For those of you who have never received or seen a MindWare Catalogue—you are missing out! This company bills itself as providing ‘brainy toys for kids of all ages’ and they do! Inside are amazing games and activity sets that will allow you to build independent student centered learning anchor activities. Most of the product sets are designed for advanced, gifted, and enrichment in both language, science and math. You can receive a free catalogue by going online at www.mindware.com. Or you can come see mine at the office—I have sticky noted it all up with ideas! Teacher Appreciation Week is coming up soon—and for any of you who would like to ditch another coffee mug—gift certificates are available!
Family Fun must know that March and April are testing months! In the March issue there are some really great activities, crafts and projects that really resonate especially for teachers looking for that extra ‘edge’ and support for their students in this very stressful time.
How about Butterfly Bounty—using the smaller snack size Ziploc bags, glitter encrusted clothes pins, pipe cleaners, and a healthy dried fruit trail mix—your students can SOAR to the top, or how about Fly High with a special treat that is full of ‘brain’ food!
Or are you ready for some ‘Smarty Pants?’ - pant pairs cut from construction paper, stapled and filled with … you guessed it… Smarties!
There is even an article on helping students develop a ‘positive attitude. Something we could all practice about now!
I am also reading two Steven Covey books—Principled-Centered Leadership and 7Habits of Highly Effective People. The center of both books revolves around this premise…”Effective people lead their lives and manage their relationships around principles; ineffective people attempt to manage their time around priorities and their tasks around goals.”
While the books are very similar, here is a quote from Principled-Centered Leadership that I really like “No bypassing, no short-cutting, no pretending, or appearing, no making impressions, no amount of “dressing for success,” will compensate for lack of skill and judgment.” and how about “To improve, we must start from were we are, not where we should be, or where someone else is, or even from where others may think we are.”
I ordered SuperFreakonomics for my nephew for his birthday… what are you reading?
