The Foolscap Flyer

The Country in the City

2011-07-16T19:01:00.001-07:00

As a child, I was lucky to have a cottage to visit on the weekends where we could run around and see nature up close. Now that I have a child, but no cottage, I'm trying to give Duncan as many opportunities to be surrounded by nature - even just in Toronto.
Last weekend, we visited Wilket Creek at Edwards Gardens. We caught some minnows and took a quick, close-up look, before putting them back in the creek.
Duncan will never forget what a minnow is, now that he's held one.
A beautiful insect that we looked up in an insect identification book when we got home. I believe it's a black winged damselfly.

This is a great place to let kids learn about water, insects, and fish.
Duncan could have spent the entire day here.
Today we went back to Woodbine Park, at the foot of Coxwell Avenue, before you get to Lake Ontario. We caught two froglets. The smaller one had already grown it's front legs, but the bigger one was barely out of the tadpole stage.

I let Duncan take a froglet out of the pale for a few seconds just to get a better look. We let them back in the water afterwards.

Swans who had been preening themselves.

Over on the far side of the manmade pond, we caught a beautiful, green leopard frog.
We checked him out for a few minutes and then let him hop back into his watery habitat.

Later, Duncan appropriately enough cooled off on a giant frog at the adjacent splash pad.

The last thing we did was go to the beach where Duncan built a dam. The beach was seriously over-crowed and too many people were showing off close to shore on jet skis. I'd go back on a weekday afternoon.

Looking for Frogs

2011-05-14T19:47:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday, we celebrated my sister's birthday, my dad's birthday, and Mother's Day in St. Catharines. Later in the day, we visited one of my favourite places in the area: Morning Star Mill. It's a historical site with a grist mill and saw mill. You can wander around for free and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

My dad discovered this happy morning dove, guarding her nest.
Duncan was interested in the old-time farm equipment. He was trying to turn the crank.
I've always had a fascination with creeks. I think it's because my family's first cottage had a little creek at the end of the property line. We used to play in it.

We have seen frogs here before, but it wasn't their time yet. Duncan spent a bit of time looking for tadpoles. Maybe next time, we'll take another look.
This bridge looks like an old stone bridge you'd see in Scotland.

Early Spring Magic At Taylor Creek Park

2011-04-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Before heading down into Taylor Creek Park, Duncan horsed around in the tube slide at Cullen Bryant Park. This park is set in a wooded area and whenever we're there, there's never anyone else there.

The light - it burns!

We visited the park on Wednesday and it appeared that we caught the tail end of the spring thaw. Let's hope that we won't have anymore surprise snow storms.

Look around and there's beauty hiding in all kinds of places.

Taylor Creek glistens in the late day sun.

Sizing up the watery path with Dad.

Would boots leak? Would the concrete be covered in slippery algae? Is this a good idea?

Well, socks did get wet, but it was also a lot of fun.

Beachcombing at the Don

2011-03-30T14:36:00.000-07:00

After a lengthy hiatus, The Foolscap Flyer is back. I've been busy teaching, being a mother, and spending more time reading, watching films, and taking photographs. With the weather slowly starting to warm up, I took Duncan down to the Don River (from Gerrard to Pottery Road) this past weekend to see if it's true that you can find old washed-up treasures. Duncan had fun sloshing around in the mud and icy water. Why not? We filled a bag with broken pottery. Duncan found a lot of pieces, including half of a huge clay pot that was buried. I didn't take a picture of it, but now I wish I had. He dug it up with a big stick he had found and then used the stick as a lever. Duncan's very good with handling sharp objects around the house, so I let him handle the broken pottery on his own. Much of it had been weathered by the sand. Kids are constantly being told not to do things, so it's great when it's your own child and you can just let them explore without being overly cautious. We also found a very old medicine bottle that was a little cracked, but otherwise in good condition considering its age. Duncan scored a jar filled with golfballs. It looked like someone else had found them and just left them there. I'd like to get some junky old golf clubs in the summer so we can put put around the backyard. I can't wait to go back and look for more treasures from Toronto's past.

Cracker Box Puppet Theatre

2010-10-15T20:17:00.001-07:00

If you have a child who likes crafts and puppets, here's a cheap and cheerful weekend activity. Go to Craft Projects and print off the puppet theatre and puppet templates. Cut out an appropriate-size hole in a cracker box. Colour and cut out templates. Glue puppet theatre template to cracker box and attach puppets to straws or wooden sticks. We had to tape two straws together so that the puppets would reach down low enough. Voila!

Duncan insisted we add a "real" curtain, so he found a piece of felt and we jerry-rigged a pulley system with a straw crank at the top. How such a non-perfectionist could have such a perfectionist for a child is beyond me. I blame my husband.
Okay - he was right. It really did need a curtain. What do I know?

Behind the scenes at the theatre.

"Leaf" me Alone

2010-10-10T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today, we stopped by the house of one of Duncan's friends. His friend had covered the front door with beautiful fall leaves. What a great idea. We decided to gather some colourful leaves outside the local library and do the same thing.

Getting the leaves just right.

Wow Canada! Colours don't get better than this.

I spied Duncan taking a picture of a complete stranger walking down our street. Ha!
Duncan made this crafty turkey at school. He thought it looked like a taco, so we call it Taco Turkey.

Here he is taking a picture of his fine work.

Here are some pretty seed pods we brought home. We may broadcast them in the backyard or at my school garden. Maybe we should call it a podcast.

Student Made Books

2010-09-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Our class has been learning about antonyms. Inspired by the book, Hot Cold Shy Bold, the children have been making their own books of opposites. I have the perfect bookshelf in our classroom that will be used to display student made books. I'm so impressed by the work I've seen and when all students are done, I hope we can share this with the kindergarten children at our school.

After Pics

2010-09-04T08:48:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I completed my room set up. We had until 1 p.m. to wrap things up and the experience left me feeling a bit like a chef on the show Chopped, frantically plating food as the seconds count down on the clock. In the end, I made it, although I still have to sort out my leveled books. That's a big job in itself, but I'll get there soon. Hope you enjoy the trip into a combined 2/3 classroom in Toronto. I want people to see what you can do with limited space and without spending much money at all.

- Erin Hawkins

Here's the view from the doorway. I borrowed the layout idea from the slightly old, but still excellent board publication, Teaching Children How to Read and Write. I will try to take some pictures of suggested floor plans for different grades and share them at a later date.
The large carpeted area is a teaching area for reading, writing, social studies, and science. It's also an open area for a student reading lounge. The area has two coffee tables kids can use for writing if they need an alternative workspace other than a desk.
I was going to get rid of my teacher desk entirely, but my mom, a retired teacher talked me out of it. I came up with a good compromise: computer desk. I can still pull out the little writing tablet if I need to write something at the desk. The green felt park scene tablecloth is from Pottery Barn Kids. I found it brand new at a Goodwill in Scarborough for $1.99. The wooden chair was bought at a yard sale in St. Catharines last year. I bought two identical chairs for $5.00. The gingham seat cushions came from Ikea.
Sorry about the poor photo quality here. The natural lighting was uncooperative at the time. Anyway, here you see the class from the back looking to the front. This fabulous bookshelf on casters belongs to the school. It makes a great divider. Note the desks in table groups. I set out to create microspaces for teaching, rather than having the kids in rows facing the front. It's my hope that this layout will be more conducive to differentiated instruction, hands-on learning, and give me more freedom to pull one grade for specific instruction while the other grade works at a different area.
Looking in at the reading area. My dad bought the lovely map table at a garage sale in St. Catharines. He put the legs on it for me. You'll may remember the old tin tartan picnic basket (holding books) and neon orange magazine holder from my room last year. They were bought at a rummage sale and yard sale respectively. The blank wall will soon be the word wall. The pocket chart was given to me by my sister.
I liked the chair which was already in the room. This whiteboard/chalkboard easel was picked up at an East York yard sale back in the early spring for $5.00. The wood/rattan magazine holder on the floor was bought at Goodwill and cost $2.99. It now holds big books I'll use for teaching. I'm so excited about this year! The leveled books will go in those little orange and green Dollarama bins on the bookshelf.
This wooden chair was in our school and slated to be trashed. It was covered in shelf-liner and as a result would need a lot of Goo Gone to remove the stickiness. Since I'll be using it for messy art-related activities, I decided to recover it in shelf-liner. I found this gorgeous roll at Zellers for $8.99. The vintage cooler box was bought at a yard sale for next to nothing. It holds felt and other fabrics.
This easel was bought at a garage sale in St. Catharines by my folks. Students will use it for creative activities linked to science and social studies.
I've turned the students' desks around so that they can't use it to stash junk in. This always drives me crazy. Also, students will not have "their desk." I'm doing this so that I can work with students in different groupings without having kids complaining that somebody is sitting in "their desk." The will get their own cubby, which you'll see further below.
There were so many random wash basins filled with random books when I moved in. I'm going to sort them by genre/author as soon as I have time.
Side of writing centre. Here are the cubbies that the children will keep their work in. I didn't have enough spaces for the whole class, so a few kids will get a file folder. My sister got the cubby shelf at the tail end of a garage sale for free. I think they just wanted to get rid of it. Sweet.
Beside the cubby shelf is the bed in breakfast tray that will be used for "Today's work." I bought this at a yard sale a long time ago. Below, the rattan basket will hold the weekly homework. It used to hold my son's (clean) diapers. True.
Here's the writing centre. I love this space. The little round table came from an estate sale in St. Catharines for $3.00. The carpet was donated by a teacher at my school. The cursive alphabet is at a low level so that the grade 3 students can work on their cursive.
Yet another teaching area. I may use this trapezoid table for guided reading. I'll just pull it out and we can sit around it.
Here's the math centre. Luckily there this dividing shelf was already in the class and filled with math manipulatives. I just moved it and turned it into a dividing wall. The big easel was already in the class. Love it. I put a desk calendar on the easel so that we can meet in the morning to briefly look at the days of the week. I'm going to have interactive bell work set up in the centres for when the students arrive. I want to start each day with a meaningful activity.
Shells on the math shelf. I want to put things out that will stimulate inquiry with the students. I may have to move the plant when the gerbils arrive. The basket was thrifted at Goodwill.
The stool was thrifted at Goodwill for next to nothing.
You may remember my vintage flour/sugar/tea tins from last year. They now hold math manipulatives. I want to work on my collection of math-related picture books for the class so that math and literacy are more closely connected.
I garbage picked this bookshelf in the summer. I remember seeing it out by the curb on my way to my reading course. I told myself that if it was still there on my way back home, I was meant to take it. I was a hot slog dragging it home, but now I'm really glad it's in the class. It's holding science encyclopedias and those amazing Getting to Know Nature's Children books on animals.

Here's the listening centre. The little orange vinyl stool is a sewing basket. I bought it at an estate sale for $2.00.
My CDs and a whole lot of cassettes. I'm a bit sad that there are no books to go with the cassettes. Not to mention that it's pretty old technology. I guess I could teach the kids how to use tapes. This is one step away from 8-tracks. Break out the Jethro Tull.
Realistically, I think I'll spend my Scholastic bonus money on CD/book combo packs.

Extra storage is always handy.

I garbage picked this drying rack at a daycare on Danforth. It needs new shelves on the bottom. I'll have to run to Rona.
Dollar store hula-hoops for word study activities. This cupboard seriously needs some jazzing up. It's on my list.

Before Pictures

2010-08-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the first chance to get into my new room, since it's been cleaned. This year, I'll be teaching a combined 2/3 class. I'm really excited about the change and I have big plans for the year. The layout of the room will be completely different to my old classroom. As things take shape next week, I'll share more photos. Let's just say, it will be a funky and fun space set up for lot's of learning. Yipee!

Erin

P.S. If you know of someone in the Toronto area who has a fairly good sized carpet that's fairly clean and not being used - and - who wouldn't mind donating it to our class, please leave a comment. I'm hoping to have two carpeted learning areas.

Thanks.

To Change is to Survive: My Grade 4 Science Notebook

2010-08-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

My best teacher was Miss Frew. She was my Grade 4 teacher at Allenby PS. I used to get into trouble occasionally for social talking, but we generally liked each other and I learned so much in her class. A few years ago, I ran into her and we got along very well. She was a cool teacher with a full social life and would always bring in brochures and pictures from exhibits and places she visited. We had so many hands-on learning experiences in her class. What a great role model now that I'm a teacher. My folks kept my Science notebook from that year. I loved that we called Science, Environmental Studies back then. I think we should return to that.
I can still remember all of these experiments. The one explained above was connected to viscosity. I remember stacking different liquids. Do they still make Mazola Oil?

I remember we had to learn how a refrigerator works. It was a bit complex for me.
I still managed to make a fairly detailed diagram. I love how she insisted that we use the Scientific Method and label all our diagrams.

Plants...

Prehistoric life...

How fossils were formed...

Thank you Miss Frew!

More Deals for the Class

2010-07-30T15:20:00.001-07:00

Loomis (I thought it was De Serres???) is now selling off beautiful scrapbook paper for .25 a sheet. I bought this lovely squash-coloured paper to mount photos of my class in the fall.
They had all kinds of funky patterns, including cowhide and pirates. The store I went to is at Woodbine/Danforth in east Toronto.
At Value Village, they had bundled bags of activity books by the cashier for $2.99. Each bag had three books in it.
I wouldn't use these extensively in my class, but some of the sheets are good for practise at word study areas and there are general reading passages you could use for higher level thinking questions, so it's all in how you use them.

It's always worth having a poke around.

Dorothea Lang for Kids

2010-07-18T13:02:00.001-07:00

Thrifty teachers are always on the prowl for cheap or free books. I hit Value Village and Goodwill all the time and as a result, have a fabulous classroom library. I don't subscribe to the point of view that it's up to the school/board/government to make sure great books are in the classroom. If I did, I'd have a pretty limited library. We've got to be realistic.

I now feel like a new teacher again, searching for great books to read to Primary students. Here's what I got at Value Village last week.

Three books for .99 each. But they're three great books.

This book connects to so many areas of the Social Studies curriculum as well as Language and character education. I'm not afraid to tackle big topics in our classroom. Even with younger children, it's important to have discussions about current events, history and social issues such as poverty. This book is a vivid snapshot about the effects of people in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.

Here's Lang in action.

Above and below the effects of the great stock market crash of 1929 in a simplified way that kids can understand.

Lang photographed many pictures of children.

There you go. Keep your eyes peeled for great books at great prices. It becomes just a part of your daily routine.

Erin

My Critical Literacy Article Response

2010-07-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

I'm currently taking an AQ (additional qualification) course at OISE/UT on reading. Our first big assignment was to find an article of interest associated with reading. We were to analyse the text and reflect on how the ideas inform our personal teaching practice. I'm interested in critical literacy and decided to write a response to Allan Luke's Critical Literacies: a Primer. I thought I'd share it on this blog rather than leave it mouldering on my desktop.

Best,

Erin

Reading Part 1

Erin Hawkins

Professional Article Response - Critical Literacies in Schools: A Primer

Allan Luke, Annette Woods, Douglas Fisher, Joyce Bruett, and Lisa Fink.

Back when I was in my early twenties studying journalism at Centennial College, I found myself at the mystery book store, The Sleuth of Baker Street one rainy autumn evening. I was interviewing the proprietors for a feature story that would run in the East York Observer. This was my first experience writing for a real community paper. Not only would my story be read by the citizens of East York, it was also a required component of my feature writing course. I had to do a good job.

Clutching my microcassette recorder, I came armed with questions about the store and those who frequented it. The interview went smoothly, but just before I was set to leave, I decided to ask an impromptu question: “Do you feel you are doing your part to combat the problem of literacy?” The owner looked baffled. “You mean illiteracy.” I looked at him and tried rephrasing my question. “Literacy is a huge problem these days, especially with younger people. Don’t you - ” The owner cut me off. “The word is illiteracy. You used the wrong word. Trust me.”

I took the bus ride of shame home that night, but I never forgot the difference between literacy and illiteracy. Almost twenty years later, I’m now teaching in an electronic age of persuasion and once again, I find myself taking a close look at the word literacy. According to the Ontario Ministry of Education document Literacy for Learning, literacy is defined as, “the ability to use language and images in rich and varied forms to read, write, listen, speak, view, represent, and think critically about ideas.” (ix). Although critical literacy is not a new idea, the importance of using critical thinking as part of a reading comprehension framework has been stressed to teachers in recent years as children and teenagers increasingly find themselves trying to make sense of the media texts that bombarded them each day. What exactly is critical literacy though?

In A Guide to Effective Literacy Instruction Grades 4 to 8: Volume One - Foundations of Literacy Instruction for the Junior Learner, critical literacy is a higher level thinking skill that goes, “beyond conventional critical thinking because it asks students to question the authority of texts and to explore issues of bias, perspective, and social justice” (63).

In the article Critical Literacies in Schools: A Primer (2009), Allan Luke et al state that the groundwork in the area of critical literacy that started with the late educator/theorist Paulo Freire’s book Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968), must continue to expand in our ever-evolving electronic age. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire suggested that traditional methods of teaching relied on a banking model in which the role of the all-knowing teacher was to fill the minds of students as if you were filling up a new car with gasoline for the first time. In this model, the teacher is in a position of privilege and power while the student takes a subservient role.

Main Argument

In Critical Literacies in Schools: A Primer, Luke first provides an overview of the history of critical literacy, referencing the work of British academics Richard Hoggart and Raymond Williams who examined the effects of the “power of postwar mass culture in the formation of ideology and hegemony,” for the working-class of Great Britain. Returning to Freire, Luke explains Freire’s banking model in the following way: “Freire’s work begins from a classical view of ideology, that is, ruling class dominates what counts as school knowledge. By this view, approaches to school literacy are represented as expressions of dominant ideology that succeed in creating a principally ‘receptive’ literacy. Being literate, then, involves uncritical transmission, decoding, and reproduction of dominant and potentially distorted views of the world. The alternative is to begin from the learners’ key problems, worldviews, and ‘namings’ of the phenomenal world, in effect turning learners into teachers and inventors of the curriculum.” Luke notes that the large body of research that supports Freire’s ideas is referred to as “critical pedagogy.”

In order for this shift in roles to occur, Luke argues that a democratic classroom climate must exist in the first place and that students must be free to approach “dominant cultural texts,” with a critical eye and be able to voice their opinion. As well, the authors of this article note that there is a body of research in the areas of cultural, cognitive and linguistic aspects of literacy that call into question certain aspects of critical pedagogy, specifically how “teachers and students can engage with the complex structures of texts.” Luke suggest that a more useful approach - and one that meets the complexities of current media literacy - is a text analysis approach. In this method, students use both Freire’s critique of underlying bias in “dominant cultural texts,” as well as consider the way in which texts work “ideologically.” The text analysis approach puts more power in the hands of students by highlighting the way different texts and aspects of language within texts (e.g. the photos and lead stories that appear on the home page of Yahoo Canada as opposed to the photos and lead stories on the front page of the Globe and Mail) are constructed and the meaning we make of these messages. “Critical literacy - by this account - entails the developmental engagement with the major texts, discourses, and modes of information in the culture,” writes Luke. “It attempts to attend to the ideological and hegemonic functions of texts, just as in critical pedagogy models, but it augments this by providing students with technical resources for analyzing how texts work...”

Theory and Practice

As a student in the Inner City Option at OISE three years ago, I was introduced to the work of both Freire and Luke and the thinking of both educators had a huge influence on the way I was beginning to view my role as a teacher. When I was growing up, school texts were more or less limited to books, magazines, and cassettes. And while critical thinking was not necessarily discouraged, teachers didn’t actively encourage it. The term “critical thinking” was not commonly used - at least not in class. Media texts were different too. Like children of today, I was surrounded by media texts, but not to the extent that children of today are. Nowadays, you can’t walk down the street without noticing messages in public spaces such as garbage cans and steps inside subway stations. I counted 15 signs on the window of my local convenience store this week, most of which were advertising sweets and frozen treats. The store also has an LED “ticker” sign at the lottery counter telling customers how big this week’s 649 jackpot is. Back in the seventies and eighties, TV commercials would typically last thirty seconds or more. Now, commercials have been pruned down to five-to ten second blips to target the short attention span video game generation. Personally, I find most commercials so quick and interchangeable that I don’t remember the product that was being advertised.

Strangely enough, the only commercial that my grade five students talked about in class this year was the Slap Chop commercial, which is a much longer commercial. Students talked about how phony pitchman Vince came across on TV. One student told the class that the commercial convinced his mother to buy a Slap Chop, but when they bought it, the gadget fell apart after a few days. We watched the commercial on YouTube as a class and talked about techniques that were used in the commercial to sell the product: the way Vince was dressed in an apron to look like a chef, the way he demonstrated the product to make it look so easy to use, and things he said to convince people they had to have a Slap Chop in their kitchen.

Current Realities in the TDSB

Teaching critical literacy skills is important on many levels - especially in TDSB schools which are filled with students from a diverse range of social, economical, and cultural backgrounds. Returning to the article, I can see how the legacy of Freire’s work can be seen in the formation of Toronto’s first Africentric school which opened this past school year. Although the decision to create such a school was controversial, the final decision to go ahead seemed to stem from a deep need for African Canadian children to learn about African culture in a way that would be unbiased and free from the “dominant cultural texts” that did not tell the whole story.

Teachers in the TDSB are also encouraged by the board’s Equitable and Inclusive Schools to consider educator James Banks’ four stage Model for the Development of Meaningful Equity/Human Rights in their planning and teaching. In the first two stages (Contributions and Additive), the role of the student is passive and the role of the teacher is the provider of information. In the third stage (Transformation), the structure of the curriculum is altered to assist students and ideas and issues are examined from diverse groups. In the fourth stage (Social/Action), students are encouraged to act on important issues and to make decisions for themselves. These students are agents of social change. In both the third and fourth stage, students are active learners and the role of teachers is that of a facilitator of learning opportunities for students to explore multiple perspectives.

I saw this model play out during the Haiti earthquake this past winter at my school. Our class took a critical look at the coverage of the earthquake in the Toronto Star. Earlier in the year, we had come to the conclusion that the purpose of the cover of a newspaper is to sell papers. As pictures of suffering Haitians filled the front page of the paper, we asked some very difficult questions, such as why these pictures would want to make someone buy a newspaper. The children in my class believed that in this particular case, the purpose was to show people in Toronto just how dire the situation was. Our class decided to spearhead a fundraiser in which everyone in the school would make a clothes peg worry doll to be sold on Literacy Night and at recess. In other words, students were able to be text analysists and deconstruct the messages presented to them. They were also able to evaluate the situation for themselves: “This is really bad. We need to help the people of Haiti.”

Just as best practices of ecological awareness have filtered into the new Science curriculum, approaching reading using critical literacy skills plays a significant part in the Language curriculum, especially the emphasis on point of view (“Whose voice is missing?”). The Ministry of Education has endorsed Luke and Freebody’s “Four Resources Model,” which we’ve already examined in Reading Part 1. In this model, the literate learner must be able to make sense of the text he/she is reading, decode the features of the text, apply information from the text in practical contexts, and critique texts for bias.

I agree with Luke that critical literacy goes beyond scrutinizing text for bias and as teachers we must give students the tools and strategies they need to approach the vast array of texts they encounter on a daily basis. Whether it’s a 13-year-old boy who can see beyond the pretty face on the cover of a magazine, a 10-year-old, who’s skeptical of the tactics used by Vince from Slap Chop, or a kindergarten child who understands why sugary cereals have cartoon characters on the box - all children can be text analysers and critical thinkers.

Basket of Booty For Next Year's Class

2010-07-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

I got everything you see here for $11.63 at Goodwill's 50% off sale today.
This basket cost $1.49 after the discount. I may use it for pet food and bedding in the class next year. I'd love to bring more natural materials into the class rather than more plastic. It's not easy.
Don't you love this Peruvian wall hanging? I got it for .99 at the sale. I have one similar to it. They'll both hang somewhere in the classroom where the children can enjoy them.

This paper making kit cost $1.49 after the discount.

Books ranging in price from .49-.99 - a real deal.

Chickadee magazines for the cozy reading nook we'll have in the class. I'm going to bring in a coffee table to make the space more homey.
This Robert Louis Stevenson book was a find. It's filled with amazing poems and beautifully illustrated.

I Am Thrifty Teacher - Hear Me Roar

2010-07-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

While some of my esteemed colleagues are already in France or other spectacular places this summer, I've been lumbered with the never ending and thankless job of clearing out my old classroom and moving downstairs. I had no idea how much teacher clutter I'd amassed over the past three years. Teachers who enter my room for the first time think I've been teaching for decades. "Nope. I just collect a lot of stuff," I tell them as if it's all normal and natural. If they ever do a teacher's addition of Hoarders, you may find me curled up in a ball and yelling at the therapists, "Don't get rid of that faded piece of construction paper. It could be used for decoupage!"

Anyway, thanks to my industrious husband, I finally managed to haul the last of my Junior grade stuff out of Room 204 before the janitor turfed us out this afternoon. Will I miss my old classroom? I thought I might have that bittersweet Welcome Back Kotter moment where I find myself standing in the hallway staring winsomely into that big, lonely looking classroom. The truth was I was hot, tired and covered in two inches of dust. I wanted to go home, shower and guzzle back a 2-L bottle of club soda. There's no time for soft focus reflections. Tally ho!

The truth is that I'm happy to be starting a fresh new grade in a different room. There is much work to be done. A lot. Room 108 was looking tired and a little beat up when I began bringing my belongings down the second last week of school. I'm sure the same could be said of mine. I'll take some "before" pictures in a few weeks. Room 108 will be transformed into a beautiful hub of learning. It will be a room filled with wonderful books, engaging centers, pets, plants, interest tables, bright colours and fun. That's my goal. It may take some time.

Toronto's going through a heat wave right now. People are being warned to stay indoors and only go out if you have to. On my way back from my morning course at OISE (Reading Part 1), I missed the bus, so I walked home from Coxwell Station. Just as I approached the street I turn on to get home, I found a rustic wooden bookshelf that someone had left by the curb. I know it will be put to good use in my classroom next year, so I slung it over my shoulder and carried it home. Until it makes it to my new classroom it will remain parked in our hallway holding assorted books that I will be bringing to the classroom in the fall.

Even if you don't have a lot of money to spend on your classroom, there are so many ways you can make your room more student-friendly and cozy without spending much money. Sometimes you can blag some great freebies if you keep your eyes open or just ask for stuff.

That's all for now. Keep on thrifting in the free world!

$3

2010-07-06T16:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I stopped by a garage sale in St. Catharines where a scrapbooker was offloading some of her clutter. Look what I found for the class...

A boring brown bag, but that's just the outside.

Inside were all sorts of stickers and pretty off cuts of scrapbook paper. I got it all for $3.00.
These will make it to the Creativity Center in my class next year.
Kids can also use the alphabet letters at the Word Study Centre. Learning should be this fun.

Big Box 'o Books

2010-07-04T09:15:00.001-07:00

I'm teaching Primary next year, so I'm gathering wonderful books for my new classroom library. My folks live in St. Catharines and they told me about a sale at a book warehouse. You fill a box for $30.00. What you see in the picture above is a sample of some of the books I purchased. My dad helped me pack over 30 gorgeous hardcover and paperback books in. That's less than $1.00 per book. I nabbed many science books and some awesome picture books including Skin Again by bell hooks and Knufflebunny. Not bad.
Duncan will have to share some of these. He scooped up several of these "Uncover Animal" books, including the frog book above. Each page reveals a different set of organs, tissue or bones inside the animal. I've never seen such amazing books. I also found numerous pop-up books in mint condition. My class next year will be swimming in books and I'm so happy to get kids excited about reading. Woo-hoo!

Stay tuned for more odds and sods for next year's class.

When Animals Die

2010-06-18T19:25:00.001-07:00

Today my son and I were biking down our street when we discovered a dead sparrow on the road. Sparrows are so common, yet we've grown attached to these little brown birds since hanging a feeder in our backyard. We talked about the dead sparrow: how it may have died and if we should do anything. We had a small box with us, so I scooped it up and we decided to take it home and bury it in the backyard. The poor thing looked so sad and we knew that if we left it on the street, it would just be run over by cars.
Here's Duncan digging the sparrow's grave. I let him find a spot and he turned up some earth near his sandbox.
I think it's important to not shy away from talking about life cycles with children. Duncan is four and he's interested in talking about animals and what happens when they die. Three of our classroom Beta fish have died within two weeks and he saw me get rid of them.
Here's the sparrow in the ground. I think it's best to respect the intelligence of children and not shy away from discussing death. At the beginning of the school year, our classroom gerbil died suddenly in front of the class. We all left crying that day (including myself). I wouldn't want any class of mine to go through a traumatic experience like that again, yet the death of Rosie the gerbil really brought our class together and I learned early on in the school year that my students were caring, sensitive kids.

An Amazing Teacher/An Amazing Class

2010-04-22T20:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had the good fortune to visit an exceptional grade 1/2 teacher by the name of Jodi Barrett. She follows an inquiry-based approach to teaching and runs a solid program through the use of centres. These centres enable her to differentiate her instruction and allow students to work independently while she sits with small groups for such things as Guided Reading and close support in Math and other areas.

Believe it or not, underneath this gorgeous display from the natural world is her teacher desk. Jodi has put it to better use. I hate my desk. It seems to be fairly useless. I never sit down when the kids are in the class and I tend to just use it for my day planner and paper and book depository.
Her room may be fairly small, but just as Jodi packs a lot of learning into a short amount of time, she packs a lot of things into a small space. Posters hang from strings stretched across the room. Sometimes you have to swish the anchor charts away with your hand, like a beaded curtain.
Here is the cozy reading area you find when you first walk in.

Jodi allows the kids to use the rainstick to transition between centres.

The Art area, strategically located near the sink.

Hands-on learning is evident at the Math centre.

Guess, Write, Check cleverly stored in a duotang. The acetate is used inside for spelling practice. Kids use a dry erase marker. Great idea!
The damp Science station. Here, students are investigating buoyancy. As luck would have it, my Grade 5s are learning buoyancy in Forces right now.

Icons for centres. Jodi said it took a good two months at the beginning of the year to teach the kids how to learn through centres.

There are no traditional desks in the room. The students sit at small table groups as they move through the day.
There work is stored in these dollar store baskets which sit on the table.
Ugly filing cabinet does double duty as it becomes a display counter/extra Art table.
Jodi scavenges for junk for the class. I believe she got the velour arm chair from her hairdresser, who was throwing it out.
Water scenes used to teach symmetry.

Pictures taken and selected by the Grade 1/2s. They wrote captions underneath.

Thanks for the inspiring visit, Jodi!

Exploring Nature at Riverdale Farm

2010-04-21T19:22:00.001-07:00

Riverdale Farm is bursting with so much life and beauty that my husband and I have found ourselves taking Duncan there twice within the last week. It's fun, free, and educational. Here's what we saw...

Piglets being fed by a worn-out mother pig.

Ducks mating.

I asked Duncan what he thought this was. He called it an old lighthouse and then we talked it over and he figured it more likely was a silo.

A grumpy new mother.

A turkey about to fan out its back feathers.

An egg size comparison chart with real eggshells.

A beautiful horse.

Loud sheep.

Down the hill away from the farm, we found a swampy pond that fascinated us. We were surprised by the amount of animals illustrated that we actually saw.

A tranquil moment taking it all in. The air was fragrant with earth and flowering trees.

It's good to be a stick in the mud - or at least be playing with one.

Teaching in the outdoor classroom: What happened to this tree? It died. What do you think caused it to die?

Should I?

Yes!

Tulips in bloom all around.

Great blue heron.

Toads galore.

Turtles everywhere, bathing in the sun.

Sadly, we discovered this turtle who had died. Duncan turned it over with a stick to have a look at its underbelly. I briefly considered bringing it home, but we decided it was best to leave it where it was. Perhaps it would become food for another animal. I think it's good to see the whole life cycle and talk about it - even with a young child.

Everyday sunshine.

Those Cranky High School Teachers!

2010-04-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Alright, I finally made it to the TDSB Art workshop: "Understanding Contemporary Art." It was run by a very knowledgeable instructor and she did a good job of talking to a bunch of art teachers about a BIG topic that's difficult to encapsulate in one evening. She sped through the last hundred years or so in modern art, and then went into a great deal of detail on four current contemporary artists working in different disciplines: Janet Cardiff, Kent Monkman, El Anatsui, and an Iranian photographer whose name escapes me without my notebook handy.

I was the only primary teacher in attendance and I wish some friendly Grade 3 teacher had come along. If you're a secondary teacher who happens to be reading this - I'm sure there are plenty of friendly, funny high school teachers out there, so don't take offense. There just weren't any happy people at this workshop. It was raining outside and the mood inside was grim and humourless. Lot's of chin stroking and astute observations. A few times, I felt like yelling, "Someone tell a joke. Please!" Nevertheless, I learned a few things, so it was worthwhile.

I passed the break time by taking pictures of the street scene below.

El Anatsui's work is pretty amazing. Watch the YouTube clip to hear him explain how he makes his art. This was the highlight of the evening for me.

There was a piece of installation art in the school, which I thought was beautiful and mysterious. If you're able to read the sign above, you'll see that it was a collaborative piece and their goal was to transform a space.

They used chains of garbage bags suspended from the ceiling, small mirrors, lights, and twigs.

The space was haunting and lonely.

Professional Development Walk of Shame

2010-04-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

Since Christmas, I've been afflicted by a condition I call Livingaweekinadvance-itis. I think it's a combination of general stress, paranoia and guilt that I haven't done something that I should have done, or done something I wasn't supposed to do. I've turned into a character in a Woody Allen movie. What's this world coming to? Time to move to the woods and spend my days milking cows.

I'm a big believer in professional development. Anything to learn new ways to teach or gain skills. So last Wednesday, I raced from my school in Scarborough to an art school on Adelaide West. I thought I was there for Understanding Contemporary Art.

When I walked in, I see this gaunt and jaundiced looking Lenin guy in the hallway. He whispered to me.

"Go back sweetheart. You're at the wrong workshop!"

"Really."

"Okay. You're going in. Don't say I didn't warn you. Fool!"

I go in, admiring the streetscape below. After about ten minutes of idle chit-chat with my fellow students, I realize I've turned up to some sort of secondary school master arts class for genius artists. The woman facilitating the workshop tells me that there will be pizza and that I should stay. I can't believe I fell for the cheap promise of pizza. I was hungry.

The first activity was pretty cool. We were to choose three random objects from a pile and create three drawings using a sheet of prompts such as: Two objects are giving the other object the cold shoulder. My stomach was gripped with panic as I reluctantly grabbed a conté stick or whatever it's called. I hear my student empowerment speech running through my head: "Believe in yourself. You can do it!" I also hear another voice. "Don't be an idiot. Run dummy. Run!"

As my esteemed colleagues began smudging pastels creating brilliant artistic effects, I traced the rubber glove and clothes peg. The instructor walks by. "You have a nice, light touch." I wanted to stuff the sheet of paper down my pants and run out the door, but I soldiered on to my next picture. It was then that the instructor began hanging everyone's work. Here's what I saw...

Twisted, genius smudgy teddy bear.

Brilliant droopy Q-tip leaning on a jug.

I went to the window and took a picture, secretly wondering if there was a pole I could shimmy down like Lucille Ball. The masterpieces kept going up.

My work was so unbearably awful. Even the kind-hearted instructor had the grace not to insist that I hang my "art." She knew it was a dog's breakfast. I just need a lot of training, I told myself.

Just as they were about to move to the next activity, I rolled up my sheets and bolted. Down on Adelaide, I dumped my art into the nearest blue bin. Ahh, closure.

Next week I go the the theoretical workshop, which I hope will cause less anxiety.

Here's another stroke of genius: The Upside Down Show - the most awesome kids' show ever. Of course, it was cancelled.

By the Brook

2010-04-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

I'm so inspired by Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods and I'm relieved to be reading it now while Duncan is four. It's never too late to unplug your child (and yourself!) and spend more time in the great outdoors. Having said that, I'm glad the point was made now, and not ten years later after Duncan had turned into some video game zombie.

Louv is a big proponent of unstructured play time in the woods. The great thing about Toronto (and I'm sure many cities) is that you can find parks that haven't been paved to death. Yesterday, I took Duncan via the TTC to Sherwood Park, which is in the Mt. Pleasant/Eglinton area. This was one of the parks of my childhood and I was so happy to see that not much had changed since I was a kid.

A rugged stone wall greets you as you enter the heavily wooded park.
These were the hills where I would go tobogganing as a child. I almost got a bit emotional looking at them again as I thought back on those happy winter memories.
This is a great park to take children of any age. You can chill out on a picnic table with a book, while you let your child climb a hill or go exploring through the trees or brook. No hovering! Just let your child poke around, even if they get muddy or dinged up a little.
Here's the gorgeous Burke Brook that I used to play in as a child. My friends and I would walk from our homes, which were a few blocks away. I'd forgotten that to get from my childhood house to the park, I'd have to cross Mt. Pleasant. Thanks Mom and Dad for trusting Jodi, Tara and I!
We clambered down the muddy embankment and Duncan got busy playing in the brook. I just sat on a rock and destressed in this natural wonderland.

I used to collect tadpoles just to look at. We'd also find little minnows. Duncan didn't find any yesterday, but he still had fun.

They also have a great playground. As you can see, it's surrounded by trees and water. Isn't it great that you don't have to drive out of town to be in the woods?

Above and below: information on the water system Burke Brook is a part of.
Sherwood Park connects to many other parks, including Mount Hope Cemetery. I love taking Duncan to cemeteries to do rubbings and look the the tombstones and trees.

A totally gnarly dead tree watches over the brook.

Kids and Food - Why be Boring?

2010-03-23T19:25:00.001-07:00

Even though Duncan is four, I'm still trying to figure out this parenthood thing. You read so much about being correct and doing what every parent has to do to get junior to chow down on healthy foods. Well, I can forget about hiding wholesome food in chicken nuggets. The other day Duncan was eating octopus and it dawned on me that he is not a picky eater in the slightest. The kid eats pretty much anything you put in front of him. He eats every kind of vegetable (except for eggplant) and LOVES broccoli. He eats all types of meat and likes fish. He's also a fan of squid, shrimp, and clams. To top it off, he recently enjoyed caribou and fig paté. On the weekend he ate a kangaroo patty. Crazy or what? We're not pompous foodies - we just like to eat rustic, tasty food. And as long as Duncan is going for it, we'll keep trying him on new things.

Duncan gets Medieval on a chickpea.

Here's a delightful cookbook for kids that I got out from the library the other day. Usborne make beautifully illustrated books for children. I've got several Usborne art books on my bookshelf in my classroom. This is a fun book to get kids cooking real food that everyone will savour.
Here's the couscous salad recipe that we made for dinner. It was served with bassa fish and chickpeas. My husband was working late tonight, so we were sneaky and had a TV dinner. Ironically, we watched Chef at Home on the Food Network. It's ironic because Chef Michael Smith spends most of the show trying to explain how to trick kids into eating good food.

Not exactly nouvelle cuisine, but it hit the spot.

Action shot. Look at the zombie-like expression. No more TV dinners!

P.S. I like Michael Smith, but he sure is spacey. Does he not remind you of Chris from Northern Exposure? You be the judge.

All That Art

2010-03-19T10:34:00.001-07:00

Like most kids, Duncan loves to draw, paint, and sculpt. Hardly a day passes when he doesn't bring home art from school or his babysitters'. He's also got a craft table in the basement of our house. Sometimes he just likes to sketch at the kitchen table or on his lap. But what to do with all that art? Last night we strung a piece of garden twine across the wall of Duncan's bedroom and let him choose some pictures we could peg to it.

The picture on the left is a sailboat and the blue, red, and yellow painting is "the world."

A family portrait. I love the huge shoes we're all wearing. We do stomp around in Blundstones.

Hairy tree.

At the top of his bed, some things he loves, including his classroom picture.

For "Hundreds Day," Duncan coloured in 100 boats in a harbour.

Here's a tree we drew together. Duncan put birds and a big butterfly on it.

Duncan wanted his own blog, so he designed one with my help. Maybe I'll ask him if he wants to upload some of these pictures to it and I can type up what he wants to say about them.

F.H. Varley: The Nature of Art/The Art of Nature

2010-03-18T18:54:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we spent a magical afternoon surrounded by art and nature. We drove up to Unionville to visit the Frederick Horsman Varley Gallery. Varley is my favourite painter of the Group of Seven. He was born in Sheffield, England in 1881. He immigrated to Canada in 1912. Six years later Canadian War Records commissioned him to illustrate the war in Europe. When he returned to Canada, in 1920, he became a founding member of the Group of Seven. Throughout his life, he painted numerous landscapes and portraits. He spent his last years living with arts patron Kathleen McKay in her house in Unionville (a short drive north of Toronto).

Vera, c. 1930: I love Varley's colour palette of choice, blue and green. Nature informed much of his work.

Lake Garibaldi, B.C., 1928

Top: Bust of Varley in the foyer of the F.H. Varley Gallery. Centre: Self portrait 1919. Bottom, photo of Varley painting at the McKay house in Unionville (late 1960s). Varley died in 1969.

One of Varley's easels. I love the barnacle-like layers of paint.

Outside the gallery, you'll find a winding river which is a stunning natural habitat for many animals. Here we saw our first robin of the season.

Ducks were everywhere.

Looking down from a bridge.

Duncan spotted a Canada goose having a drink. He wanted to have a close look, but the goose wanted nothing to do with him.

Soaking up nature.

This is the view from the parking lot of the Varley Gallery. The nature trail seems to stretch on forever. Our senses were stirred by the budding trees and the muddy smell of late winter/early spring.

Sparse tree black bird.

A tree that seems to call out, "climb me young child."

Balancing on a rail.

Marker outside the McKay house on Main Street in Unionville.

Sunroom and back side/back garden at McKay house. This house now serves as a gallery. The garden will be restored to capture the original vision of Kathleen McKay, who was an avid gardener. I'd love to live in a house like this and just garden all the time.

Front view of McKay house.

The Varley Gallery currently is holding an exhibit of the work of Toronto-based artist Brenda Joy Lem. She grew up in Oshawa and now she creates silkscreened images chronicling her often painful childhood memories. I was so taken by her work that I bought this book that features many of the prints on display.
Lem at work in her studio. This image is in the book Brenda Joy Lem Homage to the Heart. To see a couple of her works reproduced, follow this link to the Varley Gallery http://www.city.markham.on.ca/Markham/Attractions/Gallery/Exhibitions/exhibit_brendajoylem.htm

A Promise to Myself

2010-02-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

I've started reading Last Child in the Woods (see last post for more). This is a major book that is really helping me cement my beliefs as a parent and as a teacher. Children need to be set free outdoors and allowed to explore nature. I promise that each weekend Duncan will have the chance to go somewhere outdoorsy so that he can have fun in the natural world. Often my husband works on either or both Saturday and Sunday, so I'm typically left alone with Duncan without the car. There's still so much we can do in the city.

This past Sunday we went to Bluffer's Park in Scarborough. The day had been mild, but when we got there , there was a chill in the air. Still, it felt great being down by the lake and surrounded by trees and birds. These binoculars used to belong to me when I was a child. Miraculously they survived all these years.

Father and son.

I'm learning to let go and allow Duncan to try things I know might not always be a good idea - like dipping his boot into Lake Ontario in February...

And walking along a rocky wall.

Free Range Children

2010-02-14T17:15:00.001-08:00

Last week when I was listening to the CBC Radio, parenting expert Karen Horseman was discussing a book called Last Child in the Woods, written by Richard Louv. In the book he posits that parents who hover over their children and do not allow them to explore the natural world, are depriving their children of so many rich, developmental experiences. They talked about "helicopter parents" who hover over their children, shuttling them back and forth from one place to the next and parents who fear the outside world so much that they'd sooner leave their child parked in front of the computer, instead of letting them wander around outside and perhaps get the odd bruise or scrape. Child abductions are the lowest in 30 years and when they do occur, they mostly involve relatives or people who know the child. Abduction by stranger is incredibly rare.

When I was a child, my friends and I would spend the entire day at the neighbourhood park. We had no cellphones. My parents taught us to not talk to strangers and so we didn't. Instead, we swam, biked, climbed trees, collected rocks, and generally had piles of fun, until we realized it was probably getting close to dinner time. We were also lucky enough to have a cottage and I had complete freedom to walk into town, swim by myself, use my father's carpentry tools, etc. Dad let me garden with him and mom let me use the sharp knives in the kitchen. It was all good. I know of a child who is not allowed to go on field trips. I'm only imaging that fear is the motivating factor in depriving a child from getting on a bus and seeing amazing things. Kids in my class just completed eco homes and they were over the moon that I let them use hot glue guns and hammers.

Recently, I read an interview with the actress Rachel Griffiths and she talked about how she considers her kids, "free range children." I like this idea. Although Duncan is only four, my husband and I can see that he yearns to get his hands on everything. He wants to do what we do. He wants to help. We're trying to teach him what to do and then we just let him have a go. He's been using huge kitchen scissors since he was two, and we let him try foods from around the world. I'll be excited to see what he can do on his own with each passing year. This summer, we're buying him a new two-wheeler and I want to see how he gets on without training wheels this time around. I never had training wheels. How did I learn? I just fell off the bike a lot until I got my balance.

Below, find an outline of Last Child in the Woods. I just ordered it from Book City. I'll write more, once I start reading it.

Erin

To read a synopsis of Louv's book, visit his website at http://richardlouv.com/last-child-woods

Parents and educators will find it very interesting.

Point and Shoot

2010-01-30T21:01:00.001-08:00

My sister, Lise gave Duncan a camera for Christmas. Yes, it would have been unheard of giving a four-year-old a camera when I was growing up. As soon as we got the batteries into his Kidizoom Sport, he just started snapping away. When he was in the bath tonight, he told Ken and I that he wanted his own blog. I said, alright.

I'll try to post some of his pics here for now, just as soon as I figure out how to get his camera working with iPhoto.

Cheers,

Erin

Green Crafts/Back to the Land

2009-12-22T13:29:00.001-08:00

Here are some excellent books I recently borrowed from my local library. They are perfect for eco-minded kids, parents, teachers, and crafters.

This is the Bible of hands-on green activism for kids - and it's not preachy. I'm going to buy a copy. Flipping through the book I see numerous lesson plans in the making. Visit their web site at http://www.50simplekids.com

The text is engaging and accessible for junior readers.

Here's one of the most charming books I've come across in a long time. I found this book at the S. Walter Stewart library mixed within the craft books. It's not so much a craft book as a handy craft book. The author is English and she pretty much treats the book as a reference to making things you need when living out in the country. This would be my dream.
The book is from the early eighties and has the beautiful pre-amalgamation cardinal EY Library book stamp on the cover page. It all seems so quaint now.
The author is clearly a back-to-the-lander and her family looks earthy.
In the book, you learn how to work with twigs and branches to create everything from walking sticks, to bow and arrows.

A necklace and a rustic birdhouse.

A pretty girl covered in flowers.

The pictures are stunning. Here is a table used to press flowers.

Of course, the author teaches you how to make your own flower press.

What a wonderful scene: homemade preserves and good bread in front of a roaring fire.
Here's another great bookL The crafter culture book. This does not have such an eco bent, but there are still some great ideas inside. Some of them involve materials that can come from repurposed objects.

This sweet bird mobile is on my must-make list. I may run another craft club this year for the older students and attempt to make this.
Here's a surprisingly funky top made out of a pillowcase. If I ever get to teach kindergarten, that will be me: wearing a pillowcase and strumming on an old banjo. "Hey kids, let's sing about trees!"
ReadyMade takes its title from surrealist Marcel Duchamp's belief that everything can be beautiful. This book definitely has an eco-slant and makes the bold proclamation that it will teach you to make everything. Well, just about.
These cool picture frames were made from discarded hardcover books. The pages were stripped, and mylar and photos installed.

Empty tubes used for magazine storage.

Another great idea: self-publishing. Hey, I'm doing that! At least three kids in my class have their own blogs (I'm talking about ten-year-olds here). I hope to link their blogs to our classroom blog. My goal is to move away from the standard paper projects and move into more electronic text creations and using reclaimed materials for projects.

Ancient Egypt

2009-12-19T18:16:00.001-08:00

In Social Studies we're learning about Ancient Egypt. This week students in my class made their own papyrus by soaking strips of cheap yellow paper in a flour and water mixture. They overlapped strips horizontally and then vertically.

They figured out what they wanted to say in English and then tried to find the Egyptian hieroglyphs. They did a rough copy and then transferred it to the papyrus in pencil.

They then went over the pencil using India ink and food colouring. In the past, I've let the kids make their own colouring by crushing berries, but that adds a lot of extra time and mess to the activity. The colours are not as bold either.
This student used some silver paint. The pieces were terrific in the end. I'll try to take a picture of our bulletin board when the artwork is up. This activity was super cheap and packed with learning. I hope to have the students mummify fruit in January.

Wringing Hands or Turning Pages?

2009-11-28T17:24:00.000-08:00

In these times of belt-tightening and cuts, many classrooms don't have as many books for the classroom as they should. We have tons of books in our classroom because I've been snapping them up at yard sales, rummage sales, thrift stores, using Scholastic bonus coupons to buy new books, buying withdrawn books from libraries, and buying new books just because I think the kids will enjoy them. There is a school of thought that says you should not spend a penny on your classroom out of your own pocket. I don't subscribe to this point of view.

Yes, in an ideal world schools would be swimming in money and classrooms would be brimming with books. That day is not likely going to come. More realistically, a portion of the school's budget could go to classroom libraries each year and over time, book collections could be built up. Until then, teachers can still do a lot to create a text-rich classroom. It doesn't cost much and it's a lot of fun. You just never know what you'll find.

At a church rummage sale this morning, I found this retro Choose Your Own Adventure book (above).
Here's my classroom stash from today's rummage sale. In the picture, you'll find two brand new Monica Hughes books, some creepy tales which Grade 5s love, and a book by award-winning author Andre Alexis called Ingrid and the Wolf. The books cost me about $5.00 for the lot.

Here are mosques we made in our classroom for Eid. The French kindergarten class had made similar ones, but I made it harder by asking the class to trace the mosque using a half template and a Mira. The shape was a little tricky to sketch, but most of the kids got it.

Make No Bones About It

2009-10-15T17:10:00.001-07:00

As part of our Human Organ System study in Science, we've been investigating the skeleton. The children became fascinated with bone marrow and I've followed their lead and devised experiments and hands-on activities to learn more about bone marrow and bone health.

Yesterday the students created models of bones using white salt dough (for the compact bone), thin dish-washing sponge (for the cancellous or spongy bone), and salt dough coloured with red food colouring for the bone marrow.
The children made diagrams of bones last week and this helped them create authentic models. It cost approximately $8.00 for twenty-nine children to make these models. They'll mount them on reused styrofoam trays next week and label the parts next with stickers and yarn. I think I would remember the parts of a bone better if I actually made one, versus filling out a worksheet.

My JK Son's Family Tree

2009-09-30T19:12:00.001-07:00

My little boy started Junior Kindergarten this year. I love his classroom and his teacher is part of a fantastic group of educators who team teach in a big pod. Here is his family tree that was on display. I love how he included the cats.

Best,

Erin

The Cheap Teacher

2009-09-19T18:12:00.001-07:00

Here are some recently acquired goodies for the class that cost little, or nothing.

I garbage picked (or is that repurposed?) this tea tray today. It was at someone's curb, with a "Free Stuff" sign on it.
It turns out to be a primo quality St. Michael tray from Marks and Sparks. I'll use it for plants in my classroom. It's a slightly gaudy creation from the seventies - but then again, so am I.
I finally got my classroom library fully organized this year, but I was lamenting the lack of biographical and autobiographical books. Look what I scooped up at the St. Luke's Anglican book sale: a book about Anne Frank, a biography about Dr. Seuss, and Roald Dahl's autobiography for kids. I'll be reading them all. Three for $1.00. Not bad.
I'm not sure if the content of these S.E. Hinton classics is too mature for my Grade 5s, but I had to buy them. What gorgeous editions. When I was 11 or 12, my sister, Lise took me to see The Outsiders at the movie theatre. My mom flipped out when she found out. Not quite E.T.
This book looked interesting. I'm not familiar with this series, but I will read it. It's a shame that so many teachers wait until African Heritage month to discuss issues connected to slavery.

"Cell"-abration

2009-09-12T06:03:00.001-07:00

Yesterday our class made models of the human cell using salt dough.

I gave the students beans and licorice, buttons, rice, and string and let them go to town. Next week we'll mount them on foam trays and label the parts.

I had forgotten I had this tin in my room. I bought it at an estate sale a couple of years ago for next to nothing.

In the tin was another tin.

I found shells and vintage buttons.

Many of the kids used buttons to represent the nucleus.

After school at Value Village, I found some amazing books for the class, including books on ancient Egypt, prehistoric people, an Art Attack book of crafts and Tomson Highway's Dragonfly Kites. If you buy four books at Value Village, you get the fifth free. It's always worth having a hunt for books at this store.

Dragonfly Kites is part of of series. I've also read Caribou Song, which was wonderful. I read Dragonfly Kites to my son last night and we both enjoyed it. The illustrations are wonderful too.

This book is a dual-language book (English and Cree).

I found this Chinese Fish at Value Village for $2.99. It will bring colour and cheer to our classroom.

Vintage

2009-09-03T17:02:00.001-07:00

Visit the September 3rd post in my thrifting blog http://torontoyardsaler.blogspot.com to see how I've used cheap, vintage pieces in my classroom. Old items destined for the garbage heap can add interest in a class and can be quite functional if looked at with a fresh eye.

What's for breakfast? Completed homework?!

Here's my interest table for the human body. I'm hoping it will help inspire kids to bring in related items from home, or at least pick up a book about the body. Stay tuned for body-related projects and experiments.

Thrifting at the Library

2009-08-29T18:27:00.001-07:00

Yesterday it rained off and on. At one point during the afternoon, my son and I took shelter at the Pape Avenue Library. There, I discovered a treasure trove of withdrawn hardcover books that cost $1.00 apiece. I've bought several books from the Toronto Public Library over the years. The selection is hit-and-miss, but the prices are great and you always feel like you've made a donation to a worthy cause. If you live in a different city or town, find out if your library sells withdrawn books. It's another great way to collect books for the classroom.

Here's what $6.00 bought me. All of the books were in pretty good shape.
I love the story and illustrations in Hot City. I grab Eyewitness books whenever I see them used. They are packed with information and fantastic photos and illustrations.
On the left, a book about George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. On the right, Monica Hughes' A Handful of Seeds, which I'll use for teaching inferencing.

Here we have a factual book about Halloween and a book about the various multicultural special days observed in Canada.

Detail from Hot City.

Above and below: Gorgeous illustrations from the Gershwin book.

Poster Storage

2009-08-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

In the short time I've been teaching, I've amassed a huge collection of posters and anchor charts. At first, I piled them on top of a shelf in the classroom, but as I collected more, it became difficult to find what I needed. In frustration, I rolled them up. This made the problem worse because I still couldn't find what I needed. Often I would find myself hog wrestling curled up posters as the class walked in.

One of my favourite store-bought posters.

This rounding anchor chart took a while to make. I wanted to keep it.

Last year, I was visiting the office of Leslie Pike, an instructional leader in Math. I noticed that she had her posters hanging on a garment rack from Ikea using wooden clamp hangers. What a brilliant idea. Off I went to the great Swedish retailer. The rack cost about $20.00. The hangers cost also came from Ikea. If my memory serves me well, they cost $1.49 each.

The rack was in my classroom last year, but it took up a lot of space, so it's now in our basement (hence the dark photos and basement clutter).

Organization: the final frontier!

Backyard Science Part Two

2009-08-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Biking home from the park today, I discovered this gorgeous dragonfly in the middle of the road. I thought it was dead, so I gently scooped it up and placed it on Duncan's beach towel. When we got home, we realized it was still alive, but possibly injured.

The wings really are a sight to behold. So intricate and beautiful.

I managed to gently coax the dragonfly off the towel and onto the edge of the "Critter Cabin." I'm not sure what to do. Hopefully it will fly away. If it's still there this evening, we'll have to figure out what they eat and drink. We're calling it Mercury.

It's official: Kiki the caterpillar has built a cocoon around herself. Duncan chose the lamb's ear leaf for Kiki because he thought she'd enjoy the softness. Funny thing that she built her cocoon on that leaf. We've turned the leaf over the way we found it and we'll leave Kiki to work her magic.

The Black Book of Colors

2009-08-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

While in a book store yesterday, I discovered The Black Book of Colors. It is unlike any book I have seen before. It is a book that invites sighted people into the world of someone without sight. On one side of the page is text written in print and in braille. The text describes colour through imagery. The accompanying page features a raised line drawing illustrating the text. There is no colour in this book of colours.

I can think of so many ways to use this book in our class. It ties in with Science (anatomy/the eye), Art, Language, and Character Education (equity and empathy). I will create a lesson plan connected to this book, which I can post at a later date. The pages were difficult to photograph. You really need to touch this book.

If you look at the top of the page, you'll see braille. There is also a braille alphabet at the back of the book.

Dan Zanes' Great Music for Kids

2009-08-23T05:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, my son was watching Playhouse Disney and this guy with tall hair appeared on the screen singing a song that was surprisingly spare and cool. The singer looked like he'd been playing in clubs his whole life. Who was he? Dan Zanes - former singer of The Del Fuegos - a roots rock band from a long way back. I thought I'd share a clip of his music. He's got a CD out called Catch That Train. It would be a great choice in a JK - Grade 3 class. The songs are fun and folky. I like that his bandmates play such a variety of musical instruments. Great tunes!

Here's a short interview with Dan. I love the intro by the father who posted the interview. Check out his little daughter responding to pictures at the beginning. Hilarious.

Backyard Education

2009-08-21T07:28:00.001-07:00

If you stop and smell the freshly cut grass, you'll notice that opportunities for scientific inquiry are all around us. My four-year-old son, Duncan found a caterpillar recently. We happened to be throwing out an old gerbil cage that was cracked and full of holes. Duncan helped me patch it up with cardboard and when we were done, Kiki the caterpillar had a huge new home.

Crude, but effective. We made sure that there was plenty of ventilation.

Here's where the science comes in. I asked Duncan to think about what the caterpillar would like to eat. We talked about The Very Hungry Caterpillar and also his new Little Einsteins book about the life cycle of a caterpillar. Duncan found grass, leaves, a cherry tomato, Swiss chard, and lettuce. When he brought me the hosta leaf, he said that an insect has already been chewing on in, so that made him think the caterpillar might like it.
Duncan also said the caterpillar would need water to drink and sticks to climb on. Kiki made itself at home quickly.
The next day, we noticed caterpillar poop in the cage, so we decided that Kiki must be eating the leaves and grass. Our next step will be researching what kind of caterpillar/butterfly/moth Kiki is. We also need to clean out the cage. Stay tuned.

Fragrant Books

2009-06-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

Here's an easy activity that gets children outside using plants to explore the senses. We did this on the last day of school and the children enjoyed exploring the school grounds for fragrant, colourful, and textured plants.

Using 8 1/2 X 11 paper, measure 3 inches along the length of the paper and cut width-wise.

Put a few spots of glue at the middle of one strip. Glue it to the other strip so that they're forming a cross.

Like so.

Add glue to your plant materials. A glue stick works fine. We used white glue and it got sloppy.

Arrange on paper.

Press in a flower press, or under a bunch of phone books and voila! I made a booklet last summer and the mint leaf and lavender are still fragrant.

Interest Tables

2009-06-21T05:32:00.003-07:00

There seems to be a school of thought that when students reach a certain grade (for some, as low as grade 3 or 4), that they should be seated at their desk (usually in rows) all day. The classrooms of teachers who think along these lines tend to be barren - no classroom library, little work of the children on display. To these teachers I must ask: whose room is it anyway?

I'm a firm believer in reading stories to the class. I've been reading novels, picture books, and graphic novels to the class this past year. All the kids pile on the carpet. I don't mind if they are sprawled out, or braiding each other's hair. As long as they're listening.

Next year, I will have a straight grade 5 class and for once, I will have less than 30 kids. I want the room to be better organized and even more student-friendly. An instructional leader recommended the book Spaces and Places to me this week. It's a book about different ways to arrange your class. I've set up a few interest tables this year. Children like them and sometimes students will bring in objects to add to our collection. We've been studying rocks and minerals. Below, find some pictures of our interest table that includes rocks and minerals given to me by my father, and some pieces I scooped up at a garage sale in St. Catharines. Yes, you can find just about anything at a yard sale. You do have to spend money to have an interesting, literature-rich classroom. You just don't need to spend a lot.

Big Blue Marble

2009-06-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

Here's the intro to this show I used to watch as a child of the '70s/'80s. I really don't remember the show, but I remember the theme, which makes me now wish I remembered what the show was about. It looks like a celebration of multiculturalism. Awesome.

All Booked Up

2009-06-06T10:41:00.001-07:00

I wish I could find a teacher to yard sale with. So many books and other great things for the class turn up at yard sales. I hit the jackpot at the Gargantuan Yard Sale today. Books were 10 for $1.00, so I loaded up on books for the class and my son. I bought a chunky Phaidon art book for $1.00 at another sale too.

How could you not respond to a sign like this?

Close up of a gorgeous book on Greek mythology. I bought if for $1.00 and it will go in our class library. Kids love mythology.
Great little book of Jewish folk tales for kids with pictures by Maurice "Where the Wild Things Are" Sendak. It cost me ten cents.

Detail from the Singer book.

Today's stash for the class. Cost: $2.80. In this pile, you'll also find a collection of children's folk tales adapted by Ted Hughes, and two Choose Your Own Adventure books, which were huge when I was in Grade 4/5. I'm going to read the Mayan mystery to the class this week to see if they still interest kids.

Some Goodies For The Class

2009-05-30T19:50:00.001-07:00

I haven't been able to load up on items for the class lately at yard sales. Today, I discovered a paprika container of counting sticks at a street sale in East York. These sticks could be used in so many areas of math. I have this dream of having the ultimate classroom with baskets of math manipulatives at the children's disposal. I'm trying to build up a collection of manipulatives on the cheap. When the seller saw me pick up the container, she hurried into her house and came back with a huge bonus bag. "Take them," she insisted. I'm not quite sure what I paid for these. I bought several toys for my son and the woman asked $7.00 for the lot.

Add a pinch of colourful sticks to help students in patterning, division, fractions, etc.

Besides the counting sticks, I bought an anthology of winter poems for children. It only cost .25. I think I'll keep the paprika container of sticks for Duncan and the bag will end up in my class next year.

Artsjunktion Stash Part 2

2009-05-20T20:42:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I had a JELI Day. I believe JELI stands for Job Embedded Learning Initiative. New teachers are entitled to these days in the first two years of teaching for professional development. Although I was tempted to bunk down at the Duke of Argyle all day with a Bill Bryson book, I spread the JELI properly. In the morning, I visited a superb 4/5 teacher in the east end of Toronto. She shared some great ideas with me. With her permission, I will post pictures of her students' work down the road. In the afternoon, I went back to Artsjunktion. The pickings were a little skimpier than my first visit, but I still managed to scoop up a few goodies. I even took some pictures inside Artsjunktion.

Box of empty caulking tubes.

Billions of empty binders from dreadfully dull sounding companies.

There are numerous VHS tapes with assorted films I've missed in the day-to-day shuffle of things.

Slide carousels and old films. The carousels bring back memories of my Dad showing slides of family trips. I can still remember the click of the machine and how we'd all groan in unison when he'd put slides in upside down.

Acres of loud sports jackets: perfect for dramatic productions.

Swatches galore.

Tons (or is that tonnes?) o' tubes.

Crusty old skates in need of a good sharpening.

My gigantic spool of two-toned string.

My spool in better light, along with wallpaper boarder in a pattern that would give Colin and Justin hives.
Cool Andy Warhol buttons and an old book on Canadian art. Yes, they have many free books at Artsjunktion and hundreds of National Geographics.

I'm not sure what this is, but I'm using it in Science tomorrow.

Black powdered tempera in a stylish old tin, black yarn, and yes - Black Mischief.

More white cloth for our mummies.

The whole haul (more or less) on display.

Get Thee to a Library

2009-05-18T19:42:00.000-07:00

Last Friday our class went to the local library to learn about the Summer Reading Club. I was told that there would be some sort of presentation, but I had no idea what we were in for. It turned out that this super spunky mime artist named Noriko was set to perform a one-woman performance of The Funny Little Woman - a children's story based on a traditional Japanese fable. She danced and managed to work the audience almost as if performing a pantomime. And she didn't speak at all.

This performance reminded me of those happy childhood memories of going to the Northern District Library on Saturday mornings. I was a child of the '70s and '80 - just when multiculturalism was beginning to be taken seriously. Toronto Public Libraries really valued (and still does) the quilt of cultures that make up this country. I remember being entertained by folk singers from around the world, story time, plays, crafts, and puppet shows. It was all free. My mom used to let me just walk to the library by myself. I'd always come home with a shopping bag full of books.

Noriko in action.

Keeping the gods happy with rice balls.

My new local library is S. Walter Stewart. When I heard it was going to be renovated, I was worried that they would ruin it. It was always my favourite place to be. When I was working on my English degree, I used to study there. They had no security system and amazingly enough, they had original oil paintings from a member of the Group of Seven hanging nearby spinning racks of paperbacks.

When it reopened last summer, I was left speechless. It has to be the most beautiful library in the city. It is much busier these days, but it is still a local "best kept secret." There is a subtle concept of outer space in the decor. Apparently, this is a nod to the time period the library was originally opened - Sputnik, etc. The space theme is apparent in the children's section in the basement. They even have star and moon-shaped stools and a spaceship playhouse for kids. I started taking pictures and the librarian asked me to stop for security reasons. This was funny considering how the librarian and I took dozens of pictures of Noriko's performance at the library in Scarborough. All I wanted was a picture of Duncan in the spaceship. I know I have one on file somewhere. I'll try to dig it up for a future post. Everyone was taking pictures during the reopening week last year. I will also blog about Northern District.

Stunning ceiling at S. Walter Stewart.

A compass surounds the main floor of this circular library. Positively interstellar!

Modernist wheelchair ramp. No child leaves this behind.

A nod to the past: Someone had the great idea of preserving the old (pre-amalgamation) East York Library logo in marble. Many of the older books at S. Walter Stewart, still have this logo stamped inside.
Just before I had to put my camera away, I took a picture of Duncan playing with this contraption. I'm not sure what they call it, but if you put your library card in the slot, the archway lights up. Very cool.

It was a good year...

Sensuous shaped facade.

View from the corner across the street. Support your local library and check out S. Walter when you have some free time.

City Scenes

2009-05-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Take a bucketful of...

sad worksheets headed for the recycling depot.

Let creative minds run wild in the school yard reusing this paper for interesting texture rubbings.

Paint

... and paint some more.

Break out the pencils, rulers, and scissors - or do some free-hand cutting.

Arrange on paper.

Glue.

Decorate to taste.

Mount on dreary hallway wall, accompany with poems about the city and enjoy! I love that the children took rejected worksheets and made interesting rubbings from ugly pavement and fences. It's also cool that out of our school's gritty school yard and refuse would come such novel city skylines. This art activity was taken from the Usborne Book of Art Ideas.

I posted a copy of PJ Harvey's "You Said Something" on the wall. It's from her album, Stories From the City Stories From the Sea. Dig.

Book Bonanza

2009-04-25T11:12:00.001-07:00

Today was the perfect spring day. This morning we went to the Westview Presbyterian Spring Sale. The sale was filled with a wonderful assortment of items at rock bottom prices. I mainly bought books for the classroom (see below), but I also bought two sets of vintage Italian postcard books, some vintage cookbooks, and an old plant stand that even came with matching pots in a charming shade of Grandma's mint green kitchen. The man charged me $1 for the plant stand, but I gave him $2 out of guilt.

(Below) Signs of the times: Westview rents out space for Highland dancing and yoga.

(Below) Some of the books I purchased at the rummage sale and a nearby yard sale. I bought at least 20 books and spent not much more than $6. Books included everything from Harry Potter books to science and art books.

Close up.

(Below) Detail from book on rocks and minerals (which I still have to teach this year.)

(Below) Detail from a children's anatomy book. Charming and factual all at once.

(Below) My big score. I found three beautiful classic adventure stories (hardcover), and three current books that the kids will gobble up. I know Kenneth Oppel's Firewing will go down well in our class.

Detail from the inside cover of Treasure Island.

(Below) Close ups of the covers of my vintage treasures.

Yard Sale Season Hath Begun

2009-04-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

We went to three sales today. The pickings were slim, but the clutter was interesting. At the last sale, Duncan was asked if he likes jumping on trampolines. Is the Pope Catholic? The man running the sale turned on a machine and the trampoline inflated in seconds. It had a musty garage smell but was nevertheless full of bouncy fun.

I didn't buy the trampoline, but I did purchase a bag of accessories for Rosie, our class gerbil. Check the recessionary price.

Birdbath 'o stuffed animals from the trampoline sellers.

The game of Therapy sits atop Cranium while a horse looks on.

Psychotherapy on the cheap.

At the second sale, the owner was getting rid of a lot of musical baggage, including old newspapers following the trial of Mark David Chapman. Sad and creepy clutter: yours for $5.00.

On a slightly happier note, she was selling a Bob Marley snack table. Irie!

The first sale was on our street. It was a bit grim: a few books and DVDs spread out on the front lawn. I picked up a huge poetry anthology for .50 and How to Draw Birds for a quarter.

It's old, but filled with tons of poems.

How to draw water birds.

(Below) More hoppy snaps.

Electric Company Theme Song

2009-04-17T16:23:00.000-07:00

I used to watch this show when I was a child. I still remember enjoying the song, but the intro now cracks me up, especially the psychedelic graphics.

I hope someone posts the Zoom theme song on YouTube some day. Until then, enjoy!

Dream Space For Teaching

2009-04-14T20:49:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was Easter Monday. I took Duncan to Edwards Gardens for a poke around. Inside the main building I discovered a children's botanical classroom and my jaw dropped. This was one of the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen. The room was filled with plants, books, and objects from nature. They used a grow table for fish aquariums and the room had a lovely glow from the natural soft light. I love this room! It was locked, but I still managed to take a few snaps through the window. One of my goals as a teacher is to
create a classroom environment that encourages learning, inspires students, and is as comfortable as possible.

(below) Duncan flips through a book in the Weston Family Library. (bottom of page) Boxes covered with lamb's ears. What a great idea.

Treasures at Bluffer's Park

2009-04-12T17:36:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we went out to Bluffer's Park to do a little scavenging on the beach. At the end of the foot trail, you'll find a little lighthouse surrounded by rocks. It was here that I almost stepped on a pile of twigs and feathers which turned out to be the home of three large Canada Goose eggs. This was a very exciting moment for the three of us. Duncan had never seen eggs in the wild and it was so magical being able to get so close to nature like this. Ken had a bad feeling that the nest had been abandoned, since there was no mother goose coming after us like a scene from The Birds. I hope the eggs hatch.

Hinterland Who's Who has a page on the Canada Goose, including a picture of a nest with eggs.

go to www.hww.ca and enter Canada Goose in the search engine. I couldn't get this connection up as a hot link.

Place-Based Art Here and There

2009-04-11T21:23:00.000-07:00

Last summer we visited the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton which, at the time, had an exhibit of placed-based art by a variety of sculptors. I enjoyed the fact that you could be walking around in the middle of a forest and stumble upon something completely unexpected, like a giant block of wood growing out of a tree stump...

or rivers of twigs streaming out of large urns.

Back in our neighbourhood yesterday, we discovered a tree (Catalpa?) that had dropped hundreds of blood red seed pods all over the owner's front lawn. I'm not sure if the owner was trying to mulch around the tree with the seed pods, or trying to do something artistic with them, but the image was still striking.

Duncan let me borrow his little wagon and we carted some seed pods to the park and back home. They make a nice, percussive sound when you shake them. We're creating soundscapes in our class right now. I'll bring them to class in case anyone can use them.

Placed-Based Artist Andy Goldsworthy

2009-04-10T10:43:00.000-07:00

Last summer I was involved in a TDSB Summer Institute called Teaching in the Outdoor Classroom. One of the instructors brought along a documentary on British artist Andy Goldsworthy, who makes site-specific sculpture and land arts. Some of his work is permanent and some is intended to weather away with the elements. I'm thinking about having the Green Team at our school create an installation along the same line. When I was out on yard duty in the winter, I was always interested to see how much kids of all ages love creating snow forts and sculptures. Enjoy.

Art By The Yard

2009-04-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe that between my last post and today, we had a snow fall in April. Today was the perfect spring day so we had a go at creating little sculptures out of the stones and rocks we picked up at the beach last week. I think children learn best when they can get their hands dirty and try things out. We've been letting Duncan use scissors for quite some time and today he began using wire cutters. When Duncan was a baby, we took a baby signing class and the instructor pointed out that we should never tell children that they are not playing "the right way." This was good advice: let children create their own understanding of how things work... and just let them play.

An Orange-Coloured Day

2009-04-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

April may be the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, but today was fantastic. I took my son down to the beach. He'd been there before but could not remember it. He had fun digging in the sand and throwing stones into our great lake. I couldn't resist picking up unusual looking driftwood and beautiful stones. Later this week, I'll see if I can tempt Duncan into making some sort of wire sculpture with them.
Who wants to spend a day at the mall when you could have this?

The Caribou

2009-04-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

For your viewing pleasure - the caribou. I love how slow moving and peaceful these clips are. They really make you feel for the plight of the animals featured. They're also oh-so Canadian.

Hinterland Who's Who

2009-04-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

If you were a child in the '70s/'80s and watched a lot of TV, you no doubt remember the Hinterland Who's Who commercials. They featured a piece of eerie flute music and a man with a lulling voice who talked about endangered species. I'm sure I saw them all.

Hinterland Who's Who has been updated. They have a terrific new website with current information, pictures, and even lesson plans for teachers. If you click on Media Gallery and then select "Vintage," you will find the old clips. Soak in a warm, bubbly bath of nostalgia.

Go to

www.hww.ca

Keith's Treasures

2009-03-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Is it a rock? Is it a paperweight? No. It is petrified wood my father brought back from a trip to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. I'm not sure if snatching pieces of petrified wood is like taking coral from the Great Barrier Reef, but it's been in the family for a long time. So, if you are a Petrified Forest ranger who happens to be reading this, please don't come after me.

Another angle of this ancient wood. Fascinating.

The colour is a rusty red.

A beautiful starfish brought back from Myrtle Beach.

My parents are very keen to learn about what we're doing in our class. My mother is a retired school teacher and she still gets excited going into teacher stores. She is always finding things that I can use. They recently got back from a trip to Myrtle Beach where she bought me several books and other things like educational posters. We visited my parents last weekend and they took us to a book warehouse where my husband, Duncan, and I filled a large box with books and only spent $30.00. I counted 32 books that we managed to fit in the box. At least half of those will go to our class. I found some very interesting books the kids will love, including three Nick Bantock-style books exploring the world of fairies, vampires, and mythical creatures respectively.

My father is a lifetime collector of odds and ends (a lot of who I am can be explained if you meet my dad). Although my parents continue to be addicted to yard sales, they have also been de-cluttering and my father has given me several interesting pieces. I will try to photograph the more unusual things he has given me in future posts.

Above, find some treasures from the K. T. Hawkins' cabinet of curiosities which are destined for our class.

Pictures From the Earl Haig Book Sale

2009-03-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

After a few too many late nights working on report cards this week, I was rewarded with the most perfect Saturday morning. Earl Haig Public School (the one near Coxwell and Danforth, not the arts school in North York) had a book sale which I viewed as the unofficial kick-off to yard sale/church rummage sale season. While Duncan busied himself colouring at the craft area, I hit the book tables. One table had a lot of new books donated by a publisher and the prices were in the $2.00-$3.00 range - way more than I would normally spend, but I was pleased with the quality and justified the cost as a donation to the school. I scooped up so many books, that a box was quickly filled and I had to drag Duncan back up to the Danforth to get more money. When we came back, we checked out the children's section and loaded up. By that point, we were ready for a rest. We sat down on the gym floor and watched a performance of Scottish dancing while Duncan ate his first popcorn ball. We schlepped our stash several blocks back home, realizing at the mid-way mark that the box was falling apart. Luckily we made it home before the box collapsed and before the hard rain came. I read Duncan some of the books for his bedtime stories tonight and the car is now loaded with books for our classroom. There's no excuse for teachers not to have a room full of books. You just have to hunt around. What fun. See my booty of books below.

My son Duncan's stash. Each book was .25, less than the price of anything I can think of.

I may have our class sketch the snail and then try to sketch the ear, including the snail-like cochlea. Cross-curricular education. Love it.

Art books and some cute books for the craft clubs I'm involved in.

The ever-surreal Anthony Browne.

Detail from a book on the sad childhood of Paul Gauguin. The illustrations are by Isabelle Arsenault and they are stunning. Visit her website at http://www.isabellearsenault.com

Detail from a vintage book on water. The illustrations are charming.

I have a hardcore group of kids in my class who devour these "how things work" books. Note the publisher highlighting "Why do we fart?" A big selling point for the 8-14 demographic.

These are just some of the books I bought for my class. Most of these were either new or in excellent used condition. Prices ranged from .25 to $3.00.

Junk to Jewels

2009-03-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

I've noticed that when you mention the word "collage," students tend to groan. I can only imagine that they've been forced into boring collage projects. This past Friday we explored mixed media collage. I pre-cut the foam board from Artsjunktion (this was a big job which left me wishing I had an old electric carving knife), and I used a glue gun to attach felt to the boards. I was going to have the students do this part, but this would have used up the entire Art block just doing the prep work and I wanted to get to the creative part. Students were given three different templates of an outline map of Africa. They could trace onto fabric, paper, or some of those cool vintage transparencies from Artsjunktion. They could do whatever they wanted so long as they mixed their media and tried to do something original. The results were wonderful. They will go up on the wall of the gymnasium for the African Heritage Concert tomorrow and we will eventually attach string to them and cover the back with paper.

Diverted from landfill: styrofoam presentation board, old fabric, used transparencies, and newspaper. Thirty pieces were made (two students were absent). Who says you can't do messy Art projects in a large class? See the pictures below for some of their completed pieces.

Beautiful Things

2009-03-01T06:20:00.000-08:00

Fave Blogs

2009-02-17T17:57:00.001-08:00

I am in the process of listing my favourite blogs. I'm starting with some excellent vintage blogs. I've been a big fan of Black Olives On My Fingertips, Thriftaholic, and Yard Sale Bloodbath since discovering them last summer. I take comfort in the knowledge that people all over the world are preoccupied with finding the perfect tea towel from the '60s, or Pyrex butter dish. I love reading tales of wandering into strange estate sales, and discovering mysterious boxes of clutter in people's driveways.

I'll soon be listing some of my favourite arts and crafts blogs. I haven't tapped into a community of thrifting teachers yet. Are you out there?

Artsjunktion, Junktion, What's Your Function?

2009-02-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

Today seemed like a fitting day to begin a thrifting teacher blog. Today was a day for professional activities, so I decided to finally go to Artsjunktion. It is open to teachers in the Toronto District School Board and it is run by an art-loving woman in the bottom of a west-end school. The space was like a cross between Goodwill and an art gallery. I didn't think I'd be able to pull myself out of there. There were mountains of fabric, buckets of corks, old electronics (we could have used these last month when we built robots), shelves filled with National Geographics and books, toys, and box after box of random things from manufacturers, restaurants, printing presses, etc. I picked up a goodly selection of vintage '70s/'80s film transparencies which looked like they were used for advertising, a few metres of fabric, foam board, and some other things pictured in the sidebar. It was all free! I'm not sure what will become of everything I took, but I am starting up two craft clubs at our school, not to mention art lessons in our class. I will post pictures as and when the beautiful things emerge.

Erin

Welcome

2009-02-13T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog. I am a grade 4/5 teacher from Toronto. I recently began a classroom blog and was having so much fun with it that I decided to start a second blog that features less of the day-to-day running of our class and more of things that inspire me. I am an ardent thrifter, seeker of vintage pieces, and collector of things to make art and crafts with. I live for yard sale season. I hope that The Foolscap Flyer will be a place to share ideas and to prove that you can be a funky, creative teacher without spending a fortune. I hope you find this as enjoyable to read as I'm sure it will be to write.

Erin