love2learn2day: August 2011

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Giveaway: How Big is a Million? (children's math book)

This past year we did a big penguin study. Always looking to make math connections, we especially enjoyed How Big is a Million?, an Usborne book. I'm excited to work with Jen at Chestnut Grove Academy to offer this book in a back-to-school giveaway!

The book...
Pipkin, a young penguin, wants to know How Big is a Million? He finds ten fish, 100 penguins, and 1,000 snowflakes, but he cannot find a million. Finally, his mother takes him outside to look at the starry night. In a pocket in the back of the book, the reader finds a poster depicting exactly one million stars. In contrast to some other "million" books where the quantity is distributed throughout the book, this picture allows the reader a glimpse of a million of something in one shot. Sweet book for exploring the concept of one million.

As a side note, I wondered if the book actually shows 1,000 snowflakes. I knew it depicts 10, 100, and a million, but I wasn't sure about 1,000. A friend of mine found some information from the author, explaining how the book developed. Fascinating! (I was glad we didn't have to count all 1,000 in order to check for accuracy!)

**GIVEAWAY**

Enter to Win:

Prize (1): one copy of How Big is a Million?
**U.S. shipping only.**

Contest Details:
Begins today and continues through September 10th. Contest ends at midnight on the 10th (U.S. Eastern time) and a winner will be announced on that week's Math Monday Blog Hop. I will choose a winner at random using Random.org.

How to enter:
You may choose as many as you like from the following, leaving a comment (in the comment section at the bottom of this post) being mandatory (unless you think I have superpowers and can figure out your contact info by osmosis.)

#1: Become a follower of my blog. (Or tell me that you already are.)

#2: Become a follower of Jen's blog, Chestnut Grove Academy.

#3: Visit Jen's Usborne page and comment about one Usborne book that interests you.

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you...such as janedoe at gmail dot com. If I don't hear back from a real person within 24 hours, I'll draw again.

Good luck!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Dealing with Difficult Behaviors, Especially ANGER

Over at Fun in First, Jodi wrote a post about Dealing with the Difficult Child. As a teacher and mom of five kids, I've certainly dealt with my share. Over the past few years, I've sometimes worked as a respite care provider for kids with significant behavioral issues. Whether you're dealing with a difficult child in the classroom or at home, here are a few ideas...

Working with a kid that quickly goes from 0-60 on the anger scale? Maybe he shuts down entirely? Chances are, the child's brain has shifted from the cortex (the front, thinking part of the brain) to the lower brain, sometimes dubbed the "reptilian brain," and entered into fight, flight, or freeze mode. Unfortunately, you can't really reason with someone in this mode. It's akin to reasoning with a lizard. So you need to do whatever it takes to get the child out of the lower brain. Usually, that means using few words. Instead, try...
Jumping. If you've got a mini-trampoline, all the better. You won't be the first one to have one in your home or classroom for that purpose! If the child is able to repeat a positive phrase while jumping, great! Something like "I make wise choices," can help. As I understand it, the joint compression involved with jumping can produce seratonin or "happy hormone." Pushing hard against a wall (I tell kids to try to push the wall down!) can have the same effect.
"Steel and spaghetti." I learned this technique from an incredible child psychologist. (Same with #2, actually!) Have the child tense every bit of his body as tight as he can (steel) for several seconds and then completely relax every part of his body, bending forward so that his fingers are dropping toward the ground (spaghetti.)
Try doing the Brain Gym PACE sequence.When I took Brain Gym training, we were told to use this with students to prepare for new learning. So it's good for many reasons!

Are you interested in learning more about dealing with difficult behaviors? If so, let me know so I can post more. It's a topic that greatly interests me.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Math Monday Blog Hop #21

It's BACK TO SCHOOL time!!!!

To celebrate, I'll soon be hosting a giveaway! (Hopefully later this week, so check back.) In the meantime, join in the blog hop for math lessons and resources. I've been getting some fabulous ideas from you all. Thank you!