Search Results for: blog the pencil sharpener

School Supply Must Have: Pencial Sharpener that Cannot be Kept in Stock

Every year I buy several small pencil sharpeners for each child. I hope and pray those will work. For years, I have struggled with pencil sharpeners. I know this may sound silly to most but pencil sharpeners make me buggy. I have purchased the big one you use a vice grip for on my dining room table. It broke. I used a battery operated pencil sharpener. It stopped working properly after the third pencil. I have purchased mechanical pencils to avoid buying any more sharpeners. My kids made a mess out of those by pushing too hard so the lead … Continue reading →

The Pencil Sharpener

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So, my little brother once got stabbed in the leg with a pencil. He was “accidentally” stabbed by my other little brother. I put quotes around the “accidentally” because I can’t be sure how accidental it was. I will say that both of them were shocked when this transpired. Neither of them were really hurt (though one of them began to chase the other). While no harm was intended, and not much harm was done, the event has reminded me that pencils can, indeed, be dangerous. The point? If pencils are dangerous, then the even sharper instruments used to sharpen … Continue reading →

Tips for Teachers: Pencils

Today, I would like to add another selection to my Tips for Teachers section. This tip comes from my personal experience in first grade and kindergarten. Primary grade teachers need as few distractions and complications as possible when it comes to teaching the children. Young children have shorter attention spans and do not need help getting off task. Therefore I choose not to allow my students to carry out particular activities that take away their attention and time from class. One such activity is sharpening pencils. Young students are completely fascinated by pencil sharpeners. They will spend a great amount … Continue reading →

Parenting Techniques Outside of the United States

The things that you consider to be typical parenting techniques might seem strange to people who live outside of the United States. Likewise, some of what parents in other countries do may seem weird to parents here. It’s all a matter of perspective. What works well for parents in one place might not be acceptable to do in other places. NPR has an article titled Global Parenting Habits that Haven’t Caught On In the U.S.. It was written by Emily Lodish and posted on August 12, 2014. In it, she points out some parenting techniques that are commonly practiced in … Continue reading →

How to Set Up a Homework Station

The new school year is upon us. Your kids are likely to have at least a little bit of homework to do after school. Many parents find it difficult to convince their children to sit down and do their homework. One thing that can make the situation a little less stressful, and more productive, is to set up a homework space. How to Setup a Homework Area It is easy to see why kids and teens don’t enjoy doing their homework. They just spent their whole day at school trying to learn things that are new to them, working on … Continue reading →

I So Called It

Ten days. Ten short days, people. It took just 10 days, 14 hours, 26 minutes and 50 seconds before my daughter uttered these three words: “I hate school.” So, yeah, the novelty of the new academic year has already worn off and now we’re back to dealing with bullies and bad attitudes. I so called it. Thank goodness for art. It’s been a saving grace in more ways than one. Fortunately, my daughter loves art class, so I use it as incentive to get her out of bed and off to school with at least 1/10th of a smile on … Continue reading →

“Weirder School” Gets Weirder and Weirder

Just when you thought a snake-wearing zookeeper, who encourages elephants to paint and helps fish a kid out of a lion’s cage was a bit too wacky for comfort, along comes another installment of My Weirder School, which features a tech-loving teacher, who headlines an action-packed adventure that includes no less than 45 references to popular Beatles’ tunes. Get ready for another Dan Gutman page turner. Book 2 in the My Weirder School series is aptly titled: Mr. Harrison Is Embarrassin’! And if you are part of Gutman’s target audience (first through fourth graders) you will definitely agree that Ella … Continue reading →

Books on Hand

So a while ago we moved across the country. The reasons are unimportant (you can read about them elsewhere), but this provided me the opportunity to re-imagine my office area in our new home. When we were living in Texas my office area consisted of a rather nice and large corner of our home… but it was in the living room, right next to the front door, the kitchen, the TV, the music, the toys, the on and on and on — got me? It was anything but ideal, but we made it work. (Oh! How I suffered!). It wasn’t … Continue reading →

Back to School Deals – Week of August 18, 2011

As we get closer to the start of a brand new school year, you might find your bank account singing the “Back to School Blues”. Between the mountain of school supplies and the necessary new school clothes, things can quickly get expensive. Here are some deals that could save you from going completely broke this school year. Expo Markers has a $2.00 coupon for any 2 packs of Expo Markers. You have to click “like” on their Facebook page in order to get access to the coupon. Expo Markers are the ones that are designed to be used on dry … Continue reading →

Our Little Drummer

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My family and I have completed a big cross-country move. It was a trial — that’s for sure — but we made it. As we’ve relocated much nearer our families, we’ve had the opportunity to see our son around them (something that was very few and far-between over the past five years we spent away). There is, strangely, a difference between him with family members and him with near-total strangers and non-relatives. While he was known as “the happy baby” during his short stint in daycare, and has constantly been referred to as “the happiest baby ever” by anyone who … Continue reading →