ABC Reading Eggs Apps on sale... Don't miss out!

Take advantage of the current discount on some fantastic educational apps!

If your not hooked on the ABC Reading Eggs Apps yet, now’s your chance to purchase them for a discounted price and see what the fuss is about! Until January 1^st you can pick up a bargain – with the apps only 99c each (normally $2.99).

The ABC Reaging Eggs Apps are a range of fun, interactive and motivational educational apps that teach children essential reading, writing and numeracy skills. Titles include Eggy Vocabulary, Eggy Add to 20 and Spelling Games.

You can see them all at: readingeggs.com.au/apps.

Don’t miss out!

The experience of a lifetime!

For those who have been followers of my blog, you surely would have noticed a long absence. I took some time off school and traveled to Europe for two and a half months with my husband. This meant that my much loved blogging adventures were put on the back burner. I took the time to organise every little detail of my adventures abroad and then settled back into my school routine once I returned, to give my kids the full focus and attention they deserved.

It was definitely a once in a lifetime experience! We traveled to France, throughout Italy (which was where we spent the majority of our time), Croatia and Greece (finishing in the magical Greek Island of Santorini).

I've always had a passion for photography and this holiday was the perfect opportunity for develop my skills. From the approximate 4000 photos that I took along the way, I hope you enjoy the top 20 highlights!

Paris, France

Paris, France

Paris, France

Bayeux, France

Amalfi, Italy

Pompeii, Italy

Florence, Italy

Tuscany, Italy

Pisa, Italy

Cinque Terre, Italy

Portovenere, Italy

Lake Como, Italy

Verona, Italy

Bologna, Italy

Venice, Italy

Plitvice Lakes, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Athens, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Santorini, Greece

Editing photos with easy... using ipiccy.com

I've discovered a website recently that's fantastic for photo editing. It's simple and straight forward, student-user friendly and best of all it's free and doesn't require yet another user name and password!

It's called ipiccy.com

You begin by uploading your photo. Just click and begin experimenting. Think Photoshop...  but simplified. Anything you might want to do in Photoshop, you can do with ipiccy.com. There are the standard editing tools from cropping, blurring, changing the colour balance etc. to the fancy - turning your picture into a cartoon image or wanted poster. The possibilities are endless.

I use ipiccy.com with my class all the time. This site is definitely worth exploring (and using)!

Self Portrait Foil Art

I don't think I'm alone when I say - I LOVE PINTEREST! This is where I got my most recent art idea. A big shout out to Make It... A Wonderful Life for this foil art idea - it worked fabulously!

There were a few steps involved, which couldn't be done in the one lesson. First students transferred their photo image to a thick piece of card. Then I outlined the transfer with PVA glue and left to dry overnight. Students then glued foil (with a regular glue stick) onto the card. Using a blunt pencil, students finished with patterns in the background.

It was a lot of fun and the students were very proud of their finished 'abstract' artworks. We have displayed them in our entry classroom windows.

Have Students 'Tweet' a Daily Reflection!

I've tried journaling in the past to have kids reflect on their days learning. However, students don't seem to be too enthusiastic about it.

This year I've given each student their own personalised iPad and set of already cut up posts (which are also personalised). At the end of the day during reflection time, each student will post a 'tweet' on their iPad. The students love it!

It took a bit of time at the beginning of the year to set up (photos, formatting, printing, laminating, cutting etc.). But now that it's all been done, it's extremely simple and easy.

Making the Reading Corner Cosy and Comfy!

I'm loving my new reading corner! My parents were throwing away their old couches, so I stacked the cushions to create a comfy reading space for the kids. 

Maybe a little too comfy!

Reward Kids with Money {but it won't cost you a cent!} - Behaviour Management Part 6

 At my school, we have ability based maths groups. Therefore, with a whole different group of kids, I cannot use the same behaviour management strategies that I use with my regular class.

What I have established is a whole class money system, which I call 'Earn and Learn'. When all students are focused and on task, they can earn money, which gets placed in our class money envelope. At the start of each lesson, we have 10 quick maths questions (which is a variety of mixed multiplications). Students can also earn money by getting full marks for these questions, which contributes to the whole class money total. Obviously I do not use real money, but a print out of money specimens on card stock :)

The class can also be fined for misbehaviour or the noise level getting too loud.

Students are working towards earning enough money to spend on 'rewards'. Every so often I will do maths 'art' or something along those lines, which the class has to 'buy into'.

To keep track of our money, once a week we 'bank' our money. We carry over the previous week's total, add our class money and then deduct any class fines or money spent on rewards, to end up with our final balance.

 

Bucket Full of Kindness - Behaviour Management Part 5 + FREEBIE!

I finally decided how to incorporate the ‘Have You Filled a Bucket?’ idea into my classroom. It has definitely helped add to the positive culture and random displays of kindness amongst students.

I purchased a variety of different coloured noodle boxes for the buckets and each student has their own. I have just used Velcro on the back of the noodle boxes to attach it to the wall (which might not work for everyone!)

 Throughout the week, students are able to write positive messages to each other and I also encourage them to also write messages at home and bring them in.

At the end of the week, students are able to read their messages and take them home.

For the messages, I have created little slips of paper that you can download and use in your classroom if you like. Click on the picture below to download it from my TPT store.

Bucket Fillers