PTA/PTO Fundraiser Ideas

This year I served as PTO Treasurer at my boys school.  It was an amazing experience and I'm glad I did it.  Before I was part of PTO, I would wonder why they always did the same fundraisers.  Now I know exactly why!  They are money makers.  I complied a list of what we did this year.  Just click on the page to get your copy.  I hope you enjoy!

LEGO Math Ideas

Hey Everyone, just wanted to let you know that I have a 5 part series of posts happening over at The Tutor House all about using LEGO bricks to teach math concepts.  Come on over and see what I've got going on!

Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

Last year, I was so frustrated with the progress of one of my tutoring students.  He had no desire to perform in the classroom, but would perform for me.  I dug into many books and as always returned to one of my favorites, Why Gender Matters by Dr. Leonard Sax.  I had remembered that he wrote another book just about boys called, Boys A Drift.

I read that book so quickly!  At first, some of the things he was saying sounding ludacris and he even admitted they sounded that way to him, but as he researched-he found them to be true.  One of the topics he covers in depth is Single Gender Schools.

He had some websites listed about Single Gender Schools and I immediately visited them.  One of the sites called Single Sex Schools had a directory of schools in each of the 50 states.  I looked at my home state of Idaho, only two schools.  Only one within driving distance.

I had to go see it!  I was super curious.  The principal Robin, happened to answer the phone that day when I called and she was so gracious to let me come out and see her school.  To say the least-her school is AMAZING!  This school was recently highlighted on the front page of the newspaper.  They've been at it for 6 years now and they are getting results.

I believe there really is something to the science behind boys and girls learning differently.  Does that mean I think everyone should be split up-NO!  I think teachers need to be aware of how the sexes learn differently and try to apply some of this knowledge in the classroom, without splitting them up.

How would I do it?

BOYS:

Make sitting optional.  Boys (I am sure you have noticed) are not usually sitting still for long hours at school.  They need the option to stand while they work, bounce around a little while they work.  As long as it's not bothering their neighbor.  Robin's school has these tall desks around the room, maybe you could get a few of those.

Teach small group reading lessons with boys making the sure the literature is highly appealing to boys.  Boys like books with action, description, and how to books.

Find as many ways as you can to get them active while learning.

Boys also don't hear as well as girls do.  When you are giving directions, are you speaking loud enough for them to hear?  If you consistently get a lot of "Huh?" from boys, check your volume of your voice and try to keep it even toned (not sing song like).  Try not to assume the boy isn't paying attention, they honestly don't hear well!

Discipline a boy by standing side by side with him.  They don't like confrontation to their faces.  Standing by their side while you are redirecting behavior goes much better than standing in front of them and requiring them to look you the in the eyes.

GIRLS:

Teach small group math lessons with girls only.  Boys and girls often feel like they are competing.  Several girls feel inferior with an assumption they have made that boys are better in math.  Simply not true!  A girl may blossom in a small group with only other girls around to learn math.

If you are a male teacher, girls are more sensitive to your louder voice.  They often will think you are yelling at them because you talk so loud.  When talking with a girl, try to soften your voice some.  Also know that girls prefer to befriend teachers and ask questions.  They are not trying to be annoying, just seeking your approval.

When you are working with a girl and helping her with a problem, smile and look her in the eyes.  This encourages her and let's them know that you appreciate that they came to you. 

Relaxing techniques before a test is beneficial for a girl whereas for a boy it has no effect.  Try walking some of the girls through a breathing exercise before they test.  Look at their body language, is their shoulders up by their ears?  Are they nervously looking around the room or frozen staring at the board.  Help them relax a little.

These are just a few ideas for the classroom.  I HIGHLY recommend that you read Dr. Leonard Sax's books about gender issues.  They have really helped me with my own boys and tutoring students.  What thoughts do you have on Single Gender Classrooms?  Are there any close to you?  Do you work at one?  I would love to hear more.

Why Gender Matters by L. Sax
Boys a Drift by L. Sax
Girls on the Edge by L. Sax
Teaching the Male Brain by A. James
A Gendered Choice by D. Chadwell

Honoring a Retiring Teacher

My sons second grade teacher is retiring after 20 years in the classroom.  We wanted to do something fantastic and super special for her.  My first thought was a book, hard bound that will last the test of time.  I got the ball rolling with students writing notes to the teacher and then realized that I wouldn't be able to scan them.  Students write all over the page!  I couldn't be there that day to help and guide them.

Plan B.  And I LOVE my plan B.  It turned out great.  If I would've went the original route, I would have spent about $50.00 on the book.  The total cost of this book.  $8.00.  That's it!  I was super excited.  Plan B is super cute too.

Let me show you what I did.

1.  Paper Accents 12 X 12   Chipboard

2.  Scotch Glue (or double sided tape)

3.  12 X 12 scrapbook paper

4.  Hole punch

5.  Magic Scotch Tape (photo safe)

6.  Sheet protectors

7.  Colored binder rings (mine are from Office Depot)








Step One:

Cut both pieces of chipboard down to 10 1/2 inches X 12 inches.

Step Two:

Trim 4 pieces of cordinating papers to the same dimensions.

Step Three:

Adhere to the chipboard with Scotch glue or double sided tape.  Embelish cover.  Add the teachers name, a picture, maybe the years she taught.  I kept my book simple.

Step Four:

Punch three holes in the chipboards.

Step Five:

Wrap edges of chipboard with Magic tape or you can use the fancy new scrapbook tape that has patterns on it.  (but that added too much money to my budget)

Step Six:

Load the sheet protectors with letters to teacher.  You could include pictures or scrapbook pages too.

Step Seven:

Use binder rings and slide through the back chipboard.  Then add sheet protectors to the rings and finally the cover.  Snap shut.

DONE!  I've seen some people tie ribbons on the rings, but I felt like that was a little bit much.  Check out my finished one below.

Playing Cards Math Mats

I've teamed up Heidi Raki of Raki's Rad Resources to make some playing card math mats.  They are so quick and easy to get out for a math center, individual work, or a tutoring session.  We included primary and intermediate grades.  You'll see math topics like making numbers, ordering numbers, multiplication, division, fractions, and a little bit of pre-algebra.

You know me, I love some good card games.  Take a minute and check out my card games page.  But to get the mats you'll need to head on over to  The Tutor House.  Watch the video below to learn more. 

I Love Teachers to Pieces

It's Teacher Appreciation Week as you know and I have been helping with this lovely week at my boys school.  In the hallway I made a bulletin board that says, "We Love You to Pieces".  I was inspired a few weeks ago when I found my college friend Allison had a blog like me.  She has this amazing blog called, Room Mom 101.  On there you can find all kinds of ideas for making the classroom run smoother and ideas for all those Room Moms. 

I saw this idea on there as a door decoration and knew that I had to do it for Teacher Appreciation Week too.  It was rather simple to put together and could be used to appreciate others besides teachers.

First, I took the logo and copied it into Word.  I sized it up so it would be the same size as the page.  Then I printed it in poster format.  I layed butcher paper on top of the blown up words and traced them.  Next I colored the lettering with yellow and brown markers. 

I cut out the "pieces" out of 4 in. circles and wrote the staff's names on them.  You need brown, yellow, and orange.

Tape or glue the lettering to the bag (made out of orange butcher paper).  Now staple it up to the wall just along the top.  I stuffed the inside with plastic sacks to give it depth.  Continue stapling as you add more and more bags.  Staple down the sides and finish with staples at the bottom. 

When you are stapling up the "pieces" scatter them out like they are pouring out of the bag.  Die cut lettering to say, "We Love You to Pieces".

It took me about an hour and a half to get it all put together.  I did construction borders, but I was wishing I had tissue paper like Stephanie at Teaching in Room 6 to make my border.

Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did making it.
Adrianne

A Sale is Coming!

Teacher Appreciation week is coming up and I am so excited!  We are on the edge of how education is done.  It's going to radically change and Teachers Pay Teachers is part of that.  They are offering an extra 10% off of all purchases and I am throwing in more!  You can get a total of 28% off all your purchases May 6-8!  I even included Brain Tower in this fabulous sale and it's going to be only $13.60.  Still free shipping too!
Get on over there and look around a little.  You'll need the PROMO CODE at check out.  I am so excited for this sale and I'll be getting a few things myself.  This really is turning out to be one lucky week!

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kids-Cog-Works

Teacher Appreciation Jackpot

It's here!  Yay for teachers today.  You are one lucky person.  Thank  you for working so hard with your students and sticking with it year after year.  Today I am going to give you one of my favorite units.  Pizza Pie and the Number Line Unit.  In this unit, students will get comfortable with fractions on the number line and learn how to multiply a whole number by a fraction.  It comes with detailed teacher instructions, worksheets,and a group project idea.

So enjoy!  Click on the picture of my unit to take you to Teachers Pay Teachers and add it to your cart.

Pizza Pie and the Number Line

 Not only will you be Pizza Pie and the Number Line Unit for free on today, but Teachers Pay Teachers is having a great sale starting on today, May 6 and finishing on May 8.  You can get up to 28% off!  Brain Tower is one of those items and there is still free shipping.  Read more about this sale.  PROMO CODE: TAD12

You can be part of grades 3-6 right here on Kids Cog Works.  If you want to go check out the participants at the other link ups, just visit the below host sites:

April McNair at A Modern Teacher:  PK-2
Laura Candler at Corkboard Connections: 3-6
Adrianne Meldrum at The  Tutor House: 7-12

Below is all the bloggers who linked up for grades 3-6.  Isn't this great?! So many talented people coming together to give you a gift that will help you in your classroom. All you need to do is get a free account at Teachers Pay Teachers so that you can download.  Sign Up Here.