Friday Favorites

Creativity

My favorite thing about teaching is watching students completely blow me away with their creativity and insight. I find that when I pose a question and just sit back and listen, they totally nail the lesson and do a better job describing the objective than I would have. Last week, during my 2nd grade guidance lessons, we did an activity to show connectivity within the classroom community. I started with a ball of yarn in my hands and told them to think of a goal they had for the year or tell something they were excited to do in 2nd grade. I told them my goal, held on to part of the string, then tossed the yarn across the circle to someone who was ready to share. We continued in this way until each child had shared their goal and was holding part of the string. It looked a little like this...

At the end of the activity I asked, "What do you think this could represent?" Of course, I had my brilliantly crafted teacher response in my head, "It represents the connections between us and that if someone lets go of the yarn, it doesn't look the same anymore." They totally got that without me having to tell them and then they took it a step farther. Here are my favorite responses:
1. "It is like a spiderweb. Each spiderweb is unique like our class is unique."
2. "It represents one line that never breaks, but changes as it connects between each of us." Woah, that's deep. Now I'm thinking about the universe and the meaning of life. 3. "It is like a security laser matrix". Take a brief pause with me while I tattle on myself- I was about to jump in and get us back on track before we went down the video game rabbit hole, but I could tell the child was thinking and processing. After a moment of deep thought he finished with, "and we all have to protect each other so we feel safe in our classroom and aren't worried about anyone laughing at us or making fun of us." Cue the tears. #nailedit

Hello Fonts

I am obsessed with the Hello Fonts by Jen Jones. I think I can even name about 95 out of the 278 or however many there are. I finally purchased a commercial license this summer when I opened my TPT store and realized that EVERY.SINGLE.ITEM I have ever made includes these fonts. You can download a set of her fonts (personal use only) for FREE if you click here. The ones used to number these Friday Faves are called Hello Font Stew. Check out more of Jen Jones stuff on TPT.

Inspiration

Inspiremykids.org is an awesome website that one of my fellow counselors shared a few weeks ago. There are awesome resources for educators, parents, and students. We talk often about having a growth mindset and regularly tell children that, "If you believe it, you can achieve it". I still get the feeling that some kids are not totally convinced. This website tells real stories of real students who set out to change the world, and did. You can read stories of 9 year olds caring for the homeless community, Olympic athletes who used grit and determination to achieve their dreams, and inspirational quotes from some of their favorite people. You can search by topics, values, subjects, and grade levels. If you are looking for some daily inspiration, stop on by and check this site out.

Bow & Drape

My friend Stephanie had one of these fabulous t-shirts on at her bachelorette party last weekend and I decided I could not live without one. What's new? Anyway, the website has tons of hilarious pre-made options which are fun for a Sunday brunch or a girls night out. That's great and all, but to me the best part is you can customize your own. I created this Beverly Counselor shirt to wear to school. 

The t-shirt is soft, it's glittery, and it's under $50. What more could you need? Other than maybe an online shopping intervention ;).

Starbucks

This morning was a 2 drink kind of morning and I needed a little breakfast as well. I used my points and the yogurt was FREE! #Starbucksgoldcard.

Here's a little tip. I love Starbucks lattes, but they are expensive and have too much sugar for me to justify having them very often. Instead, I order a grande blonde roast with cream and 2 pumps of toffee nut syrup. I even like it better than a latte.

As if I needed another reason to love my caffeinated creators, yesterday I recieved an email from Starbucks that made me squeal with joy...

I talk about upstanders all the time in my guidance classes. When you think of bullying situations, you hear about "bystanders" who witness the event. Upstanders are different in that they stand up to the bully and help the victim out. Upstanders + Starbucks? It's like they made it up just for me.  

Happy Friday! I hope you have a great weekend!