It’s the first Friday in August and y’all know what this means, right? School supplies are on sale! Oh, and it’s time for a giveaway, too. I’m thinking one lucky blog reader will be tickled to have an extra $20 to spend on school supplies for his or her classroom. And guess what? That’s this…
Author: Diane Badden
Pop Poll!
In case you’re unsure of what a pop poll is, it’s a surprise poll. I considered a pop quiz, but it didn’t fit the bill, because there are no right or wrong answers to the questions I’m asking. And besides, who wants to take a pop quiz in summer, right? To thank you for taking…
Five Facts That Seem Fake but Aren’t
Trivia has a way of calling my name. So when I read a headline suggesting an unveiling of crazy-yet-true facts, I couldn’t resist. Here are five facts I learned. • In the mid 1800s, the city of Chicago literally pulled itself out of the mud by raising its elevation. Yes sirree, buildings, streets, and residences were…
Make a Difference to Children Giveaway!
July is a month every teacher deserves to celebrate with great enthusiasm! Yes, it’s summer vacation for most teachers, and that’s an awesome reason to celebrate. But here’s another first-rate reason for every teacher to celebrate: July is National Make a Difference to Children Month. I’d like you to stop in your tracks right now…
Something Old, Something New
Not long ago, several teachers chimed in when we featured an overhead projector on our Facebook site. Who knew (clearly not me!) that the military used this handy projector before it was introduced into the classrooms in the early 1960s. Here’s something else I didn’t know—the projector is still being used in classrooms across the…
What Are You Reading?
Can it really be this easy? Heck, it’s just four words! Why not give it a try? These thoughts were twirling in my head after hearing a father explain on national television how he encourages his children to read. Simply put, he asks his kids what they are reading. He doesn’t toss the question out…
Happy Fourth of July!
Here’s hoping your Fourth of July report card includes four Fs: family, friends, food, and fun. Oops, better add in some fireworks too. Wow, five Fs! I imagine these are your first Fs ever! I wouldn’t normally be blogging on my day off, and yet here I am tapping away at my keyboard. It’s all…
A Colorful Giveaway!
How many of you have lost track of which day of the week it is? Isn’t the lack of a schedule one of the best perks of summer vacation? Oh, and no Sunday prep work—that runs a close second in my book! Well, I’m mixing things up a bit by having a giveaway today. I…
A Summer Promise
I promised myself that this summer, I would experience some new things. So a couple weekends ago, I joined a mob. No, not the mob—a mob! For about an hour, I was a member of a local cash mob. I did a bit of research before I showed up. After all, I wasn’t interested in…
Yes, They Were Teachers Too!
If you were a student in Mr. T’s classroom, would you have uttered a peep? Not me! I would have completed every homework assignment too. Yes, Mr. T was a teacher for a spell. J. K. Rowlings worked as an English-as-a-foreign-language teacher in Portugal. Sheryl Crow taught music at an elementary school in Fenton, Missouri,…