Blog

Grade: 6

Materials: exemplars, printouts, pencils, erasers, colored pencils, sharpener, rulers, black Sharpie markers, paper, newspaper, paper cutter, paper towel, water, plastic containers, liquid glue, spatula, white acrylic paint, colored acrylic paints or paint markers, mask molds, plastic wrap.

Teacher Prep: Familiarize self with Engage NY EL Protocols, prepare artifacts, Day of the Dead PowerPoint, print template pages, gather materials, cut newspaper strips, prep papier-mâché mixture. You will need A LOT of newspaper. I reach out to local businesses and ask parents to bring in newspaper all year in order to have enough for students.

Day 1: Have students complete gallery walk using template from my Teachers Pay Teachers page. I have students grab clipboards that we received from Donorschoose.org and explain directions. Students understand that they are to travel around the classroom to look at different artifacts (that are numbered). The artifacts consist of six photograph images that are similar/related to the images in the Power Point presentation you can download on my TPT page. Tip: Laminate your photos so that they can be reused year after year! I love my Amazon Basics laminator. You can find the link here.

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The activity is silent and students have approximately two minutes at each station. While they are completing the gallery walk, I play themed music (Coco & The Book of Life Soundtracks are great!)

Once students have independently completed the gallery walk, I have them return to their seats are share with a partner or table for two minutes (turn and talk EL Protocol). Have students share out what they have discussed, popcorn style. Introduce lesson plan with Power Point. Hand out oval mask templates and have students create a draft sketch of what their mask will look like.

Day 2: Demonstrate how to use papier-mâché. Pass out mask molds and use plastic wrap to cover mask faces so that the newspaper does not stick to the plastic face mold, and they will come off easily once dried. I make the papier-mâché mix prior to the students arriving, and use these black commercial bins. Each table gets one bin and this seems to be working better than other ways I have tried in the past. Since I have about 30 students per class, I use almost 3/4 of a bottle of glue for two classes each day to make enough papier-mâché.

Leave the masks to dry overnight. Since I have several classes completing the assignment at once, I remove the masks from the mold at the start of the following day. I trim the edges of the masks and write the students’ names and class name on the inside of the mask with a thick Sharpie. Some masks will still be wet, so I leave them in the cabinet to dry completely until the next time I see the class.

Day 3: Have students use white acrylic paint to add 1-2 coats. Allow to dry overnight. My favorite to use is the Blockout White from Dick Blick.

Day 4-5: Students will begin painting their masks. I suggest that my students use pencil to draw their design right on the mask first before using colored paint. In the past, I have used liquid acrylic paints, but recently switched to Decocolor paint markers for this year and the results have been AMAZING!

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Day 6-7: Time to decorate! I give my students options of many different craft items to use to decorate their masks from glitter glue pens, feathers, beads, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, wire, etc. Part of the assignment’s requirements is that students must add a 3-dimensional object to their masks.

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Day 8: Make revisions, and fill out self assessment rubrics. When students complete rubrics, they can work on word searches or create papel-picado.

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Sub Plans: I typically will leave the dvds for Coco and The Book of Life, with question worksheets.

Alternative Assignments: This year I have some students with severe allergies, and they would not be able to be around the glues and paints used. I have a few alternative assignments that can be done in an alternate setting using very few materials (computer, crayons, scissors, tissue paper).

Early Finisher Assignments: Here are some great resources that I have pinned on Pinterest, packet resources, worksheets,

If you’re looking for something easy and festive to make for Christmas this year, look no further! I have seen these puff pastry Christmas trees ALL over Pinterest and Instagram, so I thought I would give it a shot.

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Ingredients:

1 box (2 pieces) off pre-made, frozen puff pastry- thawed

1 cup pesto- store bought works well! My favorite is the store brand Basil Pesto from Whole Foods.

Directions:

Allow your puff pastry to thaw to just about room temperature. You do not want it to be frozen, because it will break when you try to create your tree.

Preheat oven according to the puff pastry box directions.

Add parchment paper to a cookie sheet and add your first layer of puff pastry.

Using a brush, (or spoon), coat the top of your puff pastry.

Add the second piece of puff pastry on top of the pesto.

Using a sharp knife, cut out the shape of your Christmas tree.

Cut slits 1/2 inch away from each other on each side of your tree’s “trunk”.

Twist each slit.

Add a light slice down the center of your trunk.

Optional: You can choose to cook your scraps as well like I did, and serve them on the side.

A few years ago I made some tie-dye Christmas ornaments to sell at a local craft fair. They were a huge hit! They are super easy to make- all you need are clear glass ornaments, some acrylic paints and patience.

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The great thing about these ornaments are that they come in multiple sizes, and you can choose your color combinations- so they’re totally customizable!

I purchased a few different sized ornaments, and several small bottles of acrylic paints (no need to buy any specific “glass” paint, any acrylic craft kind will do!) I tried to think about which colors would look best with each other, and stuck mainly with fluorescent colors.

The first thing you need to do is remove the tops to your ornaments, and put them somewhere safe where they won’t get lost or damaged while your ornaments dry.

Using your acrylic paint, add a few drops, one color at a time into your ornament. Carefully swirl each color around to get the desired effect. Add additional colors if you want a tie-dye effect. Remember, LESS IS MORE! You can always add additional drops of paint, but if you add too much, it can ruin your design.

Turn your ornaments upside down to dry. I used an old, empty egg carton lined with paper towel. Put them somewhere safe to dry overnight.

Once the interior of your ornaments are dry, you are ready to replace the tops, add your hooks and hang your ornaments!

If you are looking for a variation, try adding glitter instead!

Instead of adding acrylic paint, start by coating the inside of your ornament with a few drops of Pledge Gentle Wood Floor Cleaner. Yes, it sounds weird, but trust me, it works.

Once the interior is evenly coated, add whatever color of fine glitter you would like! Make sure the glitter has covered evenly and turn the ornament over to remove the excess glitter.

Leave it turned upside down overnight to dry and replace cap.

One of my favorite Christmas cookies comes from Jones Tree Farm in Shelton, CT. My family visits the farm every year to chop down our trees, and I always look forward to one of their cookies after.

Lucky for us, they’ve shared their recipe with all of us, and you can find it here!

Ingredients:

1 Jar Roasted Red Peppers

1 Box Rigatoni (or Penne) Pasta

2 tbsp Butter

½ Block Cream Cheese Philadelphia preferred

1 cup Half & Half

1 tbsp Minced Garlic I prefer Goya

1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Basil

Salt

Pepper

3 Shallots

Instructions:

While you are cooking the sauce, bring water to boil and cook your pasta according to box instructions.

Add butter to saute pan.

Slice shallots. Once butter is melted, add sliced shallots and minced garlic to the pan. 

Allow shallots and garlic to cook for a few minutes, stirring so they do not burn.

Add cubed cream cheese, half & half and ½ cup Parmesan cheese to pan. 

Once the cream cheese is melted, and is a smooth consistency, add in drained roasted red peppers.

Allow peppers to cook a bit while stirring.

Pour mixture into a blender or food processor- I love my Ninja Blender!

Puree until a creamy, smooth consistency.

Return to pan and toss with cooked pasta.

Top with pepper, and salt to taste. Add Parmesan cheese and top with chopped fresh basil.

Heading to Thanksgiving dinner and don’t know what to bring? How about an easy to prep charcuterie board?

I picked up all my food supplies locally at Stew Leonard’s in Norwalk, but feel free to purchase items wherever fits your budget and needs.

The great thing about charcuterie boards are that you can customize them! You can add items that you love and leave out items you don’t. Each time I make one is completely different and includes new items since I love exploring different flavors.

This year I made my board more “kid friendly”. Here’s what I included:

• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Celery
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Grapes
• Crackers
• Parmesan Crisps
• French Onion Dip (pre-made from Stew’s)
• Spinach Dip (pre-made from Stew’s)
• Greek Olives
• Antipasto
• Prosciutto
• Santori Balsalmic Bellavinto
• Mild Cheddar
• Swiss
• Gouda
• Brie
• Garlic & Herb Goat Cheese
• Chocolate Foil Wrapped Turkey

They key is to choose items that you love! You can cut items into bite-sized pieces or even use the pre-cut cheese and veggies from your local grocery store! Make sure to include a variety of textures and flavor balancing savory & sweet, mild & sharp, flavorful & spicy.

I added some small festive bowls to hold the “messy” items and arranged everything so it fit nicely in the tray.

Tip: Add a sheet of aluminum foil first to protect your tray and make cleanup a breeze!

One of my favorite things about living in New England (besides our autumn) is our coastlines. I have been blessed with my last few apartments being not too far from the beach.

That being said, my entire home has a beach-vibe theme going on…I prefer to call it Greek Isles themed, but it definitely has some coastal New England charm. This theme follows me through all my seasonal and holiday decor.

I decided to take advantage of the extended long weekend to carve some nautical themed pumpkins for my front porch. I was expecting the process to be a lot messier and more difficult than it was, and was happily surprised.

What you will need:

1. Craft pumpkins in a variety of sizes, depending on what you want to carve. I chose white because it fit with the theme, but there are traditional orange as well. I picked mine up at Michaels. Right now, they are on sale!

2. An X-Acto knife and blades. X-Acto 1 Precision Knife | Z-Series, Craft Knife, with Safety Cap, #11 Fine Point Blade, Easy-Change Blade System

3. A Dremel. This “pumpkin” Dremel is perfect for using on real-life pumpkins as well. (Stay tuned later this month to see how I use it on my real pumpkin). Dremel 7000-PK 6-Volt Pumpkin Carving Kit

4. Pencil, erasers, reference images, clean up materials.

The most difficult part was deciding what I wanted the pumpkins to look like, and which design would fit best on each pumpkin. After deciding, I used pencil to draw the design on the pumpkin’s face. If you have trouble drawing the image, you can print one from offline and trace it!

Next I used the X-Acto knife to cut along the pencil drawing and carve out the large portions.

I used the Dremel to carve out any curved edges and to smooth the edges down from the X-Acto knife.

Last, I used an eraser to get rid of any stray pencil marks and my pumpkins are now ready for display-yay!

Update: my only complaint is that on severely windy/stormy days the pumpkins tend to fly away off my porch since they are so light. I fixed this by adding some small rocks inside to weigh them down.

I think it’s impossible to grow up in New England and not LOVE autumn. Despite my allergies trying to sabotage the season, it truly is the best time to be in Connecticut.

Angry Orchard Crisp Apple is my favorite cider. One day I happened to notice the bottle listed Walden, NY as its location so I happened to Google it. Turns out, it is just a bit further up from Danbury, CT…so a trip was definitely needed. https://www.angryorchard.com/our-orchard/plan-your-visit

A few years back, we took a trip up to the Angry Orchard orchard in Walden, NY. The orchard itself was gorgeous. At the time, the tree house was opened for viewing.

Inside the Cider House we were given a token and were able to choose a flight to sample. Did I mention this was all free?

They have so many varieties of ciders that I had not seen in store. You can also pick up a growler of your favorite to take home!

We cannot wait to visit again this fall!

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A few years ago, I started posting monthly art challenges that I use for extra credit opportunities in the art classroom.

Last year, I started creating my own and it has been a lot of fun! I tried to create them month by month last year, and this caused a lot of extra work having to recheck drawing prompts to make sure they hadn’t been used previously. So this year I decided to create them all over the summer. Scroll down to check out September-May Art Challenges.

During the first week of school I introduce my students to the extra credit art challenges. I post them at the start of each month on our classsroom Instagram page. I suggest that my students purchase or utilize a sketchbook for their drawings, but it is not necessary. I do ask that all art challenges are numbered (and include the month, first name, last name and classname, if on printer paper). They are not required to do all (or any) of the drawings, but it is a good opportunity for them to earn extra credit points, or for insurance purposes to make sure they earn that A!

The idea is to complete one challenge per day (ie: there are 31 days in October, so the October Art Challenge contains 31 challenges). I tell my students that if they want to complete all the challenges, I am not there at home to know if they are really doing one each day, or all of them in one week. But the idea is to get creativity flowing on a daily basis.

By doing the art challenges, my students are given the opportunity to earn UP TO 10 points for each drawing. While most students earn between 3-5 points, it still boosts grades. I collect all extra credit the first Friday of the following month. Because it is extra credit, I do not collect any late work.

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I love Kaitlynn Albani’s Classroom Rule Posters! They’re adorable (and watercolor themed), and match with my classroom decor perfectly!

They are listed in Kaitlynn’s TPT page, and best of all- its FREE! The link for the freebie is here. Check out her page, she has a lot of awesome resources for elementary teachers!

I just finished laminated them using my Amazon Basic Laminator Machine and sleeves- for direct like click on the images below. I plan on hanging the posters up in my classroom near my RESPECT posters. Check out my Instagram page later this month to see how I use them in my art classroom!

My great-aunt used to make this recipe for me for special occasions, and it always has been a favorite. Now that she moved out of state, I had to learn how to make this easy and (Bis)quick recipe. It is definitely a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

2 large zucchinis

½ medium sized white onion 

1 cup Bisquick

4 large eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp parsley

½ cup grated Pecorino Romano Cheese or Parmesan Cheese

8 oz grated Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Wash zucchinis with Norwex’s Fresh Produce Wash.

Chop zucchinis into small cubed pieces. 

Beat eggs in a large bowl.

Add all other ingredients together into the large bowl. 

Using a nonstick spray, or olive oil spray, coat a large glass tray.

Add your batter into the tray and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Allow to cool, and cut into squares. Enjoy!

To celebrate #nationalzucchiniday I am sharing some of my favorite recipes using zucchinis! This recipe was inspired by one off I found on Pinterest. The link for Jamie Cooks It Up’s recipe is below. I purchased all these ingredients from my local Price Rite.

Teriyaki Sauce:

⅓ c & 1 tbsp soy sauce (I like Kikkoman’s low sodium)

¾ c cold water

⅓ c brown sugar

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp garlic powder

1 ½ tbsp honey (local is best!)

1 tsp sesame oil (Kikkoman sells one)

2 tbsp cornstarch

Stir Fry:

1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

2 carrots, cut into matchstick

A handful of sugar snap peas (frozen is fine)

A handful of asparagus, cut into small pieces

2 stalks of celery, cut

1 zucchini spiralized

1.5 lbs of london broil, or flank steak cut into thin slices

1 tbsp toasted sesame seed

Teriyaki Sauce Instructions:

Combine all of the Teriyaki sauce ingredients into a saucepan and make sure to whisk them so that they are blended together. Let the sauce simmer, while continuously mixing. It should start to thicken and become a nice glaze. Once it looks like this, remove from heat and set aside.

Stir Fry Preparation:

Wash all veggies using Norwex’s Fresh Produce Wash

Cut ends off zucchini, cut in half to make easier, and use OXO Spiralizer to make zoodles. I hate when my zoodles are soggy, so I place them into a colander and lightly salt them. Leave them set aside while you toast your sesame seeds.

Cut all veggies accordingly and place together in a large bowl. 

OXO Good Grips 3-Blade Tabletop Spiralizer is my favorite. I have purchased several before this that just didn’t work (or broke). This one from OXO is great, it has 3 different blade settings that you can use to get different size and shapes for your veggies, and has this great suction cup on the bottom to stop the spiralizer from moving while you are using it.

Toasting Sesame Seeds:

Preheat frying pan, toss a small handful of sesame seeds into the dry, heated pan and allow them to brown slightly. It only takes a few minutes so keep a close eye on them! Remove from pan and place aside for later- you will use them as a garnish.

Stir Fry Instructions:

Using the same frying pan, preheat and add some olive oil to coat the surface. Once you see some heat rising from the oil, reduce heat and add your stir fry veggies, with the exception of the zoodles. Add salt and pepper to taste and allow to cook while stirring occasionally. If you notice your veggies are starting to stick to the pan, but still need more time cooking you can add a few tablespoons of water as needed. It will help give the veggies that boost! Once your veggies are almost done, add in your zoodles and cook until zoodles are tender. Remove from heat, and place all your veggies together into a large bowl.

Using the same pan, add your beef strips to cook. Flip and cook on both sides to your preference, or until they are no longer pink. 

Once the beef is thoroughly cooked, add your veggies back into the skillet, pour your teriyaki glaze on top and mix well. I suggest only adding a little at a time to your preference. Top with toasted sesame seeds.

Once everything is heated, it is now time to serve your dish. Enjoy!

You can check out the recipe that inspired mine at Jamie Cooks It up!

I don’t know if there is a black hole in my classroom somewhere that swallows up every cap, but for some reason caps seem to go missing in my art room. At the end of the 2017-2018 school year, I saved EVERY SINGLE cap from dried out markers, pens, glue sticks…EVERYTHING! Although I did not have many, it was a start.

When last school year began, I put out a small container with all the extra caps so students could access them whenever they misplaced a cap. Students also knew to put any found caps into the container as well. We participate in Crayola’s Color Cycle, (which is an AWESOME recycling program), and we saved all the caps from the markers that we sent in for recycling. You can check out how we use Crayola’s Color Cycle on my Instagram post!

Last year I noticed that my students were having trouble (and spending a lot of time) trying to find correct caps since they were all mixed together. I was on Instagram this weekend and came across ArtTeacherK8’s profile and saw a post on how she is organizing her art classroom and was inspired! (thanks Heather!) She keeps all her markers and supplies in plastic drawers. You can check it out below.

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I purchased a six pack of these Sterilite drawers yesterday from Amazon using Prime and it came today! They were less expensive per unit than anywhere else I checked.

I next used my Cricut to create labels for each drawer, so now it should be easier for my students to not only access, but find the caps they are looking for. I created a “Miscellaneous” drawer as well for those random items that we use, but may not have enough to fill an entire drawer. You can check out my process below! Check out my Instagram page later this month to see how I used it in my classroom!

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Friday August 2 was National Ice Cream Sandwich Day, and I am a sucker for anything ice cream related.

Last summer I had a family emergency, and had to take an unexpected road trip to Chicago. Somewhere on the road at one of the many rest stops in Indiana, I found Andes Mint ice cream sandwiches, and they were AMAZING! Unfortunately, they have been impossible to find in Connecticut. Emma Lord from Bustle wrote an article about these yummy treats using the pic I snagged of them, and you can check it out here.

There have been a few other articles written using my pic below, but none have included where I can snag these in Connecticut. Until then, I will still be on the hunt for these yummy treats!

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One of the most beautiful (and memorable) vacations that I have taken with my family was one where we visited Las Vegas, The Hoover Dam and The Grand Canyon back when I was still in college. We flew into Las Vegas stayed two days and then rented a car to drive to the Hoover Dam and The Grand Canyon before returning back to Las Vegas for an additional day.

It was a long journey- and a lot of time spent in the car taking in the scenery from the car window but I loved every moment. In fact, I actually secretly enjoyed it since that part of the country is known to be quite hot, and I was able to sight see while staying cool.

The first stop on our day trip was to The Hoover Dam. It was an interesting place, just not my cup of tea. I was more excited and anxious to reach our destination of The Grand Canyon National Park.

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After a short stop, we were back on the road. I was especially excited to see the Arizona sign. Little did I know how much further we had to go! I seems like in New England you can travel across the entire Northeast and visit multiple in just a few hours. Once we made it to the Grand Canyon National Park, I was ready to start exploring. We were told that a potential storm was rolling through so we had just a short time to take in as much as possible- and take as many photographs as I could capture.

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Unfortunately we only had a limited time at Grand Canyon National Park because a thunderstorm was rapidly approaching. The park rangers safely escorted everyone off the ridge and we made it back to our cars right before the pouring ran began.

Since it was pouring rain and lightening (go figure the day we went, it was raining…in a desert), we made our way back to Las Vegas, making a few pit stops to sight see along the way. Although it was a brief trip, I got to see so many beautiful sights and cannot wait to plan a trip to camp and hike at the Grand Canyon.

Last school year, I added a student suggestion box to my classroom where students can leave me suggestions for songs that they would like to hear on the playlist. I purchased a raffle/ballot box of Amazon in green to match Spotify’s logo.

I made the label in Word and then cut it down to size so that it would fit into the clear window.I usually leave a basket of scrap papers next to it where students can write their suggestions, and I check it at the end of each month and then add them to the “Preview” playlist and review at my leisure.

My students know that they are allowed to make suggestions as long as the song is “school appropriate” and only after they have finished their assignment and cleaned up. So far, my students have really enjoyed giving their input into our playlist and love that I value their opinions. Music is a great way to bond with your students!

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If you are looking for a place to start- you can check out my classroom’s Spotify playlist and create your own! Feel free to select/drag any or all of the songs included in my playlists!

Visiting Buttonwood Farm Ice Creamery and Sunflower Fields

This past Monday my aunt and I took a trip up to Griswold, CT to visit Buttonwood Farm. If you are familiar with the area, it is just a bit more further north than the casinos. Not only does Buttonwood Farm make their own ice cream, and waffle cones, but they also have gorgeous sunflower fields!

Buttonwood Farm sells bouquets of sunflowers for $10 and all proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation of Connecticut. Not only are you getting beautiful, fresh cut flowers, but you are also helping out a great cause!

This year, their sunflowers are available from July 20-28, so if you haven’t made a trip to visit their farm yet, you should soon!

My aunt and I had such a fun time visiting the farm, and I cannot wait to come back next year and make it an annual trip.

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Located nearby Hartford, CT, Penwood State Park offered maintained trails that were easy enough for the whole family to enjoy. One of my good friends and I decided to take her brother (then 10) with us one fall and he had a blast exploring the trails and nature.