Christa McAuliffe Conference 2018

For the second year in a row, I volunteered in the collaboratory makerspace at the annual Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference. Last year, my art journals were featured as one of the projects.

This year, I decided to try something a tiny bit more technology related. I have been reading the non-fiction book Zombie Makers with the 3rd grade classes, and we've been discussing scientific terms like host, parasite, mutate, spore, etc. The book is about real life 'zombies'; bugs that get infected by parasites, and stop acting naturally, because the parasite gains control over their nervous systems.

As a STEM tie in, they are going to create cardboard mazes for my 'zombie' hex bug. He was a special order from Amazon; he comes with his own coffin.

I named him Hector Salamanca!

Not only do I have a zombie hex bug, I made my own hex bug! I removed the head of a (new) toothbrush, bought a micro motor from Amazon, and attached a small battery to it. It's my first attempt with any kind of robotic, and it's very temperamental, but when it started moving I was like:

I also brought some art journals along, since so many people liked them last year.

The keynote speaker this year was great, and I attended his session on Digital Citizenship at every grade and got some great ideas and resources.

I also attended a session on Cyberbullying and Teaching Kindness, led by Carol Todd. Carol is the mother of Amanda Todd, whose video on YouTube went viral after she died by suicide in 2012. The story of how this teenage girl was targeted, sexploited, and bullied is pretty infamous now, and her mother uses the story to educate students, parents and teachers. If you're not familiar with Amanda's video, here's a link to a reputable copy of her original, sponsored by Suicide Prevention LLC. The video can be upsetting to some people, which is why I did not embed it into my post.

The makerspace had alot to offer, as well. Upcycling t-shirts, weaving with branches, using toilet paper tubes to make funny characters, and a Cricut machine were some highlights.

The best part about this year? My husband got to come, too!

His school had some tickets for the conference, and since there was a whole session on using digital history resources in AP classes, he decided to check it out.

It wasn't really a day 'off' but the change of scenery was great for letting me recharge my battery a little.

First Snow Day of the Year

I haven't updated in weeks, so here's one in honor of an important annual holiday:

My first snow day of the year!

 It's always exciting. I was up and ready to go, putting together an outfit for the day, when the phone rang. I'm really glad that I don't have to drive to/from school in all the snow, worrying the whole time, but I'm a tiny bit disappointed because I had some good plans for the day that I've been thinking about for a while.

The 4th grade has been doing a whole unit on Native Americans: first they got divided into different tribes (ones that were native to our state) and they had to claim a territory ( a part of the library) and design their flag. The next week, they had to set up trade lines with other tribes, using stickers that represent resources like corn, fish, medicinal plants/berries, animals, and goods brought over by European settlers. They are really enjoying it. Today was supposed to be the first marriage, to create an alliance between 2 tribes. The kids have been asking about the marriage part for weeks, giggling every time. I had the whole thing worked out, using dice to determine which tribes would be united.

I was also supposed to go observe another class, because the teacher has been coding with her students.

Speaking of observations, I had my first official teacher observation last Thursday. I didn't realize what was happening at first, but when I did I started to get pretty nervous. The students in the library at that time were working on a STEM assignment. They had requested the week before to try something new, and making cardboard mazes is not costly or too complicated for a first try.

I had my post-observation conference yesterday, and it was pretty good. I know there are some things I will do differently next time, but the students were so engaged and working well together, that my supervisor and I were both satisfied. It's a huge load off my mind, and now I can use the Thanksgiving break to re-charge.

Happy Halloween!

****I forgot to post this yesterday******


It's my favorite day of the year! It's a holiday devoted to eating candy and not being yourself!

This year, I decided to be Practically Perfect in Every Way (definitely not me!).

In case you don't get the reference, I decided to channel the most famous British nanny ever.

This costume came together so easily and naturally. My friend gifted me a bunch of leftover fabric a few months ago, and in the bag was this navy blue skirt with black velvet trim. It turns out she used to do traditional German dancing, and this was part of her costume. I didn't know that traditional German dancing was a thing, but I knew it reminded me of Mary Poppins!

From there, I looked for a white blouse at thrift stores, and I think I paid $1.50 for it. I already had the stockings, the shoes, the black blazer and my husband loaned me the red tie. I got the carpetbag suitcase from a local antique store (with a gift certificate) and I bought the hat on Amazon for less than $10.

So this costume cost less than $12!

I wore it to school on our designated Dress Up Day, and I was impressed with the number of students who guessed it. I also wore it to Ghosts on the Banke, and as soon as I walked in the door, a little girl came up to me tell me how much she liked it.

Now I am making it a point to read the stories by PL Travers.