Teacher Week 2015 - 5 Fun Facts about Me

It's Teacher Week! What a fun way to get to know bloggers!

5 fun facts about me . . .

1. The Family and a Tradition

The hubby! Also known as The Captain! We have been married for 18 years, but together 23!

The only child . . . just started 7th grade and joined the cross country team.

We have 2 crazy cute puppies! A Maltipoo and Yorkie

We have a family tradition where we host a Christmas cookie bake for friends and family.

You bring your cookie tin(s), decorate your cookies and take them home to enjoy.

We provide the cookies! Only one rule . . . you break it - you eat it!

Mixin'

Rolling and Baking

Ready for icing and sprinkles!

2. Love my convertible!

Apparently, this was my anniversary gift . . . the convertible, I've always wanted . . . only I thought it was going to have 4 wheels. 

Needless to say, I love this convertible! During the summer, we were on the lake several days during the week. Now that school has started, we are out on the weekends. 

3. I love my kitchen!
Our kitchen is wide open to the dining area and our living room. Everyone congregates around the island!

This framed recipe is my favorite item in the kitchen! This is my mom's recipe for her yummy cheese bread. She passed away 12 years ago. Every time I look at it, it reminds me of her.

4. I love creating tablescapes . . . actually - islandscapes for various get togethers at our house. Lifts and layers! Fabric and props!

4. I LOVE Gummi Bears and Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice cream! They can only be Haribo Gold-Bears! 

5. I Graduated!

My diploma came in the mail! (I walk in December!) 

Hop on over to the Teacher Week blog hop!

Happy Monday!

Incorporate Emojis to Encourage Writing

It's amazing to watch my daughter text her friends almost entirely in emojis. They have their own language! 

I must admit . . . I love adding emojis to my texts to friends. They add just the right punctuation!

It got me thinking . . . what a great way to connect with students! I'm always looking for ways to encourage writing, especially for hesitant writers. 

Since summer just ended have students write about a summer moment.  Have the students write a rough draft and then transfer it into the fun website Emoji Translate. 

As you type, the emojis appear below. (It was fun to play with the words to see what emoji would pop up!)  

Summer Moments

Once, students have completed their emoji moment, they can take a screen shot, crop it and add to a shared Google slide presentation.

Another option is to have student use iPads to access the site. They can type their summer moment (or if students are allowed use their own mobile device) and take a screen shot of their finished product. 

Then, have students pull it into the Pic Collage Kids app to crop it, add a background, text and stickers. 

Save it to the camera roll. From there, the options are limitless.

Here are some fun videos to share with your class. They are Frozen and Tangled all done with emojis! Hilarious and very clever!

I love this! Bill Nye explains climate change using emojis!

Have a great week!