The Thanksgiving Chair

Many of us on Face Book have been posting each day this month about things in our lives that we are thankful for.  I always enjoy this, as it is a blessing to be reminded each day of  both the little and the big things in life that we are honored to partake in.  As we end the month of November, my goal is to not forget each day to be THANKFUL for what is in my life, even if it is a thing of pain or sorrow.  I know that God has a perfect plan for each of us, and I trust Him!  This video will sum it all up.  Do you have a Thanksgiving Chair??

More Healthy Music!

Encore...The Vegetable Orchestra...

The Vegetable Orchestra

And to continue our musical vegetable them....The Vegetable Orchestra:

Any Extra Broccoli??

If you have an extra broccoli bunch laying around, and some extra time, here's a project for you!  Make an ocarina out of your broccoli!!  Here's a rendition of Angels We Have Heard On High, played on the broccoli/ocarina!!

Savviest Mom Mock Facebook Page

Graphic below taken from The Meanest Mom - tales from the South:  

This was featured in 2010 in a print issue of Parent & Child Magazine! (double click on the below image to make it larger)

The History Of The World

Ever wonder how the conversations on Face Book would play out if it was around say in 1939 when WWII was just developing?  Here is a fun example from LOL Happens.  Enjoy!!  This Is War

The King of Glory!

Today is the feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the Church year.  The following weekend we will be entering into the anticipation of Advent.

Here is a Messianic Praise song, King of Glory.  Enjoy the style and message.

Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the king of glory may come in. ----Psalm 249:9

How I see it...

Sometimes it all depends upon your point of view.  Life can be an uplifting experience for you or it can be depressing.  It's all up to ME!  "I" make the difference.  How I view  things makes a difference.  I choose to see the positive, the good in situations and in people.  Yes, there is evil in our world, there are people who choose to reject the blessings of a relationship with God.  BUT, there is so much good, so much to be thankful for.  So  many blessings!  Here's an example of just that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishes for a happy and blessed Thanksgiving to all who are reading!

Will you be watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in-between checking the potatoes and stuffing the turkey?  Aren't those balloons that we see awesome!  According to Wikipedia:

The balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade come in three varieties. The first and oldest is the novelty balloon class, consisting of smaller balloons, some of which fit on the heads of the performers. The second, and most famous, is the full-size balloon class, primarily consisting of licensed pop-culture characters. The third and most recent is the "Blue Sky Gallery," in which the works of contemporary artists are transformed into full-size balloons.

I didn't even know there were three different "classes" of balloons!
One thing that I watch for lately is our South Dakota float!  It's always fun to see Mount Rushmore National Memorial floating by!  The float is named "Mount Rushmore's American Pride" and also features the Black Hills National Forest and Badlands National Park.  Hopefully this will encourage more tourism to our area.  This is the third year that this float has appeared in the Macy's parade.  Don McLean, singer and songwriter, will be aboard the float this year.  Keep your eyes open for our South Dakota float!

New Ads for Outdated Projects

See the rest of the photos here at Pleated-Jeans!

Albuquerque Turkey

It IS Thanksgiving week!  My kids at school love to sing along with this video.  Enjoy!

Monday Musing...

See if you can figure out what is being advertised here!  From Metro Austrailia

You will teach me the path of life...

Psalms 16:5, 8, 9-10, 11

⁵ My birthright, my cup is Yahweh; you, you alone, hold my lot secure.

⁸ I keep Yahweh before me always, for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.

⁹ So my heart rejoices, my soul delights, my body too will rest secure,

¹⁰ for you will not abandon me to Sheol, you cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss.

¹¹ You will teach me the path of life, unbounded joy in your presence, at your right hand delight for ever.

Enjoy this setting by Marty Haugen:

PIGGY SAVES THE MUSIC

The folks at Plank Road Publishing have produced this fun online game -  Piggy Saves The Music.  Playing Rules are simple, as stated on their site:

• Use the left/right arrow keys on the keyboard to move Piggy. Use the space key to make him jump.
• Move Piggy over an object to pick it up. After you pick up the marshmallows, you can throw them using the Ctrl key on the keyboard.
• Throw marshmallows at the slime aliens or jump on them to get points, but don't let them touch you for too long, or you'll lose health points. Pick up food items, other than marshmallows, for extra health points.
• Pick up notes for points.
• And don't forget to pick up the musical instruments. That is the point of the game!

Give it a try!  You'll like it!

Melody Street

Melody Street is another favorite of my students. Melody Street is a musical world where musical instruments come to life. Children can play games, listen to music, watch webisodes while learning about music.  This is online as well as an iPad app.  Melody Street has 2 other apps as well:  My  Musical Friends and Mozart Interactive.  All are free!  Check out their YouTube channel as well!  A great resource for the music educator!

Draw A Stickman!

Draw A Stickman is a cute site that my students LOVE to go to!  It is also an iPad app.  There are two basic story lines to choose from.  Students draw various parts of the scene throughout the story.  Their drawing is then animated as the story progresses. Some good mouse control practice as well as a good time is to be had here!

New Cyber Safety Website for Teachers and Students!

Internet Safety is a BIG part of educational technology.  There are many resources to check out when developing lesson plans. 
I ran across this site the other day.  FBI-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) Internet Challenge—and it was developed with the assistance of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and with the input of teachers and schools. It is EXCELLENT!  Anyone can use the site, but it is geared towards grades 3-8.  There are 6 grade-specific "islands" that the students visit and explore. Students are introduced to various aspects of cyber security through games, videos, and other interactive features.  After that is complete, they are given an online exam.  Here is more information about the site:  http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/october/new-cyber-safety-website-for-teachers-students/
The site itself:  https://sos.fbi.gov/

Thanksgiving Resources

I'm on a teacher resource roll this week....here's a BUNCH of Thanksgiving ideas...and in the "pearltree" format.  Check it out!  Pretty cool!  Thanks to Teacher Reboot Camp for posting this resource!
Find all the Thanksgiving resources and tools in the Slide presentation listed here!  

Caution! Minds at work | Motivational resources | Sparky Teaching

My friend Kristin Lukow posted this great site of motivational posters on her blog, Musical Musings with Mrs. Lukow, and I wanted to share! Check out her blog also!  These would be great in any classroom.
According to the website:

Caution! Minds at work' is a free set of 26 posters, the inspiration for which came from hearing about a street artist in New York (called 'TRUE'). He tried to brighten up the otherwise dull journeys of commuters on the subways by producing Health and Safety stickers with alternative, positive messages on.

These stickers mimicked the style of the official notices which were displayed on the trains, telling travellers what to do and what not to do. The twist was that TRUE's stickers showed optimistic messages.

Go to Caution! Minds at work | Motivational resources | Sparky Teaching download the free PDF!

Mark 12:41-44

The Poor Widow’s Contribution

41He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.42A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.43Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.44For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

*************************************

As I read this scripture, I ask myself, am I giving my all to Jesus?  Or do I hold back in fear of something unknown?  Do I give of myself and empty myself for others?  As St. Francis said so well, "It is in giving that we receive."  It is only AFTER I have emptied myself, then, that I will see the blessing flow!  I must DIE to LIVE!  It is when I have NOTHING that I have EVERYTHING!  When I am WEAK, then I am STRONG!  Following Christ does not follow the definition of success that we find in our world.  Rather, it is the paradox of the world's view.  Thank you Lord, for loving me, for being my guide, for DYING so that I may have LIFE!  This week especially, I will open my eyes to those around me - see THEIR needs, what can I do to ease THEIR suffering?  I know that even SMALL kindnesses are LARGE in the hearts of others.  Help me to see, Lord, and to give ALL that I have, so that I may have EVERYTHING!

Here's a favorite and familiar tune, written and sung by David Haas:  "Blest Are They"

OK GO

OK Go has been a long-time favorite of mine!  The kids at school love their videos as well.  Here's some Saturday entertainment for you! I think pet fans will especially enjoy this video!
Check out their other videos as well as the OK Go website!

Intervention Needed!?!?

Our Digital Footprint Part 2

Watch this video with your teen....discuss.

Did You Know?

REMEMBER TO VOTE TODAY!!!

by spacechimpmedia. Browse more data visualization.

Our Digital Footprint

As educators, we need to be mindful of our online presence - everything that we post contributes to our profile.  Students also need to know that what they post is permanent.  Others will form opinions based on what they see online.  Thank you to The Innovative Educator for this infographic!

Psalm 18, Clint Brown

 

Clint Brown, from Orlando, Florida,  is the Senior Pastor of FaithWorld Church.

PUMPKTRIS

Published on Oct 28, 2012 by Nathan Pryor

Pumpktris is a fully playable version of Tetris built into a pumpkin, with 128 LEDs for the display and the stem serving as a game controller. More details on his blog!

Diego Stocco: Custom Built Orchestra

Ever wonder what to do with those old, broken instruments in your attic? Throw them away? Donate them to the school? Use as garden decor? Well, composer and instrument maker Diego Stocco has the answer! Diego modifies existing instruments and creates new ones to produce unique sounds and audio dynamics. Combined, there is a creation of a unique and original musical composition.

This video is a one-man show of sorts. He shot himself playing each of the instruments individually and then made a composite to showcase his orchestra of unique sounds - both aurally and visually.

Stocco's creativity and ingenuity should be an inspiration to us all - what we may classify as "junk" may actually be "jewels" of music! What do you have that you might create music with?

Check out his blog to keep up with his innovative musical creations!




Custom Built Orchestra

KALEIDOSCOPE!

Remember playing with one of these in your early years?  The beautiful colors, shapes, designs would entertain us for hours!  I think these were a staple of many children's toy chests!

A Kaleidoscope operates on the principle of multiple reflection, where several mirrors are together. Typically there are three rectangular lengthwise mirrors.  Here's a brief history from Wikipedia.

Sir David Brewster began work leading towards invention of the kaleidoscope in 1815 when he was conducting experiments on light polarization^[1]but it was not patented until two years later.^[6] His initial design was a tube with pairs of mirrors at one end, pairs of translucent disks at the other, and beads between the two. Brewster chose renowned achromatic lens developer Philip Carpenter as the sole manufacturer of the kaleidoscope in 1817. It proved to be a massive success with two hundred thousand kaleidoscopes sold in London and Paris in just three months. Realizing that the company could not meet this level of demand, Brewster requested permission from Carpenter on 17 May 1818 for the device to be made by other manufacturers, to which he agreed.^[7] Initially intended as a science tool, the kaleidoscope was later copied as a toy. Brewster later believed he would make money from this popular invention; however, a fault in his patent application allowed others to copy his invention.^{[1 ]}Source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaleidoscope

Fast-forward to today and our world of technology.  Take a look at this ONLINE Kaleidoscope!  Enjoy!