CATCH MY WORDS to find help with teaching strategies, resources, or to enjoy a laugh or music. Blog connected to Catch My Products, the gifted department store with resources for K - 12.
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My humorous thoughts about life.
"My Humorous and Helpful Thoughts About Teaching / Educational Resources for Your
Classroom / Music and Random Fun"
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This month, I've been blogging about classroom community, but ironically, many of you are not in the classroom due to concerns over the Coronavirus. Some used to say it was overhyped, but not anymore, do they? How else does the world stop the spread of a pandemic if not for social distancing? I believe the entire country needs to shut down, NOW, before this runs rampart in the midwest and other lightly hit areas. On another note, my husband and at least one of my kids is upset with me for giving two ghost tours, over a week ago, before our little adventure shut down for the month. My daughter reminded me that I'm over 55 years of age; however, I've been in great control of my Diabetes, recently by dropping almost twenty pounds and keeping my sugars at ideal levels.
Hand Washing
I thought I knew all about this topic as I sang "Got a fever of 103˚" in my head while washing, but there is a lot that I just learned. I never washed around my thumbs or between the fingers. This is really important, too. If you scrub every area of your hands front and back, it really does take a good twenty seconds. I had just been scrubbing the palms repeatedly rather than the entire area.
Health
One of my favorite things to do at home is to turn on YouTube and dance to Zumba tunes. I'll post my favorite Zumba dances in my Musical Monday Moves Me post, so you can join in. I'm also trying to eat healthy, via Noom. My 19 pound weight loss is due to enrolling in this program and becoming more focused on how I'm eating. My mind has been more at the table as I enjoy each bite and am better able to cue in to signs telling me that I'm full. If you want to join, I'll drop my referral code that gives you a free trial and 20% off. I think I get an Amazon card from it but am not sure. Join Noom Here.
What to Do with Your Class
If you teach high school, you should take a look at this: High School Reading Passages Bundle. Find SIX highly engaging reading passages with questions to keep your kids learning!
If you're wondering what to do with your class while out on break, I have an idea. I wrote a book called, MRS. ZIMMERMAN'S DONUTS, which is a middle grade novel about bullying. You may purchase or read about it here.
I would love for you to read my book, and if you think it would be good for your kids, I'm working on a book study to go along with it! By buying the book study, that will contain the book, you will have permission to send it to your class. That's a phenomenal deal for a class set! If you are like me, you read books before assigning them. If you want to get just the book to do that, you can. If you decide to buy the study, TpT will refund you the cost of the book if you ask.
Monday Music Moves Me
As promised, here are some of my favorite Zumba dances that I do from the comfort of my bedroom while in my pajamas. The dogs watch but tend to fall asleep rather than join me.
First up, I love A. Sulu and dance to a lot of his tunes. He always seems to get me to sweat, too. Here he is dancing to Marvin Gaye.
I also love this one! I especially like the smiling lady to the left of the lead dancer. She looks like she's having a blast and as a result motivates me!
With this post, I could go on and on, since I dance to multiple songs on any given day, but I will stop with Mambo Number 5. I've danced to a couple of versions to Lou Bega's song, but this is my favorite! I also think of my sweet Erica who is by my side.
We all, most likely, grew up wanting to hear our parents and teachers tell us we were good, but maybe that was not the best thing to hear. What happened when the adults forgot to tell us that we were good? Did we automatically think we were bad? To be honest, I can't remember back that far, can you? Either way, ever wonder what "good" actually means? It's a rather nonspecific term, which means it's much better to zero in on the behavior you like in a kid and want to see, again.
As a teacher, this is where the specific praise can be helpful. Instead of telling the child, "You're so smart!" focus on the skill completed or the effort involved. "I can tell you worked hard to figure that out!"
Instead of saying, "You were good at recess, today," say, "I like the way you invited Charlotte to play with you. It must be tough for her being the new girl, but you made her feel welcome!"
These sorts of specific praises are great for teaching kids what you want to see them accomplish. And as we know, kids do better with praise than criticism.
But do you need to praise after everything they do? No. After all, if you constantly praise kids, the words lose their meaning. Save the praise for something special. Praise regularly but not the same praise every time they finish. After all, too much of a good thing can be bad.
Monday Music Moves Me is for the Animals!
First up is Maroon 5 with "Animals." I usually like to post the original video, but it was kinda gross, so here's the Saturday Night Live version.
Next up is a song I remember from elementary school, but certainly not this version of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."
Finally, I know I've posted this one before but it's good enough to post twice. Here is Harry Nilsson with "The Puppy Song." They are so cute!
