Digital Portfolios

Digital Portfolios

With Common Core Standards we need to prove the growth of our students.  Having a Digital Portfolio is a great way to do this.  This year is the 1st time I have had my students create a Digital Portfolio and I was a little nervous about them doing so.  I attended a few webinars vis SimpleK12 about the subject and learned a lot from other educators who have taken this route to showcase student progress.  I decided to use LiveBinders web tool to takle this new project.  I also used a Symbaloo board to organize their Digital Portfolios. 

My goal was to showcase the work my students worked on throughout the semester and then share it with the high school staff.  I kept telling my students that this is their portfolio and they can organize it any way they would like since it belongs to them.  I of course had an example for them to look at and some guidelines for them to follow.

We did learn that if you have a presentation in Prezi and you add it to your LiveBinder a preview will not appear within the LiveBinder, only the link to the presentation shows up.  This is ok, you can still click on the link to view the presentation.  

My classes are a semester long and I ended the semester with building the Digital Portfolios as our finial project.  I don't think the portfolios made as much impact with my students as I had hoped it would.  This semester I am going to start off with building our portfolios from the start.  


Tech Tip:

  • Build a LiveBinder before you have your students try to takle the project.
  • Have a few examples for your students to refer back to.
  • Use a Symbaloo board or other bookmarking tool to organize your students' portfolios.


Science Fair Project by Ethan

Science Fair Project by Ethan 

My son came home from school so excited about the project he wanted to do for the Science Fair.  After hearing a lot of "Please mom the rats won't escape their cages can I please do my project?".  It didn't help that he got everyone in the house behind him and encouraging him to do this project.  What swayed me into agreeing to have four rats in my house for a month was he wanted to make a website for his project.  I guess the boy has my number and I caved in.  

He created his website using the online tool Weebly.  He used an iPad to record his video clips of his tests and with a little help from his techie mom he uploaded  these clips to Schooltube.  Since Schooltube allows you to use an embed code it made it easy for him to embed his video clips to his Science Fair website on Weebly.


http://ratproject.weebly.com
He did make the required Science Fair Board and included a QR code on it that is linked to his Science Fair Project.

Endangered Animal Research & Presentation

Endangered Animal Research & Presentation 


Students learned to research an animal that is listed on the Endangered Species List.  Once they have found an animal they were required to use 3 Search Engines and 1 book to find information about their animal.  Then they were required to cite the websites and books they used for research using MLA style.  They used Bibme.org to help them cite their resources.  One major rule was not to cite Google as their resource.  I had to remind them Google is a Search Engine. 

The following was the requirements for their notes:
  • Use Bullets for your main points about your animal.  For example population, location, and etc...
  • Use Number bullets for your facts.  For example what they look like, what they eat, and etc...
  • You must have at least 10 facts about your animal and 5 sub-facts.
  • What was the reason for the decline in population.
  • How can we help?
  • You must have at least 4 web resources and 1 book.
  • You must have used at least 3 different search engines.
  • You must have at least 1 map.
  • You must have at least 5 images that pertain to your animal (not including the map).
  • You must cite your sources in MLA style.
  • You must cite where you located the pictures.  The website name and address.

Click here to see my notes for the Spotted Linsang.
You can use Prezi, Google Presentations, SlideRocket, or Zoho Show.
My Prezi - Spotted Linsang
My Google Presenation - Spotted Linsang
My SlideRocket - Spotted Linsang
My Zoho Show - Spotted Linsang

They were required to type up their notes using Google Docs. 

After they were finished with their notes they created a presentation using the information they researched.




Click here to view my students' presentations.





Digital Posters .... Glogster Edu Style

Digital Posters .... Glogster Edu Style

For the month of October I had my Keyboarding Class create digital Posters to either inform people about Internet Safety or Cyberbullying.  We used Glogster Edu to create some very interactive digital posters.  My students had to research their topic either Internet Safety or Cyberbullying.  Then they had to create a digital poster over their topic.  Below is the the Glogster I created to introduce the assignment.





Student Created Glogs:


Tech Tip:

Have your teacher account created before you have your students set up theirs.
If you are a Google Apps School have your students login with their Google Account.
Have examples on how you would like your students to create their digital poster.

Presentations from Basic to Interactive

Presentations from Basic to Interactive


Presentations are no longer just for Microsoft PowerPoint.  You can create some very dynamic interactive presentations via online presentation tools.  My 8th grade Computer Apps class is doing a Endangered Animal Research and Presentation project.  I took the same animal and created 4 different presentations.  Part of Common Core Standards has students making choices and creating using technology.

Click Here to view my lesson for my Endangered Animal Research and Presentation project.



Web Tools Used:


  • Google Presentations
  • Google Docs

My Presentations:



Tech Tips:

  • Before your students create a presentation make a few yourself using the tools you wish your students to use.  I wouldn't use more than 4 different online presentation tools.
  • Let students pick the tool they would like to use for their presentation.
  • Have a clear list on what you are requiring from a presentation. 








Standing Up ....

Standing Up...



Today was wear Blue Day and stand up against Bullying & Cyberbullying.  As part of my curriculum I teach students about cyberbullying and ways we can stop it.  Since October is national bullying and cyberbullying awareness month my tech classes started a campaign to get other students to stand up against cyberbullying and wear blue on Oct 1st.

If you would like more information on how you can Stomp Out Bullying and Cyberbullying visit the StompOutBullying.org site.


Flipping for the IceMan...Part I

Flipping for the IceMan...Part I

You may have noticed that technology or using technology in my classroom is my "BEST Practice".    For my entire teaching carrer I've have taught students and staff members technology skills and applications. This year I am adding 6th grade Social Studies to my list.  I spent my entire summer break coming up with a plan to teach a subject I'm not 100% comfortable with, so I've have gone to what I do best teaching with technology.


I have been learning a lot about the "Flipped Classroom".  Since social studies is not my main subject I thought what the heck lets try flipped instruction.  As my class was finishing up with our Culture project I kept planting some seeds that we would be working on a IceMan project.  I divided up the project into "Departments" a art department, a book research department, a teaching department, a online research department, a tech department, a creative writing department, and the science department.  I then had my students pick 3 departments they would like to work in.  After I had my students placed into their departments I did inform them what they were responsible for.  My students got into their departments and then I gave them our project.  The only directions I gave them was "We are going to make a website over the IceMan."  I didn't tell them any information about the IceMan.  I did inform them that my only job was to be a facilitator/moderator.

My jaw dropped when they set to work.  The online researchers in a split second found the IceMan, double checked that was what they needed to be researching and started writing down resources.  The book researchers got together and started in on the books I found.  The art department asked the researches if what they found was the IceMan and started planning how to either draw him or use the pictures they have found.  The scientist started planning on how to make a mummy.  The teachers got busy planning how they would teach everyone.  The tech department started planning out the website.  This team work not only happened once but in both of my social studies classes.  Now I wished I had taken some photos.  My only problem I had was the noise level.  They were all so excited that the noise kept getting louder and louder.

Since this project is just in its infancy you will need to check our progress as we develop our website on the IceMan.


Our Websites:  


Exit Slips in 160 Characters or Less...

Exit Slips in 160 Characters or Less...

For the past week my 6th grade students have been learning about culture.  We brainstormed what culture was and create a collage of items that best represents culture.  Students then had to do an impromptu persuasive speech on why their collage best represented culture.  After the speeches were finished we then voted on which collages best represented culture.  Now it was time to assess if my students understood culture before we head onto the Ancient Civilizations.   I racked my brain trying to figure out how I was going to assess their opinion on what culture means to them.  Then it hit me.  I just used WallWisher which is a free online collaborating tool with my computer apps class to build a technology terminology wall, why can't I use that same tool as an exit slip.



I posted the question and gave instructions to my students to write what culture means to them.  In one glance I can see which students got the concept of culture and which ones did not.  I also can see which students that need more practice in typing compete and proper sentences.

Who would have thought that online sticky notes could be used as an assessment tool?


Tech Tip:

  • Set up the wall before class.
  • If you have a class website or blog embed the wall so it is easier for students to find.
  • When setting up the wall check mark that you want to approve all posts.
  • Have students erase Anonymous and type in their 1st name. 


Online Word Walls

Online Word Walls ...




I attended a webinar over using Wall Wisher which is a free online collaboration tool.  A lightbulb went on and I thought what a great way to get my students thinking and talking about technology terms.  I don't know about you but when someone tells me that thingy or whatchamacallit is not working really is not proper vocabulary or terminology for technology.  I even have adults use that type of terminology when talking anything tech related to me. It only took me two minutes to set up my Technology Word Wall in Wall Wisher and then embed it into my classroom website.  I do have it set up that I must approve each posts.   

Knowing that technology terminology is such a broad topic and having about 80 eighth grade students I decided that we needed to collaborate and everyone needs a hand in creating our "Technology Word Wall". 

The following were the instructions I gave my students.

Part I:


  • You need to research words you think relates to technology.
  • You need to add your word and its definition written in your own words to the wall.
  • You are only allowed 160 characters.

Part II:

  • If another student has copied your idea you will need to comunicate and decide which definition needs to be removed and email me your decision.
  • Find more words.   


Part III: Which they have not done yet.



  • They will be creating a quiz in Google Forms using 10-15 of the technology terms that has been posted to the wall.
  • I will have active links to all of the quizzes created posted on my classroom website for students to access.
  • My students will then have to pick 5 different quizzes.  If they don't receive at least 80% on each quiz then they will have a chance to pick a different quiz and do a retake.
Last year I spent weeks coming up with activities to teach only a handful of technology terms to my kids and most of it went in one ear and out the other.  After just a week of launching this word wall my students are talking and having some meaningful discussions among themselves circling around technology terminology.  




Making Your Mark ...

Making Your Mark ...


Inspired by International Dot Day on September 15th of this year I made it my goal to discover how my students could make their mark in this world.  We brainstormed many ways other people in the world have already made their mark from Justin Bieber being discovered because of his videos on YouTube to random acts of kindness and recycling.  Our discussion lead to me finding classrooms from around the country to connect with. Thanks to Skype in the Classroom my students had a blast connecting with other students thousands of miles away.  We shared some of the ideas we brainstormed on how we can make our mark.  Several of my students now have made a commitment to help out with community service projects as well as helping others.

One of my classes had a surprise when they learned that they may be on the evening news in Green Bay WI.  It turned out the evening news was present when we made our Skype call as we shared ways we could leave our mark.


What made my day was when a few of my students stayed after school to inform me that I had made my mark within them and thanked me for thinking outside the box, that I had inspired them.  They also wanted to know what was next.

Has Your Google Drive Gone Crazy?

Has Your Google Drive Gone Crazy?

Our school has gone to Google Apps for Education and several of my colleagues have asked how do you organize that crazy out of control Google Docs/Drive?  Since I've been using Google Docs for almost 10 years now I learned quickly to stay organized so I don't really think about it any more.  I guess I just think of my online storage as an extension of my hard drive.

I've found a few video clips that I think really explain how you can organize that out of control crazy Google Docs/Drive.




Tech Tip:

  • Make Folders and Sub Folders.
  • Download Google Drive to your Main Computer.
    • This helps so you can create and organize those files a little better.
  • Home has been replaced with "Activity List".
    • Right Click (control + click) on an item you wish not to show in the "Activity List" and click Don't Show in Activity List.  This will remove it from what was the Home.
  • Use the Search features.  This really does help find those files you can't remember where you filed them away.

This is a screen shot of my Google Drive.  As you can see I only show my folders on my Activity List a.k.a. my Home.  I also color code my folders. (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)



Math Fun the Sumdog Way...

Math Fun the Sumdog Way...

Last school year I introduced my students to Sumdog.  Sumdog is a free math site that using fun interactive games to deliver Common Core State Standards.  The games are aimed for students grades 1st through 8th grade.  What makes Sumdog so great is that it is self-paced learning that covers number operations through to simple algebra.  As students answer the math problems Sumdog's learning engine adapts its questions to each student's ability which in turns helps teachers deliver those CCSS and move students to the mastery level.

The games are not tied to specific topics, which I think helps keep kids engaged.  Sumdog holds different contests throughout the year from National Wide contest to State Wide contest.  I did learn that the kids really like to see themselves on the leader board which sparked in house contests.  When school started this year I had several students asked when do we start Sumdog.  They had heard that Sumdog was AWESOME and I was the teacher to see to get connected. 

For more information about Sumdog please visit their website.  

StudyJams

StudyJams...

After the tenth student that came and asked me for help with their math homework I realized that I needed to brush up on my math skills.  I also realized that when I see a math problem my mind starts to solve the problem, its like an automatic response.  What I am having trouble with is explaining to the kids the steps my mind went through to solve the problem.  This triggered me to find a resource that the kids can use and will explain the steps.  I searched and discovered StudyJams.

I have to say from a teacher view StudyJams is AWESOME!  StudyJams is by Scholastic and they not only has math topics but also they have science topics.  At this moment I am interested in the math topics.  With each topic they demonstrated step-by-step instructions on how they worked the problem.  The students then get to try it for themselves.  What I love is that they get instant feedback after working the problem.  After they have tried it for themselves they can test themselves.  When they are done testing themselves they can see the problems they missed.  Again they get instant feedback.  If they didn't understand the process on how they solved the problem they can go back and see those steps again.  It's like having a math teacher on demand. 


Tech Tip:

  • Save the StudyJams link to your school or classroom webpage.
  • Walk students through the website the 1st time.
  • Demonstrate how the step-by-step instructions work.

SimpleK12 Ambassador

SimpleK12 Ambassador .....  

I was doing a happy dance this week after I learned that I was picked to be a SimpleK12 Ambassador.  Now I bet you are asking yourself what is SimpleK12 and why would she be so happy being picked to become an Ambassador.  SimpleK12 is a great way to continue your education by professional development in the education world within an online Teacher Learning Community.  This past summer I have connected to educators around the world through this community that have the same interest I have.  Which is to become a Life Long Learner.  

Attending a semester long course to receive professional development or that college credit at this point in my life just doesn't sit well with me.  I don't know about you but I am busy planning my lessons, attending meetings, going to sporting events, cooking dinner for five people, being taxi mom, and tutor mom.  I also live in a small town and if I want to attend a college to get that college credit I would have to drive over an hour away.  Due to my busy life I needed away I could continue to learn but be able to fit it into my life.  SimpleK12 or you may know them as the ladies with the Blue Bunny Slippers was the answer for me.  Thanks to all of their sponsors they are able to offer free Webinars.  Simplek12 also goes beyond just webinars.  They have built a Teacher Learning Community where teachers can share resources, download e-books, watch on demand sessions, forums, and my favorite making connections.  

Below is more information about the Teacher Learning Community.  Click here for a print friendly handout.

Click Here to Join the Community!!  
Find me in the community and connect with me.
      

Twitting the Low Tech Way

Twitting the Low Tech Way

Our Twitter Door
With common core we are expected to incorporate more writing, technology, and high-order thinking.  I know that lots of classrooms do not 1:1 with computer, so the questions becomes how are we suppose to incorporate technology.  I attended an webinar that demonstrated a low tech twitter wall.  I thought what a great way to demonstrate that any classroom can incorporate this type of social media into their classroom.  


The Assignment:

  • My students where given a question; What are you looking forward to at LMS?
  • They where instructed that they needed to start their response with @LMS since they were replying to LMS.
  • They were instructed that they must write a complete and proper sentence.
  • We talked about what a complete and proper sentence looked like.
  • We even solved a math problem.  In Twitter you are only allowed 140 characters.  We talked about what are characters. 
  • The math problem: If you have to start your Twitter response with @LMS and you are only allowed 140 characters how many do you have left to write your response?
  • We practice writing our responses then each student picked out their avatar and our Twitter door came to life.

I used the mini bulletin board cutouts for our avatars.  We have little monsters, crazy frogs, wacky monkeys, ipods, butterflies, and owls.  They kids had fun picking out their avatars and started planning making plans on who we should do our next Twitter response. 


Winners

Before I forget I have the winners of the Socks Rhyming Game.
Congrats to: Learning Fun and lraines78

Where in the World

Where in the World

This school year I am adding 6th Grade Social Studies to the list of subjects I get to teach.  My plan was to have a simple bulletin board and place a few postcards around a map to help teach mapping skills.  Thanks to an amazing PLN and friends my simple bulletin board and lesson has grown.  Before school has even started I have received several post cards which sparked ideas on how I can make connections with these postcards not only to mapping skills but to people, culture, and world history.  My simple bulletin board is now a wall with 3 different map types.  Since I am also a very techie person I now have an interactive map thanks to ZeeMaps that I posted to my classroom website.  As we receive postcards from around the world I will pin the places on both the Where in the World Wall and interactive map.

I even added a QR Code to the wall as a short cut to the interactive map.

Click here to view my interactive map. 

ZeeMaps Tips:


  • Add a Reliable Website
  • Change Pin Colors
  • Add a Picture

Back to School Giveaway #2 The Socks Rhyming Game

Gumball Math Winners...

The Winners of the Back to School Giveaway #1 Gumball Math are:

#1. loriferrante
#2. nicolehuddleston

Please login to the Teachers Notebook to claim your prize.


Back to School Giveway #2 The Socks Rhyming Game


Here is the next Back to School Giveaway.  To enter you will need to visit the Teachers Notebook.  There will be 2 lucky winners of the Socks Rhyming SMART Board Game.

Drawing will be 8-30-2012

Link to the description of the Socks Rhyming Game.  TPT Store or Teachers Notebook 


Shopping the Box Top Way

Shopping the Box Top Way

When I go shopping for my everyday items I try to pick the items that have a Box Top on them.  After learning about eBox Tops I thought I would try to shop online and earn Box Tops that away.  Let me tell you how easy it is to shop online and earn eBox Tops, and guess what there is no cutting out those little squares, or forgetting to in my case.  After I had created my online account for eBox Tops I went to their Market Place.  They have tons of online partners so I picked out two of them and gave it a whirl.  My 1st purchase through the Market Place was with iTunes.  I purchased an ebook that cost me $12 and in return I earned 3.9 box tops or $0.39 for my school.  My next purchase through the Market Place was with Avon.  I purchased some needed items and ended up earning 15 box tops or $1.50 for my school.  So far I have earned for my school $2.97 and I didn't have to clip one box top out, how cool is that.

Tips:

  • Explore the online partners.
  • Make sure you are logged in to your Box Top account and shop through the Market Place.


Back to School Giveaway #1 Gumball Math

Back to School Giveaway #1 Gumball Math

Tis the season, the back to school season, and I am throwing a Back to School Giveaway!!  I plan on having a handful of Back to School Giveaways so check back often to see how you can enter and win!

Bonus: I align all of my activities to Common Core Standards.

To enter the Back to School Giveaway #1 Gumball Math simple visit the Teachers Notebook store and enter.  


The drawing will be 08-26-2012 and there will be 2 lucky winners.

Link to the description of Gumball Math.  TPT Store or Teachers Notebook Store

Box Tops 4 Education

Box Tops 4 Education 

box tops bonus website badge
As the beginning of a new school draws near the campaign for Box Tops 4 Education gets under way.  You can find bonus Box Tops on many of your favorite back to school items as well as food.  I don't know about you but I try to remember to cut out the Box Top, but sometimes I just forget. It seems that each year the program becomes stronger. I was web surfing and by accident I came across their website.  Did you know you can earn Box Top points digitally?  You can even keep track on your school's progress and see how much money your school has earned.  

Before I start promoting eBox Tops I had to try it out.  In 2 minutes I earned for Liberty Middle school $0.60 digitally and all I did was look at one of their recipes.  I also learned that the program has teamed up with several other companies such as Target, Kmart, Walmart, Kohls, iTunes, and many more to offer eBox Tops.  

eBox Tops:

  • Sign up for a free account.
  • Found your school and select it.
  • Go to the Market Place and start shopping.  You will earn digital Box Tops for your school. (There is over 175 stores you can shop at.)
  • You can also earn digital Box Tops by going to Click & Earn.

Tips for Box Tops:
  • Look for Box Tops and cut the out.
  • Bundle your Box tops in groups of 10.
  • Keep a collection sheet
  • Don't forget to turn them in before their expiration date.
  • Look for Bouns Box Tops.

Back to School Sale

Back to School Sale ..... Aug. 13th - Aug. 16th

Since its the season, back to school season that is. I am having a Back to School Sale.  Everything is on SALE.  Save 20% on some really fun SMART Board activities.  I've tried to connect all activities to the Common Core Standards.  

Visit my TPT store or my TeachersNotebook store to get in on the savings.

I am also taking requests.  If there is a topic, activity, or a lesson you would like to see in my store just let me know.

Also keep an eye out I will be having another Giveaway very soon a Back to School Giveaway!

Interactive Timelines Dipity Style

Interactive Timelines Dipity Style


Since I am going to start teaching 6th grade Social Studies I wanted to have a few interactive timelines.  I attended this webinar that introduced me to Dipity.  Dipity's site makes it simple and easy to make interactive timelines about any subject or topic.  The main reason I picked this tool was that you can add a picture, a video, links, and other information to an event.  I did notice that there are a few bugs in the system.  For example I wanted to make a time line over the Stone Age and the system kept reseting my dates to 1969.  I just made sure I put the date I wanted in the title and had everything in the right order.  I also notice that Dipity didn't really like Google Chrome so you may want to use FireFox.


Some Perks:


  • You can add Youtube video clips
  • You can add Website Links
  • You can add Pictures
  • You can view it as a Timeline, Flipbook, a List, or on a Map
  • You can embed your timeline 
  • You can follow others timelines

Tips:

  • Before you have your students create a timeline you should play around with it 1st.
  • If you are making a timeline and the dates are BC you should write the date with a minus sign.  For example -500
  • When setting up your timeline make sure you enter the focus date.
  • Enter the date in the title.

Links:

Make a Dynamic Website for Your Classroom

Make a Dynamic Website for Your Classroom


As I prepare for the new school I decided that my classroom website needed a make-over.  My goal is to make a website that is both informational and interactive.  I want my website to be the 1st place my students to go to for their assignments, discussion topics, resources, and important information.  I want my classroom website to be an extension of my classroom.  I've attended several webinars and looked at several other teacher's websites to help me get some ideas of how to approach rebuilding my site.  There are several places you can go to in order to get a free website for example; Google Sites, Weebly, Webs, and Wix to name a few.  I used Google Sites for my 1st classroom website.  It worked ok, but I needed a change.  For my rebuild I wanted something more dynamic, a site that would grap my student's attention.  I decided to use Weebly because they had an educational side and plus it was free.

Building with Weebly

Weebly was very easy to use.  All you have to do is drag and drop the elements where you want them.  You can even copy and paste your text if you already have it typed up.  To make my site more dynamic I added my Google Calendar, a slideshow, a Voki, and an Interactive Worksheet.  I also added buttons to the sites that we will be using the most.

Resources for building a site with Weebly:
Keep in mind as you look around on my site that I am still building and tweaking it.

DIY Ideas for Your Classroom

Do It Yourself Ideas for Your Classroom

I have been surfing Pinterest for DIY ideas I can use in my classroom.  Teachers do a great job sharing their ideas.  I discovered tons of inventive, creative, amazing, and genius ideas I can't wait to try in my classroom.

Some DIY Ideas:
I can't wait to use this in my classroom.

  • Buy $1 tins to hold pencils.  Label one tin "Needs Sharping" and the other "Sharped".
  • Buy $1 tin and label "Please Return Me" and place pencils in it.
  • Find a straw dispenser and turn it into a pencil dispenser.
  • Recycle frosting containers.  Color each one a different color and place that color of colored pencil in the container.
  • Store your bulletin board boarders in recycled frosting containers.  Cut a small section of the boarder and attach it to the outside of the container. (I store all of my boarders this way.)

Dispensing Erasers Gumball Style:

  • Find a Gumball Machine - I bought a Junior Carousel Gumball Machine Bank 12" from Amazon.
  • Fill it with eraser toppers - I found 25 for $0.88 all different colors.
  • Make a sign Pencil Erasers $0.05 each




Give with Target

Give with Target



Want to help our kids? It’s easy. Our school can receive up to $10,000 in Target GiftCards® for books or any supplies we need. Wouldn’t that be great? All we need to do is vote for our school each week until September 8. It’s part of Give With Target®. For every 25 votes our school receives, Target will send a $25 gift card. Find out more and vote at Facebook.com/Target.



Inspired by Crayons ...

This now hangs in my classroom.

Inspired by Crayons Melted Crayon Art

One day I was surfing through Pinterest and came across some examples of Melted Crayon Art.  So being a little crafty I decided to learn more about this type of art and give it a shot.  During my research I discovered many different types of melted crayon art.  Some people used canvas while other used foam core boards, and yet a few used wood planks to attach the crayons to.  Then I noticed that some people left the wrapper on the crayons while others removed them.  


Inspire:
Materials:

  • Foam Core Board 16x20
  • A Rainbow of Crayons
  • Hot Glue Gun & Sticks
  • Black Letters
  • Mod Podge
  • Foam Brush
  • A Tab for a Pop Can  
  • Heat Gun/Hair Dryer 
Directions:
  • Arrange your crayons in the order you want them on the board leaving white space on the sides and top (incase you want to frame it later).
  • Using your hot glue gun glue down the crayons.  I left the wrapper on the crayons they seem to attach to the board better that way.
  • Arrange the black letters to spell out the word you want to spell.  For example; Inspire, Dream, Hope, Faith, and etc... 
  • Using Mod Podge and the foam brush glue down the letters.
  • Allow the Mod Podge to dry.
  • Using a heat gun or hair dryer start melting the crayons.  You will want to prop up the board so it will allow the melted crayons to run down the board.  Go slowly so that you don't have a flood of melted crayons.
  • Allow the melted crayons to cool.
  • I applied another coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface of the board to give it a finished look.
  • Flip your board over and attach the the pop can tab using your hot glue gun to the top of the board making sure you center it.

Be as creative as you want with this project and use the colors you like.  I picked out a rainbow you could do different shades of blue, purple, red, and etc... 

Chicken Soup for the Summer Soul

Chicken Soup for the Summer Soul ...



As the temperature rises this summer the less and less I want to cook.  To help get me motivated in cooking I decided to visit my Pinterest Board for Crockpot recipes.  After looking through my saved recipes I remembered that I had pinned a very yummy looking Crockpot Chicken and Noodle Soup that I wanted to try.

Tech Tip:

  • Use a visual pin board such as Pinterest to help you save and organize recipes.
  • If you use Pinterest it helps to divide your boards by categories such as Chicken Recipes, Crockpot Recipes, Cupcakes, and etc... 

Recipe: I did change the original recipe just a hair.

Ingredients:
  • 26 oz of chicken stock (Swanson)
  • 1 packet of chicken flavor boost (Swanson)
  • 2 cups of water
  • One 10.75 oz can cream of chicken soup
  • 1/2 cup onions, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup carrots, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup green onions, sliced
  • 1 small package of frozen sweet corn
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 cup Egg noodles
  • 2 cups grilled chicken breasts chopped/shredded 
Directions: 

Add everything but the noodles into the crockpot and cook on Low for 5-6 hours, the last hour turn the temperature on High, and add the noodles.  Once the noodles are tender and ready, enjoy.




I have a feeling that I will not have any leftovers tonight.