I created a Butterfly Mobile in ceramics with some cookie-cutter butterfly shapes, which I pressed to flatten (the wings). I glazed them with antique blue and a raspberry colored glaze. The other night I got some purple string and strung them up.
These are a gift for my brother-in-law’s girlfriend who loves butterflies. I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed creating it for her.
Head over to Flickr for more Photo Fridays Images.
Categories: Photo Fridays · photography · pottery
Categories: creativity
Tagged: ceramics
BREAKFAST!
Crepes with some fun toppings.
Categories: creativity
This was last night’s dinner. I tried to plate-it in an attractive way so as to make it look as appetizing as it tasted. I don’t know if I succeeded with the plating, but it sure tasted great!
Categories: cooking
Too often, as teachers, we recognize and send home notes about bad behavior. At the end of last year, I started to send home notes about positive behavior. And now, I’m on to notes directly to my students about their positive behavior. This is what a sample of the notes I’m giving to ten of my students looks like today.
After all, it really isn’t easy to be green!
Categories: letters
Tagged: behavior management, classroom management, positive behavior
I’m trying to catch-up on all of the Word Up Challenges from the summertime. This is my “be” layout, which I created on Smilebox. I still have the following words left to go:
choose
faith
if
love
now
Categories: one little word

Today is September 11th, 2008.
It’s the seven year anniversary of the day America was attacked.
But still, we are free.
Whether it’s on a small farm or at the State House, it seems that Old Glory flies proudly.
My D.i.a.S. is: I’m proud to be an American.

Categories: photography
Tagged: Day in a Sentence, Photo Fridays, September 11th
September 3, 2008 · 1 Comment

At first, I was sad when I reached the end of the day and only had one of my former students’ Summer Adventure Packets in my hand. On one hand, I’d worked so hard on them. On the other hand, they were optional.
So, I decided to focus on the positive. I put together the most amazing 5th Grade Survival Kit I could possibly create for the student who completed her packet (and then some) over the summer. This is what it looks like:
Categories: literacy · summer vacation
Henry K. and Rosemary Wong’s Book gave me the signal “Give me five!” when I want to get my students’ attention.
Less than 13 hours to go ’til the kids come, and I realize I didn’t have my “Give Me Five” Signs up in my classroom! Ack!
Here’s what I created. (I used my own hand with Rhonna Farrer Paper in the background.)

Categories: classroom signage · photography
Tagged: classroom management, Harry Wong
Categories: creativity
Tagged: wordle
Click on this image to learn more about this nifty new tool from Flickr, which Kevin has generously experimented with for the Photo Fridays Crew.
Categories: creativity
A few pre-Shabbat Dinner Photos and my Day in a Sentence:
Making challah from scratch makes Shabbos Dinner more meaningful for me.


Head over to Bonnie’s Blog for Day in a Sentence this week.
Categories: Day in a Sentence · baking · photography
Tagged: Photo Fridays
Birthday cards for my students, to be exact. Here’s a peek at some of the work I did this morning for the September, October, and November birthdays.
Categories: cards · handmade · poetry
The good… the bad… and the needs-to-be-destroyed…
Categories: ceramics
I had the chance to see the new Yankee Stadium today AND got to walk on the field of the present one.
This week, Day in a Sentence is hosted by Mrs.Hawke.com.
Categories: Day in a Sentence · photography
A few years ago I did a Color Palette Activity with my class to help them get ready for a trip to the Guggenheim Museum. It was essentially a way to get them thinking about colors/shades that go well together. (It was also a way of them coming up with colors that fit their personalities.)
After being in a paint store yesterday, and collecting a lot of paint chips with a friend who’s repainting nearly the entire downstairs of her home, I decided to gather a bunch of paint chips so I could embark on this little project again with my class. We might not be doing it in preparation for a visit to the Guggenheim this time, but I think that something like this can help me get a better understanding of where they are as artists early on in the school year so that I know what activities I should do and when based upon their knowledge of the color wheel and how pairings work.
Categories: art activities for children · decorating · paint
I can’t believe the City of NY spent money on so many of these. There’s a bike path on the street I was on when I took this, but how many people are really reading (and listening to) signs like this? It’s a smart sign and I WISH people would truly share the road, but I think the money for signs like this could’ve been better spent somewhere else.
Categories: Manhattan · photography