As I prepare for the Thanksgiving holiday, I am reminded to be grateful for all that I have. This season I am particularly thankful for the profession I chose and the children I get to work with every day. As mentioned in an earlier post, I kind of “stumbled upon” teaching while in college, and I am so thankful for that detour today.

Teaching students about the greenhouse effect is fun when paired with the construction of solar ovens. Using a pizza box, students made solar ovens to cook s’mores and study the transfer of heat. Check out the links and information that follows to get your students cooking with solar energy.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, now is the perfect time to review or introduce geography concepts and skills. Navigation is a key theme and can be easily integrated with the assistance of the following titles from Scholastic. The books listed in this week's blog provide support for geography content and encourage the study of the details surrounding the first formal meal shared by the separatists and the Wampanoag people. Read on to discover my very favorite fall books. 

Not too long ago I was looking for a creative way to integrate art into my math lesson on fractions. After consulting with a colleague, Kelly Allen, I was able to take a lesson she had used with her students and adapt it to meet the needs of my 6th graders.

I once heard someone say that we (teachers) are only as good as those that teach across the hall from us. How true that statement has been for me. I have been blessed, throughout my teaching career, to be surrounded by professionals that not only set high standards for their students, but set high standards for themselves as well. This week I’d like to recognize two of the colleagues that have patiently and lovingly guided me on my journey in education.

Ever feel like there’s not enough time to work with your struggling students outside of the academic day? Who am I kidding, of course you do. I often feel that way as well. If you have a class web page I might have a solution. Utilizing your class blog for tutoring purposes from the comfort of your home or your Twitter account (best for high school teachers) you can still assist students after hours.

Peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, tried and true: some things just “go together.” For instance, pumpkins and fall, it just makes sense. While planning for the upcoming weeks, I decided I wanted to incorporate activities that involved pumpkins into my math lessons. During my research, I ran across a photograph of a pumpkin carved with the Pi symbol in it, and that started the ball rolling. “Pumkin Pi,” I loved it!

As you consider upcoming fall and winter celebrations and holidays, I would like to remind you about National Mole Day. It is recognized every year on October 23rd from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m. to commemorate Amedeo Avogadro’s number (6.02 X 10^23), which is an international measuring unit in chemistry and/or moles (a scientific mole is a very large number used to count very small things, like atoms and molecules).

(presenting information at Space Camp Turkey in Izmir to educators from Israel, Turkey, Canada, and the United States)

As I mentioned in a previous post, all of you have outstanding ideas. My challenge to you all this week is to “share the wealth.” Teachers have a difficult time actually believing that what they are doing in the classroom is innovative, creative, or more effective than what the teacher across the hall is doing; however, I am here to let you know that everyone of you have loads to contribute to the teaching community.

If anyone would have asked me a week ago if I was worried about the flu, I would have responded with, “Are you kidding, I have been teaching so long I don’t get sick.” As I watched my classroom attendance get smaller and smaller last week, I realized that this year’s flu was early and not taking any prisoners. To quote my students as fellow classmates became victims, “another one bites the dust.”