Take Me Out to the... Yogi Berra Museum!

 

Yesterday I went to my grad school alma mater, Montclair State University, to finally see the Yogi Berra Museum. I worked for the Class A NJ Cardinals (a now-defunct affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) at Skylands Ballpark in Northern New Jersey the summer before I attended college. I have been a huge Yankee fan for as long as I can remember. Our recreation softball teams used to take us to Mets and Yankees games at the end of the season, and after my first game I was hooked. I was captivated by the Yankees ability to come back from a deficit to win an impossible game with a game winning home run in the bottom of the ninth...over and over again. They made me believe that if they could do that, I could do anything I set my mind to. 

Well as I grew up, I didn't really grow "up." I was always short, and I loved proving people that they were wrong to judge me by my size as a softball catcher and soccer goalie / defender. Other players thought they could knock me down and were amazed when I either didn't fall or when I got back up so quickly. It's not the size of the girl in the fight, it's the size of fight in the girl after all!

The most interesting thing I saw at the museum wasn't the glove he wore when he caught Don Larsen's perfect game in the World Series, it wasn't his MVP or Hall of Fame plaques, and it wasn't his 10 diamond encrusted World Series rings. It was a 2 page article he wrote for Highlights for Kids magazine about being bullied for being small and "ugly" when he was younger. He also told of how his best friend was signed to a major league contract and he wasn't. It was inspirational that a guy with only an 8th grade education and a hand injury while serving in the Navy after World War II was able to become so successful.

Well as for me, I made it to NCAA Division III soccer at Ramapo College, where I became a captain. I had a shoulder injury that made me unable to play softball, but I never let the Yankees or short little 3 time MVP, 10 time World Champion Yogi Berra ever leave my mind. After being laid off three times as a teacher the perseverance I learned through sports helped me earn a Masters degree after 4 years at... Montclair State University, in the same town where Yogi lives!

This summer I decided I was going to do a lot of things I had been putting off because life and work had always gotten in the way in past summers. One of those things is volunteering at Yogi's museum, where I am told he and many other sports figures make frequent appearances. I am posting pictures of the museum and field now, and hopefully one day I will post a picture of me with Yogi himself! I am going to be coming up with some education outreach stuff for the museum and I promise to share it with you!
If you're going to be anywhere near NJ this summer, be sure to stop by! Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students under 18. You can also catch a Jersey Jackals game while you're there! Jim Leyritz is scheduled to appear July 21, while Bernie Williams will be there on August 4.
I'm also attempting going to visit all 30 major league baseball parks before I turn 30...I've been to 12 already and have a year and a half to do the rest...wish me luck perseverance!
As for what lies for me in the year ahead, Yogi says, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future...... the game ain't over until it's over."

Shopping Surprises and a 1,000 view / 25 follower giveaway!

This past week I spent a few hours (and a few hundred dollars) shopping. I found some real bargains and some really neat products. Here's what they were, where I bought them, and what they cost:

Amazing Savings (only in NY and NJ, I LOVE this place!)

• Word Master game (magnetic letter tiles to improve spelling and vocabulary list price $9.95 $2.99
• Granny Apples (quick counting apple dice game) $9.99 $2.99 
• Grafix My First 3D Spelling Puzzle $3.99
• On the Dot brain teaser game (good for flips and turns) $3.99
• Uno with Angelina Ballerina ($2.99) and Winnie the Pooh ($2.99) - those you could probably get at a dollar store
• Be Rhymed! $3.99
• Art Skills adhesive quick numbers $1.99 - I think I might have the kids use these to sequence events
• Creative Hands Puzzle Alphabet Stickers $1.29
• Newton's Apples Gravity Strategy Game $6.99
• My First Word Match Puzzle $3.99
• Fundomino (color / number matching) $6.99
• Wood Clock Puzzle $4.99
• Lost in the Zoo game with Under the Sea Hide and Seek $4.99
• Full Time Deluxe Double Easel Desktop $10.99 (magnetic dry erase / chalk board - perfect for guided reading table)
• Shoe lacing puzzles $3.99
• Compo Combo-an-animal (match the head and tail and it makes a sound) $5.99

• Chipboard ringed notebooks $1.99 - I have 2 which are used as bathroom trackers - one for boys / one for girls - they flip the notebook pages on the hook by the door to show their name so we know who is out of the room

Target dollar bin (everything $1.00)

• Hawaiian flower and surfboard coarkboards (I'm thinking I'll do a beach/ocean theme next year)
• Pocket Chart Schedulers (for centers)
• Dry erase Class Scheduler
• Daily Weather Chart Spinner
• Dry erase learning mats - addition and time
• Dr. Suess book bags
• Crazy hats (for Dr. Seuss' birthday of course!)
• Classroom signs
• Pencil and star pointers (I think we'll use the pencils for skywriting and stars for sparkle spelling)
• Some A+ workbooks for Social Studies, Science, and Phonics

Party City (they had a summer sale with some items being only $1)

• Paper lanterns
• Imprintable Papers
• Plates (to use as picture frames)
• Tablecloths (to use as bulletin board background paper)

I haven't been to Walmart, Michael's, Staples, or Five Below yet....that's for another blog and for when I get my 25th follower!

Here's what you need to do to win everything in my TPT store plus On the Dot, Art Skills Adhesive Numbers, 2 chipboard ringed notebooks, and a special surprise: 

1. Follow my blog.*

2. Add me to your blog roll.*
3. Leave a comment.*

3. Follow me on facebook.

4. Follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers.
5. Follow me by e-mail (see top left corner of blog).

6. Blog about my giveaway.  - 2 entries

*Must be done in order to win

You will receive 1 entry for each and the winner will be randomly selected on June 30 at midnight. Good luck!

Shots heard round the town...

This morning I awoke to the sound of canons firing. Yes, really! A Civil War reenactment and festival went on several hundred feet away from my bedroom. After several very loud blasts, I woke up and walked outside to see 15 Civil War soldiers firing guns and a canon. I live in Morristown, NJ (sometimes known as the "Military Capital" of the Revolutionary War) near Historic Speedwell. Our town is also very well known for the part it played in the Revolutionary War because George Washington made his encampment and headquarters at Jockey Hollow. It is part of the Morristown National Historical Park and former home and Ironworks of Alfred Vail (he made it possible for Morse code and telegraph use to be practical.) 

 

 

Many thanks to Gabrielle Moulton and Mike Dodd for giving me additional pictures.

Another blogger's pictures of houses in my old neigborhood

Here in New Jersey, every fourth grade social studies curricula centers around our state history. Besides living in Morristown, I have been lucky enough to have taught in Princeton, home to Princeton University, Drumthwacket (the Governor's Mansion), Educational Testing Service (the company that created the SAT and Praxis tests), Albert Einstein, and a major battle site during the Revolutionary War.  I taught right off of Nassau Street, also known as Kings Highway. You can follow Lincoln Highway / King's Highway down the road from Kingston to Princeton and Queenston (now Pennington)!

Check out these pictures of Revolutionary New Jersey!

Some free resources

If you are interested in having some reenactors visit your school, visit the The Society of Jersey Blues website!

What do you know about NJ...besides the Jersey Shore?

Tangram Tales

I recently did a tangram math lesson. I told the students that one of the Pirates of the Caribbean was about to be captured, so he took the treasure map he was holding and ripped it into pieces, flinging it towards the beach as he was made to walk the plank. They were then given their tangram shapes that were made of paper.

First we reviewed the shapes in the larger tangram square (triangle, square, and rhombus). Then I told we needed to rearrange the pieces to make one large square "map." After some struggling and, "I need some help!!!" students settled in and learned that they needed to turn their pieces to make them fit. Once most of the students had the pieces put together, we helped the others complete the square.

            

click on the book to purchase and answer sheet to download

Next I read Grandfather Tang's Story. In the story, two friendly animals were able to morph into other animals as they played tag. Students were asked to make predictions about what animals the tans would be arranged into next and to remember their sequence as the story went on. At the end, students were asked to try to create their own animal, person, or object using all seven of the shapes. After they chose and arranged the pieces, they colored and glued their pieces down onto paper. They were then to write a few sentences describing the picture.

Check out the Tangram Tales writing paper I created at Teachers Pay Teachers!

Leave a comment with your e-mail address when you buy and I will e-mail you an accompanying lesson plan!

School's Out for the Summer!

That also means that I have to turn my work computer in :(

Luckily Apple offers discounts for teachers (and others - see below) so I'm celebrating the end of the school year by buying one!

Don't worry, I'll be able to work on new TPT items all summer long!

Eligibility

Those eligible to purchase from the Apple Store for Education Individuals include faculty, staff, students and parents as follows:

K12 - Any employee of a public or private K-12 institution in the United States is eligible. In addition, school board members who are currently serving as elected or appointed members are eligible. PTA or PTO executives currently serving as elected or appointed officers are eligible.

Higher Education - Faculty and staff of Higher Education institutions; and students attending, or accepted into a Higher Education institution are eligible to purchase. Purchases from the Apple Store for Education Individuals are not for institutional purchase or resale.

Higher Education Parents - Parents purchasing on behalf of their child, who is a student currently attending or accepted into a public or private Higher Education Institution in the United States, are eligible to purchase.

You can also get teacher discounts from New York and Company (20%), Verizon (15%), Ann Taylor Loft (15%), JoAnn Fabrics (15%), J Crew (15%) Borders (25%), and Barnes and Noble Booksellers (20%)! See others here.