Liebster Award Nominee

Wow! I’m still in shock! I recently learned that The RV Classroom was nominated for the Liebster Award! There are so many awesome teaching blogs out there to be honest, I have felt quite invisible not knowing whether to continue or leave it all behind. I do enjoy writing, but I don’t write this blog for me. I write to inspire others and to share a little of what I’ve learned about teaching in the past and what I am learning today. When you begin writing a blog, you don’t know if anyone will ever read it. You hope that what you say may inspire someone else in a positive way, but it’s difficult to stand out amongst the millions of other teachers sharing their perspective on teaching. I do hope that you have been reading my posts and that each post inspires you to creatively educate your child or the students in your classroom. I am honored to know that I stood out enough to one blogger that The RV Classroom was nominated for the Liebster award!

Thank you Erin from Preschool Ponderings for presenting me with this award! You have made my day!

The Liebster award is one that I have heard of before, but didn’t know much about it. It’s presented to beginning bloggers by other bloggers. I’ve learned that there is a format to accepting this award that includes answering some questions about me, sharking some additional random facts about me, and choosing other awesome bloggers to nominate for this award. You can learn more about the Liebster Award by clicking here.

 

Here are the questions Erin requested I answer…

1. When did you know that you wanted to be a teacher?

God gives each of us gifts and I truly believe my purpose here is to teach. I have memories as far back as 4 years old standing in front of the chalkboard as the teacher of my nephews. My mom says that I told her I wanted to be a teacher when I was 2 years old and I have never changed my mind!

2. What is your favorite thing about teaching?

My favorite thing about teaching is the challenge of figuring out how to engage and excite children about learning new things.

3. Why do you blog and when did you start?

I blog to share my teaching knowledge as a former public school teacher and now my experiences as a homeschooling / roadschooling Mom. I officially started The Learning Wagon blog September 13, 2013.

4. What is your favorite thing to do for fun?

Our family loves to travel. In 2012, we purchased a 24’ travel trailer that we haul all around the country. It gives us a great way to spend time together, experience new things, and make lasting memories!

5. If you were not a teacher, what would you be? 

My second love is our farm, so if teaching and homeschooling were not an option, I’d be getting my hands dirty growing vegetables and collecting eggs from the chickens.

6. What is your favorite indulgence or guilty pleasure?

Children’s books of all kinds!! I love going to used book stores, Goodwill stores, and yard sales to get great deals so I can get more for my money. The funny thing is, when we moved to our small town hobby farm, I actually own more children’s books than the local library has total books!

7. What is your favorite thing to watch on television?

We haven’t had a television for 3 years and don’t miss it!

8. Share one funny story from your teaching experience. One of the best parts about teaching is all the “kid-isms” you get to hear.

My favorite was from a student that came to me seriously tired from all the cutting we were doing on a craft. He had those plastic scissors that just don’t cut worth a flip. I had offered him a metal pair, but he was excited about using his from home. After a few minutes he said, “Mrs. Schneider, my scissors ran out of cut.”

9. How do you keep learning fun?

When I was in the classroom and now at home there is only one way to keep learning fun, PLAY! The more a child can touch, feels, explore what they are learning, the more engaged in the learning process the child will be.

10. What is your favorite holiday or special event to celebrate with your students (or family) and why?

Every day is a great day to celebrate! As far as holidays go, Christmas and Easter top the list. Not because of the commercialized gifts and activities, but for the reason of the season, the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What better gift could there ever be?

11. What is one of your pet peeves? (It doesn't have to be teaching related)

There are 2 types of teachers in my book, awesome teachers and poor teachers. Awesome teachers are those excited about learning themselves, who keep trying new ways to do a better job, and help their students/children succeed. Poor teachers, well… do not. I get irritated with teachers that sit behind their desk and waste a year or longer of a child’s life by not teaching them anything or worse yet squelching that spark of curiosity and eagerness to learn.

The second part of the award is for me to share some random facts about myself. You may have come to know me and my style as a teacher, but it is fun to connect with people on a more personal level.

* I’m the baby of two older sisters that are 21 and 23 years older than me.

* Connected to that, I have one nephew that is older than me by two years. He even drove me to high school his senior year! I have a total of 4 nephews and 1 niece.

* In fact, my nephew that is 2 years younger than me had his first child before I did, so my Mom was a Great Grandma before I added to her Grandmotherness.

* I started cheerleading when I was 6 years old (for my nephew’s football team). In high school, I was the first freshman to make the Varsity cheerleading team. I also traveled the country on an All-star team competing at a national level.

* Our family loves trains… the sounds they make, the sites you can see on them, how cool they look, EVERYTHING about them!

* In 2013, we were on the TV show, Shipping Wars, when we had our storm shelter delivered to our farm.

* My husband is the famous Chicken Whisperer. With his job, we travel around the country on his book tour, meeting people and teaching people how to raise a hobby backyard flock in urban areas. When we’re not traveling around in our RV, we enjoy getting our hands dirty at our hobby farm.

* I am eternally grateful to my Mother-in-law for teaching me how to crochet before she passed away.

* My Mom and my sisters are my best friends.

* I only like to visit big cities if someone else is driving. I hate to drive in traffic, especially if I’m not familiar with the area and have to worry about one way roads!

* I have always wanted to learn sign language. This year, I have started teaching myself and my children.

Now, it is my turn to nominate a few wonderful blogs for the Liebster Award! 

Congratulations to…

Camping Teacher

Second Grade Sugar and Spice

Kinder Gardening

Teacher Blogging Basics

 Creating Teaching Inspiring
 

I recommend you check out each of these excellent blogs as well as Erin’s blog Preschool Ponderings! They are all top notch! Should they choose to receive the Liebster Award, they will answer the following questions. Take the time to get to know them too!

1. What inspires you?
2. If you could travel anywhere, where would you choose and why?
3. What is one thing you wish you knew about teaching that you didn't know before you got started?
4. What is something new you would like to learn?
5. Name one item on your bucket list.
6. What makes your blog stand out from all the others?
7. Have you ever gone camping before? Share where and when.
8. Do you have a bad habit you would like to break?
9. Do you have a mentor teacher? What makes that person so special?
10. What is the title of the last book you read?
11. What is one way you would change the US education system to make it better?


Thank you again to Erin and to all of you out there that read my blog. I would love to hear how The RV Classroom has inspired you on your education journey!

Have a blessed learning journey!

Building Measurement Math Vocabulary With Play Dough

What do you do with play dough your child chooses as his prize for all the tickets Mommy and Daddy earned while he was riding rides at Chuck E Cheese? There are a million things to do… of course! The number one thing to do is just… PLAY! 

That is what we did, Play. We smashed it on bubble wrap, poked holes in it with the handle of a plastic spoon, tore it apart, and put it back together. I could add that Lily Anne tried to eat it, probably successfully a few times, but that’s another story. This story is about another teachable moment that always seems to sneak into our play. If I’m paying close attention, those teachable moments are more than just instances that allows a tid bit of information to connect somewhere in the brain, they become inspirations that lead to experimentation and deep learning.

In this case, Caleb wanted me to roll a ball for him, so I did. When I handed it to him, he said, “Little ball.” I laughed and challenged, “Little ball? I’ll show you little ball…” I took a tiny piece of dough and rolled it into the smallest ball I could make. He thought that was funny, and since I was paying attention to notice this teachable moment, I held onto the reins and chased after the inspiration train! 

• We made several little balls, big balls, and all the sizes in between (those we named “medium”).  
• We started sorting into categories of “small,” “medium,” and “large.”  Putting “same” together.
• We ordered them in a line from smallest to largest. 
• I picked one out and asked him to pick one that was bigger/smaller.
• We counted the small ones. Then, we counted the medium ones and last the large ones.

We had fun… and when it wasn’t fun anymore, we moved on.  We explored the sizes of objects and practiced the vocabulary people use to describe measurements they observe.

These moments are always there, sometimes hidden in a request and sometimes obvious through a question, but they are there. Grab them, let them inspire you to take your child on an engaging learning adventure.

As before, I turned this teachable moment into an interactive and engaging product for you to support your learner as he builds math vocabulary through play! Click here to check out Play Dough Math Vocabulary Task Cards! Enjoy!

Have a Blessed Learning Day!

Trains, Planes, and Patterning Things

What little boy doesn’t have a collection of trains, cars, trucks, or other vehicles? Caleb has all of the above. We were playing together in the camper the other day while Daddy had an event and book signing. As with most days, my toddler is my inspiration. We had all of his Thomas trains pulled out and usually he likes to put all the magnetic ends together to make a really long train, but today, he started putting trains together and mixing the colors. Unintentionally, he created a train combination that was an AB pattern. I spotted this and commented on the colors. 

Me: Look Caleb! What color is this train?

Caleb: Red

Me: What color is this next train?

Caleb: Green

Me: What color is the one after that?

Caleb: Red

Me: And what is the last train color?

Caleb: Green

Me: Let’s say them again. (I point to each one as he names them.)

Me: What color would come next?

Caleb: Red!

Me: Yay! That’s right! Good thinking! You made a pattern!

That one conversation sparked an interest in making more patterns with different color trains. With each success, he excitedly tried new patterns. As he fit together trains, he also, again unintentionally, created an engine, tender, engine, tender pattern. With another little conversation, he noticed what had been created and began to look further than just colors. At one point, he ran to his toy bin and grabbed some cars and trucks. He created a car, truck, car, truck pattern among several others. It was a wonderful experience of fun and learning that day.

On a side note, we had to stay in a hotel last night due to bad weather coming in. As we were unpacking our clothes to prepare for the next day, I noticed Caleb playing again with his cars and trains. He surprises me sometimes with his imagination. He turned the decorative carpet into a cluster of complex roads that he weaved and maneuvered his vehicles around in true boy fashion with sound effects included! Lily is also discovering her world in her own way turning an open cabinet into her own little exploration station.  I hope they can always see what they love in the ordinary things life presents them. 

 

In my classroom, I used my observations of my students to guide me in know when they were ready to learn something and how I could present it to them, so they could master that skill or concept. As a homeschooling/roadschooling mom, I'm enjoying the inspiring moments my children create that open opportunities for me to teach them something new each day as we play.  

 

In addition, I wanted to share this inspiration with you, so I created a Train Patterning Product that includes 3 activities to build AB, AAB, ABB, AABB, & ABC concept. I hope you enjoy it!

Have a Blessed Learning Day!

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Top Campground Preferences

This is a list that we have created from stop to stop of our preferences when choosing a campground to stay at. I wanted to share it with you, because you may be new to the camping world and not aware of some of the benefits different campgrounds offer. Your preferences may be different from our family, but it’s good to make a list to make sure the campground you choose will be a fun one for everyone.

Playground on site or close by – We have 2 small children who love slides and swings. Caleb especially loves a sand pit that he can put his tractors in and move the dirt around. Playgrounds that are well maintained and on site are perfect for a daily visit to release some energy for a 2 year old. Playgrounds close by would be a second choice just because loading the kids in and out of the car takes a lot of the fun time away. One campground in Helen, GA offered multiple playgrounds and an indoor play area for the kids in the clubhouse!

Spacious sites - Camp sites often offer options of having a deck, a grill or fire pits and while they are a perk, for our family they are not a must. We just don’t use them often at this time. Some sites offer little space for anything more than a picnic table and some chairs. Instead, we prefer having a site that is somewhat spacious and offers some grassy or sandy area for our children to play in. We look at the maps offered by campgrounds online and try to find a corner lot, one tucked between trees, or near a building. Sometimes these sites offer a little more room. We’ve even been known to Google Earth campground to compare site sizes and locations.

Fun attractions close by – Before choosing a city to visit for fun, we see what they have to offer for fun and educational opportunities. We look for Children’s Museums, Zoos, Aquariums, Historical Parks, Farms, Beaches, and more. On our last trip to Florida, we visited Alligator and Crocodile farm. Click the link to learn more about Gatorama.

 

Cheap laundry – Whether we stay for a short trip or a long trip, we try to check out the on-site laundry services. We have a small tow vehicle right now (hoping to upgrade in the future) so weight is an issue. Each person only has a limited amount of clothing. In addition, there’s towels and sheets, etc that need to be washed just like at home. Since we’re always on the road, there’s always laundry to do, especially with 2 kids! If we’re not mindful of this ahead of time, laundry can take a big bite out of our budget.

 

Campground amenities – This is something we mainly look for if we’re planning to stay a few months. While we love our camper because it gives us a homey place to sleep, we want to get out and be active. We often look to see if the campground offers heated or indoor pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, and fishing holes. In addition, using amenities such as karaoke, game nights, bingo, water aerobics, bocce ball, etc…is a great way to get out, meet others, and make great friends!

 

Price – We really don’t like to spend more than $35 a night for a short stay. We have discount memberships like Good Sam Club and Passport America.  There are others that you can join as well.

 

Safe area – When you’re staying away from home, you always want to feel safe where you are. We look at the pictures offered online of the campground. We Google Earth it to look at the campground and surrounding areas. We check reviews online to see what others are saying. If this research confirms in our minds that this place will be safe for our family, we book it!

 

Pull thru or back in options – On a normal basis, we don’t mind backing in to our campsite. Andy is quite good at it with me as his guide. We make a good team! That said, when we go on his book tour, we may be pulling into one site at night and leaving the next morning. When we do this, we’d rather have a pull thru since we don’t plan to even unhook from the car.

 

Full hook ups – This usually includes water, sewer and power, which is all we need. Some sites also offer cable. We don’t have a tv (nor do we want one), so if they don’t have cable we aren’t bummed out.

 

Wi-Fi – While we carry our own Wi-Fi hotspot around with us, we’re not on an unlimited plan. Some campgrounds offer it free, while others charge you for it. Here’s a note of caution for you… If you don’t have a Wi-Fi hotspot or other internet device and you need it while you are on the road, NEVER rely on the fact that the campground has free Wi-Fi. As you know, the campground Wi-Fi will be affected by your location in the park and how many other people are using it. We have not been to one park where the free Wi-Fi was not frustrating to use at times and usually when you need it most.

 

 

Beautiful scenery – When you are camping, you can see many beautiful sites. Why not stay in the midst of a beautiful landscape?

 

 

We’re aware not every campground is going to be perfect and offer all of our preferences the way we want them, but we look at each campground and weigh out what we like and what we don’t like. Obviously, there are some non-negotiables like a safe area and a reasonable price. I encourage you to make a list with your family to make the most out of each camping experience.

Do you have a list? Please share, what are your preferences? Did I miss any that you would like to add?

 

God Bless Your Learning Days!