Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Deirdre Smith writes/owns JDaniel4’s Mom. After twenty years as a elementary school and technology resource teacher in Northern Virginia, she became a stay at home mom in upstate South Carolina. Her blog features ways she and her 5 year old are exploring learning, crafting, creating healthy meals and living life to its fullest. Deirdre can also be found on twitter as @jdaniel4smom and on her blog's FB page. You can also check her out on Google+.

Alouette Sundried Tomato and Basil Cheese Review

By

I was sent a coupon to get a free container of Alouette Cheese as member of She Speaks. Cheese is a favorite of everyone in my house.

We tend to buy hard cheese for snacking and cooking. The sundried tomato and basil soft cheese we tried from Alouette was really good though. It has a strong sundried tomato flavor that was great with whole grain crackers.

 I tried spreading it on salmon just prior to cooking it. I thought it would melt and leave behind a nice tomato basil flavor. It actually didn’t leave any noticeable flavor. I will need to work on how to best work with the Alouette Cheese in cooking.

It has flavor that would be good on so many things. They have a website of recipes. I think I will start there.

Great Holiday Cheese Ball

By

Ingredients

2 8oz. pkgs cream cheese
1 Tablespoon Seasoned Salt
4 Tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
1/2 of 8 oz can crushed pineapple (drained)
4 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 cupped chopped nuts (I use pecans.)

Beat cheese with fork or mixer. Stir in ingredients, except the nuts. Roll in chopped nuts. Put on plate and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate one day. Serve with crackers.

American Education Week-Funny Science Quiz Answers

By

My friend Cathy sent this me. I thought the answers were really funny. I hope you enjoy them.

Q: Name the four seasons.
A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.

Q: Explain one of the processes by which water can be made safe to drink.
A: Flirtation makes water safe to drink because it removes large pollutants like grit, sand, dead sheep and canoeists.

Q: How is dew formed?
A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.

Q: How can you delay milk turning sour?
(Brilliant logic – love this!)
A: Keep it in the cow.

Q: What causes the tides in the oceans?
A: The tides are a fight between the Earth and the Moon. All water tends to flow towards the moon, because there is no water on the moon, and nature hates a vacuum. I forget where the sun joins in this fight.

Q: What happens to your body as you age?
A: When you get old, so do your bowels and you get intercontinental.

Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? ( e.g., abdomen)
A: The body is consisted into three parts — the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain; the borax contains the heart and lungs, and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels A, E, I, O, and U.

Q: What is the fibula?
A: A small lie.

Lessons from Homework

By

I had a parent few years ago who had a limited reading ability. She was a very humble woman. Each night that I sent home an assignment she didn’t understand she would call me at school. She checked over her son’s assignments as soon as he walked in the door. If he couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do or she didn’t understand any of the words on the assignment, she called me by 3:30 p.m. I was still there at 3:30 p.m. and could easily give her the help she needed.

I had another parent about fifteen years ago who would send in a homework assignment back undone. She would tack on a note saying her son said he couldn’t do it independently so, she didn’t make him do it. I would start each morning going over his homework and having him do it. He could do it. He just needed someone to point him in the right direction.

Guess which parent was telling their child school and learning were important.

Thankfulness Turkey Craft for Kids

By

turkeywplate

 

JDaniel made this lovely turkey. He had a little help with it. Okay! He had a lot of help with it.

The turkey now lives on our refrigerator. I love displaying his work! JDaniel is so proud of his work being displayed.

Xerox Supports Troops in Iraq

By

If you go to this web site www.LetsSayThanks.com ,you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!! It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Please take the time and please take the time to pass it on for others to do. We can never say enough thank you’s.

Thanks Cathy M. letting me know about this program!

Did You Know Elmo Was Blue?

By

At my house right now everything is blue. If you ask JDaniel what color something is, he says, “Blue”. I have checked out library books on colors and he can repeat the colors after me as we go over them in the books.

 Once the books are put away everything is blue again. I think this is normal for his age. His friend Joseph went through a period when everything was purple or not purple.

Mommyhood Tip-Send a Kind Word to Your Child’s Teacher

By

Stay in touch with your child’s teachers in ways that show you appreciate what they are doing. If every parent took a moment to write a positive note to your child’s teacher, it would really make their week.

Most of the notes I received as a classroom teacher were to point out thing that they thought I needed to do better or ask about a grade or to thank me for something I had done.

 Guess which ones I like to get. I loved notes from parents saying you helped my child learn something I thought he would always struggle with. I loved notes that said thank you for helping my child write a great story.

I once received a copy of the letter a mom of a former student sent to the superintendent of schools. The letter thanked the school system and in particular four teachers that had helped her son pursue his dreams. The letter was sent when her son graduated from graduate school. I was one of those teachers she mentioned. I taught him in second grade. She will never know how much that letter made my whole career.

Taking Take Lessons from Books- My Teacher Sleeps at School

By

My Teacher Sleeps at School is an awesome book! The students in the class see the teacher bring in a bag of food and a pillow and conclude that the teacher lives at school.Later in the book she takes her class to her house to see where she lives. As a first grader my class went to have lunch at my teacher’s apartment on the way back from a field trip. I remember being in awe as I sat in her living room and listening to her read Winnie the Pooh to us while she sat in her own rocking chair.

When I ran into students, they were always surprised to see me out of school. I think they assumed I slept at school too. What do your children think about their teacher’s lives? I bet they could write a funny story about their teachers using the facts they know about them.

Favorite Books

By

I have struggled all day with what book I would write about as my favorite. I love reading the Bible especially the book of Ruth. I loved reading the Anne of Green Gables books, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and the Mouse in the Motorcycle when I was little. I learned a lot from Lucy Caulkins’ book The Art of Teaching Writing as a classroom teacher. I read my class The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe every year in school. (My second and third graders loved it.) As an adult I have read hundreds of books I really enjoyed. I loved the books by Jan Evanovich, David Baldacci, John Grisham, Brian Haig, Joanne Fluke, and Jasper Fforde. Every year I read at least one non-fiction book that is good for me. I call them “high fiber” books. I learned a lot from the books Founding Brothers, Love and Respect, and Farther Than Any Man: The Rise and Fall of Captain James Cook.

What did I decide is my favorite book? Right now JDaniel and I read Cars and Trucks and Things That Go by Richard Scarry every day. We look for gold bug. We talk about all the vehicles and the noises they make. Then when we get in the car to go places, we keep our eyes out for the vehicles we have read about. Today we searched for backhoes. I just read Moe’s Café. It really got me thinking about communicating with God and my spouse. It would be my new favorite book.

Categories

memberships

From the Past