Three Cool Ships

After reading Ashley Ann's post about Mercy Ships, I thought, what other ships do I admire?

Ship #1:  Mercy Ships.  Read Ashley Ann's post to learn more. Her friend volunteered on one of the Mercy Ships, so she had great interview questions for him.  I had no idea we had floating hospitals on the planet.  How cool is that?  You can also watch this 60 minute segment to learn more.  The photo above is from this link.

Ship #2:  Semester at Sea - This ship is a floating university affiliated with the University of Virginia. It is not inexpensive to float with them and earn 15 credits, but boy, would it be so neat.  Plus, check out their ports of call.  This ship is experiential learning come to life.  The photo above is from their website.

Ship #3:  Class Afloat - This high school & junior college travels the world on their giant sailboat.
I learned about them when I taught in Ecuador and always thought it would be a great ship to teach on and see the world.  Now, 14 years later, I still think that it would be a fabulous teaching adventure.  Maybe Lil O will want to learn on board and I could take a year and teach.  It, too, isn't inexpensive, so perhaps I could trade some teaching for Lil O's education.  Photo credit here.

All this ship talk reminds me of this quote I've always loved.  Beloved & Co. has done a beautiful job on this print.  You can order one here.

What ships do you like?  Educate me.

Jen

And I Opened a Stamp Shop

Look above. Do you see anything new?

Yep, I opened an online stamp shop.

Right now, you might be semi-confused or not with the whole stamp shop grand opening.  It depends if you've been in my presence lately how confused you might be feeling.  My students, who see me weekly, are not confused at all. I've been talking about stamps and asking them questions about stamps for a month now.

Here's the skinny on how the online stamp shop came to be.....

#1:  I love stamps. 

I literally collected rubber stamps in my 20s.  I used to go to stamp shows (like conferences) when I lived in Denver in the 1990s.  My creative friend, Colleen, used to go with me.  We would buy a gaggle of stamps and then spend an entire day making greeting cards.  In fact, this year was the first time I can remember that I bought a pre-made greeting card.   My mother was shocked.  I still have the majority of my stamp collection as evidenced by this photo below.  I don't take care of the stamps nearly as well as I used to.

#2:  Most teacher stamps aren't my style.

We all have our own style.  Most teacher or classroom stamps don't resonate with me.  Plus, most teacher stamps fit in the "Good Job" category.  You know how I feel about good jobs.  Good bye is how I feel.  Upcycled Education's stamps are here to change that.  The stamps I offer all encourage reflection and thoughtful feedback.   No good-jobs-empty-feedback here.

#3:  I like to shake up the snow globe.

Almost every year at my annual review, my department chair says something to the effect, You always are looking for ways to improve.  It is true.  I love the feel of growth, the challenge of doing something new and since I've been involved in teaching for almost 20+ years, it is time to shake up the snow globe again.  These stamps are helping me improve giving feedback to my students and increase the amount of student reflection within my lessons.  Total wins.

#4:  I dream 85% of the time and do 5% of the time.  The other 10%, I'm sleeping.

I am a huge dreamer and believe it or not, a rarely doer.  For 2013, that is changing.  My inspiration comes from one of my favorite blogs, Enjoy It.  I can't put my finger on the exact blog post, but one post Elise mentioned how she finds it more stressful to think about an idea over a long period of time than actually do or execute an idea.  That 100% spoke to me.  Take the cycling team, as an example.  I literally thought about launching a cycling team for two years before actually doing anything about it.    Two years!  Why did I wait?  Because I never thought it was the right time.  I didn't think I had the right skills to lure sponsors, blah, blah, blah.  For the exorbitant amount of time I dreamt about the cycling team, I could have launched ten teams by now.  Plus, look at this incredible jersey and our 17 sponsors.  Pinch me.

#5:  I'm going full circle

Since I love stamps.  I love teaching.  I am inspired by the stamp line at Enjoy It, which aren't teaching related, but absolutely lovely AND I'm a doer for 2013, I proudly introduce to you Upcycled Education's new stamp shop.  Cue curtains opening.  Ta-da!

Come look around.  Please tell all your friends about the stamps.  Buy one or more stamps for your favorite teachers - especially since Teacher Appreciation Week is in early May.  Or, purchase a stamp to use at home with your kiddos after a museum outing.  You can see the stamps in action here.

So thrilled,

Jen

STAMP SHOP NOW OPEN!

PS - I can't thank you enough for all your support of Upcycled Education.  This Dear Abby quote really speaks to this whole process.  This is not work at all, but pure joy.