About Squarehead Teachers

Well, I’m a travel loving, cookie eating, bright color obsessed teacher who just can’t get enough of blogging or Photoshop. I’ve taught various grades from Kindergarten to Undergraduate courses in both in the United States and in China, teaching everything from dance and PE to English and math. I come from a family of educators, and believe that all teachers (public, private, charter and home school) are grossly under appreciated and deserve a little extra help. I started my Squarehead Teachers blog in August 2012 with the hope that I can be that extra little help that makes teachers feel a little more loved!

Liebster Award!

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

liebster-blog-award

(Liebster = sweetheart, beloved person, darling).

A huge thank you to Kelly at Free Little Words for nominating Squarehead Teachers for the Liebster Award. In my humble opinion, every teacher is a liebster. Thank you teachers!

The Liebster duties:

1. Post 11 facts about myself.

2. Answer the 11 questions posed by the nominator.

3. Pass the love to 11 other bloggers &

4. Pose 11 new questions for the newly ‘loved’ to answer.

Part 1: 11 Facts

I’m 5’ 11” tall.
My husband has dimples.
When I’m in the passenger’s seat giving directions, I often confuse right and left (must be the stress of navigating!)
My nails are always painted a bright color (all done by yours truly, of course. I’m broke.)
I love scented candles!
I’m obsessed with my planner. I take it with me everywhere!
I thought the computer animated kids movie, Madagascar 3, was hilarious!
My favorite number is 10 (since it’s the easiest number to work with).
Not a fan of carbonated beverages.
I love Gerbera daisies! They’re the happiest flower!
My sock drawer doesn’t contain a single pair of plain white socks. They’re all bright colors and patterns.

Part 2: Answer Questions By Nominator

Toilet paper over or under and are you a scruncher or a folder? Over. Always. Umm… scruncher?

Are you a cat or dog person? Neither… sorry!

What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Cleaning out drains, especially the shower drain. Yuck!

If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be and why? Oooh! TOUGH question. Not sure, but definitely an age after I’m married to my husband.

What is something you learned in the last week? How to correctly pitch a baseball.

Which celebrity do you get mistaken for? Taylor Swift.

What’s one thing your parent/s did that you swore you would never repeat with your own children and you have followed through with? Hmm… nothing comes to mind. Guess I had awesome parents. Sorry!

If you could have a room full of any one thing, what would it be? Peace and quiet.

What do you value most in other people? Christ-like character.

If you could only see the world in black and white plus one other colour, what colour would you choose? Dang, this one’s hard too! My first instinct is to say blue, since it’s my favorite color, but that might make me feel cold all the time.

Do you believe ‘half the fun is getting there’? Yes. Attitude determines altitude.

Part 3: Nominate Other Blogs

Do It Yourself Divas

Crazy Busta-Movin’ McCoys

The Fun, Cheap or Free Queen

Adventures of a Future Teacher

Confessions of a Homeschooler

Johnny Jet

Beginners Photography Blog

Part 4: New Questions

What is your default cell phone ringtone?
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?
If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet?
What would you name the autobiography of your life?
Describe yourself in 5 words.
What songs are included on the soundtrack to your life?
Have you ever won anything (contests, radio prizes, etc.)?
What do you miss most about being a kid?
Are you proficient with chopsticks?
If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would you switch with? Why?
What expression/phrase do you say the most?

Sneaking Graphs into Your Classroom

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

The ability to interpret graphs is a crucial skill in today’s world of standardized testing. Here are some creative ways elementary school teachers have brought graphing into their classroom:

How have you brought graphing into your classroom?

Click here for more free math stuff!

Giant Easter Bunny Craft

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

A second grade teacher just submitted this fun craft! It can be made with any color paper, and turns out to be about 3 1/2 feet tall! Thank you!

Easter Bunny pattern 3 1-2 feet tall

Awesome Field Day Ideas!

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

These fabulous ideas were submitted by a fellow elementary school teacher. Love this idea! Thanks!

“Thursday was our field day. It was unlike any other I had been to. These games would be fun with youth at church groups and camps as well. There were 18 stations we rotated through during the day. Each teacher stayed with her own class and the classes rotated. Most of the stations were relays or races with our kids divided into 6 teams. The theme was Dr. Seuss books. Each station was named after a book. Here are some examples:

Horton Hears A Who– had kids run to pick up cotton balls (representing the dust speck of Whoville) with chop sticks (2 pencils) and run back.

Yertle the Turtle– where kids sat on scooters and raced over to a pool that had green paper plate “turtles” in it. They grabbed a turtle and scooted back to their own “pond” to stack the turtle. Tallest pile of turtles won.

Go Dog Go– 50 yard dash.

Star Bellied Sneetches– tug of war.

The Lorax – had two teams, one was the oncelers who were cutting down trees (knocking down plastic cones with their elbows) and the other team, the Loraxes who were putting them back up.

If I Ran The Circus– had kids juggling scarves running 15 feet to little balance beam things to stand on and juggle while we applauded.

Two of the favorites were water activities. Both were to try to fill up a big can with water. One of them had each team had a 2 inch PVC pipe that was 2 feet long. There had been 6 holes drilled in it. The object was for the 4 kids to run with the pipe to a tub of water, submerge the pipe, then carry it back and pour the water in the can. They had to cover the ends and the holes with their hands. Fun game. The next water game was with a bucket of water at the front of the line. The first kid had a big sponge and submersed it in the water. Then he had to carry it over his head to the next kid, and then the 2nd kid carried it over his head to the 3rd kid etc. The last kid had to wring out the sponge in the can. “

The Library of Congress Can Help You!

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library’s vast digital collections in their teaching.

You can also find Library of Congress lesson plans and more that meet Common Core standards, state content standards, and the standards of national organizations. Awesome, right!?

Here’s the website: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

Starch Painting Easter Eggs

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

Here’s another fun craft we did this week: we painted tissue paper squares on to paper Easter eggs. Just mix starch with water and apply it over the pieces of tissue paper. Then hang them up to dry. Easy as that! Happy Easter!

Flying Bunny Craft

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

My friend Carol tried this with our kinders today and they loved it! We went to the top of the play structure and tried to get our bunnies to fly to different spots on the ground. Super easy craft for kindergarten or preschool… probably would also be fun for first or second grade as well. I mean, come on… who wouldn’t enjoy making a flying bunny rabbit!? Happy Easter!

Click here for the free printable PDF: Flying Bunny pdf

Do Your Students Know You’re Proud of Them?

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Squarehead Teachers

I saw this cute idea in an elementary school classroom a few months ago. It’s super easy to make, and sends a great message to your kids.

Buy a dollar store picture frame (8″ x 10″ is best)
On a piece of cute, light color paper, write “I am proud because.” Add stickers, etc if you want. Cut the paper to 8″ x 10″ and put it in the frame.
Use a ribbon attached to the hook on the back, attach the frame to your file cabinet or a nail on the wall.
Write with a Visa-Vis pen (or other overhead marker) what makes you proud.
Write a small note in your planner every few days to remind you to update the frame. In addition, you may want to attach a class list to the back of the frame so you can keep track of who you’ve featured on the frame and who you still need to acknowledge.