Black History Month

Every February, Americans celebrate Black History Month. This tribute dates back to 1926 and is credited to a Harvard scholar named Carter G. Woodson. The son of former slaves, Woodson dedicated his life to ensuring that black history was accurately documented and disseminated.

In an effort to bring national attention to the contributions of black Americans, Woodson organized the first annual Negro History Week in 1926. He chose the second week of February in honor of the birthdays of pivotal black supporters Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.

From Jackie Robinson to Tiger Woods, Harriet Tubman to Barack Obama, Black History Month pays tribute to inspirational African Americans from the past, as well as those who will continue to make history well into the future.

Check out biography.com for great articles, interviews, and videos. You may find something useful for your classroom.

T Minon Janvier- A Cajun French New Year's Story

Le Petit Bon Homme Janvier, the little man of January, visits on New Year's Eve to leave a gift for little Cajun children to find once they wake New Year's Day. The gifts left, usually in the form of fruit and small bits of paper wrapped candy, are sometimes hidden around the house, in stockings left from Christmas, or in the shoes that the children place outside.

(The following articles by Jim Bradshaw appeared in The Daily Advertiser, Lafayette, LA on December 28 and December 31, 2004)

Santa didn’t begin to visit Cajun children until the late 1800’s. Before then, le petit bonhomme Janvier, sometimes called the Little January Stranger in English, delivered gifts at New Year’s. If the children were good during the year, he left them fruit and perhaps a bauble
or two. But if they had been bad, he turned trickster and left them ashes.

There were also some remote places in Louisiana’s bayou country where, until relatively recent times, Christmas was not celebrated until February. Some people may still remember that February 25 was called “Trapper’s Christmas.” The real Christmas fell in the middle of the trapping season, when the men of the trappers’ families were out in the marsh. So the families waited until after the trapping season to celebrate Christmas. That way, Papa
was home for the celebration, and so was the money he got for his pelts.
It made for a better celebration.

Happy Holidays!!! (Christmas Activities and Testing Strategies)

Cheers to whatever you're celebrating this time of year! Whether it's Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, New Years, or just enjoying some time away from work. Enjoy every moment. I will be including some great holiday activities in this post to help ease your party planning.

However, this time of year does mean one thing for most teachers. It means the
year is about halfway over. Not to be a "Grinch", but testing is right around the corner!!! I always get nervous around this time of the year. I wonder if I have done all that I can to cram as much information into those tiny little brains as much as humanly possible. Then again what if my kids just freak out once they get the test and everything that was learned just fades away. I know that I'm over reacting, but deep down many of us feel this way.

So my question is how are you preparing your students for the upcoming testing sessions?

I teach 6th grade in Louisiana so we take the ILeap, which is basically a comprehensive test which includes several constructed responses. Below are some sites that I have found really helpful in getting my kids prepared for Standardized Testing.

(Right click on the links below to open in a new tab or window.)

1. Louisiana Pass-- A great site for Math review.
2. PSSA Math Practice Grade 5 (PDF)
3. Houghton Mifflin Math-- Test Prep, Brain Teasers, and Testing Techniques
   
4. Brain Child-- Preparation for many different state tests.
   
5. Test Taking Tips-- Several ways for your kids to stay cool under testing pressure.
6. Leap4Fun--Engage up to four players in this interactive board game. (Perfect for the one computer classroom)

Be sure to leave comments on your favorite standardized testing tips. As a community we can help each other to reach the demands of accountability.

I was going to incorporate a "Test Prep" section into Gallimore Learning, but there are so many tests out there, that it's hard to easily organize them all.

Now that I have stressed you out, it's time to sit back, relax, and enjoy some class holiday party plans.

Holiday Ideas

Happy Hands Wreath-- for lower elementary

• Trace about ten hand prints on green paper. Glue them onto a wreath shaped chunk of cardboard. Decorate with glitter, fake berries, a bow, whatever...they are adorable. You can also use the same hand prints and shape them into Christmas trees with the fingers pointing down, and then let them decorate with beads, sequins, popcorn, whatever to make a cool tree.

Christmas Craft Ideas for Kids -Craft Spoon Christmas Tree

You'll Need

1. Wooden craft spoons;the spoons that come with ice cream cups.
2. Acrylic paint
3. Fabric paint tubes
4. Paint brushes
5. Yellow fun foam or felt
6. Craft glue
7. Scissors
8. Pin backs or ribbon

Step 1. Paint five wooden spoons with green acrylic paint.

It will take just a few minutes of drying time before
handling. Children can do the next step while waiting.
Step 2. Cut the star from the fun foam or felt.
I prefer fun foam. It's easier for kids to cut & glue.
Step 3. Glue the craft sticks in a fan shape to make the tree.
Step 4. Make dots with the paint tubes, for the decorations.
Step 5. For an ornament or gift tag; glue a ribbon loop
to the back.

To make a pin, attach a pin back. Pin backs can be found plain or with self adhesive strips
already attached.

Pine Cone Tree

Supplies needed:

• Pinecones (purchase green or spray paint)
• Green paint
• Mini-pots
• Stars
• Sequins
• Glue

Christmas Wreath Game

Suspend a large Christmas wreath in a doorway at a convenient height from the floor. Prepare in advance "snowballs," made of cotton batting covered with white tissue paper.

The players stand about eight feet from the wreath, and take turns, one at a time. Each is given three "snowballs," and the one who succeeds in throwing all three, one at a time, through the wreath, is given the prize.

To make it more exciting, sides may be chosen, and each one of the three snowballs numbered, one being 5, the other, 10, and the third, 20. If the ball numbered 5 goes through, it counts 5 for that player's side. If it does not go through, it is a loss, and so on. The side scoring the most points is victorious.

Get free holiday clip art here