Food Costs HOW MUCH!

This week my students are working in groups to create a "Depression Budget."  Each group was given a profession and a weekly salary based on the average salary for 1932.

Factory worker made $16.89 per week
A cook made $15.05 per week
An accountant made $45.28 per week
A Doctor made $61.11 per week

The students then had to work together to plan a budget for a family of four for one month.  They had to account for rent/mortgage, food, clothing, misc., transportation, entertainment, and furniture.  They worked using a list of prices from 1932. 

It was interesting to hear their conversations while they worked.  More than once I heard someone exclaim, "Oh my gosh $30 for food!"  The doctors were thrilled to have money to spend while the cooks were not sure that they would have enough to survive the month.  Although this wasn't a real budget they really understood what it was like during the great depression and how difficult it can be to plan a budget. 

Today they will have a twist thrown into the mix.  Each group must choose two "life happens" papers and those papers will tell them about an unexpected event that could ruin their budget, such as a family member needing glasses or an appliance breaking.  Some of the kids were upset about this since they had their budgets worked out well but we discuss how this is the reality of life.  No matter how much you plan out a budget or save your money there will always be something that comes up that could change your budget plan. 

Although we're studying the Great Depression we are also reviewing important financial pieces that the students will use for the rest of their lives. I'm hoping that they will realize the importance of using a budget and I even encouraged them to think of a budget they might use for themselves once they have a part time job of their own. 

I'm interested to see how their budgets turn out!

Happy New Year

We're back after break and the kids seem to be in good moods and ready to get to work!  We are starting a unit on the Great Depression and relating that to our current economic recession.  We're starting with the "Ordeal by Cheque" assignment. 

It's actually really neat.  We read a story written in the form of checks.  Through these checks we're able to figure out what is going on in the life of the characters.  The story is set between the years of 1903 and 1931.  Now the students are working on writing their own stories in the form of checks - very interesting! 

I hope everyone had a wonderful break and I think 2010 will be a great year! 

Teenagers are good...they really are!

Those poor teenagers, sometimes they get a bad reputation just because of their age.  Today I was lucky to see the really good side of teenagers! 

I run a community service club at school and today we helped out setting up Pass It Along's annual toy shop. The toy shop is set up in a local church and it's just a huge room filled with toys! This week families in need can come and choose some gifts for their children.  It's truly a remarkable event and it's a privilege to be a part of it.

  I have volunteered at this shop before but I have never helped out with setting it up.  Students from my club signed up, but this task was so big that we needed more volunteers, so I opened it up to all my students.  Overall I had about 30 students and a few of my cousins :) come to help.  When we walked into the church we were faced with a HUGE pile of bags filled with toys.  I mean this pile was so big I felt sick looking at it because I felt that there was NO WAY we could get this done in only four hours.  But my volunteers and others that came, including many former students who are now in high school, worked at sorting the toys by gender and age and then resorting by type of toy (barbies, cars, etc).  Then we had to pack up some toys to hide because the shop is open all week long so we wanted everyone to have a fair shot at getting the best toys. 

Well four hours later the place looked like Toys R Us.  Everything was separated and organized and displayed beautifully.  There was a table of books and puzzles, a table of crafts, a table of scarves and hats, a table of games - it was amazing. 

The toy shop opens tomorrow and every parent can choose a large and small gift for each of their children, they can also take a book and stuffed animal or an item of clothing.  When they leave they will be given a roll of wrapping paper, some bows, a homemade ornament and a box of homemade cookies.  There is also a large section of gently used coats that they can take and some gently used Christmas decorations as well. 

The shop is amazing but more amazing were my students who gave up a big chunk of their weekend to give back to their community and to those in need.  No one moaned or complained, no one tried to leave early - nope they showed up and worked hard and laughed and sang as they did it.  Teenagers are amazingly good and they have the power to change the world! 

Research

Well the research papers are handed in and I'm in the process of grading them.  So far I've seen some amazing creativity coming from the students - I love when they surprise me.  I'll have some examples up soon!

Time Time time...why do you punish me?

In the good words of an old friend Hootie and the blowfish - time can be a tricky thing to master, especially when you're 14, social, and surrounded by 30 of your friends.

The research phase of our process is coming to an end by now the students have to work on writing their genre pieces.  The will have plenty of class time to do this but they have to manage their time well to get it all done.  Before they started working in class today I asked each student to write down a one or two sentence goal of what they wanted to accomplish in today's class period.  At the end of class I asked how many had reached their goal and about 75% raised their hands...not a bad start.

Here are a few tips that can help your teenager manage their time:

1) Make a list of goals or a to do list:  I find that I feel so accomplished when I have a list in front of me and I complete each item on my list, crossing it off as I go.  A list will help your children stay focused on the task at hand and they will also feel motivated to continue when they see their list being crossed out.

2) Set a Timer: I always tell the kids that if they need to work on their papers at home they should set a time limit.  Set the oven timer for 10, 15, or 20 minutes.  When kids have the pressure of knowing they only have a certain amount of time to finish something they will work twice as hard to finish on time.  It's also nice for them to know that they only have to stay focused on writing for a certain time period.  This is why I can give students 3 weeks to write a paper and they dilly dally but the night before they have it done in a few hours!

3)Use a calendar: Sometimes it's easier to break larger jobs into small pieces.  Have a large calendar somewhere in the house or the child's room and break down each task.  Monday: 10 minutes of research, Tuesday: Write introduction, etc.

4)Reward yourself:  I used to do this in graduate school when I had a deadline to meet.  I would think of something I wanted and wouldn't let myself have it until my task was complete.  For example,  I wouldn't go get ice cream from the freezer until I wrote at least three pages.  After those three pages were done the ice cream was mine!  It sounds funny but it worked for me!

5)Find a setting that works for you: Some people need total quiet to work, others can work with an ipod in their ears.  Music may seem noisy to you but to your kids it might help them concentrate and use their time wisely.

These tips could be applied to other areas as well - household chores, etc. 

 

Remember no matter which type of clock you use (I like the toast clock myself) - Time is on your side!

They are hard at work....RESEARCH!

We are two days into our time in the media center so that the students can collect research for their Multi-Genre Research papers.  So far the kids have only been allowed to research in books. They will have the opportunity to use the internet next week but I can't let go of book research, it's something I feel they will need.

It's a wonderful sight to see the kids huddled over their books, pens and pencils in hand, ipods plugged into their ears, learning about the influential people of the past.  BUT there was one boy who was so proud of how he was working he asked me to take a look...so a took a picture!

Have you ever seen a more organized library cubby?  Great job Ryan!

A Brand NEW Look

The last few days I've been obsessed with blogs - my own blog and the blogs of others.  Since I'm redoing our basement to make a playroom for our 15 month old son I've been subscribing to lots of DIY blogs.  While I was reading I came across this great website Shabbyblogs and was able to use their FREE and user friendly resources to update the look of my website. 

So from now on I think I'll be changing the look of my website often...FUN!