ONLINE LEARNING: Should you or should you?

I found this on a site which showcases different kinds of info-graphics.
Short and succinct, it might be helpful if you are thinking about online learning for yourself or your kids.

Eco-words and practices

There are a lot of fun and interesting eco-words that have been popping up on the internet for a few years now: My Favorites are:
1. Repurposing, or using an item other than it's original purpose.
and
2. Upcycling, which is "the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value." (www.thefreedictionary.com)


This is something we practice at our school, where the kids and teachers bring in paper and newspapers from home, empty containers, and restaurant take-out cups (lots of them).  

• Empty containers (yogurt, cheese, peanut butter jars, ice cream containers in funky shapes) are often re-used as storage; although we have, on occasion, used them as palettes, or water bowls for painting.  We have also used them as molds for making candles.  Larger containers are sometimes used as prep trays, where we put materials that we are going to use for a particular class.  They have also been up-cycled (using glue and colored tissue) as pencil-holders, eraser holders. Oh, those Chillz cups with the dome cover? we have one currently in use as the writing prompt holder (also works as Pictionary prompts).  We shake the cup and pull one prompt out of the hole at the top.    
• Bottle caps of water and juice bottles make excellent bases for little sculptures.  We used some to make our totems/avatars out of plaster of Paris strips; and then we use them as game pieces.
• Egg Cartons are best for sorting activities, although one dad made a little school bus out of an egg carton once.
• Small sortable items like empty pen caps, odd beads, small toys from birthday party loot bags.  Keep them in a big container, then use them for sorting activities or to teach place value (in the lower grades we do this for math).
• Fabric scrap, or textured scrap (like sandpaper, wall paper swatches) make for interesting stamping or painting tools.  As do old pre-paid load cards.
• Old combs for adding texture to clay.
• Styrofoam containers and trays make great stamps (use bottle caps as a base)
• small baby cologne bottles can be used as squeeze containers, when the kids are using "special" mixes like paint and soap (it's nice and runny, very Jackson Pollock); glue and food coloring.  Baby powder bottles are excellent pretend salt and pepper shakers.

When the empties are not in use, and sit on the shelf, we can always use them to play grocery-grocery as Teacher Tom did.  My toddler niece loved the grocery-then-cooking-then-pretend picnic game; and couldn't have cared less whether she was using the commercial, store-bought kitchen toys or the upcycled, repurposed pretend ones.  The big kids at school sometimes look at a piece of recyclable - the odder, the better - and dream up things that can be done with them.

Go ahead, try it (Be sure you wash everything out before you use them).

Enjoy!

Unscheduled post number 2

Just my luck, a sick day is also a DepEd-cancelled class day.

Teacher Perk number 14: DepEd cancels classes when the weather is bad...

Of course, most of us use the day to either do errands or catch up.  Even if we wanted to sleep all day, when an idea for class hits you, you don't rest until you've written it out (or typed it up).  The class even plays itself out inside your head!


Rainy Day Things you can do by yourself (me-time for teacher) or with your kids.

• I was up very early today, and at this time I had already sent out all the rainy day online, off-campus work. Stumbled upon a site called 750 Words, which encourages you to write 750 words a day. It's very similar to Julia Cameron's Morning Pages in The Artists' Way, and if I'm not mistaken, that's what inspired it.  It's daunting, at first.  It gets easier after a few minutes, once you get into mind-dump mode.  It actually counts words. This is also the first site I've seen that includes statistics: like state of mind while writing, frequently used words, it even reminds me that I type, on the average, 21 words per minute. 
• Make something out of clay.  Make clay out of flour, water, salt.  A little oil makes it more malleable.  Flatten with a rolling pin (or wine bottle if that's what you have) before toasting in the oven.  Otherwise, it'll bubble up.  Paint; then coat with fixative or clear nail polish to make it nice and glossy.
• De-clutter.  Then give away stuff: Toys to friends or the Loyola Heights Toy Library.  Upcycle old clothes or turn them into Chinese jack stones (since you can't find those anymore).
• Clear out book shelf of books-you've-read-but-are-unattached-to.  Then swap with friends. 
• Bake. I try to. I fail, but I try. 
• Upcycle magazines.  I have these magazines that have the kind of art I like, and the paper (thickness, texture, matte-ness) is great.  After I read the useful and informative articles, I take a metal ruler and line it up against the spine, and use a cutter (regular box cutter with an adjustable blade to cut the spine out.  Just keep the cutter blade lat against the ruler, and cut in light long strokes, over and over, until the blade runs smoothly against the ruler and the friction is gone.
• I fold the magazine into envelopes, or make scratch paper sketch pads with the some of the pages.  Luckily, this magazine uses a light-colored font.  I draw right on the page even when there is type on them.
• You can make your gift bags out of them, too.
• Read and Roll! 
• Read a story, then roll one with your kids. You start, then they add.  At school our rolling story circle only has 1 rule: Nobody dies before 2 rounds are completed.
• If you have a Filipino-language challenged learner, the rolling story (in Filipino, or any other language they're learning) makes for a good review tool.  It encourages the child to think in the particular language.  You can translate as you go along, too.  When we did this in the first week of school, the kids asked to do a second story!

Teacher Lei

Catching up on my reading.  Very happy to see that Teacher Lei updated Pinoy Weekend Warrior.  Here is an excerpt, where he trains for a marathon, and helps a young person out by accepting [the young person's] offer to help.

As some of you already know, my full-time job is not the typical M-F, 9-5 workweek, which wreaks havoc on a training program that is best followed to the letter. Right now, I get a run in whenever I can, and fortunately, I have found a little help from a friend.

I told the young person I am working with about my plan to run my first marathon in September, and since he found out, he has taken on the role of being my personal coach. It's incredible. If I am on shift, at half past eight in the morning, he would tell me to lace up and go for a run while he rides his bike beside me. We do this twice a day, once in the morning, and again in the evening. In terms of training, this is great for me; but with regard to personal development, this is a step towards the right direction for him. The set-up we have could not have worked better.

For the fund raising portion of the run, I have found inspiration with some of the kids I used to work with at Kids Ahoy. Together, they have all raised money to contribute to the organization I'm running for, by performing chores around the house, or doing some fund raising of their own. I am grateful and truly inspired by the support they have shown.

• Full blog post here

• Help out his organization here

 

Off Campus Reading List

Part of the Blended Learning curriculum, are off - campus supplement work.  Even the teachers do this. Since today is a non-working holiday, I'm catching up on a lot of reading, via Google reader, where I store a few blog subscriptions.

Here are my most-read and must-read.

• Imaginative Bloom - great visuals, great stories about people who hand-make; the independent craft makers and sellers.  It makes me want to make stuff.
• Cut out and Keep - Again, handmade heaven! And this site teaches you how.
• Peppercliff - like minded teacher keeps blog.  Shameless, shameless plug.
• Teacher Tales - Like minded pre-school teacher. Another Shameless plug.
• Moonlight Chronicles - From the author of Radical Simplicity.  The articles are a bit old, but I never tire of reading them and looking at his drawings.

• RePlayground - Easy and cheap how-tos
• Design Sponge - when my interior-design-consultant past comes back to remind me of good design.
• The Art of Nonconformity - You already know most of what is written here, but often forget it as you go through the frustrations of have to as opposed to want to; when you want to strangle that salesperson. Chris Guillebeau's posts are short and underwritten, yet packs that punch that you want.  You'll keep re-reading until your day is all better. 

• Ben Does Life - He's funny, he's inspiring. Best when read in the morning, right before or right after you look at Marc Johns artwork.
• Marc Johns - see Ben Does Life
• Danny Gregory and Nina Johansson - The sites that got me drawing again.  You'll want to start after you see them.
• The Hero Handbook - the name speaks for itself, yeah?
• Pinoy Weekend Warrior - Possibly the coolest, nicest, kindest person I have ever met.  The kind of person who embodies heroic attributes; a hero if I ever saw one. A good writer, to boot.  The blog isn't regularly updated, but when he does update, the posts are nice and lengthy.

Hopefully there are some good reads there for you as well. The weather is just right for a reading day, isn't it?