Velcro and Hermit Crabs

A few words were spoken over the final resting place of Hermit Crab #2 and a moment of silence followed by myself and another teacher who was passing by. The dead fish smell was the final give away that it was not molting, as I had hoped, but moved onto a better place. Luckily, one can get anything on the internet and two new crabs are being fedex-ed as I write this post. I have already asked the receptionist to be on the look out for a box marked "live animals" and to not be alarmed. I ordered two just to hedge my bets - is that wrong?

Sixth graders arrived today for their orientation with a few new 7th and 8th graders in tow. I was in my class listening to Neil Gaiman's "Coraline" on audio books (great story so far - very subversive for kids!), tacking up more wall decor, and making sure my A/V system works. I poked my head out just in time to overhear on of my rising 8th graders who, acting as guide for the newbies, informed her charges that I was to be their English teacher. I reminded her to tell them that I was also mean and made kids cry; however, she summed it up best by just saying "...and he's weird."

I read "A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future" by Daniel Pink for my summer teacher reading. I love it because I tend towards right brained thinking. The Science and math teachers don't seem to appreciate it as much - go figure. I highly recommend skimming it and dog earing the "portfolio" sections as they have great lesson ideas for ANY discipline.

Stuff Teachers Need:

• Lots of Velcro
• Access to a laminator
• Scotch and masking tape
• Collection of markers, colored pencils, and paper
• Music
• A tablet-style computer and
• A Fujitsu "Scan Snap" scanner ( instant scanned PDF files directly to your computer and and literally as fast as snapping your fingers)
• Pictures of your students that are small enough to fit on a standard sized sheet paper (I am visual, so my seating charts have my students' picture as well as their names on them to help me connect one to the other)
• pictures and personal items on desk to show that you are human

QUICK NOTE!!!
Always ask for an "educator's discount." when I got supplies and stuff for our classroom's Hermit Crabs, I asked for and received a special discount on the spot from Petco just for asking. It never hurts - I even got new tires at 10% off just because the guy at the desk's mom was a teacher.