A Little Gravel in My Travels

I know I should be a rule follower. I am a retired school teacher and we all know teachers (retired or not) must follow rules! Well...one important rule to blogging is blog frequently. I've already broken that rule! I'm sorry! Please don't hold it against me or the ranch!

You just have to understand...the Rocking Ranch is in Texas and there's so much going on. So here are the top 5 reasons why I haven't blogged lately.

5. The temperature has finally broken and it's cool at the ranch.
4. The State Fair of Texas is going on!
3. Texas Rangers are in the playoffs!!
2. There's a lot of ropings ...so I'm putting a little gravel in my travels!
1. My husband has started his two week vacation.....so there's ropin', ridin', and huntin' to do!



I'll holler at'cha in a bit!

Happy Trails,

Mrs. B.

Wrangler Wednesday

I was always amazed at my previous school that we couldn't get parent volunteers.  This school was not a poor school.  This school defined "middle class America." Teachers were recruited to serve on the PTA board for several positions because not enough parents were willing to do it.  Why????   Was it because parents have bad memories of their own school experiences?  Parents feel intimidated?  Parents were just too busy?  Was it because parents didn't feel welcome at the school?

We couldn't get parent volunteers but at 2:00 parents lined up in the car pool lane one hour before school was dismissed.  I always wondered why they didn't come in and volunteer that one hour in the school.  Think about this........Your child spends 7 hours a day.......for about 180 days a year with adults in that building.  That's pretty easy math.  1,260 hours a year spent with people that influence your child daily. (Read that last sentence again......that is a POWERFUL statement)

You might be surprised how many parents can't tell you the name of their child's teacher. I've helped out in the office several times when parents call to give a message to their child and they can't tell you the name of the child's teacher.  I know you want believe this either......some parents can't tell you what grade their child is in.  I'm not kidding.

We can all make a difference in education.  Parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles get ready to make a difference at your local school!  You don't have to be at the school every day to make a difference in a child's life.

The cowboy term for wrangler is someone who takes care of the horses on the ranch or on a cattle drive.   Today I start Wrangler Wednesday at the ranch.  Once a month, here at Rockin' the Ranch, we will have Wrangler Wednesday.  I'll be giving you a list of small things you can do to make a difference at a school close to you.  I hope you will try just one idea on the list.

• Paint an old chair with balloons to be used as a "Birthday Chair"
• Volunteer once a month to change out a bulletin board
• Donate seasonal stickers to a class
• Read to a class
• Clean out a drawer and donate old scraps, buttons and other bric brac for art projects

Now, that's not so bad is it?

This post is dedicated to two wonderful women who have given their precious time to volunteer at local schools in their community.  It's so funny that both of them are named Sherry.

Sherry Myers volunteered her time by serving as a "room mother" for a class that didn't have a room mom.  Sherry volunteered her time to help teachers and children at a school in her community even though she didn't have a school aged child.  She donated books, arranged assemblies, and is probably best remembered for buying whole classes Happy Meals!  And yes.....Sherry worked a full time job and still had time to volunteer.

Sherry Harmon is another amazing volunteer who inspires many people.  Sherry has been volunteering at the same school for the past 10 years.  In fact, she volunteers every day of the week for up to 6 hours a day! (Yep....read that one more time.....that is unbelievable)  WOW.......she has touched the lives of many children!

Be inspired!

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

I'm Bored

Have you ever heard that before?  Well, here is a project that will keep your little buckaroos busy when they aren't out practicing for their next roping.

Let your child design a cover that reads, "I CAN READ A 1,000 WORDS."  That's right.....1,000 words!  Your buckaroos are going to feel so proud of themselves.  Even if they can't read all the words, they will be excited to try to read them!  And we all know, the more we practice the better we will become!

These are the most common words we read and write in the English language.  Print the pages and staple your buckaroo's cover sheet to the words.  Keep a copy in every room of the bunk house and every seat in that big old truck!  Set a timer and graph how many words they can read in a minute. Your little cowpokes will never be bored again!

If you are a classroom or special teacher, this is a great activity for kids to do at their desk or with a partner when they finish their work.  Make it fun!

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

Enemy Pie

This is probably my second favorite book of all time.  (You already know my first all time favorite book if you've been reading my posts.)  This is a book every teacher should have in their classroom.  It would also make a great gift for one of your buckaroos.  In this fun loving book, a little boy learns an effective recipe for turning a best enemy into a best friend.

Have you ever thought about making a pie for your enemy?  Before you read this heart warming book, rope in your little buckaroo and brainstorm all the gross things you would use for the ingredients in your Enemy Pie.   Hmmmmm.....worms? dirt? scorpions? fingernails? You will really be surprised at how creative the kids will be.  Give them a pie pattern and let them illustrate what their pie would look like.

The kids will be surprised to learn what Enemy Pie really is and how effective it can work.  Go online and listen to the story.  I promise you will love it, too!  Leave me a comment below and let me know what you think.

After reading the story, I always made an Enemy Pie with my class.  Try making individual pies in mason jars....so easy!  The kids invited someone in their class that they considered to be "a not so good friend" to eat Enemy Pie with them!

It is a great lesson in teaching kids to make new friends.  It's one of those activities that my students talked about for a long time.

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

P.S.  For those of you that have just watched the movie "The Help,"  I know what you are thinking!!!!

Better Than Hot Butter on Buttermilk Biscuits

I know your little buckaroo is probably out in the barn or out at the ropin' pen, but go out on the back porch and holler for him or her to get to the house.  This little activity is better than hot butter on buttermilk biscuits.

First, choose your favorite baseball, football, basketball, or soccer team.  Go on line and find the team's roster.  Heck....you can use your child's team roster if you want to. Since our beloved Texas Rangers just won their division, I'll use them for my example.

Using the players' numbers.....

• Sort by even or odd numbers
• Call out 2 players' names and ask what the difference is in the two numbers or what would be the total of the two numbers.
• Round numbers to the nearest 10

Using the players' weights.....

• Put in order from least to greatest
• Find the person's weight that has a 1 in the hundred's place, 9 in the ten's place and a 5 in the one's place.
• Round each player's weight to the nearest hundred
• How much less does Michael Young weigh than Josh Hamilton?
• If all the catchers stood on a scale together, what would be their total weight?

Using the players' heights....

• What is the average height of the pitchers? catchers? infielders? outfielders?
• How much taller is the tallest player than the shortest player?

Using the players' names....

• Which names contain a short vowel a?
• Which player has the most vowels/consonants in his name?
• Whose last name is made up of 1/4 vowels?
• Whose first name is made up of 3/4 vowels?

Using the players' places of birth....

• Mark each players' hometown on a map.
• Who grew up closer to your hometown?
• Which player lived the greatest distance from the Ballpark?
• How many miles did Josh Hamilton live from Elvis Andrus?

Using the players' salaries....

• Round to the nearest million or hundred thousand
• Compare and contrast salaries
• Make graphs comparing salaries
• Find out how much they make monthly and yearly
• What is the average salary of the players?

Using the players' ages....

• Who is the oldest player?
• Who is the youngest player?
• If Ian Kinsler is 29, what year was he born?
• What is the average age of the players?
• Sort by even/odd
• Round up their ages to the nearest tens

So do you get the idea?  Grab the roster and get started.  I don't think your buckaroos are going to know they are actually doing math, reading and social studies.  Don't tell them.....just let them think they are spending time learning about a great team.

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

Fluency Friday at the Ranch....Reader's Theater

I love Fluency Friday.  It's easy and so much fun.  My students loved Fluency Friday, too.  One of their favorite fluency activities was to do Reader's Theater.  The great advantage to a Reader's Theater is the whole family can participate. So call the family together and have some fun.  Print a story and it could be read while traveling in the car this week end.

Here's a great link to get you started.

http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/playhouse/

Have fun buckaroos.......

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

A Must Read

If you are a parent, going to be a parent, pretending to be a parent or dreaming of being a parent.......you MUST read this book. I couldn't put the book down.

Leave a comment.......let me know what you think.

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

Teachers Will LOVE You

Letters	Locate upper case letters	Locate lower case letters	Name upper case letters	Name lower case letters	Locate Sound	Name Sound	Linking Word
Aa
Bb
Cc
Dd
Ee
Ff
Gg
Hh
Ii
Jj
Kk
Ll
Mm
Nn
Oo
Pp
Qq
Rr
Ss
Tt
Uu
Vv
Ww
Xx
Yy
Zz

Call over your littlest buckaroo and do this mini quiz. You will be surprised what you will learn about your child's letter and sound knowledge. Take it with you to your next parent teacher conference. Your child's teacher will think you are the best parent ever.


Are you wondering why there are columns for locating and naming letters and sounds?  Most kids can locate letters and sounds but have a more difficult time naming them.  So here is my thought.  (Don't forget to send your penny)


Locating Letters


Place about 5 magnetic letters out on the table.


T     C     Z     O     R


Ask the child to find the R, record with a check if correct.  If the answer is incorrect, record the incorrect response in the box.


Replace the R with another letter.  Continue asking the child to locate the letter you ask for and record the child's response.  Keep replacing the letters after each response.  Be careful not to place similar letters next to each other.  Example: C, O


Naming Letters


Place 5 magnetic letters on the table  and ask the child to name each letter. Replace each letter so five letters are always on the table. Record the correct or incorrect answer.


Naming Sounds


Place one letter down at a time and ask the child to say the sound it makes.  Record the correct or incorrect answer.


Locating Sounds


Place 5 magnectic letters on the table.  You say the sound of one of the letters and have the child point to the letter that makes that sound.  Record their responses.


Linking Words


Say, "This is the letter B, B is for b______." 


You are telling the child the name of the letter and the sound the letter makes.  We are wanting to know if the child can give us a word for that letter.  If the child says, "B is for baby," write the word "baby" in the linking word box. This activity will come in handy while making those ABC books we talked about in an earlier post.


Remember........ singing your ABC's doesn't mean you know your ABC's.  I think you will find this form very interesting.  This form helps us to see that kids can know their letters and sounds in more than one way.  Update this form every 2 weeks.  Take it to your parent teacher conference and compare notes.  Your child's teacher will be very impressed.


Happy Trails,
Mrs. B.

It's Fluency Friday at the Ranch

Round up the buckaroos and let's get started.  This is gonna be short and sweet.  Here is your sentence....

"I rode that wild and crazy bull till he knocked my socks off!"

Now, take turns reading this sentence in the voice of.......

• Fear
• Joy
• Frustration
• A child
• Old man
• Daffy Duck

That's it!  Such a fun and quick activity that helps promote fluency in kids of all ages.

Happy Trails,

Mrs. B.

Up the Ante

These two small objects changed my life!

Well.....maybe they changed my teaching strategies, and not my life, but these two poker chips taught me a lesson about "think time."

You know the kid in class that always has the answer to a question before you can finish your question?
Teacher:  "What is the first....." 
Kid:  (hand is raised and screaming) "I know.....I know."
This kid is known as the "Mind Reader." He is predicting your question before you ask it.  It makes me think of that song by Gordon Lightfoot, "If I Could Read Your Mind."

Then, there is that kid who listens to the entire question then waves his hands up in the air to out wave the mind reader. But when you call on him to answer the question his response is, "Ummmmm, I forgot what I was going to say." This kid is referred to as the "Great Pretender." Can you hear that song playing in your head?  Sorry....it will be there awhile.

Now, sitting at the very back of the classroom is the "Takin' Care of Business" kid.  I know this kid very well.  I was this kid.  This kid takes care of his business and keeps a low profile.  The back of the classroom is his comfort zone.  It is safe back there.  There is no pressure to answer a question because you NEVER make eye contact with the teacher.  If the teacher looks your way, you look down and pretend you're trying to find your place in the text book, or act as if you dropped your pencil on the floor.  If and when the pressure is getting too close for comfort, you are prepared to ask for a clinic pass because of the invisible rash you just discovered under your fingernail.  You know if you answer a question it will probably be the wrong answer.  The "Takin' Care of Business" kid doesn't have to worry about answering questions..........they know the Great Pretender and the Mind Reader will do it quickly.

That's when these two poker chips came in handy.  I taught my kids the red chip means "think time."  The green chip means "talk time."  If the red chip is down, no one is allowed to raise their hand to answer a question.   I would ask the question then set my timer for about 30 seconds.  During that 30 seconds it was known as "think time."  I even taught my kindergarteners and first graders what "think time" looked like. They would rub their chin or scratch their heads to show me they were thinking.  It was the cutest sight ever!  After the timer went off, I would place the green chip down and hands were allowed to go up.  It gave everyone a chance to really THINK of a good answer. 

One day I was in a hurry and forget to pull out the chips.  I asked the question, "How can you tell the character in the story was frustrated?"  My "taking care of business" boy replied, "Mrs. Brown, I need more think time."  I loved his reply.  I loved that his answer wasn't, "I don't know."  He was able to verbalize he just needed more time to think. The chips were a great reminder for me that we all need time to think and process what we are going to say.

Up the ante in your classroom, your buckaroos will love it.  (And so will your principal)

Happy Trails,

Mrs. B.

Cowboy Up to ABC Books

I don't know about you but I love to buy ABC books for baby shower gifts.  The little hard back books last a long time and you know you are giving a gift the baby won't out grow in 6 months.  The ABC book can be handed down to other babies that come along and may last long enough to be handed down to their kids.  These books are a great way to introduce letter and sound recognition at a very young age.

But hold your horses!  As the babies grow into toddlers and are exposed to more books and videos, the letter "A for apple" is old news.  So we, as parents and teachers, need to "cowboy up" and create a personalized ABC book for our buckaroos.  One of the first lessons I learned, while working with kids, is the power of their own name.  Start the ABC book with just the letters in their name.  You can add more letters to their book as they learn them, but always start with the letters in their name.  The first letter of a child's name should always represent that child.  The other letters in their name should have meaning to the child, too.

Here's an ABC book that a little boy named Josh made.  J is for Josh, O is for octopus, S is for silly, H is for hot.  It's very important that Josh takes ownership of his book.  If I had made this book for Josh to use in my classroom, I probably would have said, "S is for snake."  Josh might have a hard time remembering that because he relates the letter S to silly because he hears everyone calling him a silly boy at least 4 times a day.

If you are working with a struggling reader or writer, please try this.  Work on the letters in the child's name first.  Then add other letters to the ABC book as they learn them, but remember to always let the child think of the word that links the letter.

This little activity might seem silly to some of y'all.  But you wouldn't believe how many kids know "J is for Jack-a-lantern," but they don't know J is the first letter of their own name.  We'll chat around the campfire another day about the power of a child's name.  It truly is powerful.

Have fun and be creative with your little buckaroo.

Happy Trails,
Mrs. B