Dance Like a Chicken Day

1. Anyone who's not chicken, stand in a circle facing each other.
2. When the music starts, hold your hands out in front of you and open and close them like a chicken beak four times.
3. Put your thumbs in your armpits and flap your wings four times.
4. Place your arms and hands like the tail feathers of a chicken and wiggle down to the floor four times.
5. Clap four times.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 four times.
7. After the fourth time take the hands of the people on either side of you and everyone move in a circle.
8. When you get dizzy, switch directions.
9. Repeat until the end of the music or until you fall on the floor.

Multiple Intelligence Profile

Please complete this profile as a FIRST step to determining you/your educational needs and individualized curriculum plan. 

 

 

Part I

Complete each section by placing a “1” next to each statement you feel accurately describes you. If you do not identify with a statement, leave the space provided blank. Then total the column in each section.

Section 1

_____ I enjoy categorizing things by common traits

_____ Ecological issues are important to me

_____ Classification helps me make sense of new data

_____ I enjoy working in a garden

_____ I believe preserving our National Parks is important

_____ Putting things in hierarchies makes sense to me

_____ Animals are important in my life

_____ My home has a recycling system in place

_____ I enjoy studying biology, botany and/or zoology

_____ I pick up on subtle differences in meaning

_____ TOTAL for Section 1

Section 2

_____ I easily pick up on patterns

_____ I focus in on noise and sounds

_____ Moving to a beat is easy for me

_____ I enjoy making music

_____ I respond to the cadence of poetry

_____ I remember things by putting them in a rhyme

_____ Concentration is difficult for me if there is background noise

_____ Listening to sounds in nature can be very relaxing

_____ Musicals are more engagingto me than dramatic plays

_____ Remembering song lyrics is easy for me

_____ TOTAL for Section 2

Section 3

_____ I am known for being neat and orderly

_____ Step-by-step directions are a big help

_____ Problem solving comes easily to me

_____ I get easily frustrated with disorganized people

_____ I can complete calculations quickly in my head

_____ Logic puzzles are fun

_____ I can't begin an assignment until I have all my "ducks in a row"

_____ Structure is a good thing

_____ I enjoy troubleshooting something that isn't working properly

_____ Things have to make sense to me or I am dissatisfied

_____ TOTAL for Section 3

Section 4

_____ It is important to see my role in the “big picture” of things

_____ I enjoy discussing questions about life

_____ Religion is important to me

_____ I enjoy viewing art work

_____ Relaxation and meditation exercises are rewarding to me

_____ I like traveling to visit inspiring places

_____ I enjoy reading philosophers

_____ Learning new things is easier when I see their real world application

_____ I wonder if there are other forms of intelligent life in the universe

_____ It is important for me to feel connected to people, ideas and beliefs

_____ TOTAL for Section 4

Section 5

_____ I learn best interacting with others

_____ I enjoy informal chat and serious discussion

_____ The more the merrier

_____ I often serve as a leader among peers and colleagues

_____ I value relationships more than ideas or accomplishments

_____ Study groups are very productive for me

_____ I am a “team player”

_____ Friends are important to me

_____ I belong to more than three clubs or organizations
_____ I dislike working alone

_____ TOTAL for Section 5

Section 6

_____ I learn by doing
_____ I enjoy making things with my hands

_____ Sports are a part of my life

_____ I use gestures and non-verbal cues when I communicate

_____ Demonstrating is better than explaining

_____ I love to dance

_____ I like working with tools

_____ Inactivity can make me more tired than being very busy

_____ Hands-on activities are fun

_____ I live an active lifestyle

_____ TOTAL for Section 6

Section 7

_____ Foreign languages interest me
_____ I enjoy reading books, magazines and web sites

_____ I keep a journal

_____ Word puzzles like crosswords or jumbles are enjoyable

_____ Taking notes helps me remember and understand

_____ I faithfully contact friends through letters and/or e-mail

_____ It is easy for me to explain my ideas to others

_____ I write for pleasure

_____ Puns, anagrams and spoonerisms are fun

_____ I enjoy public speaking and participating in debates

_____ TOTAL for Section 7

Section 8

_____ My attitude effects how I learn
_____ I like to be involved in causes that help others
_____ I am keenly aware of my moral beliefs

_____ I learn best when I have an emotional attachment to the subject

_____ Fairness is important to me

_____ Social justice issues interest me

_____ Working alone can be just as productive as working in a group

_____ I need to know why I should do something before I agree to do it

_____ When I believe in something I give more effort towards it

_____ I am willing to protest or sign a petition to right a wrong

_____ TOTAL for Section 8

Section 9

_____ Rearranging a room and redecorating are fun for me

_____ I enjoy creating my own works of art

_____ I remember better using graphic organizers

_____ I enjoy all kinds of entertainment media

_____ Charts, graphs and tables help me interpret data

_____ A music video can make me more interested in a song

_____ I can recall things as mental pictures

_____ I am good at reading maps and blueprints
_____ Three dimensional puzzles are fun
_____ I can visualize ideas in my mind

_____ TOTAL for Section 9

Education reform...

I have stepped out of the "classroom" some time ago but, I am still very away of how it is painfully obvious that we are in need of an educational revolution in the United States.
NOT all students are receiving what they need to THRIVE in the educational system. Some are behind, some excel, however not ALL have their parents support or the necessary interventions.

Realistically education in a large forum can NEVER be ideal, BECAUSE each child develops sensory/motor skills at a very young age and these developments are often taken for granted because they are basic and develop automatically in the typically developing child. When we teach a student at school, children in whom these skills have not fully developed find learning difficult if not impossible. On a separate note, we will NEVER bring a child TO level by moving SLOWER or bring a child who is ahead further ahead by throwing "extra" work at them.

Through the years, many have tried to reform education from the OUTSIDE. It has not worked. IF you have NEVER been in a classroom, you have NO business attempting to reform the educational system! The point is something new and innovative must take place for education to make real changes.

Public education cannot fix it all; it’s not a one-stop shop. Let’s be honest, students come to school with all kinds of issues, and as a whole we cannot ignore the numbers. Our students in this state are not making the cut. That is why we need an Educational Revolution.



THIS is why I home-school... well A LOT of the reason, but not ALL of it!

BECAUSE of my educational background and my views on the current educational system, my current choice of home-schooling my children is often seen as offensive or judgmental or wrong. The truth is, my reasons for homeschooling are many.

I am a teacher and I pretty good one at that. (on a side note: there are lots of smart and productive people who have never gone to college or are college drop outs -- so the fat that I have several degrees is SORT of irrelevant) While I take pride in being the FIRST and ONLY person in my family to have a college degree it is not the sum and total of me being.
I am NOT a patient person and I WILL roll my eyes when people tell me they could not home-school their children because they lack patience. While I strive NOT to complain, and act completely insane some days when it comes to my kids, as it was a CONSCIENCE DECISION I determinately am not exuding patience. I act nutty! I get frustrated! I SCREAM! I wonder what I am doing with my kids some days and yes even think "the heck with this - sign them up for school".
The thing is, I WAS your child(ren)’s teacher AND I HAD bad days, I WAS nutty, I have even shut the classroom door to scream or left feeling crazy, or lacking patience. AND I AM A GREAT TEACHER.
I know teachers. EVERYONE has friends that are teachers and they are not patient, do-rights EVERY day. In fact some of them don’t even like their job or kids.
BOTTOM line - I am doing what is BEST for my child RIGHT now.
I really do believe there are great schools out there in different communities,but as long as schools are following current trends in education and No Child Left Behind, MY child whether they are in a school with excellent standardized testing scores or poor ones, is getting at best a sub par education geared towards fake learning to pass a test at the end of the day. I WAS THERE! I KNOW!
AND there is SO MUCH wasted time in schools, so much NON-EDUCATIONAL GARBAGE goes on in the morning and the time they get home has absolutely nothing to do with educating our children. In fact schools are being used as a substitute for home and for things that should be taught at home. YES, this has A LOT to do with the break-down of the family structure, so maybe what we really need IS FAMILY REFORM and NOT so much education reform?

I home-school...

I’ve not forgotten the time wasted in the classroom. I’ve not forgotten busy work and worksheets to keep kids quiet and sitting still. I’ve not forgotten the homework and the projects that I feel should be kept at school and not at home if a kid is going to be there for the majority of their day. I’ve not forgotten the boredom or the unreasonable rules.
Our “school-work”, as I call it, exceeds the same amount of time that the children spend on assignments in the classroom each day.

I had children because I am selfish. I stay at home with my children because I am selfish. I home-school my children because I am SELFISH. I WANT to be the one who educates my children, molds their hearts and minds... SO WHAT!?!

Even on my hardest days, when the kids are fighting, the furniture has been written on, and I can’t shower or pee by myself, much clean or WORK, I would rather have my kids here, at home, with me than anywhere else.
I don’t want to miss out special moments, THE MOMENTS I HAD WITH OTHER PEOPLES CHILDREN! (like that gleam in their eye and smile that crosses their face when they realize they can read or understand simple math or the earth rotates around the sun)

Most parents, heck now, only SOME parents are around for their child's firsts, their first smile, steps, and first foods. I don't want to miss ANY firsts! I do not want to give those moments to someone else. No teacher is ever going to care more deeply, about my children’s education and well being than I am.

I want them to get plenty of sleep without being forced out of bed early in the morning to ride the bus or go through a carpool line.
I want to take my kids on vacations whenever I want.
I want my children to have healthy meals.
I want my kids to run around the yard with wooden swords, or using sticks as wands to act – and I want to witness it.
I want my kids to dress up stuffed monkeys and read them books and pretend to teach them geography or even better, pretend to take them off to some far off land while I take pictures when they aren’t looking.
I AM SELFISH!

I NEVER believed homeschooling provides a better education than public or private schools. It can, in certain situations with certain parents and certain students, but across the board this is not true.

Handwriting Day

In order to progress in lessons, it is essential to periodically test through formal assessments. Although some children may be above their aged grade in school, I always test from the beginning, and continue to test until the child reaches 60 - 80 %.
Handwriting Assessment for Pre-K
http://www.hwtears.com/files/pre-kassessment/PreK_Assessment_Naming_Lowercase_and_Capital%20letters1-2.pdf

PreK Assessment Naming Lowercase and Capital Letters1-2

Emotions Lesson for Hugging Day

National Hug Day or National Hugging Day is an annual holiday created by Rev. Kevin Zaborney. It occurs on January 21 and is officially recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office,but is not a public holiday. The holiday was founded on January 21, 1986 in Caro, Michigan, and has since spread to multiple different countries. The purpose for the holiday is to help everyone show more emotion in public. There is only one way you are supposed to celebrate the holiday, offer a hug to anyone and everyone you want. While National Hug Day and the Free Hugs Campaign share many similarities, there is not actual association between the two. Whether you hug a family member or a stranger, the mental and physical health benefits are the same.

Vocabulary: Children need to understand what they are feeling. There are a range of books you can use to help with a child's emotional vocabulary. My favorite is "Today I Feel Silly: And Other Moods That Make My Day," by Jamie Lee Curtis.

In order to teach emotions, one effective tool is to help them by labeling how they feel. When a child cries, tell the child you know he or she is feeling sad; when someone takes away a toy, say you bet he or she feels angry. This way, your child will begin to associate feelings with the words that define them.

Put a Face On It
Children need to learn to relate facial expressions with emotions.
Help children with this skill by calling out emotions during morning meeting and asking children to make faces that go with those emotions. You may also ask them to draw those emotions on paper or to point to a photo of someone experiencing that emotion (from a selection you will provide). When you watch a movie together or read a story, you might pause and ask how a character is feeling and how your child knows that.

Own Your Emotions:
Help children identify how they feel by letting them express it regularly.

• When they walk into the classroom every morning, have them put their name next to their emotion on an emotions board.


• On a sheet of poster board, put names and facial expressions of several common emotions.


• Kids can have their names on cardboard with velcro or written on a clothespin. Their task is to identify how they feel and put their name next to that emotion. They can always change their name position as their emotions change.

When conflicts arise among children, ask them to explain how they feel to the other child or children. Teach children that if someone is sad we should not laugh at them; if someone is angry, we should try to understand why. Help them learn to positively express themselves without physical violence or negative reactions.

Ask “How do you feel when…” questions:

• You just found out that your grandparents are coming today and bringing you a very special surprise.


• You dropped a big object on your foot.


• Your little brother/sister broke a tower you just finished making.


• You picked up all of your toys without being asked.


• A group of friends won't let you play with them.


• A friend calls and invites you to come over and play.


• Some people you don't know are coming over today for supper.

Each question may have more than one answer. Have the child explain why they chose each emotion.

Tin Can

Create tin can luminaries....