The Magical Shoe Box

In the spirit of "remember what it was like to be a first year teacher?"-- I share with you THE MAGICAL SHOE BOX.

My niece is a first year teacher in the Chicago Public Schools and following in the footsteps of "the queen" she decided to blog about her experiences.

If you are even remotely interested in re-kindling that first year enthusiasm, it is worth the time to read. She is a wonderful young woman and I like to think that I played a small part in her decision to go into education( the truth is-- both of her parents are teachers!).

Enjoy the read and follow if you wish!

Tracking Santa

Here is a fun web-site for the child in all of us-- Not school related, but certainly a series of fun activities-- especially for those of you with small children as we lead up to Christmas.

NORAD is the bi-national (U.S.-Canadian) military organization responsible for the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada. Simply said, the men and women of NORAD watch the skies.

NORAD Tracks Santa is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program produced under the auspices of NORAD. Every year on Christmas Eve, "NORAD Tracks Santa" purports to follow Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world.

The program began on December 1 with a "Countdown Village" website. This portion of the site has a series of interactive pages for children regarding Santa and his village and workshops.

Even a big kid like me can enjoy visiting Santa as he makes preparation for the "Big Day". On Christmas Eve, you can even track Santa using Google Earth.
Finally, the site is multilingual--ENJOY!

Google Science Fair

Another cool GOOGLE idea to share!

On January 11, 2011 Google will kick-off a global science fair. There weren't that many details , but here is what I can report.

The Google Science Fair will be open to 13-18 year old students. Students can enter individually or in small teams. Google's partners in this project include National Geographic, CERN, NASA, Scientific American, and LEGO. Teachers can register now to receive free resource kits, bookmarks, stickers, posters, and notification when registration for the Google Science Fair opens.

I have registered and will share info as I receive it - Science teachers, you may wish to do the same.

Holiday Shopping

WeAreTeachers is an online community for teachers. It combines the expertise of their member community, the resources and knowledge base of partners and the momentum of social media to recognize and reward innovative teaching ideas. WeAreTeachers offers a unique forum for innovation and collaboration... AND, like any good online community at this time of the year, they have complied a Holiday Gift Guide. These fun gifts t are not only affordable, but are also teacher-recommended as educational. A good place for gift giving ideas that are practical, fun and educational-SHHH- keep that last part a secret!
The site is also a nice community of resources for all teachers - I highly recommend saving it as a favorite and if you are so inclined--- joining their community.