Pokeball Behavior Chart

Similar to this idea:

They would start out with 5 Pokeballs to start the day, but would lose them for leaving class to go to the bathroom, get a drink, poor behavior, etc. It would be all laid out, so they know what to expect.

For positive behavior reinforcement, they can earn Stardust and Poke Candies for completing assignments, helping around the class/school, etc.

Still a work in progress.

Saving this to explore later:
3 Rules and 4 Consequences

Middle School Grade Teams

Click here for the original site

Planning

So, it's been quite a while! So much has changed! I am back to teaching, and my kiddos are both at my school. I'm going to use this as a place to brainstorm some ideas for the next school year.

A little background:
I'll be overseeing and co-teaching a small Christian Middle School. We will have 12-15 students total, grades 6-8, so we're getting a little creative.

On to dreaming/brainstorming:
"Gotta Learn It ALL!"
I got the idea today to take the Pokemon Go craze and make it a theme for my class. Since there are three grades, I am thinking we use the team concept. Either we use the Pokemon Go teams (Valor is the only one I remember), or I let them make up their own, one for each grade.

I've been browsing Pinterest, and found some ideas, but I think I will be creating much of this on my own. I'll post my thoughts here, and hopefully start a discussion. I am mostly trying to get my thoughts down (before I forget them ;-) ), and hopefully get some insights from others who stumble upon this little blog.

Let's brainstorm. I'm excited!

$1 movie matinees this Summer

Because I know for a fact that I will misplace this information and be searching for it.


Regal Summer Movie Express

Cinema City Kiddie Matinee

Cinemark Summer Movie Clubhouse

Our Lego Party

The kiddos' birthdays are only three weeks apart, so we decided to combine and have one big party this year.  Munchkin asked for a Lego theme, so I scoured the internet (and my own brain) and came up with the following ideas.  I will link up at the end of the post to give credit where it is due.

Birthday Banner and view of the gorgeous day!  I chose red, yellow, and blue as the party colors, since primary colors seem to reflect Legos best.


Juice boxes that look like Lego bricks.  I had to make my own printable for this one, since the one I found online didn't fit the Kirkland juice boxes.

On the menu: pizza, deli sandwiches, salad, and chips.  We had juice boxes for the kiddos, soda cans for adults, and water bottles for everyone.

Build a Lego Masterpiece with our Lego table from home and a tub of Legos someone gave us.

Create Your Own Minifigure coloring station.

Duplo building area for the smaller ones.

Design Your Own Minifigure.  There were legs, torsos, heads, and hair/hats on the plates.  Each minifigure also had a "remote control" to control his/her mini race car.  My son wanted the minifigures to sit in the cars, but they were too small ... so we came up with a compromise.

Build and Race, run by my wonderful bestie and her hubbie.  The race tracks were two boards that another wonderful friend painted and brought for us to use.  We put the pieces for each car into a little baggie for each party attender.

Mini Race Car Inspiration:

The cakes .... were fantastic!  We had two generous friends who created these masterpieces for us.  The princess cake had flavored fondant, and the Lego brick cake was 5 layers high!  They both tasted amazing, too!

 

 Gift boxes (ages 3+)
Coloring books
Crayons
Bubbles
Stampers
Fruit snacks
Goldfish crackers
Mini tootsie roll pops

Gift bags (under 3)
Lego crayons
Note pad
Slinkies
Bubbles
Rubber Duckies
Mini tootsie roll pop

I made the Lego crayons by melting down old crayons and pouring them into a Lego Minifigure Ice Mold that I bought at the Lego store.

Link time!  I couldn't have done this without a lot of help from the internet.  I must give credit where credit is due:

I got the banner and other decorations here: Lego Birthday Printable Pack
Create Your On Minifig Printable page: Mini Fig Printable
Design inspiration for the mini race cars: Mini Racers
My Pinterest Board where I pinned every cool idea I came across: Lego Birthday

Menu Plan Monday... back on the wagon

I am trying very hard to get back into menu planning. My stress level is so much lower, and we eat so much better (and cheaper) when I take this extra time each week to plan ahead. Here goes!

Monday: Baked Ziti
Tuesday: Chicken, Rice, Broccoli & Cheese Casserole
Wednesday: Chicken nuggets, macaroni-n-cheese
Thursday: Crockpot Fajitas
Friday: Summertime Beef Tips (to be grilled)
Saturday: Homemade pizza
Sunday: Crockpot 3-packet pot roast

Veggie-fied Pizza

Second food success of the day! Well, semi-success. The crust needs a little work. It tasted delish, but was too sticky to work with. The sauce contained carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Veggie overload! And the kiddos liked it! Success!

Smoothies!

I am on a quest to get my kiddos to eat more fruits and veggies. Today's lunch included fruit smoothies. I put in Greek yogurt, a banana, misc frozen fruit, and orange juice. The kiddo said it is delicious, and baby girl asked for more! Success!