I have finished some great books in the last couple weeks, and I wanted to share them with you.

  (Click on any image to be taken to the page on Amazon.)

The Daily 5 by The Sisters (Gail Boushey & Joan Mosser)

I finally finished this book; I have been working my way through it for months.  Our elementary is rolling this out next year, and it sounded like something I could use in my high school classes to build stamina.  I was right and will be posting about my ideas in the near future.

Judy Garland by Charles River Editors

I adore biographies, and The Charles River Editors has numerous short biographies available for free through Kindle Unlimited.  I started with Judy Garland.  It was short sweet and gave me a gimps into her life.  I have Shirley Temple on my Kindle now.

Down the Rabbit Hole by Holly Madison

As a former Girls Next Door fan, this was a must read when I saw it in the Kindle Store.  While entertaining me with behind the scenes tales from the show, it is really a story of one woman's survival and growth.  I couldn't put it down.

All Books by Rachel Schurig

I saved the best for last.  I discovered this Michigan author last week when I stumbled upon her Kindle Freebie Three Girls and a Baby.  It hit very close to home, and I remember being a young, single mother myself.  I haven't purchased the rest of the Three Girls Series, but I am sure that I will before summer is over.

I did purchase and read all of the Lovestruck books she wrote.  Lizzie is a young woman heading out on her own for the first time, to London of all places.  She dreams of being a writer and escaping her crazy and controlling family.  I only wished there had been more books in this series.

Leave me a comment about what other books I should check out, what looks interesting to you, or what you are currently reading.

Here are some books from my Good Read's Bookshelf that you might also enjoy!

 I have received a complimentary map to review from Round World Products.

 The opinions here are 100% mine!

It gives me great pleasure to be able to bring you one of my favorite classroom products especially as we approach Back to School and you all begin planning for a new year.

My classroom is a place where maps are used and created on a regular basis; there is just something about them that make my students and I happy.  We create them and use for novels we are reading like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby.  We also use them on a daily basis in my social studies classes for bell ringer activities.

As a result of this love of maps, when I heard about Scrunch Maps, I had to find out more.  Now, I hate folding maps in my car and can never get them back the way they first were in the package.  Scrunch Map solves that problem.

I let my seven-year-old put it away.  She thought it was great fun to smoosh it into the little bag.

These maps are available in world and United States versions.  Because I am so in love with this product, I created a little game to go with it.

This game is currently free on my Teachers Pay Teachers store, so be sure to stop and grab it.  I used the Scrunch Map and some glass stones from the craft store.

I believe that to be productive members of society, students should have some basic knowledge of their nation, and this game helps build that knowledge.

Here is what the map looked like after one round with the girls.

Use the links above or the picture below to get your own free copy, and don't forget to leave some love!

from Round World.

Scrunch Map

“This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or  experience with the product listed above. I was provided the sample free of charge by the  company or PR agency and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation  was received for this review.”

I have been adding some new products to my Teachers Pay Teachers Store, and everything will be 20% off until the 26th.

1) Women's Studies (first semester) and 

AP English and English 11 (Honors or not) all begin the same way: Boot Camp and Literary Terms.  My Boot Camp post goes into detail about how I set up my first two weeks and why I set it up that way.

Both of my AP classes take a base-line full-length test the first week of school, but I really try to do it on day 3 or 4.  This still gives then enough time to switch out (this happens more than I would like), but gets a score early enough in the year to mark their starting point.

In psychology I start with Personality Puzzles.  They are a good get-to-know each other activity and introduce students to some basic psychology ideas.

To be honest I have no idea how to start women's studies or journalism.  I created these classes, and have to write them from scratch.  Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Stopping the Summer Slide

My belief about summer is that is should be a time for rest, recharging, and relaxation; however, if we don't do anything cerebral for 90 days, I also believe our brains will get "mushy." SO LET'S DO SOMETHING!

My top 5 ways to stop the summer slide

1) Read Something Every Day

2) Visit New Places

3) Have Conversations with your Kids

4) Solve Real-Life Issues

5) Play learning Games

Number 1 is pretty self explanatory, and I can't help you much with #2 unless you live in Michigan.  I can, however, do something about 3, 4, and 5.

A Summer Slide Product

Any summer project that is fun and creates conversations with parents about real-life issues is a winner in my book.  I hope that you will check it out yourself:  the preview.

Stopping the Summer Slide Freebie

I just created a new game for my girls (ages 7 and 14) to play this summer.  You will need to find or print a US Map.  I used a map that was in my school stuff.  Click the image below to get my limited-time freebie.

This US Map Game has a cute set of cards to print and cut out (this is good practice for the little one).  The cards cover thirty-two (32) major physical and political features of our country.  Directions are also included.

The girls will be playing this game later today, and I will be sure to share some pictures when they are on the floor with everything spread out.

Download my limited-time freebie, leave some feedback, and email me your Teachers Pay Teachers name at kovescenceofthemind@gmail.com to be entered to win a copy of my Budget Unit.

 I have received a complimentary product to review from Oriental Trading Company.

 The opinions here are 100% mine!

This a series of posts with ideas for the psychology classroom.  I received a box of products from Oriental Trading Company for this series of posts.  Each post will showcase an item from Oriental Trading Company and a lesson that applies that item to the psychology classroom.

This first product and activity could easily be adapted to any classroom for the start of the year.  I really don't like spending the first day of school reading a syllabus and going over rules; it is boring and insults the intelligence of my students (I save this for later in the week and break it up into chunks).  My classes start the year with a hands on activity that gets students moving and helps me get to know them.

The first product I am using is Blank Dry Erase Puzzles.  These puzzles come in a package of 24 for $6.70.  I chose to not use these as dry erase, but I gave my students permanent markers to illustrate on them.  I would highly recommend this item for any teacher doing a bulletin board about his or her students.

I pair these puzzle pieces with the personality unit for psychology.  This can be paired as an introductory or review project.  I personally (no pun intended) use it as introductory to the unit and begin on the first day of school in September.  I call the assignment the Personality Puzzle.  You can grab a copy on the assignment at rubric on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

The assignment version I use has students label each part of the piece that sticks out with a different interpretation of their own personality.  This way students are being introduced (or reviewing) the major approaches to personality while telling me a little about themselves.

I even make my own.  Mine is done for this coming school year, so I am ready to share on the first day and model the assignment for my students.  In addition to the written part I ask them to add an illustration for each approach as it relates to their own personality.

When everyone is done, we hot glue them into a big puzzle on the wall in my room.  They are made to fit together nicely.  I also had no problems with them staying up on the cinder block walls, which is important if you have ever had a class with these walls.

My one tip is to have 1/2 your students write hot dog style and the other 1/2 write hamburger style.  I did not do this and 1/2 my students' pieces ended up sideways.  I will definitely be using this tip myself in the fall.

Stay tuned for more great ways to use Oriental Trading Company products in the classroom.

How could you use these great puzzle pieces in your classroom?

“This review is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or  experience with the product listed above. I was provided the sample free of charge by the  company or PR agency and I provided my honest opinion. No other type of compensation  was received for this review.”