Just Pinning Away...

Do you use Pinterest? Yes, I'm a Pin Addict. Or Junkie. Or whatever you wish to call someone who is addicted to pinning things on Pinterest. It's just so visually stimulating, I guess. But I really love seeing all the great, creative things I can try in my classroom AND getting a good chuckle from time to time. I'm not a food-pinner, though. Seeing food just makes me hungry and want to eat. Plus, I'm not much of a cook, so what's the point? ;]

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my favorite pins with you. I apologize that I may not have these all sourced, but you can find them on my Pin Boards. Feel free to follow me, repin, comment, whatever. ;]

This one is courtesy of Kathie, my Facebook/Twitter friend & fellow educator. It's pretty sad how this is so true for many of us in our classrooms/schools. I guess it is a reflection of education, itself, in our society. Let's hope the pendulum swings back...soon!

This picture was taken by ‏@PaulWHankins at Donalyn Miller's workshop (she is amazing) and is one slide in her presentation. I think it speaks volumes about the power of reading.

Yep...

There's not enough time in the day to read as much as I'd like to!

Authors are my rock stars. Of course, rocks stars are my rock stars, too. {lol} 

You can order it from SourceBooks for $20. It's simply Poetastic!

And how cool would this be to eat from book-shaped plates? Buy them by the case (12 per case) 

from The Webstraunt Store. (Not sure if you have to own a restaurant to buy from them.)

I love this visual representation of "Knowledge is power." 

R.I.P. Ray Bradbury. Author of so many great works, including Fahrenheit 451 and one of my favorite short stories, "There Will Come Soft Rains" (which is also one of my favorite poems by Sara Teasdale.)

It seems appropriate to mention another author who did not believe in censorship, Mark Twain. (Actually, I can't think of any authors who favor censorship, can you?) 

And who doesn't love some ecards??  Here are my latest favorites:

(Nope, we just had unexpected company...lol.)

Yes...please direct these moms to me, please. I have a list ready for them. ;]

This one goes out to all my Wisconsin teacher friends. Unless we all get out and vote, what is happening in Wisconsin is sure to spread to the rest of our states, if it hasn't already.

And everything must end with a laugh. 

This one is from LOL Wall on Facebook, asking how you have been keeping cool this summer...

 Not sure if I pinned it, though I shared on FB. I guess I'll have to pin now, huh!?

And if you're looking for anything related to The Hunger Games, I'll be adding my favorite Hunger Games pins over on my Hunger Games Lessons blog shortly...

Have a great weekend!

Add your Pinterest link to Allie's link-up here:

It's Friday? Woes of a Teacher: Losing Track of the Days in Summer...

I have to admit that this is me in the summertime. And, oh, how I love it. As much as I love to teach, I always welcome the days of sleeping in and recharging my batteries. 

Teaching can be very tolling, as we all know, and non-educators love to joke about us having the summers off. But the truth is, there wouldn't be many teachers left if we didn't have regular breaks from the stress and demands of our job. During the school year I feel as though I am working from the moment I wake up until the moment I fall asleep at night.

And we are not paid for our "vacation" time, contrary to popular belief. Our contracts are for a certain amount of days worked, which are then spread out to receive regular pay checks. Though, I did teach at a school that did not pay during the summer months. That was early on in my career and budgeting for that unpaid time was difficult on my meager salary. It's no wonder so many teachers take on summer jobs.

For those of you who have started your summer breaks, here's to you! Enjoy yourself and take time to just relax. For those of you who are still plugging away in the classroom, hang in there. Summer will be here before you know it. And while you are relaxing poolside, we'll be getting ready to go back.

And for the non-teachers, try not to give your friends a hard time about their summers off. They deserve it! :)

HAPPY SUMMER!

I created the image using my new Fun Dots background, which can be found in my 

Fun Dots Frames and Backgrounds Package

~Clip Art for Commercial, Educational, and Personal Use~