Category Archives: blogs

HALLOWEEN GREEK YOGURT FRUIT DIP AND SPOOKY FRUIT SNACKS

We love making Halloween treats, but it’s nice to make some healthy Halloween creations that the kids will actual love! They are so loaded up on candy this time of year & it’s nice to have something fun & healthy to serve them. We made this Halloween Fruit Dip & Spooky Fruit Snacks the other day & my boys LOVED this! This is a great way to get your kids to load up on fruit for their after school snack or would be great to serve at class parties at school! The best thing about this is that they love getting to eat chocolate dip not knowing that it’s unsweetened greek yogurt mixed with Nutella!

Now how about that for a Trick & a Treat?!:)

Halloween Greek Yogurt Fruit Dip & Spooky Fruit Snacks

1 Large Container Greek Yogurt (unsweetened)
1/4 Cup of Nutella
2 Clementines
Pretzel Sticks
3 Bananas
Raisins
1 Red Apple
Green Grapes
Mini & Mallobits Marshmallows
Peanut Butter
Black Edible Marker

To make the Vampire Apples you need to cut the apple in 4 pieces. Then cut a wedge from the top using a knife. Cut a mini marshmallow in half to make the fangs & attach with peanut butter. We used Mallowbits for the other teeth….

To make the BOOnanas you want to peel then cut in half. Use raisins for the eyes & mouth attaching with peanut butter…so so easy!

To make the Monster Eye Balls you want to cut the grapes in half. Cut the mini marshmallows in half as well. Press the black edible marker in the middle of the marshmallow then place them on top of the grapes (they will stick)…

To make the Orange Pumpkins you want to cut a couple of clementines in half then press a piece of a pretzel stick in the top….

See how such simple fun food creations can be so cute!

Reference: https://kitchenfunwithmy3sons.com/halloween-greek-yogurt-fruit-dip-and/?fbclid=IwAR2mPY3BDYfropGMf6VNpJh5K0_D7VZqCTR5ukdAj9dn7Q2MNpZnciL-lZE

Wooden Spoon Bat Craft for Halloween

Halloween is coming! Let’s make some craft about Halloween : )

Materials:

  • Wooden Spoons
  • Black construction paper
  • Scrap of white paper
  • 2 googly eyes (7mm size)
  • Crafter’s tape
  • Paint and paintbrush

Carefully paint the back side and edges of the spoon. I didn’t bother painting the front of the spoon since you won’t be able to see it.

 

While you’re waiting for your spoons to dry, cut out your bat wings from black construction paper.

Fold the construction paper in half, draw a bat wing shape, then cut out the wings along the fold so they’re symmetrical.

You can print out my printable bat wing template to trace if you like. Just click the image below (or Bat-Wings-Template) and print the pdf on standard printer paper. Just make sure your printer is set to print the sheet at 100% size.

Once the spoons are completely dry, cut out two small black triangle ears from the construction paper and two small triangle fangs from the white printer paper. Attach them using crafter’s glue dot tape (the link is in the list of materials above). I find that the glue dot tape is a little easier to work with than standard crafter’s tape for small pieces like these.

Attach the googly eyes to the spoon using crafter’s glue dot tape.

Then carefully line up the spoon over top and press it onto the crafter’s tape.

Gently fold the bat wings up over the each side of the spoon

When you let go of the fold, the wings should be bending slightly up off the table. Just enough so that your bat isn’t completely flat.

Then repeat the steps for the rest of your bats!

      

Reference: https://onelittleproject.com/wooden-spoon-bat-craft/?fbclid=IwAR2vMXUmpGNHZKRZvznpGtYI1Vf8uAOTpm1Tl86vib1mmi0r-fr1QKc2vJs

The importance of make farewell official

On Monday, September 27, the social worker came to observe my class without notification in advance.

  • First, she criticized me on my student record was too rough so that she could not understand  it thoroughly. I had stated on the document and explained in person that it was because I spent too much time on ice breaker activity in my first class, so I had limited observation on pupils.
  • Second, the social worker asked me to request students write the letters in a super tidy way and correct them restrictedly to the extent of being fastidious. However, my kids just learned ABC. If they can write the letters so well that they did not have to come to my English learning support class.
  • Third, one of my students was too shy to open her mouth to pronounce a word. The social worker told me that I should have told the kids, whoever pronounce in the lowest volume needs to come on the stage to read aloud to the whole class as the punitive consequence. If they are competent/confident enough, why did their homeroom teachers referred them to us?

 

 

 

  • Fourth, when I attended the workshop, the workshop leader informed us about his suggested handout on letter sounds and related words for beginner learners. However, when I asked the social worker for the file, her reply was, “That version is NOT going to be appear on the monthly comprehensive exam, so all you have to teach is according to the version I gave you.” That is, A-apple, B-banana,C-coconut, D-dog, E-egg, F-fish, G-goat, H-hat, I-ink, J-juice, K-key, L-lion. My question is there is too rigid. I firmly believe that there should be multiple ways of connecting letters and its sounds. For example, A-ant, B-ball, C-cat, D-duck, E-elephant, F-frog, G-girl, H-hair, I-ice, J-jacket, K-king, L-lesson. No one can deny this fact. Why did the kids learn things appear on the exam only? It was too single-perspective. It is harmful!
  • Last, the social worker shouted/yelled at the student loudly enough that one can heard it from the other end of the aisle just because he did not write his words tidy. I strongly agree that no matter what kids have done last semester, they all need a fresh start for this semester. Besides, it is a tiny mistake, and he can simply re-write it. It was not a serious, insurmountable challenge or unreversed misery. As adults, we should allow kids opportunities to make mistakes in order to learn, grow, and thrive, let along saying that they are students who need learning support. 

After this incident, I wondered that I am not eligible to be a good teacher. I doubted about myself. I was perplexed and frustrated. 

Thank you very much for those who helped me went through this process. You are unsung heroes. 

Few days ago, when I scanned through my Facebook, there is a picture popped up.

This seems God is hearing my prayer. He is showing the way and answering my questions.

I told my students that next week is the last week of my teaching for some reasons. They almost cried especially the naughty boys. They kept saying that they don’t want me to leave and kept asking about my family situation. One of the considerate kid asked, “ Teacher, when will you come back?” His words melted my heart. I asked their permission for taking a group picture next week and told them I really enjoy working with them. They are lovely. I think it is a proper decision for making the farewell official because their emotions were stronger than I thought even if the social worker blamed me for announcing this to my students. She thinks that she is the authority of providing with the news for the school, parents, and students.

In addition, 6 out of 7 kids passes their monthly comprehensive exams. The social worker shout at the kid AGAIN and the kid burst into tears. I consoled her that I witnessed her progress although she did not pass the exam. I, as her teacher, accepted her performance because she did not screw it up on purpose. I am empathetic for her.

I personally DO NOT agree with the social worker’s teaching philosophy and her MEAN way of BLAMING the student on her grade because they are kids who need learning support. The discouragement will defeat children’s confidence totally. I am SAD about the traditional, rigid educational system. If I had power, I would FIRE the social worker to make the world a better and inclusive place!

10 Ways To Push Students to Focus on Learning First, And Not The Grade

As my own schooling from elementary school to high school is traditional test-oriented style. My teachers and parents viewed GRADES more important than learning progress. Twenty years later, I become a teacher. As a teacher, I witnessed my students struggled about their grades and even were blamed by the social worker that  “How come you get this grade? You wasted your own time, my time, and teacher’s time!” As a teacher, I don’t think so. I clearly knew that the girl did not fool around, but she tried to learn. It is just because she did not pass the exam doesn’t NOT mean that she did not make any effort.

#1 Let them pick!

Daniel Pink, motivation expert, suggests autonomy as a way to get kids motivated outside of the grade. “We’re not talking about a wild and wooly free-for-all where everyone does whatever they want whenever they want to do it,” he says. But you can give them choice over:

  • What they study
  • Which projects they do
  • What they read
  • How they do their work

#2 Teach the difference between learning and performing.

Kids should know the difference, and know which really matters.

  • A learning goal might be: “We will be readers who can make predictions about the text.”
  • A performance goal would be “I’m going to get an A in reading class.”

Parents, We Need to Let Our Kids Fail If We Truly Want Them to Succeed

In order to protect our kids, we must stop protecting them from failure.

As I watched my middle school students walk into the classroom today, I thought of the diversity of the group. Some of my students walked through my classroom doors with a parent-packed lunch. Others set their own alarms and caught the bus alone.

The thing is, these details have little correlation with their ability to fail. It’s not a packed lunch or extra responsibility that will allow our students to thrive; it’s a mindset we are responsible for teaching them.

We must stop protecting them from failure.

Our instinct is to protect—protect our children from being upset. I want to see them happy, just like you, but sometimes, long-term happiness comes from being upset in the moment.

Mom or dad, you and I must stop protecting them from failure at home and in the classroom. We must resist protecting them from sadness or disappointment. In order to protect their future, we must stop protecting their “now”. We must stop protecting them from uncomfortable and necessary growth.

Mom or dad, if you want your child to learn from their mistakes—let them take the bad grade. Don’t ask for a second chance. Life doesn’t hand out second chances. Let your child make the mistake. I promise you, this mistake is so very minor compared to the unfortunate seed it will plant in your child’s head if you corner a teacher and make them allow that second chance.

The teacher will give that second chance; but never because she wants to or because it will help your child. She will give that second chance because the alternative is impossible. The alternative means dealing with a parent-teacher conference when she already has a second afternoon job. If she doesn’t just go along with your Plan A, her Plan B will take time away from the other students. It will mean a missed class because of an RTI meeting in which she will be drilled with questions like:

“What are YOU doing to make sure this child passes?”

“What is YOUR plan for ensuring this child’s success?”

She wants to tell you “no, he needs to learn” but she’s all but forced to say “yes”.

Allowing our children the space for accountability is not easy. It’s as simple as accepting a soccer game loss in lieu of gossiping about the referee. It’s allowing our children to see us fail and get back up again. It’s showing that we are the rule-enforcers but also admitting we are human. It’s apologizing when we are wrong. It’s letting them fall without interfering.

I believe we can all agree that our children need praise; our words become our children’s inner monologue, but that praise is often misplaced. We tend to heavily praise the accomplishments and dwell on the failures. We lose sight the part that matters most: the effort. A perfect average or a big win won’t carry our students through adolescence into adulthood. Resiliency is the trait that will ensure our kids’ long-term success.

Parents, I ask you to please hold your children accountable. Don’t give them a warning and choose not to follow through. I know that it happens sometimes; I do it, too. However, we have to work together in order for this to work for your child, because whether you like or not, they will spend almost as much time with their teachers as they do with you. Not only do we deserve the respect, but your child deserves the discipline. Your child deserves the restrictions and the healthy boundaries. Our job is not to make your child happy; our job is to help them grow.

Reference: https://www.boredteachers.com/post/let-our-kids-fail?fbclid=IwAR1RgRKlteV31ZXMtS57iEwY57CmVhfnIlU24KrlyAAJCT-qbxJBD-GRHD4