Trading Cards iPad App from ReadWriteThink

Here's the 3rd of my 3 GTG posts on my new favorite free iPad apps from ReadWriteThink.

Trading Cards does just what it sounds like it does...however, not the baseball variety.  One of my favorite parts of this app is that it is specifically designed for the classroom to create 7 styles of trading cards.  You can choose between making one for:

• A fictional person
• A real person
• A fictional place
• A real place
• An object
• An event
• Vocabulary words

Given this, your classroom options are endless.  Again, ReadWriteThink has information and lesson plans for using this app.

I also like that (regardless of card type you pick), the app walks you through each box by asking a pointed question that will help you focus on fine-tuning your information per box.  My 2nd grader made a cute one for the Mary Pope Osborne "Magic Treehouse" books he's been reading.  

Here's my definition card for the environmental term "planned obsolescence." 

For my other two GTG posts on RWT's great apps, click here.

My Planned Obsolescence card from the Trading Card app, using my own research.  Image on that card from http://www.zazzle.com/planned_obsolescence_shirts-235608848561321715;  Trading Cards Logo from http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/mobile-apps/trading-cards-30922.html

Venn Diagram iPad App from ReadWriteThink

As I mentioned in my last post, this summer I'm "learning on my iPad" (as I tell my students they have to say). So here's Part 2 of my eco-investigation adventures using ReadWriteThink's 3 free iPad apps.


Venn Diagram was created by the International Reading Association (ReadWriteThink's home organization).  At the touch of the tablet, you can decide upon two or three circles, their sizes, their labels, and how to fill them.  My sixth grader intuitively knew what to do faster than me!


Here is a sample of what I created using the 3 R's:  Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle.

As an additional perk, ReadWriteThink has a whole portal of lesson plan ideas for additional ways to add this app to your classroom and iPad activity repertoire.   You can use the grade level tabs to come up with something that is just perfect for the age you teach on a wealth of topics!

To see my other GTG posts on this trio of apps, click here.

Venn Diagram black image from https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/venn-diagram/id666981188?mt=8; My 3-ring Venn created using this app (again, not as easy to read as I'd have liked), using my own ideas on how the 3 R's are connected.

Word Mover iPad App from ReadWriteThink

Summertime, and the living is easy.  It's true, but for a teacher, the summer comes with personal goals and plans for things that the regular school year cannot offer.  My garage, scary dump pile corners, kids' closets... so far it sounds like summer needs to come with courage and bravery (at least in my own house).

But there are the professional "ducks in a row" to get together too.  It's a great time to explore new ideas for schools and edtech trends--at least for this girl.  So along those lines, I've been investigating some apps that I could use in the classroom. Playing with them and giving them a whirl in the eco-world is a good way for me to give them to my own test drive.  ReadWriteThink have 3 notable and free iPad apps worth highlighting.

Word Mover is my first share.  If you remember the magnetic fridge poetry of days gone by, then you know exactly what this app is all about.  You have the choice of pre-programmed text on tiles, inputting your own, or even modifying existing tiles to change words on a per tile basis. This comes in handy when you need to add word endings or even just want to add a word of your own.  They have a handful of background images to add a canvas of your own choosing.  Additionally it's kid-tested, at least here in this house.  Both of my kids sidled up next to me to see what I was doing.  That's always a good vote!

Here's my " Green Surrounds" which helps all of us take a very Richard Louv approach to the green that surrounds us this summer.  A tad fuzzy in that it didn't like the digital transfer, but you get the idea.

For ideas on how to use Word Mover in other lesson plans, check out ReadWriteThink's Word Mover Page.

My fuzzy pic from my own creation, using ReadWriteThink's app WordMover.

Word Mover pic from https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/word-mover/id572997152?mt=8

Being a Mean Green Traveling Machine

It's summer time, and that's the time people start hitting the roads, rails, trails, and airways for travel.  From the looks of this old Superbowl advertising pic, even Kermit the Frog can get bit by the travel bug from time to time.  Whereas Kermit might go by his typical mantra "It's not easy being green," perhaps it is easier to travel green than you'd think.  At the very least, there are definitely a lot of good reasons to do so!

Check out the "Sustainable Travel" infographic below to investigate why indeed you should travel green, and how you can reduce your carbon footprint as you go.  Click here for a bigger version.

Kermit from http://voices.yahoo.com/kermit-frog-ford-team-green-friendly-188407.html?cat=9;

Infographic from http://visual.ly/sustainable-travel-why-should-you-travel-green

The Paper Towel Not Spent

Remember the paper towels with quotes on it.  I think perhaps they were Bounty.  You could get your li'l daily dose of wisdom, a takeaway that left you feeling a little bit brighter, a little bit wiser.


Here's a li'l something that'll do just that.  No, it's not ON the paper towel, but it should be.  It is however, ABOUT the paper towel...and the proper use of using just one to do the trick.  In doing so, you can save 571,230,000 pounds of paper towels over a year--from the current number of the 13 billion pounds of paper towel that are used in the US each year.

One indeed seems like a magic number.  (And that one, by the way, can be composted!)

Good advice to follow...unless perhaps you are writing a song.  Then, perhaps maybe you could take 2.  But only then:

"The weirdest place I have ever written a song is probably in an airport, and I got an idea so fast that I just had to run to the bathroom at the airport, grab a paper towel and write lyrics on the paper towel. I still have it. I still have it in a box in my room." ~ Taylor Swift

Paper Towel dispenser pic from http://inhabitat.com/world-wildlife-federation-super-smart-eco-ad-campaigns/
Joe Smith TEDX video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2FMBSblpcrc 

And Then There's the Kids--Climate Change, Summer 2013 Part 6

And so it continues....

"For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change." ~ President Obama in his 2013 State of the Union Address

I found the above quote from the July 11th article by Frederica Perera, DrPH, PhD in the Huffington Post.  Dr. Perera wrote an article entitled "Climate Change and Our Children." In it, there were some noticeable points and numbers that speak very loudly.

• 88% = The World Health Organization (WHO)'s estimated percentage of diseases that affect kids age 5 or  younger that are connected to the effects of climate change.  Immature immune systems of the young and nutritional needs are greatest cause for this connection.  This 88% affects populations globally.  Hardest hit:  the little ones in lower socioeconomic populations.  

• 150,000 = The WHO's estimate of deaths caused annually due to climate change (adults and children combined).

• 5,000,000 = The WHO's estimate of years lost due to disability, malnutrition, or poor health due to climate change.  

• 17 = The number of years between now and 2030.  During these years, the 5 million above could double if nothing is done to curb the problems.

• 66,500,000 = The number of children globally (over time) who have been affected by weather-related disasters--which have increased in both magnitude and occurrence. 

• 372,000 = The number of children left school-less due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  (It amazes me to realize that hurricane and its devastation was nearly 8 years ago!)

The list of health effects on small children is detailed well in Dr. Perera's article.  The list are many as a result of heat waves, air pollutants, and exposures that all come about due to the after-effects of our warming planet.  Given their still-developing, little systems, it's no wonder that the smallest of our people are the hardest hit and the most at risk.  They need us all to be agents of change, to curb the climatic changes.

Along those lines...more numbers....

NOAA's State of the Climate Report for June 2013 had this very striking quote:

"The globally-averaged temperature for June 2013 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest June since record keeping began in 1880. June 2013 also marks the 37th consecutive June and 340th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average."

So all that remains....

Are the questions:  What is going to be done to solve these problems? Why aren't we doing more now? And why are people even still questioning the existence of climate change?

These are the things that make me shake my head.

To see more on my GTG summer series on climate change, click here!

President Obama Quoted pic from http://www.rtcc.org/10-ways-barack-obama-can-address-climate-change/

"340th Month" pic from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151697598687708&set=a.136077452707.110998.12185972707&type=1&theater

"Did you know" pic from http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/infobank/climate_change

In a Nutshell--Climate Change, Summer 2013, Part 5

I'm telling you--it's the summer of Climate Change.

Every time I turn around, it's the topic of a lot of good info and good finds.  Even going to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC the other day, many exhibits spoke on endangered animals and how many animal populations were affected by humans--particularly by way of climate change.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself, and that's a story for another day.


Planet Nutshell takes complex concepts and simplifies them in an easy to understand video format.  They put down the facts cleanly and simply, "in a nutshell."  Visit Planet Nutshell and you will find a series of 11 animated videos all on the science behind climate change.  These videos were created through a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and created in collaboration with Salt Lake City's KUEN TV.  Here's episode 1:


To learn more, check out Planet Nutshell's Climate Change to find all 11 of their nutshell videos.

• Episode 1: A Sick Planet
• Episode 2: What is Climate?
• Episode 3: Evidence of a Warming Planet
• Episode 4: Too Much Carbon Dioxide
• Episode 5: Where Does Carbon Dioxide Come from?
• Episode 6: Climate Change in the American West
• Episode 7: Climate Change Around the World
• Episode 8: Climate Change in the Oceans
• Episode 9: How Bad Could it Get?
• Episode 10: How the World Could Tackle Climate Change?
• Episode 11: You Could Make a Difference

Special thanks to Free Technology for Teachers for originally writing about this.  If you are at all interested in teaching, educational technology, and finding engaging resources for your classroom, THIS is an excellent source for you!!

To see more on my summer series on climate change, click here!


Video and logo from http://www.planetnutshell.com/project/episode-1-a-sick-planet/

And the Wild Weather & Wildfires Continue--Climate Change, Summer 2013 Part 4

It just seems I can't steer too far away from climate change this July.  Of course record heatwaves and Western wildfires make that a little tricky.  (Reason # 316 why my backyard pool and it's revival this summer--after a long hot no-pool summer last year--is of paramount importance in my "Teacher Summer" this year!)

Caught this on NBCNews.com tonight:  "Smoke from Massive Wildfire Billows Over Las Vegas."  More wildfires after Arizona's tragic event is bad enough, but it does make it more personal when I was in Vegas for the first time in 15+ years this past March AND I have a good hometown/high school buddy who lives in Vegas.  Makes you rethink the popular "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  When it is wildfires in surrounding communities that are only 15% contained, not so much!

Add too that tonight I was going through my list of saved "blog fodder" links, and ran across this video from Australia's Climate Commission.  At 2 minutes, 14 seconds, it does a good job of relating the wild weather, wildfires, and climate change conundrum.  It's not just an Australia problem...in the same way that it's not just a Vegas or Arizona problem.  Makes you wonder when we're all going to get serious, and get smart. "It" (this threat...no, this promise...of Climate Change) is not going away, people!



For more information on Climate Change, visit the Climate Commission.

To see more in my July Series on Climate change, check out:

-Wildfires: Just Another Climate Change Clue--Climate Change, Summer 2013, Part 1

-Right Brain Meets Left Brain With Climate Change--Climate Change, Summer 2013, Part 2

-Obama's Climate Plan--Infographically Speaking--Climate Change, Summer 2013 Part 3


Video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?client=mv-google&hl=en&gl=US&v=MNdF-eVRWX4&nomobile=1

Obama's Climate Plan: Infographically Speaking--Climate Change, Summer 2013, Part 1

To wrap up this week's GTG 3-part Climate Change Quest, this infographic is a goodie.  Shared on TckTckTck: The Global Call for Climate Action on June 25, the visual below does a good job of summing up President Obama's recent plan for fighting climate change.

Infographic from http://tcktcktck.org/2013/06/infographic-whats-in-obamas-climate-plan/53916

Right Brain Meets Left Brain With Climate Change--Climate Change, Summer 2013, Part 2

I'm sort of continuing on with my Climate Change thread this week.  In thinking about the rise in temperatures and the fact that this still is somehow "a debate," I landed on this video by Ensia.  In it, University of Minnesota and Daniel Crawford go about discussing climate change in a non-traditional way.  A way that hasn't been done before.  A way that more of us might "hear."  He combines raw scientific data with the music and magic of his cello and a pretty distinctive game plan--to record a song to reveal about climate change.  Namely, "A Song of Our Warming Planet."


A Song of Our Warming Planet from Ensia on Vimeo.

The score of this musical masterpiece is a little different than your typical song.  In it, Daniel Crawford plots the global temperature since 1880 by scale--musical scales.  If the temperature trend went down, the musical notes of the song go down.  If the temperature goes up, so too do the tones.  I love how the historical temperature graph is superimposed on the images, and the line graph moves with the music.  The trend is quite clear.

I love that this approach takes a right-brained tackle on the left-brain global data.  It left me wondering:  could this be the type of thing that finally makes a difference between the deniers and the dedicated believers.  My question is how many scientist need to be right in order for us to start believing it?  97% clearly isn't quite enough yet.  Perhaps by approaching it in a non-scientific way, people will truly be able to see!

For more on Right Brain-Left Brain from GTG, check out:
When Left and Right Brains Unite: The Symphony of Science

For more on Climate Change from GTG, check out the sidebar and click on "climate change."


Video from https://vimeo.com/m/69122809

Wildfires: Just Another Climate Change Clue--Climate Change, Summer 2013, Part 3

Our country, if not the world, is saddened this week with the terrible loss of  19 firefighters who were victims in the raging Arizona wildfires. Our hearts go out to them, to their loved ones, to their community they were working to help.  This single event rivals the loss in the fire industry that occurred Sept 11th, 2001. With damage covering more than 8400+ acres (a quadruple-sized jump since when it first began on the 28th of June), it is the worst US wildfire accident since 1933.  Those kinds of stats make you sit up and take notice.

Additionally too, you sit up when you start to see that the West Coast is emeshed in the perfect storm of a horrible, long-lasting drought and a record breaking heatwave.  Human-made climate change was one of the over-riding factors in the rise of Southwestern wildfires in the January 2013 climate report from the Federal Advisory Committee (the NCADAC, also known as The "National Climate Assessment and Development Committee).  Check out the fire graph here from Climate Central for the US's top state for fastest rising temperatures: Arizona.

When the Washington Post starts indicating we should be concerned on their Opinion Page, I'm thinking we should go with that. (See the WP's June 16th Opinion Post "What to Do About Climate Change.")  When the report is that the carbon level in the atmosphere is 400 parts per million [ppm]--when most climate scientists indicate that 350 ppm is where we should be--we should be worried.  Moreover, the carbon levels hit the highest ever point in 2012 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).  These carbon level increases could raise us 2 degrees Celsius over the next 100 years.  Those numbers change shorelines.  Those numbers raise waters.  Those numbers and rising temperatures cause an increase in natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.  Do we need more natural disasters in wake of these Arizona wildfires and many distinctive and destructive storms fronts?  I don't think so.

To learn more about climate change, be sure to visit all the links above, as well as 350.org.

Another good read:
"Climate Change is Here — and Worse Than We Thought" by James E. Hansen, August 3, 2012

Image from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/01/arizona-firefighters-disaster/2478537/;
Graph from http://www.climatecentral.org/news/the-climate-context-behind-the-deadly-arizona-wildfire-16175

The Zen and Art of Salad Making

I am not a gourmet chef by any means. I do not read recipe books like romance novel. I know some people who do. I'm a mad pinner over at Pinterest, but only a smidgen of my pins are ever recipes.

But for me, salads = summer.

It was through summer salad making after my first year at Eagle Cove School when it first happened. That was the summer I began composting. At Eagle Cove, every classroom composts daily. After a school year of teaching about composting, and daily reminding what goes into the class bin that's destined for the campus compost, I started to feel a li'l guilty in my house when making a simple salad. It seemed a shame for all those pepper cores and celery leaves to go in the trash, then ultimately the landfill. A-composting they would go!

Summer salad making goes beyond my compost though. Summer is the time where we step away from the soccer (or other sport) field. Likewise, its the time we step away from the fast food that too often accompanies the sports. Time (& therefore meals) opens up, becoming a more savory event.

So the chopping begins, and the cutting board gets a workout. In the rhythm of radishes, the cubing of cucumbers, the sprinkling of spices, you become very "in the moment"... which I think becomes harder and harder to do in this overly-connected, technology and time-crunched world in which we live.

It is through the Summer of Salads that a little bit of health, relaxation, and true self-restoration return--at least for this girl! Healthy for me AND my planet.

Speaking of which...it's that time! Lunchtime. My compost bucket awaits! I'm off to go Zen me a salad.

Image from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salad

Getting into the Great Outdoors

Ahhh....the Great Outdoors!  A great place to find yourself and reconnect--whether you go near or far.  In the article posted below, Heather Burton Boughey does a great job of channeling one of my favorite modern day environmentalists, Richard Louv (author of Last Child In the Woods:  Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder).

A bit of a modern-day environmentalist herself (as you'll soon see), Heather is an avid camper and a lover of outdoor adventures such as Maryland Park Quest.  I've done both with her, as we're about as good of buddies as our two daughters are. Here you'll find Heather's article (that is hot off the presses just today) from the Annapolis/Chesapeake Bay area's independent newspaper, The Bay Weekly.  Join in as Heather cheer-leads everyone, encouraging all to get outside this weekend to take advantage of "The Great American Backyard Camp-out," an environmental "holiday" held annually the 4th Saturday every June. What are you doing this Saturday night?

"Getting into the Great Outdoors" by Heather Burton Boughey
Copied with the Author's permission from the 6/20/2013 issue of The Bay Weekly

Whether you’re roughing it at a primitive camp site or pitching a tent in your own back yard, any time spent outdoors with family is the best.

Writer Heather Boughey, about 5 years old and second from right, and brother Joel Burton, second from left, making s'mores with friends, circa 1976.

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.–John Muir

The father of our National Parks was definitely on to something. A century before the age of instant connectivity, John Muir
already knew we’d be ready to get back to nature and relax. 

Adults spend 89.3 percent of their time inside buildings or cars. Kids spend almost seven hours a day on electronic media. Only one-quarter of kids play outside every day.
You don’t need to travel far to find an outdoors escape. You can start in your own backyard with the kids for The Great American Backyard Camp-out June 22. 

In anticipation of the big day, husband Jon, daughter Mackenzie and I tried backyard camping. We live off Nabbs Creek, and our densely wooded backyard resembled many of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at over the years. Mackenzie picked out the spot for our tent, and we cleared away rocks and sticks that would make sleeping on the ground uncomfortable. Then we set up camp.

We don’t have a fire-pit, so we made our s’mores in the kitchen microwave and sat outside enjoying them, as no camp-out is complete without the chocolate-marshmallow treat. Once darkness fell, we climbed into our tent to sleep. The neighborhood outdoor cat, Bubbles, wandered by to check on our sleeping arrangements but declined to come inside.

There’s something about sleeping in your backyard that gives an entirely new perspective. I never paid full attention to all of the nature sounds right at my back door. We listened to the different animals outside and tried to figure out if they were raccoons, squirrels or cats wandering by. In the darkness, I reminisced with Mackenzie about camping adventures of my childhood.

The Wilder the Better 

My father, Bill Burton, was always up for any adventure in the outdoors, so we went on many camping trips. In the late 1970s, our family and friends would head down to Wachapreague, Virginia, and take a boat ride to Cedar Island, a small and empty barrier island, where we would be dropped off for a week. There was nothing on the island. Everything we needed for our week-long adventure had to be brought by boat to the island. A small two-way radio was our only communication with the mainland. 

This was primitive camping. We had to bring fresh water and all of our rations with us. The privy consisted of finding the right sand-dune to dig a hole behind. Baths consisted of taking soap into the ocean. It was us and nature, with little distraction.

We were seven-, eight-, and nine-year-olds, roaming free. We explored the island. We swam in the ocean. We enjoyed great bonfires. We stayed up late in the tents, giggling and telling stories. We didn’t know we were roughing it.

When I started dating the man I married, I was delighted to learn that he also enjoyed the outdoors and camping. One of our first getaways was a week at Pocomoke State Park on the Eastern Shore. We loaded our tent and supplies in my little two-door car and headed out. We brought a pup tent, a hammock, two chairs and our food. No electronics and no cell-phones. We spent our time kayaking on the river and hiking the park. At night, we sat around the campfire, talking and playing cards.

Civilization Creeps In

Once Mackenzie was born, we upgraded to a five-person tent, in which we could stand up, and we had room for an air-mattress. We now had cell phones with us as we went camping. Civilization was slowing creeping in.

With age, my father couldn’t easily get in and out of a tent on our family camping trips. Many Maryland state parks rent camper-cabins, upgraded wooden tents of one room with a bunk bed and a double bed and an electrical outlet. These were our solution. But we still cooked our meals over the fire ring and used the communal bathhouses.

Modern-day conveniences continued their advance. Instead of waiting for the fire to heat up to make our morning coffee, we brought a coffeemaker to plug in in the cabin. Laptops, with air-cards, started to make appearances on these camping trips. We watched movies on the laptop. To help keep the cabin cool at night, we brought an electric fan.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we visited Herrington Manor State Park in Western Maryland. This time we upgraded our camping accommodations to a full-service cabin with a wood-burning stove. We had not only two bedrooms but also a complete kitchen with refrigerator, stove and microwave. We had our own bathroom with a shower. We could eat our meals at the picnic table outside or at the large table inside the cabin. 

Even in the great outdoors, everybody had brought their electronics on the trip. My daughter had her iPad to read or play on at night. Others brought Kindles. Every single adult, and a few of the children, had cell-phones. One adult in our group was doing a work project on his laptop, while another was studying for an on-line course. Civilization has fully injected itself into our camping.
As I told Mackenzie these stories, she asked me about my favorite type of camping. Did I prefer the primitive roughing it or the amenities-filled cabins?

Cedar Island was a child’s paradise. We didn’t consider that emergency help would be a radio call and a boat ride away. Cabins are good options, especially in colder weather when the wood-burning stove comes in handy. It was in the upper 20s in Garrett County
over Memorial Day. Still, you lose some of what camping’s about.

I thought about it and gave Mackenzie the best answer I could: Any time spent outdoors with family is the best. It doesn’t need to be survivalist camping, and it doesn’t need to be full-service cabins. You can use modern communications as much or as little as you want.

You can even pitch a tent in your backyard and spend an evening together under the stars. In our busy world, that’s an easy way to get away, and a great way to introduce your child to camping and nature.

Join the National Wildlife Federation and thousands of families across the U.S. on June 22 for the Great American Backyard Campout.

No experience needed. Just pitch a tent in your back yard and enjoy the nature that is right around you It’s a free event, but the Federation also takes donations to help fund programs to get more children involved in nature: www.nwf.org/Great-American-Backyard-Campout.aspx.

Article and pictures from Heather Burton Boughey's Bay Weekly Article: http://bayweekly.com/articles/good-living/article/getting-great-outdoors

Great American Backyard Campout logo pic from http://www.nwf.org/great-american-backyard-campout/event-details/connect-and-share/post-a-badge.aspx

Harvesting Wind Power and Awareness Through Global Wind Day

Saturday was Global Wind Day.  It is every year, annually June 15th.  Yes, I know, here after Father's Day, I'm 2 days late and at least 2 dollars short.  But, that doesn't mean it's too late to learn a little bit about it, and wind power.

Anyone who has experienced a "Bad Hair Day" on account of the wind, knows the power of wind power.  Same holds true for anyone who has set sail in a sailboat, or seen the damage in Oklahoma this past month--wind can do a lot.  This infographic is good for putting it all in layman's terms.  Check it out!



Image from Global Wind Day's FaceBook page.

Happy World Ocean Day

Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink....a saying that sums up this salty, watery planet of ours.  At about 71% of our planet, we're "blue" for a reason--the oceans abound, rich with wildlife.

June 8th annually is World Ocean's Day.
This year's annual theme:  "Together we have the power to protect the ocean!"


Check out some of the many great things you can do to celebrate World Oceans day by way of learning, appreciating, and honoring that 71% that surrounds us over at http://worldoceansday.org/.  It's a super stopping spot for resources!

Then be sure to take part in a World Ocean's Day Scavenger Hunt over at ARKive.org

Find some great oceanic, hands-on, educational activities here.

Take the time to see what you can do!!  Marine animals everywhere will thank you!


Video from http://youtu.be/tSEbPSrKkp4

Graduation Season ~ Commencements Galore & More

Graduation season is upon us, and the season of commmencment speeches.  My daughter, graduating from 5th grade, is even giving one, a few days away.

'Tis the season of reflection, the state of transition and change.

And perhaps even a hanky or 2!

As a teacher, this time of year is always a time of assessment--for students and teacher alike.  Report card season begs the question of where we are, and what we still need to work on.  From the teacher-side, again, it's a question of where we are, what worked, what didn't--both personally and professionally.  These are the times that always get you thinking!

In a way, it's like being "reptilian," this "being a teacher" thing:  As you wind up the year in your class, you also begin wondering how you are doing, which "skins" are worth saving, and which ones you want to shed.  Some things, not all things, are keepers for next year.  The same holds true for personality traits, moods, and habits of behavior:  as a teacher, which ones are worth saving, and which are worth shedding?

It doesn't take much to get me in a wistful and thoughtful mood, especially here at the end of the year.  Especially when you have a graduation speech or 5 on your brain like I do.

• I have an elementary-aged girl, who is going to middle school in the fall, complete with the presentation of a speech she wrote.  Times 10.  I taught 10 of the 13 students in her class, including my girl herself.  That alone serves as a double-hanky event!

• This year is the last time my 2 kids will be in the same school at the same time. Ever.  It's all my li'l buddy knows, is to be there with his sister.  In a way, me too, since we started the school the same year, my graduate and I.

• This week on "My Radio Show" (as I like to dub my morning musical brain space), Bert and His  Crew of 2 more each wrote commencement speeches to "the powers that be."  They were powerful indeed.  (and though I'm finding Bert interesting--especially since I listened to him years ago on MIX 107.3, I'm so missing my Jack Diamond morning show terribly! But I digress):
• Bert's Speech:  Define Your Own Success and Go Agains Life's Comfort Zone
• Pearls of Wisdom from Jeff Dauler
• Kristin's Got Respect 

• Lastly, I'm just coming off of a reread of Randy Pauch's "The Last Lecture" book. As a man who was dying of Pancreatic Cancer back in 2008, he has a poigniant perspective.as he says goodbye to his trio of "under 7" set.  I have decided that "The Last Lecture" should be seen/heard/read--as a COMMAND PERFORMANCE--annually, by everyone! Period. Exclamation Point. No questions.  There are so many pearls of wisdom in there, and it helps to see things straight....as well it should be.

So this season, I open up a challenge to you.  Write your own "last lecture," graduation speech, commencement address..whatever you want to call it.  Really look at what you would write--what you feel is important on a human level!  Then reread it...really READ it!  But more importantly "HEAR" it!  Then, live it!!  Insert "Pomp and Circumstance here!"

(And yes, this is a "continuation of a theme for anyone who has been playing along, taking notice, or who is equally wrapped in this graduation season ahead!!) See:  GTG's "Balancing a Life, a Blog, and a 3 Day Weekend".


Images from:
Kids graduating:  http://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/graduation/kids-tossing-graduation-caps.html
Ralph Waldo Emerson quote pic from http://myfbcovers.com/facebook-cover/quotes-sayings/dont-go-were-the-path-may-lead
Last Lecture book pic from www.amazon.com
Last Lecture video from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo

Eco News at Schools

Lately, there's been some great eco news in and around Anne Arundel County Maryland--that kind of good news worth sharing.  Some of it has involved "Yours Truly"...other is just plain great things going on in Maryland regarding environmental education.  Check it out!

ECS Third-Graders Combine Lessons On Annual Bay Bridge Trip 

by Meredith Thompson 5/14/2013

Pictures & Mini-Post of "Third Graders Restore Oysters" over on Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Facebook Page (dated Thursday, May 30th)

My iMovie video of the above "Oyster Graduation Day" with Chesapeake Bay Foundation:  Password: Oysters2013

MAEOE ("Maryland Association of Environmental & Outdoor Educator")'s  Youth Summit was held this past Friday, May 31st.  Read all about the event and Governor Martin O'Malley's appearance there at The Washington Sun.

Clean Water Concert Series starts this weekend in Easton, Maryland

pics from: 
https://www.facebook.com/chesapeakebay?hc_location=stream

Chesapeake Bay Foundation Oyster kiss pic by their own Tiffany Granberg & Foster Nost
Maryland Green School from http://www.maeoe.org
Clean Water Concert Series from  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151650667375943&set=a.74690925942.110101.8914040942&type=1&theater

Balancing a Life, a Blog, and a 3 Day Weekend

Yes, I still DO write an environmental education blog (with a twist of edtech on the side).  It's been awhile, so I know some of you have been wondering about that!

No,I'm not on a hiatus or sabbatical... just in a current chasm: I have fallen, and I can't get up!  That's what you get at the end of a school year. (Less than 2 wks away, but who's counting?)

This past week, my earliest bedtime was the wrong side of midnight, and some nights well past that.  Time and responsibilities and soccer practice and cooking dinner and doing the laundry and paying the bills and being Single Mom while Dad was in Canada for work....no wonder I've been up late!  Then after the kids go to bed, there's still the grading of papers, the planning of lessons, and the attempt (even at the end of the year) to be a teacher who still creates things which will actively engage her school kids.

The bigger problem is that I haven't figured out a way to turn off that side of me that wants to be the "human sponge"... That part that wants to be soaking in information from everywhere about everything!  So in the still of the night when all are snuggled in bed, I find myself strolling in Cyberspace for all sorts if things to satisfy my perpetual mental quests.

It's been said before: there are not enough hours in the day!!!

Yet, at some point there's a breaking point of exhaustion. A point where the best solution is to sleep--to sleep in the same way we eat popcorn at the movies:  voraciously! Or you find yourself deep in the need to go off and wonder the woods for a getaway!

There's more to this brain space, but I have a 3 day weekend ahead, so it'll have to wait. No doubt, it'll crop up here in my blogosphere in the next few weeks. 

So here during this Memorial Day weekend, in addition to taking some time to think about the real reasons we should be celebrating this weekend, check yourself.  That's my plan. At the crossroads of "Work" and "Relax," which way will you find yourself not only pointing, but going?  

Maybe I'll see you there!!

Image from http://www.stanford.edu/dept/CTL/cgi-bin/academicskillscoaching/scrap-time/work-relax/

He Speaketh to Nature

In the past, I have called him the The Deer Whisperer.

Now I think he answers the calls of downy-fluffed birds.

My son has an uncanny knack of being "one with the Animal Kingdom." He's not quite Grizzly Adams, but he has a talent.

At the tail end of last week, my boy brought me out to the front yard to show me the little robin he found. The tell-tale signs our li'l friend was a robin was from a smidgen of orange on his feathery chest, and his mama who was occasionally squawking from a nearby fence.

We got a quick and up-close peek, but knew not to touch or even feed (despite our natural instinct to want to).  We'd been paying attention to Jennifer Keats Curtis when she came to Eagle Cove School during our Earth Week to talk about Animal Rehabilitators.  My Nature Boy asked if I knew of any "Wildlife Protectors" to call, and aside from Jennifer (who was probably busy with dinner right about then), we didn't.  So we relied on Mother Nature and Mama Robin, and gave our baby fledgling some space, peace, quiet, and privacy.

A half hour later I came back to look for our li'l fluff ball, and he was nowhere to be seen.  Safe, no doubt under a bush or with his mama.  As it should be!  And this mama had a warm spot for her li'l human buddy who has an outdoor eye and a way with wildlife!


Pictures from my camera, using the Motivational Poster app for iPhone to create the above images.

Happy Mother's Day

I saw this picture today on The Green School's Facebook Page, and thought it was just too striking not to share--especially here on Mother's Day.  It has a great image of honoring Mother Nature, children, and of course, the mothers that were so vital in creating them (from body to being who they are)!

May all of you mother's out there (those that are grands, steps, ones in our memories, and ones that are not mothers by blood but by love, commitment, and heart) have a glorious day today!

Image from The Green School of Bali, Indonesia's Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/greenschool

ECS Earth Week: Eco Kits

I've said before that Earth Day at Eagle Cove School is an event bigger than just one day.  Yes, we are an eco-week in the making!

One of the things my class did during our ECS Earth Week was to make outdoor  exploration kits for each of the other classrooms.  I've written before about "Exploration Backpacks."  In my mind, I have been thinking this was a vital addition to recess...and Earth Week was the perfect place to make this happen.

When you picture recess at an elementary school, you see a lot of different things:  games of tag, kids swinging on swings, playing soccer or kickball games, and a myriad of other activities.  But there are also the drifters who are trying to find something else to do.  The scientists.  The explorers.  Maybe not the run-around-types, but maybe the look-under-the-rock types.  So with a tote with a bird chart, a leaf identification card, a couple notebooks, some pics, some pencils and crayons to record the observations, a magnifying glass, and even a compass....you've got a true bag of goodies!!

Presented at our Earth Day celebration concert, it's been fun seeing the kids of all ages (PreK to 5th grade) embrace the intrigue of investigation.  From little ones in PreK and Kindergarten to bigger kids grades 3rd and up...seeing them running around with eco kit in hand, trying to spot treasures, hunt worms, or find all sorts of hidden goodies in nature....  THAT makes for a great recess!!

Pictures a la my camera!

Best. Field trip. Ever.

Cross curricular is the way to go.

Just like a recipe:   Combine a synchronized study of Rivers of the World and Bridges.  Insert some mapping.  Fold in in reading and writing.  Add in some environmental studies.  Mix in some math and measurement.  Then pepper in some paintbrushes, a scenic locale, and some creative water color techniques.

With all of this, you have the makings for a great field trip!

Combine with iMovie and you've got an excellent movie-style memoir!!! Check out our li'l video collection of 3rd graders hitting up Sandy Point State Park with paintbrushes in hand to "paint" the bridge!!!


"Painting" the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Vicki Dabrowka on Vimeo. Pics from our adventure and a couple others via my Google search..

ECS Earth Week: Days 1 & 2

I've said it before....a day is not enough for Earth Day at Eagle Cove School.  We need a week!

2013 is no different.

For a history of our Eagle Cove Earth Day, check the GTG archives for some great moments in our history (and there have been a slew).

Earth Week Day 1: Earth Day: Monday

Annually like clockwork, "green" author Jennifer Keats Curtis comes to talk about all of her amazing children's picture and non-fiction books. This year, our younger ones heard the tales as she read them; middle-aged kids get to hear of some of her experiences as an author who interviews a lot of environmentalists and were inspired to write their own story of animal rehabilitation (and 3rd graders even got to be animal rescuers by helping a little songbird find its way out of our room after it found its way in); and 4th and 5th graders Skyped with JKC's illustrator for 3 books, Laura Jacques. She inspired both the budding authors within our students AND the animal-loving eco-warrior!

Earth Week Day 2:  Tuesday

School friends Grace Episcopal Day School from Silver Spring, Maryland came our way and spent 4 hours with us doing a Water Walk (Did you know that many people world wide walk 6 km or approximately 3 miles to get fresh, uncontaminated water daily.  It does without saying that women and children are the ones who had to do this.  We carried a set amount of water for 3 treks down the causeway outside our school that runs adjacent to/across the Magothy River and outside our school.  We rotated in 5th and PreK/Kindergarteners, then 4th and 1st graders, then finally Grace's and ECS's 2nd and 3rd graders...all carrying the same water we transferred off to get a cumulative feel of 3 miles.  The water and I felt it.  8,000 steps on my pedometer later.... we had some minimal water loss, but loads of fun on campus doing eco-outdoor games while our walkers all carried on!

Another free photo slideshow by Smilebox

The afternoon had us checking out some river wildlife and playing a fun migratory bird activity.  After Grace Episcopal had to bid adieu's on their bus and head back, we still had one more activity:  the solar power races. Each class designed a car out of recyclables.  Now all we had to do was wait for the sun to arrive, which it finally did around 2 pm!!  It was a heated race indeed.  Check out our Smilebox!

Free slideshow made with Smilebox

More to Come:  Earth Week Days 3, 4, and 5:  Can't wait for the student-led theatrical performance (with humor and music, of course!!) based on Dickens "A Christmas Carol"--aptly named "An Earth Day Carol."  Then we'll have musician in residence Linda Richards here to write Earth Day parodies with the classes, for our Friday grand finale concert!  Fun times still to come!  Stay tuned...

Photos from me and Jennifer Keats Curtis.  All Smilebox photos from my camera.

For Your Earth Day Viewing Pleasure

Happy Earth Day!


Here are 3 dandies for your Earth Day viewing pleasure.  May you learn a little bit along the way, and gain a new appreciation for this planet of ours!  More importantly, make every day Earth Day!



BrainPop:  
Join Tim and Moby as they explore "Humans and the Environment.  Free to viewers without subscription logins for a time being.


Constitution Hall Pass' "The Story of Earth Day:"
Great for middle and upper schoolers, and will take you on the historic road from Thoreau, Transcendentalism, and early environmentalism!




And of course there is this year's Google Doodle.



Images from http://freesamples2fillupyourmailbox.com/earth-day-2013-freebies/, http://www.brainpop.com/. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcUMc6YG08g, http://blog.constitutioncenter.org/2013/04/the-story-of-earth-day-video/

The Unfortunate Nest

About a week ago, my family and I were at my daughter's soccer game, rooting for her during one of the first really nice days of spring.  My son, of course, was on the move, so I went to track him down every once and awhile.  He was hanging out by the baseball diamond, so I touched base with him...at which point, he pointed up to the lights and said, "Hey mom, look at that!"

An osprey mom and pop (and we later saw little heads) were hanging out in the nest they had built on the lights.  The adults would fly out and back, perhaps looking for food.  What was almost more surprising and noticeable to my son was the flapping white plastic bag that was waving in the wind, as part of the nest.  (You can see it here in the picture as the white mass right under the osprey, which is in the top left hand corner of the lights structure.)

Reminded me of the Jennifer Keats Curtis environmental children's book "Osprey Adventure."  In that story, Pete and his Dad ("Doc") find the exact same thing on a channel marker, though a blue bag rather than my white one.  Unlike me, Doc is a wildlife expert who was trained to check osprey nests for trash (and successfully remove it without harming or scaring the bird).  Not to mention, at the height of the lights, there was little I could do about the situation other than discuss it with my son.  Lucky for him, he's got an eco-warrior for a mom, and was already schooled in the perils of plastic.

Lucky for us both, Jennifer Keats Curtis will be visiting us this week at Eagle Cove School for our Earth Week (because one Earth Day just isn't enough at our Maryland "Green" School).

To get schooled more in the "perils of plastic" and "Osprey's Adventure" (a great book), check out the following links.  (Note to self:  If you see plastic trash floating about or laying around, pick it up and dispose of it properly to keep it out of the way of wildlife!!)

• My October 2009 Green Team Gazette Newsletter synopsis on "Osprey's Adventure"

• My October 31, 2010 blog post: "This Halloween: 1). Watch Out for Witches' Drawers, and 2). Don't Get Buried"

• My November 27, 2012 blog post:  "The Power of Plastic in Pictures"   

•  Jennifer Keats Curtis' visits (and more) to Eagle Cove School in 2012, 2011, 2011--terrapin focus, 2011--Maryland Life, 2010, and 2010--books focus'

• Click here if you are in the Maryland area and would like to schedule a school visit or set up a writing workshop/residency with a phenomenal author and environmentalist:  Jennifer Keats Curtis.

Osprey Nest image from my camera this April, "Osprey Adventure" pic and photo of Jennifer Keats Curtis from http://www.jenniferkeatscurtis.com/