Skitch {for Tech Tuesday}

I am having too much fun with Skitch and my new stylus (affiliate link).  The stylus was a present from Susan at Crafterhours.  I write on photos all the time now.  Doodle-all-day as evidenced from the photo above and these below.

Don't you adore colorful, inexpensive art supplies?  Wait until you see the string art I plan to create with these threads.  "Love" completely fits how I feel about these.

Or how about these two cutie-pies, Lil O and Sweet K?  Makes me want to have a gaggle of 'em (Just kidding, Mr. UpCyclist.  I'm good with just one).  But, these BFFs sure are lovely and doodling on the photo added more joy to my life.

Skitch can be downloaded as a phone app or a computer program.  It has sooo many possibilities, but right now I'm just using Skitch for doodling.  Did I mention Skitch is my favorite price?  Free!

Happy Tech Tuesday! And sweet doodling.

xoxo,

(Yep, I used Skitch for my signature.  Fancy, huh?)

Chalkboard Nails

Sans our very orange (tanned?) hands in the photo above, I give chalkboard nails a big A+.  Cousin A brought a kit to Colorado and one night we dolled up our fingernails.  As the directions instruct, you paint on two coats of the black, matte, chalkboard polish.  Then, once the polish is dry (which takes about a minute), you break out the bright-colored chalkboard markers and doodle to your heart's content on your nail surface.  The final step is a coat of clear nail polish and voila, chalkboard nails!  

Cousin A bought her kit at Sephora ($25).  If you follow this link, you can see the kit - the markers and polish I described.  I also just spied this DIY tutorial for chalkboard nails in case you want to use supplies you might already own.

I pretty much love anything chalkboard and being a teacher, well, this is just my style!

xoxo,

Jen

Summer Goals 2013

Photo from here. Pic Monkey by Jen

I am reminded of what a friend told me....

We are human beings, not human doings.

I do, however, have several things I want to do this summer.  I thought if I wrote down my goals, I might actually remember them and accomplish them.  Here's my short list:

• Study wildflowers with Lil O
• Build my online special education class that is slated to run in the fall
• Mountain bike and road bike more than I did last summer (and proudly wear my UE jersey)
• Have four separate Yes Days - one for Lil O, Mr. UpCyclist, Puppy Jedi and myself
• Trail run to the neighborhood lake three times (last summer, I just did this once)
• Make time for yoga, reading and just being - and not doing
• Create string art like this

What's on your summer goal list?

My best,

Jen

Bedtime Math {for Tech Tuesday}

Credit:  Bedtimemath.org

Summertime is a wonderful time to hone those mathlete skills.

See what you think of this free resource for kids - bedtime (or anytime) math problems - at Bedtime Math.  What I like about this free, web-based resource is it is published daily.  It's free (my favorite price).  It's differentiated for various age groups - wee ones, little kids, and big kids.  It's ideal for educators and parents to use with children.  AND before you even get to the daily math problem, there is context and interesting information about the subject being discussed.

For example, I blogged a few days ago about the incredibly creative reading program launch in Seattle.  Here's the original post from Bedtime Math incorporating that launch.  Or if you like water slides, this post and math problem might capture your child (or student's) interest.

Yay, for math made edugaging (education + engaging)!

Best,
Jen

PS - Have you seen my summer photos on Instagram?  I am in my happy place.

So Clever

Two college students set this idea into motion, literally.  What a clever way to launch a summer reading program.  Plus, Seattle's Public Library is sooooo gorgeous.

Cool, no?

Jen

PS - If you are reading this blog post from your email subscription, you may need to hop on over to Upcycled Education to see the video.  I don't think the videos come embedded in the automated emails.  Do they?

PSS - Come back for Tech Tuesday this week.  I'll show you where I stumbled across this video.