Measuring Up

I started a digital photography class last week. I am excited as it will force me to make friends with the manual mode on my camera! Our homework for this week was to shoot "tools" as an example of inanimate objects. I chose some of my sewing "tools". Just as I was wrapping up, the sun had inched over and suddenly shone through the window right onto my measuring tape. Couldn't pass up that shot- perfect timing!

Mesmerizing

This morning it was 2˚F when I got up. Thankfully my husband had the wood stove stoked and warming the house! What is it about staring into a fire that is so calming and hypnotic? Doesn't matter if it's a campfire or woodfire or the like. This time I experimented with a slower shutter speed just to see what effects I'd get. I was hoping to mimic that mesmerizing feeling. Anybody sleepy yet?

Snowflake Pin

I love seasonal jewelry. This pin belongs to our school secretary- it was very appropriate given the frosty, cold start to the day!

Drainage

Sometimes even drainage can be interesting!

Juicer

I'm told this is called "Depression glass". It was packed away amongst all sorts of "treasures" in my parents' barn. Luckily the juicer looks much nicer on my kitchen shelf than some of the other "treasures" we found! Do people still use juicers like this?

Writing Prompt

The K-2 teachers in my building scored second grade "practice prompts" today in preparation for the "real thing" in April. We worked in pairs scoring the students standard conventions and stylistic components. We'll return the prompts with "practice scores" and teaching points to help the students. It's always fun to read papers from students throughout the grade level. I always find this activity enlightening and rewarding too!

Distorted

An unusual rain and windstorm blew through here today- unusual that it was rain and not some sort of frozen precipitation. My deck railing looked very distorted through the rain-soaked window screen! Rain, rain, go away...

Graham

I was short on time today and needed a quick photo. This is our cat, Graham, sitting in what we affectionately call his "sphinx position". This is likely the first of many kitty shots!

Collections

Everybody collects different things for different reasons. Some things are purely for fun. Mine is black and white cows. I have lots of them! My students are aware of this, and these are some of the "gifts" they have bestowed upon me over the years. What do you like to collect?

P.S: Here's an addendum to this post. I haven't chosen to follow (or had time to compose) shots in response to The Daily Shoot. (Maybe over school vacations.) I shot this photo several hours before posting in the FlickrEdTech365/2010 pool, and was surprised to see that collections were the daily theme. Weird! Sometimes things happen for a reason!

Orchid

During a meeting with my "tech. buddies" before school this morning, I spied this beautiful orchid in my colleague's classroom window. It was a birthday present from her first graders! How thoughtful of them! I'm not totally happy with this shot for a number of reasons. (Really can't wait to upgrade my camera!) But it was another little bit of color on a cold January day!

Icicles

Since I started this project, I take my camera everywhere with me now! I snapped this photo outside on recess duty this morning. The recent snow we received, followed by some mild temperatures, led to icicles hanging from many spots on our school. What really surprised me when I downloaded this photo was how blue the sky was this morning! Maybe all that glare from the playground hid the rich tones in the sky while I was out there. I didn't edit this photo a bit- I sure don't remember the sky looking that rich!

Sea Glass

A few years ago my father-in-law collected and gave me this sea glass, which he found on the beach near where he lives. I used some of it for craft projects, but recently sorted the rest and am enjoying it on my book shelves. I love the smooth surfaces and random shapes of sea glass. I wish I knew how to make jewelry with it! Maybe after this Project365 blog is completed....

What Are They?

I caught this photo this morning as I walked past a first grade classroom down the hall. Any idea what they are and how they are used with students? (Hint: they are not giant udders!)

Sisal

What is the appeal of sisal? My cat sure loves scratching his scratching post covered in it! When you look closely you can see just how much he enjoys it! Carry on, Graham!

View From the Top

My husband and I did a short winter hike this morning to the top of a nearby mountain. Although cloudy, we could see all the way to the ocean. Lots of other people out for a morning hike as well!

Burst of Color

Every year at about this time I start craving the sight of flowers. Don't see many outdoors this time of year in the frozen northeast. That does the trick!

Old Stone Wall

Found this old stone wall tucked away on the side of the road near my home. Never would have noticed it had I not been out walking in the milder temperatures looking for a great shot!

Ready, Aim...

Our playground has several of these clever "snowman targets" designed to encourage the kids to wallop their snowball at an inanimate object versus another student. We haven't had as severe a winter here (yet) as we might have had, although poor Mr. Snowman is missing the greater portion of his face! It's been a few years since he was first painted. I think it's time for an "extreme snowman makeover"!

Glammed Up

I finally got to the hair salon today to get my "grays" covered. (It was much overdue!) Fortunately I didn't need ALL these products to do the job! But I thought they looked interesting all lined up like this!

Lockers

Couldn't resist this shot on a winter day near the lockers in a primary-grade school. There's almost as much outside as inside!

Base 10

Taught an Everyday Mathematics lesson today involving subtraction of two-digit numbers. Time to pull out the Base 10 blocks!

Neatly Stacked

This wood was stacked this summer by hubby in preparation for "woodstove season". A welcome sight in the dead of winter!

How Cold Is It?

It's cold enough to make my poor rhododendron look more like.... a palm tree! In reality, it's only about 17 degrees (F) here in Maine this morning. Everything's relative; tomorrow morning it's forecasted to be in the single digits or colder. This is a heat wave!

Dead Wood

I snapped this in early morning light with no flash. The dead pine in the center has been standing in this state for a few years now. I wonder how long before a strong storm finally brings it down?

Line 'Em Up

My students' next Everyday Mathematics journals..... all ready for the start of a new unit in two weeks.

Dark Chimney

I took this photo of the chimney on the second floor of my house without a flash. I edited it with iPhoto. The chimney is almost 125 years old, and although painted, still retains character in its unique cracks and lines of mortar.

Empty Gauge

After lots of snow this weekend, my class' CoCoRaHS rain gauge sits empty, just waiting for the next dousing of snow, or rain, or sleet.....

Hope for 2010

My class is preparing an Animoto project of their hopes for 2010. This was the hope of one of my students.

Unknown Bush

Welcome

Hemlock