New Year's Eve with Kids Part 3

My daughter informed me 2 days ago that I better start planning our New Year's Eve bags. So I decided to be adventurous and explore New Year's Eve traditions in other parts of the world to incorporate into our bags this year. I attempted to find traditions for a country in each time zone so that we can celebrate all day long.

**All times will be eastern standard time. Each country will also have a link to the website where I found my information and will often give you more detailed information about the traditions that take place there.

6:00 am - New Zealand - bang pots and pans and sing Auld Lang Syne

8:00 am - Sydney, Australia - it sounds like this country is known for their elaborate fireworks displays, so we will be making a firework craft found here at Growing a Jeweled Rose.

 

9:00 am - Papua New Guinea - traditional dances

9:00 am - Guam - collect coins to jingle in pockets at midnight, make Bonelos Dago (yam donuts) or Nilagang baka (boiled beef)

10:00 am - Tokyo, Japan - ring bells 107 times, then once at midnight to banish all the human sins and purify participants

11:00 am - Philippines - celebrate with 12 round fruits (ie. oranges, grapes, cherries), wear polka dots, and scatter coins (we are going to do chocolate coins)

11:00 am - Hong Kong, China - learn about the Chinese New Year with crafts from Chalk Academy

12:00 pm - Thailand and Indonesia - both cultures have traditions that have to do with lanterns, so we will be making lanterns with paper bags and battery operated candles

1:30 pm - India - learn about Diwali from the Educator's Spin on It

3:00 pm - Dubai - this country is known for their elaborate celebrations and dinner, so we are going to dress fancy and celebrate by drinking tea and eating a treat (luqaimat recipe)

4:00 pm - Turkey - sprinkle salt at the front door and smash pomegranates, we are also going to let the kids scratch off a few lottery tickets

4:00 pm - Russia - mandarin oranges or sweets for the kids

4:00 pm - Madagascar traditions

5:00 pm - Greece - hang an onion over the door and make vasilopita (cake version or bread version)

5:00 pm - Finland - eat ready-made frankfurters, potato salad, french fries, and crisps. Feeling adventurous, learn all about melting tin to determine your future health, wealth, or happiness

5:00 pm - South Africa - toss furniture (or a bucket of water to be more kid-friendly) out of the front door to signify leaving all of the bad things behind in the new year

6:00 pm - Spain - eat 12 grapes, one for each month of the new year

6:00 pm - France - make paper hats and paper confetti

6:00 pm - Germany - make German Berliner (a jelly filled donut)

7:00 pm - Ireland - bang a loaf of bread on the wall to banish bad luck and bad spirits from the house

7:00 pm - Scotland - build a fire to ward off evil spirits and "burn the old year out", sing Auld Lang Syne

7:00 pm - England - make new year's resolutions, make a Cannelig for good luck

9:00 pm - Greenland - make masks

10:00 pm - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - wear white to celebrate, put a bay leaf and money in your wallet and leave it there all year then next December 31 donate the money and throw the bay leaf in a running water stream

10:00 pm - Argentina - shred old documents and throw the paper like confetti, eat dried fruit and nuts, take the first step at midnight with your right foot to everything goes right throughout the year, eat beans

10:00 pm - Chile traditions

11:00 pm - Puerto Rico - they also throw a bucket of old water out of the front door and they sprinkle sugar outside their house for good luck

11:00 pm - Bermuda - make a paper-mache onion and drop it down at midnight

12:00 am - Colombia - run around outside with an empty suitcase if you hope to travel a lot in the new year, they also eat 12 grapes at midnight

12:00 am - Cuba traditions

12:00 am - Peru traditions

1:00 am - Mexico City, Mexico - learn about how the color of your underwear is a sign of what kind of year you will have!

2:00 am - Calgary or Edmonton, Canada

3:00 am - Vancouver, Canada

**if anyone knows of any Canadian traditions for NYE let me know! It seems like they just get together with friends and family and eat food, which sounds lovely!

If you are a Canva user, here is the link to the cards I made. You can make a copy and then edit them to fit your needs.

Click here to access the Google Slides with the cards for each country.

Do you have any special traditions from countries around the world that I can add to this list?? Let me know!

Previous Year NYE posts:

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 1

New Year's Eve with Kids Part 2

Thankful.

Thankful.

That's my word for this year. As I sit here during the post-Christmas hangover, I was thinking about this past year and realized that so many things happened (both good and bad) and I'm just thankful to make it through another year.

This year we celebrated our 10 year anniversary by sneaking away for a quick weekend to Orlando and visited Universal Studios. We also spent a weekend with my cousin and his wife in New England. I'm thankful for family that is willing to watch our kiddos whenever we want to have a little adult time.

This year both of my grandmothers (ages 90 and 94) suffered strokes. I'm thankful that they are both strong, badass women who overcame their medical issues. Oh and they both still live in their homes by themselves. I've learned a lot from both of them.

This year we were able to pull off a surprise 80th birthday party for my mother-in-law in Pennsylvania. Seeing all of the people there to celebrate her was so amazing.

This year we had so many fun, family trips. We went to Nashville for my cousin's wedding. We went to Gatlinburg to spend time with my husband's family. We had our annual beach trip with my family. 

This year I found a new school that feels like home. Amazing people, awesome leadership, and just a fun atmosphere. Finding a place where you feel welcomed, celebrated, and trusted is not always easy to find.

This year my kids were able to go to the same school for the first time. While this may sound silly, you don't realize how hard it is to constantly be the new kid in a new school. I've enjoyed watching them make friendships, get invited to birthday parties, and participate in a school community that feels like family.

This year we got to celebrate Christmas in our home. When we lived in Maryland, we always traveled to either North Carolina or Pennsylvania to celebrate Christmas with family. Since this was our year in NC, we got to stay at our home. Again, sounds silly, but being able to wake up in your own bed and set up/play with presents in your own home is so relaxing.

Thankful for family and friends. Thankful for good health. Thankful for another year.

Back to School Teacher Tired

I completely forgot how exhausting the beginning of the school year can be!

It is the currently the last day of September and I think I finally feel like things are going smoothly. 

The first week of school is survival mode. The goal: get kids into the classroom, teach them expectations, attempt to learn all of their names, and get them home safely. 

The second week of school is learning mode for the teacher. The goal: learn all the things about your students that will make your teaching effective. This may be assessments, observing them complete tasks, allowing them to explore and work together. Doing these things while attempting to begin teaching curriculum can be a lot mentally, but it is so important to make things go smoothly once you are really diving into curriculum.

The third week of school is trial and error mode. This was the week that I attempted to run writing, math, and reading blocks with all the things in motion. We did whole group and attempted to do small groups/centers. I learned what works and what didn't work for my students. I ditched things I thought were going to work and tried new things to find the methods, organization, and activities that were going to work for my students. It would be easy to just do the same things year after year, but as my principal says we work for children. What worked for last years students, might not work for this my class this year.

The fourth week of school is go time. This is the week that hopefully things are ready to go. You are four weeks into the curriculum. Whole group is going smoothly. After the trial and errors of the previous week, small groups should be good to go. Lots of planning involved to make sure all materials are set. Oh and by the way, after week four you are about halfway through the first quarter so make sure all of your grading is up to date because those progress reports will be due soon!

This serves as my reminder to give myself grace. The first month is BUSY. Keep doing all the things, but make sure to take time for yourself. Pick a night to leave your computer at school or in your bag. Attempt to pick a day to get your planning done for the week. Stay after school one day to get your copies made for the entire week.

Most importantly, breathe. If things don't go as planned just smile and pretend it was supposed to go that way!

Back to School 2023!

Something about this school year just feels different. I am starting at yet another new school (see this blog post) and this year the idea of change is exciting.

I am going to be teaching 4th grade and wanted to share some of the things that I am creating to get started with this crazy time of year.

Digital Planner

I've been using digital planners for a few years now and each year I always think of things to change/add. This year I started from scratch. I put some thought into the things that I truly would use and came up with this design. I usually use one slide per week, but opted to go for the 2 slide format. The slides are also already 8.5 by 11 inches, so if you need/want to print them off it is easy to do!

My favorite thing about using a digital planner is that I can easily link my lesson plans and materials directly to each day/subject in the planner. My second favorite thing is the ability to easily move things to a different day/week because we ALL know that things never go as planned, especially during the first few weeks of school.

Leave me a comment of things you would like to see in a digital planner so I can update this one!

Passport to 4th Grade

Need a fun open house activity? How about the passport to 4th grade to organize the different information and activities you need your parents/students to do during open house!

This has an airport theme that allows for different "destinations" to visit based on the information you need to share. As students/parents enter the room, they will sign in and receive their passport. Destination #1 is all about transportation. Parents let me know how students typically arrive at school and go home from school and if it will be different on the first day. Each stop also has a sticker (or you can use stamps) that students will add to their passport to show that they have visited all of the destinations.

  

Meet the Teacher

Part of the open house stops that I mentioned above include a meet the teacher newsletter that I give to parents with a little bit about me as well as my contact information. I created this design in Canva and then saved it as a jpeg. Then I used Google Slides. I changed the page size to 8.5 x 11 inches, and made the jpeg my background on the slide. Insert text boxes where you want then print!

Class Lists

When I was departmentalized a few years back I had 3 different classes to keep up with. I created this simple list with check boxes that I used for SO many things. First thing I did was take a quick attendance so I could keep up with the students who may be absent each day from each class.

The second main use for these class lists was for grading assignments. If a student turned in the assignment I would check off their name and sometimes even write their score next to it. This allowed me to easily see which students had not turned in the assignment.

I don't know how intermediate teachers keep track of multiple classes! I struggled with only 3 haha!

Random Grouping Cards

I created these FOREVER ago, but haven't used them since the pandemic. However I decided to bring them back and give them a face lift and share them with you all!

These random grouping cards allow you to create random groups in your classroom in a fun way that gets students up out of their seats. I enjoy using these because it eliminates the groups of friends that join together when you ask students to pick their own partners or groups. I don't like that there are always a few students who are left out because they are new or do not have friends in the classroom.

The first few times you use them it can take longer than expected for students to figure out the groups. I often start using them during the first week of school so students are comfortable using them after a month or so. Just as an FYI, I do not use these every time I group students together. As mentioned, it can be time consuming and let's be honest, sometimes I want to create specific groups.

The version that I use with my upper elementary students has multiple grouping options on one card. I like that I only have to keep up with one set of cards.

The grouping cards can be used to create groups of 2, groups of 3, groups of 4, and groups of 5. You can also use the numbers in the middle to create different groups as well. For example, odds and evens. The top right images are for partners/groups of 2. The top right images are for groups of 3. The bottom left images are for groups of 4 and the bottom right images are for groups of 5.

Some of the cards are customized for the area that I teach in. I used 3 local universities, 3 local professional sports teams, and the state I live in with the surrounding states. There are slides at the end that include a blank space so you can customize them.

I also created cards that have individual pictures on them for each group. These would be better for younger elementary students who may get confused with multiple images on a card. You can find the links to those on the second slide of the file.

Click below to get your FREE copy of these random grouping cards!

Random Grouping Cards

Connect with me on Twitter and Instagram!

@mrspotterteach

Teacher Discounts

This blog post is going to share some of the easy ways to get a discount for being a teacher outside of Teacher Appreciation Week!

First and foremost, ALWAYS check your school district's employee benefits page. I have been in 3 different counties now and they all offered something different, but they at least offered some type of discounts or offers for being an employee of that county.

My current county gives their employees access to a website called Tickets At Work which offers discounts on travel, tickets, and more at places around the country. Also, check with the state you teach in because some states (like North Carolina) teachers are considered state employees which can give you access to discounts as well. I haven't tried it, but someone told me that when you stay at hotels in North Carolina as a state employee you can receive a discount.

The next 2 websites I found because my husband is in the military, but they also have a sign up for teachers as well!

ID.me

This website is the first place I look whenever I am planning to travel or purchase something at a store. There are over 500 participating companies that offer discounts to teachers. You will need to sign up with your school email in order for them to prove your status.

Gov.x

This website is similar to id.me, but it also includes more opportunities to save on travel, sporting events, theme parks, and more! You will need to sign up with your school email. I also had to put in my teacher licence state and number so that it can look up your teaching status.

This is the website that I used to get free tickets to the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, NC for 2 years in a row now.

Retail Stores Offering Teacher Discounts: (links take you to the educator discount page)

Michael's - 15% discount

JoAnn's Fabric - 15% discount

Barnes & Noble - their Educator Discount ended in April 2023, but they are offering educators a free year of their Premium Membership which includes many discounts and perks. It will cost $39.99 per year after that free year so don't forget to cancel!

Target - if you have Target Circle, you can verify that you are a teacher and receive different discounts throughout the year (as of July 2023 there is a one time 20% off your entire purchase)

Loft - 15% discount

There are many other retail stores as well, I always carry my ID badge with me and always ask if they offer a teacher discount. The worst they can say is no :) Here is also a link to the NEA website which has a list of other places that offer discounts as well.

Utilities:

Check with your cell phone provider for a discount on your plan. I have used this with Verizon and am currently using it with AT&T. 

Electronics:

Some of the big tech companies will offer discounts throughout the year. 

Apple often has a back to school deal (I scored free Air Pods one year for purchasing a computer!)

Dell has an Educator Marketplace that looks to offer 10% off year round.

Lenovo - their discount sometimes changes throughout the year, but if you sign up for ID.me above you can access their discount

Books:

Scholastic has great deals throughout the year, especially if you use their book clubs. You earn points for all of the purchases for your classroom that you can redeem for a variety of items.

First Book Marketplace - if you work in a Title 1 school you are eligible for this book marketplace. They have many discounted books available for your classroom. They also have books for free at different times throughout the year when different companies sponsor them. Sign up for emails to stay up to date!

The following apps are not specific to teachers, but I wanted to include them as additional ways to save!

Upside - This app allows you to earn cash back at many gas stations across the country and even some restaurants and grocery stores. From someone who used to travel 45 minutes to and from work each day, it does add up. I just let the money sit there until it builds up and then you have the option of cashing out for a variety of gift cards or send the money directly to your bank account. Use this CODE (MK892) to earn an extra 20 cents/gallon cash back the first time you use the app!

Fetch - This app allows you to earn points every time you scan a receipt. I love this one because you don't have to look for the items you are going to buy ahead of time, you just scan your receipt and it looks for any special offers. Use this CODE (7V6P85) when you sign up to earn bonus points after you scan your first receipt!

Happy Saving!

Do What Makes YOU Happy

I saw a post earlier today and it got me thinking. The post mentioned that this person was feeling down because they didn't feel like they were an "expert" at anything. I commented back that there was no need to be an expert at any one thing, but to just focus on the few things that this person feels they are good at.

This particular post also mentioned the impostor syndrome. This is something that I hear so much about in the education world. I absolutely love social media and how it has helped me connect with so many other educators around the world, but I hate that it makes people feel a certain way because of the people that post something super creative they use in the classroom or post about the latest and greatest edtech tool that you haven't even tried out yet or all the cutesy stuff we see from the primary education people.

Moment of honesty... I went through this. I used to be that person. I was always up to date with the newest tool to use in the classroom. I had the blog post that went viral and got noticed by a big name company. I had people following me for the things I was creating in the classroom. Then life happened. The pandemic made us all slow down and completely rethink what works in education. Health concerns made me prioritize other things. I wanted to start being more present for my kids and husband.

Also, guess what? No one can stay an expert at something for long! The world is changing. Technology has and is continuing to change. The world of education changes every single year (maybe even a week or month). The challenge of trying to keep up with everything while also continuing to work and have a life can be hard. Don't stress about being an expert at something. Find your niche. What are you passionate about? What makes you happy? What makes you get up and want to go to work each day? Those are the things to focus on. Those are the things to make yourself "good" at. No experts needed.

I used to want to be that expert. I wanted to know all the things. I wanted to create all the things. Then I realized there are so many other people out there doing the same thing. Yes, I still enjoy creating things for myself, but you better believe I search the internet to see if someone has already created what I am looking for first! Work smarter, not harder right?!

So while social media may make you feel like you are not an expert, the most important part is to stay true to yourself. Find what you are good at and stick with it!

Find YOU. Be YOU. Do what makes YOU happy.