Groovy Educator

Hello All! It's been a while since I've posted a blog.  Since my Dad passed away in March, I've been in a "funk" for lack of a better word. I am very excited that I start a new job in the next week or so.  It is part time so it will still allow me to pursue growing my jewelry business www.LowerysLoft.com. Teaching has always been close to my heart.  I will be working with the Florida Center of Reading Research as an assessor and possibly an interventionist later.  This is only a temporary position that is funded by a grant but it is heaven sent for me. How often do you get the best of both worlds?  This is the type of position I wanted when I sought my Master's Degree in Reading.

Super Savings going on right now in my eBay store.  Teachers this is a great opportunity to find thank you gifts, holiday gifts, and accessories for your teaching wardrobe. $5 off every $25 you spend now through September 15th.  I have tons of auctions running too so there is an opportunity for extreme savings. Please check this out and share with the teachers at your school. Lowery's Loft LLC on eBay  Ebay Seller:  groovyeducator

I've been GroovyEducator on eBay before but earlier this summer I changed my user name to lowerysloftllc.  I started my own business Lowery's Loft LLC and switched everything that was Groovy Educator to Lowery's Loft in my excitement. I know it sounds silly but I've been blogging as Groovy Educator for so long and just love the handle so I switched my user name back to that on eBay.  I hope it's not too confusing. Anyhow, I'm back to late night ramblings... Tomorrow my friends are starting their second week of teaching (for this school year) and I am still missing the classroom. It's hard to believe I'm trying to work from home rather than being an educator.  Please share if you have had or know anyone who has had success working from home. It is much lonelier than the classroom.  I miss the camaraderie an collaborations with the other teachers.  I still enjoy pursuing my dream... That's it for tonight's late night ramblings...

Yesterday was the first time I have not had a "first day of school" in fourteen years.  I started teaching in 2000 and last year had to go on a leave of absence after the first nine weeks. It was very emotional but at the same time I was very excited that my family member's son had his first day of school.  This little guy was amped up.  He attended VPK (voluntary pre-k) and has been super excited about kindergarten. He came home on red his first day of Kindergarten.  That makes me so angry as a former Kindergarten teacher. Every year I made sure that the first day of school was positive for my students.  Yes even when I had to redirect them.  The first day of school sets the tone for the school year and Kindergarten sets the tone for their school career... At least that's my philosophy. Now when I had a child in my class that acted up... The first thing I always did was kneel down to eye level and ask in a quiet voice "Is everything alright?" ...

My daughter is napping and my fingers are clicking away at the keys on my laptop.   I just opened a new forum for educators .   New topics will be gradually added. Right now there are topics on: Back to School Best Reading Tips/Tools Great Books for Educators What Do you Like to Collect? (Just for Fun) Please stop by my new forum and share, share, share with friends.  Thank you so much for visiting!

VoWac is an incredible program for direct phonics instruction. When I began teaching in Arizona (back in 2000), my school purchased the VoWac program and it was used across all the grade levels.  As a Reading Specialist, I feel strongly about the power of this program.  I used it for two years in Kindergarten and then for two years in Second Grade.  I was amazed at the growth in reading skills back then and I still reflect on it today. When I moved to Florida, VoWac was not one of the programs that my school used.  I taught with fidelity the program that was adopted by my district but felt that there was still a need in strong phonics instruction.  I added little snippets to my lessons, the powerful snippets and my children responded. Even though I was not at a VoWac school, I was able to use the blending shelf, phonics cards, and CLOVER method.  You have to check out the CLOVER method for syllabication rules.  It is AMAZING!!! I strongly reco...

Time seems to be going faster and faster.  I am sorry for neglecting this blog.  Some people can have many hats and wear them all well.  I used to be that way but lately a few of those many hats are up in the closet.  Groovy Educator is near and dear to my heart but I am trying to grow my Lowery's Loft LLC home business selling mostly vintage and collectibles.  It is relatively a new business so I need to spend a lot of time trying to build a customer base and learning the ins and outs of a new career.   Please keep checking back with Groovy Educator, I will periodically post teaching tips and new TpT products.  BUT for the time being I am taking a detour and pursuing a new adventure all in an attempt to be a stay at home mom.   I know there are still moms out there that do it.  Right now I wonder how...because going from two incomes to one is daunting.   I do want to make some back to school items for TpT.  I miss not go...

Hello Blog World! I've been lax on my posting, I'm sorry. Tonight I was toying with the Common Core Math Standards for Grade 1 and created this activity.  I wanted to pick your brains and see if it is something I should produce for TpT or keep reworking the idea. Here is the sample Word Problem Activity.  It is the first in what will hopefully be a series of activities that teachers can use as a teaching tool (projected on the big screen) or as center work. Please give me feedback so I can ascertain what direction to take this project. Thank you so much for your time!

In case you didn't know I have been on a leave of absence since late November.  When I left, I knew I would be out through the end of the year and possibly the next year. My amazing grade level teachers helped me pack up my "teaching life" in a day or two and I've kept my distance mostly due to the emotion of it all and to let the children bond with their new teacher. I had promised when I left that I would come back and see them so that last week of school, I stopped by and saw my "babies" again and my heart swelled.  It was a nice visit and made my heart hurt when I left.  I loved these kiddos! The sweet teacher who took my place asked me to come the following week to pick up the rest of my belongings.  I thought it would fill the trunk. Boy was I wrong!  Two days and three more carloads later, I had most of my "stuff." Today, I had some alone time in my "home away from home" and it was almost too  much to bear. I resigned i...

Last week I resigned from teaching.  I love the profession but decided to pursue a dream.  With my Dad's passing I realize how precious and short life is... Ever since I was in elementary school I wanted my own business.  Back then I dreamed of Andie's Place.  I even drew layouts in a notebook.  My earliest memory was wanting to own my own dress store when I was in first or second grade. Flash forward thirty years and I opened Lowery's Loft LLC (an online business selling on eBay).  Being a small business owner is a lot like being a teacher in several ways. You have to be super organized. You have to manage materials. You are always learning. Everything consistently evolves. There is a lot of documentation. Kindness counts There are many more items that I could add to the list.  With that said...Change is never easy.  There are things I am giving up to pursue this dream. I will miss my students and my coworkers .  Noth...

It's been awhile since I posted.  This post is especially personal.  Blogger world out there I need advice. I am faced with a tremendously difficult decision: whether or not to return to teaching.  Now for some this is a relatively easy decision but I am very torn for several reasons.  Last year I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which is not life threatening but makes life very unpredictable.  One day I am fine (tired and a little achy=fine) and the next I am itching all over and hurt so bad I can barely walk.  If I manage my stress well then I stay in a tired and achy state which is livable but my stamina is not what it once was.  I am only in my mid-thirties so this is rather disheartening.   I have a toddler, a husband, and too many pets and I need to have enough of me to make it around to the end of the day. Even though I gripe about the politics, when it comes to the end of the day I LOVE teaching but I don't know if I can do it a...

I am running my sale through March 1st 20% off.  If you take advantage of this sale on the above dates you can get 28% off.  My best seller is the Addition and Subtraction Mad Minute.  This would be a great time to buy ahead my end of the year class yearbook.  It is my favorite product! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging as much.  Long story...will update soon...

It has taken me longer to write this post for some reason.  I have been under the weather with bronchitis and a double ear infection.  That may have something to do with the delay. (grin) There are many ways in which silverware or dining utensils can be used to teach children.   Before getting started, it is important to discuss safety with your child.  Knives are sharp tools.  For these lessons I recommend using butter knives, not steak knives.  I would also bring up how to safely hold the utensils when walking.  If they are vertical and pointing up, what would happen if your child tripped?  What would happen if the utensils were horizontal with the floor?  Discuss this with your child.  Model and demonstrate what would happen if you fell on a pointy object versus a flat object.  Now this may seem obvious to you but one thing I have learned in education is ASSUME NOTHING.  Never assume a child knows how to do something....

Socks?  Teaching with socks ? Yes!  Socks can be a valuable teaching tool.  Here are some ways you can use socks to teach your child(ren) at home or in your classroom. Math Estimation -Fill a sock with several objects. Have your child look at the the sock and estimate how many items are in the sock without feeling it.  Spend time discussing what you observe about the sock.  Is it full?  Is it bumpy?  Does it lay flat?  Ask how these observations affect your child's estimate.  Dump out the objects from the sock and decide whether or not your child wants to change his/her estimate based on the new visual knowledge.   Check by counting the objects. Grouping -When counting the objects group them into 2s, 5s, or 10s.  Discuss why?  Come up with some reasons together as to why this might be helpful.  You can repeat these activities with items in the other sock. Skip Counting -Empty out the sock drawer and count t...

The cereal box is a powerful tool for teaching in so many ways.  Here are some ideas: Shapes Explain the difference between a rectangle and a rectangular prisim Circle all the shapes you can find on the box and write a list to record what you found. On a different day repeat the previous activity but then transfer the information into a Venn Diagram (two circles that intersect/overlap).  Write the shapes that were on both boxes in the area where the circles overlap.  That shows what was the same on both boxes.  Write what was different in the other areas.  (I will have to upload a photograph on this in the future.) Discuss how rectangular prisms can stack and slide but not roll.  Test it out.   Compare the size of the rectangles on the sides of the box to the front of the box. Trace the box to make a large rectangle and then draw a picture using shapes you found on the box. Math There are endless adding and subtracting activities th...

"Can" you believe I am about to write a post about teaching across the curriculum using canned food? This post is the first in a series of posts about how to turn cheap, everyday objects a into powerful teaching tools.  For over a decade I have been an elementary school teacher.  This series will primarily relate to families and teachers who teach toddlers all the way up to second graders. My daughter is not even two years old but she and I play games with these objects and she doesn't even know she is learning.  It's FUN!  That is how I feel learning should be most of the time.  Sometimes you just have to buckle down and study but most of the time kids learn more through real world experiences that are connected to a strong emotion. Speaking of powerful emotions...BAM! BAM! BAM!  I "accidentally" knock over a few cans as I am unpacking the last bag of groceries.  My daughter is startled and says "uh oh."  AHA-This is a teachable moment...I...

I am exploring ways to relax and one of my former hobbies was crafting.  Now that I am on leave, I have time to do this again.  For some reason I have become extremely interested in vintage costume jewelry and have purchased some pieces.   This week I have combined both hobbies by creating these handmade ornaments.  I have a couple listed on eBay but there is no need to purchase one when you can make your own! For these particular ornaments I purchased clear glass ones with a subtle design on the outside at Big Lots.  I then went through my broken jewelry looking for chains, loose beads, earrings without a match and Voila!  This is the result.      For student gifts you can always purchase clear plastic ornaments and junk jewelry at yard sales, thrift shops, eBay, or even ask for donations .  I used a hoop earring for the hook, just think of the possibilities...decorative ribbons, yarn, braided thread.  You cou...

Find Boggle on Amazon Okay, as you may know already, I am on a leave of absence from teaching first grade due to my fibromyalgia flaring up.  So naturally, I am thinking about school and ideas are swirling.  One night I looked over at the Boggle game sitting on my dresser and a gazillion center / learning station ideas popped in my head. Here are a few: Alphabetizing Ideas Four Corners Each person gets a letter from the corner and the team has to put them in ABC (alphabetical order). Four Lines Each person alphabetizes a line Super Challenge Alphabetize all the letters Word Work Lucky Letter Whichever letter is in the top left corner is the lucky letter. Kids can make a list of words that start with that letter, end with that letter, or have that letter. Rhyme time Find a words in the mixed up letters and then write a rhyming word to go with it. Challenge Rhyme time Same as above but then write the rhyming words in a sentence and illustrate it. ...

It's after midnight and I'm up, again... I'm missing my kiddos and co-workers.  I've been on leave for a couple of weeks due to my Fibromyalgia flaring up.  Stress does that.  I can't say that I'm relaxed but I am not breaking out in hives everyday.  BIG Improvement! It breaks my heart every time I let my mind wander over to teaching.  I miss the children.  This year I had such a wonderful, dream class.  They were so sweet and eager to learn.  I am confident that the teacher that took my place is proficient and kind hearted but I still miss them.  It is amazing how attached you can get in nine weeks. I'm not sure what the future will bring.  I try to think ahead and feel blue so right now I am living in the moment.  Learning how to cherish the subtle small things in life we take for granted in the daily grind. My uncle is gravely ill and does not have long to live.  I am choosing to focus on the moments with him now. ...

I'm sorry that I have not been posting as much as in the past!  I am trying to start up Lowery's Loft in addition to my GroovyEducator endeavors. Lowery's Loft is a place where you can find items "Vintage to New and Affordable Too!" Right now I am trying different categories of items like costume jewelry, purses/handbags, toys, games, collectibles, etc.  Later I plan to include some school items like treasure box lots, books, and teacher friendly items. I have never been a jewelry person but it is turning into a passion.  I LOVE learning about the history of some of the vintage items.  I marvel at pins that are sixty years old and appear new!  I image where each item may have traveled and even its origin and the artist's "vision" or inspiration. Quality costume jewelry is perfect for elementary school teachers.  It looks nice and its affordable.  If it breaks or is lost, it will not break the bank.  Working with young children and constan...