Recycling Holiday Cards & Helping Others

As we move into "that time of year," and the holiday cards begin to get mailed out, please keep in mind the following program that can benefit from your used cards. The St. Jude's Ranch for Children will take your used cards and recycle them into new cards to resell and benefit their program.

Why St. Jude's Ranch for Children? "They rescue abused, abandoned and neglected children of all races and faiths from the vicious cycle of child abuse and provide healing and nurturing in a safe home-like environment where children can learn life skills to start new lives with new chances, new choices and new hope. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children has three campuses in Nevada and Texas. The Bulverde, Texas campus is located in the Texas Hill Country just north of San Antonio. Also about 30 minutes north of San Antonio is St. Jude’s Emergency Children’s Shelter." The Ranch also helps pregnant teen mothers through their pregnancy, supporting them physically with a residential facility and mentally with parenting curriculum and a high school education.

For more information about the recycled card program and all the services the ranch provides, visit their website: http://www.stjudesranch.org/shop/recycled-card-program/

(They can not accept Hallmark, Disney or American Greeting cards.) The Ranch also accepts Campbell Soup Labels for Education.

They take cards year-round for all occasions. Send your donations to: St. Jude’s Ranch for Children ATTN: Donor Office P.O. Box 60100 Boulder City, NV 89006-0100

For more simple ways to do good things check out this page on my wiki: http://colwell2012-13.wikispaces.com/For+a+Good+Cause

The End of Molasses Classes

I LOVE Ron Clark. He inspires me constantly! I love his confidence and enthusiasm. He makes me want to have MORE FUN while teaching!

I have read the Essential 55 years ago, and I enjoyed the movie starring Matthew Perry. (Great casting choice!) I believe in the Essential 55 as the tried and true, "old-school" way to expect students to behave. I wish all adults in children's lives would expect that kind of respect out of the future adults of our world. The best experience with Ron Clark is easily when I got to see him speak in person! Every year our district has a large gathering of all teachers and employees called convocation. It's like a district-wide pep rally for the new year. The fine arts departments perform, ie. dance/drill team, band, choir, etc. Teachers are honored or recognized by students, and tears are spilled. It's adorable. And the superintendent gives a speech. Every school yells and cheers whenever their school is mentioned. It's also a big deal to have cute staff shirts for each school. (T-shirts mean a lot to teachers for some reason!) Well, one year, Ron Clark came and spoke to the entire staff of my district! It was fantastic. He was lively, funny, personable, and so engaging. I want him to be MY teacher!

Now, I am recommending his book, The End of Molasses Classes. It's an enjoyable read with practical ideas to get your students, and parents, engaged in their learning. Not just for one class, but for life! The book is written in a casual tone as if Ron Clark is sitting down with you having a conversation about his experiences. It's fun and inspiring! I already have 4 ideas for songs I want to write for my firsties!!!

Book Release:

Here's a quick video of Ron Clark giving a few ideas from his book: The End of Molasses Classes.


I love what Ron Clark has done for students, parents, and teachers across the country! Probably world-wide! If everyone had the spirit and passion for creating life long self-learners, our country would not be in such dire straits educationally! Thank you Ron for all you do, and for inspiring me. :) Visit the Ron Clark Academy website, and follow them on twitter: @ronclarkacademy

Mrs Jump's class: Reindeer and Reindeer book freebie

Mrs Jump's class: Reindeer and Reindeer book freebie: Super cute printable book for kinder or early first grade readers.  Plus, a fabulous blog to follow!!

Working Together

Working Together

Check out this slideshow I made using Animoto. It show my students and our lessons over the past few weeks. :)

Election 2012 - Elementary Style

My school hosted an election of our own today. We didn't vote for President, or any other political figures. We weren't voted for or against laws or amendments. We voted on kid-friendly topics such as sports, food, books, tests, and tech. tools!

To see the images better, visit my class wiki: http://colwell2012-13.wikispaces.com/Election+2012

Check out our ballot!

Here are some of my students voting.

I used a Google form to collect all the votes. Then, I used Excel to tally up the votes! Check out these graphs that show our results!

To see the images better, visit my class wiki: http://colwell2012-13.wikispaces.com/Election+2012

Kinderella: Goal Setting

This is an awesome goal setting idea!

Kinderella: Goal Setting: You all know as much as I do how important it is to motivate your kiddies and get them to "own" their learning. (That's half the battle righ...

Our principals are encouraging us to meet with each student one-on-one and write down specific goals for reading and math.

I found many great resources on Pinterest and TeachersPayTeachers!