week has come and gone. It was a very successful one at that. Today was the culmination of the entire week. Many boats, flags, and costumed. My own son put in some serious effort and made a pirate ship out of a book, an amazing flag and pole that actually worked, and well... here is part of his costume. He really had a good time dressing like a pirate. He was cracking me up. Every picture that we took he was either super serious, stern looking, or crazy. I will try to get pictures posted of his book boat and flag....

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Let Piratey Week Begin!

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 03:19:00 +0000

The coolest classroom around AHOY MATIES.... So, September 19th is International Speak Like a Pirate Day! And true to tradition, the room was decorated and busy schedules adjusted to squish in some pirate fun. Our ship sails for a full week rather than one day. With all the work to get it ready, it should be savored like a good (ginger) ale. Arrrr... ye scruvy dogs... "Come to the Pirate-Side he will" There, I had to let out my inner pirate. It has been really fun so far. The kids loved walking into our room and looking...

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Rain, Really?

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 05:56:00 +0000

Who would have thought that such a wonderful beginning to Melon Days could have turned out to be so poopy. School was fantastic today. My class is truly a dream to teach. I can't believe how wonderful it is to have such a fun class. I had a melon bust with them this year (the first time in about four years). We invited the fourth grade to join us since they were the only ones who had not had one. It was good fun and the kids really enjoyed it. As soon as school was out, I headed home and changed into more comfortable clothing and...

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Pre-Melon Days

noreply@blogger.com (Mr. Hughes) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 13:11:00 +0000

This will be a quick post this morning. I just wanted to say WAHOO, It's Melon Days once again. My wife and I are looking forward to having our booth set up once again. Being as talented as she is, my wife creates some pretty amazing "stuff". Click HERE to check some of it out. While there won't be as much this year AND she is going to be doing less each year (SO COME EARLY TO GET THE BEST SELECTION), there will be lots of other fun stuff to see and purchase. We hope to see all our friends swing by for a quick visit while you are out and...

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