Color me grateful. I have had the great honor of creating a Teacher Craft Guide for Nancy Bo Flood's incredible non-fiction picture book entitled From Sand to Stone and Back Again. Working on this project brought me back to the wonderful days in my Montessori classroom sorting through biome nomenclature cards with a wee one by my side. You can relate to the wee one, I imagine. Not the cards. Let me explain.

Nancy's prose guides the reader through a vivid, colorful, dramatic, dynamic, transformational journey depicting the life-cycle of sand. Paired with Tony Kuyper's incredible photographs, this book is lively beyond words. Sand? Stone? Lively? Flood pulls it off. Really.

While reading, I could hear boulders crashing, arroyos swishing full of water after a rain, and feel the eerie awesomeness of slot canyons and hoo doos and goblins. With the child and the biome cards, I would dramatize each concept. No additional drama is needed with From Sand to Stone and Back Again in hand. The book is just that good.

Throughout Sand to Stone, Nancy skillfully brings the reader into the story. She reminds the child that they, too, are changing. That even the smallest grain of sand has monumental transformational power! Flood found a way to both inspire the child reader while presenting a non-fictional world with passionate perfection. Bravo!

My quest was to write a Teacher Guide that would celebrate the splendor of Nancy's and Tony's fine work. To do so, I fell back upon my Montessori roots by featuring Kruper's photos in a manipulative vocabulary game. Because I, too, desire to give the child the physical, tactile, transformational experience of changing sand to stone and back again, I lead the teacher through a sequential series of wonderfully messy craft activities. (And I had  BLAST doing this!) Lastly, to give the child an opportunity to express themselves through writing, a poetic creative writing lesson serves as a wrap up.

To learn more about From Sand to Stone and Back Again, read this fabulous Cynsations blog post about Nancy. To review my Teacher Guide you may click here.

Ready whip up some magic? To make Merlin proud? I am.

Nobody saw you getting the supplies, did they? The magazine, the Ziplock bag, a stapler, and a glass of water? Whew. That was close.

I opted for a measuring cup of water...easier to pour. And I have asked my dear friend Martha Stewart to be my assistant today. I thought the cover picture of her pouring water suits our venture perfectly, don't you?

So, in typical Simple Saturday style, all we are doing to make this trick is concealing the Ziplock inside the magazine. That's it! Simple, right? Las Vegas, here we come!!!!

Find the middle of the magazine. Open wide. Fit the Ziplock inside. In order to fit mine in nicely, I had to staple a little tuck on one side of the bag. You may need to do the same thing. Also, you might need to tuck the bottom of the bag up a little so that it can't be seen from the bottom edge of the magazine. 

Now secure the Ziplock to the inside of the magazine by stapling all around the top edge of the bag. We're making a plastic pocket inside the magazine, aren't we? Tuck the bottom of the Ziplock up to fit inside the pocket. Avoid stapling the bottom of the bag to the magazine. (Dribble. Dribble.)

Look at my final product. My sneakiness is concealed. I'm now ready to make a little "magic." Remember, my Simple Saturday friend, we mustn't tell a soul how we have made this trick. We want our audience to be spellbound...mermerized...bamboozled!

For demonstration purposes I have asked my hubby John to perform the trick for us. (I can't keep any secrets from him.) Watch what he does. This is how you will perform our trick. Be confident, now. Begin your performance by saying something like, Ladies and Gentleman! Today I shall astound you! Confound you! And so on...You know the magician lingo, right?

In this picture John is explaining that in his hands he holds an average everyday magazine. Nothing special here. (Heh, heh...we know differently, don't we?)

At this point you might like to wave your hand around the magazine while chanting your magic word a few times. We want our audience to think that the magic word has changed the Martha's magazine, not us.

Next, sneaky John forms an opening in the top of the Ziplock and then pours the water into the "magazine". See how dramatic (or silly) he is? You have to do the same thing. Convince your audience! We want them to be concerned that you'll spill that water all over Mom's kitchen floor. Yikes!!!

In this picture, John is proving his magical skills. He is faking a test, further baffling the audience. They're thinking, "How did he do that? Am

Do you believe in magic? If you don't already, you will tomorrow after I show you how to do the amazing, stupefying, mesmerizing, best-trick-of-all-time...Water? Water? Where'd you go?

Before I can go any farther with this trick, you and I need to have a little chat. Move in close. Come on. Close enough to hear my whisper. 

We magicians are a secret society. What happens under the top hat stays under the top hat. You see, I'm risking my Magician's Code of Honor by teaching you this trick. You  have to swear on a bushel of magic wands that you will not tell ANYONE the secret I'll be emparting to you tomorrow. Promise? Pinky swear? On your Bibbety-Boppity-Boo Honor?

I'm serious about this...really. You with me? Okay, then. Let's do it.

I'm not usually an advocate for sneaking around, but I'll make an exception in this case. We simply cannot get found out! Tippy-toe around the house to gather up a old magazine (Dad's Sports Illustrated? Hmm...not a good idea), a quart sized Ziplock bag, a stapler, and a glass of water.

Oh! This is important! Be thinking of a secret magic word. Something mysterious...mystical...marvelous... Email it to me. I'd love to hear what you come up with!!

Until tomorrow...Alakazam!!!

Wow! Check out this super nice, high-class kazoo. I'm asking Santa for one of these.I could barely get to sleep last night in anticipation for making a kazoo! Visions of sugar plums? Ha! I dreamt about getting a Kazoo Band together! I can see it now. First we'd play back up for Terri Hendrix. Then we'd get our own gig at Stubb's...Jay Leno...Oprah...Lights! Camera! Action!!!

Speaking of action, let's get with it. Shall we? Easy stuff. Here we go.

Got the supplies, right - the toilet paper roll, wax paper, scissors? Oops, yesterday I forgot to mention that you need a rubber band. Can you scare one of those up somewhere? Nab one of your big sister's pony tail holders, if you have to. Oh, she might get mad for a little while, but once she'll get over it once she hears your soulful sound.

 Tear off a piece of the wax paper that's about 6 inches wide. Use the scissors and cut it into a 6 inch square. It doesn't have to measure 6 inches exactly...just close enough for jazz.

A jazz band...that's what my band will play...smooth jazz.

This next step is very important because it affects your kazoo sound quality. Cut a hole midway on the side of the tube. I suggest making that hole about 1 cm in diameter. Honestly, the hole I cut in this one is a bit big. My kazoo still works just fine, but I'm making another one with a smaller hole for my upcoming New Orleans gig.

Now stretch the wax paper over one end of the tube. Secure it with a rubber band and you're in the music business. Put your lips inside the open end of the tube and blow! Feel the wax paper vibrate, man. Rock and roll, baby! Rock and roll!

To make these puppies ever jazzier decorate them. Make them golden like the snazzy brass kazoo made in New York City featured at the top of this post. There's a factory on the Big Apple that's been making kazoos since 1916!  

I'm ready to hit the big time.

My dream is about to come true!

All I need to do now is get my band together...

Go, John! Go, John! Go! Go! Go, John!

Let's make a joyful noise tomorrow! This activity is incredibly easy and great fun - something that will ultimately drive your parents nuts!

All we need is a the cardboard roll at the toilet paper's end (That sounds like a poem title, doesn't it?), a rubber band, some wax paper (or some of that fancy-schmacy Glad Press-and-Seal stuff), and some scissors.

Now kiddies, I am not advocating that you rifle through an entirely good roll of toilet paper just to get a cardboard tube for tomorrow's craft. Nor am I suggesting that you TP your neighbor's trees. Just let your family members know that you have plans for that tube, ignore their questioning expressions, and be patient.

I wouldn't mention the "drive your parents nuts" part, though. We'll keep that quiet...for now.

Got the goods? An index card, a Sharpie, pencil, paper, and something small that has magnetic appeal over you? Something that you just have to have. Something that you love! This messy girl pictured and I share the same lustful craving for something incredibly smooth, creamy, milky sweet and wonderful. Chocolate!!!!

Chocolate has a powerful magnetic pull on me. For a mouthful of that wonderful stuff I am willing to shift from place to place anytime. And, if you take it from me I will shrink back to where I began. Same goes for converting decimals to percentages using the Metric Worm. I'll show you what I mean.

This week's index card Metric Worm has only four place value marks on it; one for the ten's place, the one's place, the tenths place and the hundreths place. Note in the center of the worm there is a mark for the roving decimal. In addition, there are two opposing arrows, one pointing to the right toward a percentage sign and another toward the left toward a crossed-out percentage sign. Also note my magnet of choice...a Hershey's mini chocolate bar.

A slinky something to keep in mind: While we work with the percentage wiggler remember that, since there are only two zeros in the number 100, we're only going to be shifting two place value spaces.

Let's begin with changing a decimal to a percentage. Take, for instance, the number .25. How will the worm help us to change it to a percentage? Watch this.

Lay the worm on the paper. Rewrite .25 placing the decimal and the numerals in their proper places. Lay the percentage magnet to the right of the card (In my case, the piece of chocolate).  

Oooo! Oooo! I feel the magnetic pull one space to the right of the fat decimal. Notice that the decimal  has moved  between the number 2 and 5? To change the decimal into a percentage, AND to get my prize, let's move another space to the right. Remember the slinky something rule?

Ooooo. There's that pull again. Watch how we will move to right one more time. Think of the percentage sign as a magnet pulling the decimal toward it. All you need to do the change a decimal into a percentage is to move the decimal over two spaces to the right. That's all there is to it.

Yay! Not only have we changed .25 to 25%, the piece of chocolate is mine!

.25 = 25%

Easy, isn't it? Sweet, too.

All right, let's travel the other way. Let's change a percentage into a decimal. The same principles apply, only this time we will remove that magnetic pull of the chocolate percentage sign and will wiggle to the left through the two places.

And...for my decimal transforming finale, I shall once again entertain you with yet another utterly amazing property of the marvelously mesmerizing magnetic power of our dear friend, the Metric Worm.

Ta Da!!!!!

Tomorrow I shall demonstrate the ease of converting decimals into percentages and back again, a fantastic feat you will not want to miss.

Supply list? An index card, a Sharpie, a pencil, and a tiny treasure of your choice. Something that you really like. Something you just have to have. Something that has magnetic power over you.

Intrigued? Good.

The Phantom Number lurks within any dreaded fraction just waiting for an opportunity to scare the bejeebers out of some unsuspecting kid learning how to change a fraction into a decimal. I ain't afraid of no ghost number, are you? Come on. With the Metric Worm in hand, we can do this together.

Uhh...you go first. I'm right behind you.

Whole numbersYou've got the supplies, right? Two index cards, tape, a Sharpie, a pencil, and some paper? To slay this creepy phantom let's tape the cards together and make long worm. We'll place the decimal at the center of the joined cards. The whole numbers go on the left, remember. We're going to stretch this brave wiggler all the way to the hundred-thousands place.

Going to the right away from the decimal we make a mark for the ones place, the tens place, the hundreds place, the thousands place, the ten- thousands place, and the hundred-thousands place. Hope this doesn't hurt the little fella.

Metric numbersNow the metric numeral places go on the right. We're doing to pull the little guy all the out to the hundred-thousandths place. This is the scary part. Hold my hand.

Make marks for the tenths place, the hundredths place, the thousandths place, the ten-thousandths place, and the hundred-thousandths place. Ouch!

Oh, my gosh! Will you look at the fraction? 579607 49/1000! I gives me chills to think where we'll place that ugly 49/1000 on the worm. Looks at those frightening zeros! Where will we put them?

We can do this. Breathe.

Lay the worm on the page. Remember the decimal separates the whole number from the fraction. Mark the decimal on the page. To the left of the decimal write out the long whole number by placing each numeral above the proper place value. 

The Phantom is trying to trick us here, but we won't fall for it. He is asking for 49 ten-thousandths. Let's give it to him. Put the nine over the ten-thousandths place. Put the 4 over the hundredths place.

Oh! Do you see him? The Phantom Number? There he is...howling above the tenths place.

Let's put an to his wailing and write a zero above the tenths place.

There!

Take that Phantom!

BOO back at 'cha!

(Cue  scary harpsicord music.) We are about to enter a realm few people have faced with confidence.

Just look at this poor fellow. See what converting fractions to decimals did to him? Too bad he didn't know about the Metric Worm. Tragic, isn't it?

For tomorrow's ghoulish pleasure you will need 2 index cards, a Sharpie, some tape, a pencil, and paper.

All for now. (Cue evil laughter.) Bwwaaa ha ha!

While looking for something special to present to my Badgerdogs for tomorrow's class, I found a Robert Langston treasure.  Short, succinct, and thought provoking. I hope my poetic pups will connect with it. 

Deeper

A bird tapped at my window,

trying to crack open a sunflower seed.

I stared at it

in search of a deeper meaning

but found none. Should I be surprised?

Can any creature but man have a purpose?

The bird stood up and looked me in the eye.

In that glint I saw

it searching for a deeper meaning.

Finding none, it turned

and flew away.

This poem should generate some 4th grade conversation, shouldn't it?

Here it is! The one, the only, the amazing Metric Worm!There are lots ways to use my versatile friend, the Metric Worm. This little buddy really helps to take the panic out of visualizing fraction/decimal equivalency. I've coached many a tearful student with this tool. Today I will demonstrate just one of the numerous ways to use the Metric Worm.

 Instead of high-tailing it to the teacher store and dropping close to $10.00 on the latest expensive educational gizmo, just get yourself a index card and a marker. I jazzed mine up with a picture. No need for that, however, as a bribe, I have been known to allow a student to jazz up their Metric Worms AFTER they have proven that they know how to use it! Alls fair in love and teaching.

Here's how it works.

Decide upon a very long number. I choose 92,743. Write it out.

Now, rewrite your number as a whole number and a fraction. I changed my number into 927 43/100. How in the world can we rewrite this number as a decimal?   

Let's look at the number. The whole number is 927, right? And the fraction is 34/100. 

Okay now, let's look at the worm. We know that a decimal separates a whole number from the fractional portion of the number, yes? So we simply rewrite that big, scary fraction as a decimal by laying the worm on the paper and initially making the decision where the decimal should go. Then we write the whole number to the left of the fat decimal. I wrote my 9 about the hundreds place, the 2 above the tens place, and the 7 above the ones place. Now, the terrifying metric part. I simply put the 4 above the tenths place (decimeters) and the 3 above the hundredths place (centimeters). Easy.

Let's do it again. How about changing 92 743/1000 into a decimal? Here's where the tears begin to flow. Something about working with the 1000ths place always seems to unleash the waterworks. Take a breath. There are no worries with the worm, remember?

Just lay the worm on the paper. Where does the decimal go? Where does the whole number go? How about that nasty old metric number? Hey! Look at you! You've got it, smarty pants!

This Metric Worm illustrates whole numbers into the hundreds place and metrics into the thousandths place (millimeters). Once the kiddos understand this wee little worm  why not branch out into the millions and millionths? The gazillions and gazillionths? Stretch that wiggler. This is the kind of mental-gymnastical thinking that creates enthusiam out of a concept that was once confusing. Kids love numbers. They really do. Once they understand, they love to think big or metric small. No limits! Have fun with this.

Give credit where credit where credit is due, right? I stole this idea from a good teacher my daughter Taylor once had. Though I cannot remember her name right now, her brilliance lives on.

No, I didn't make up this stupid joke. I promise.Let's have some wiggly fun with decimal place value, shall we?

"What?" you ask. "How can working with metric place value be fun?"

When you know a cheater like the one I'm about to show you working with metrics can be a blast, especially when you're a geek like me.

Supplies needed are an index card, scissors, a Sharpie, and your brilliant self!

I consider myself to be a cautious person.  Predictability and accountability are two of my favorite things. I really know how to have fun, don't I?

Buggin' out of the comfort zone.Well, actually I do. And, of late I have been having a great time with a number of things that lie way out of my comfort zone. Way out...

For example, I agreed to be a literature judge for Round Rock ISD's annual Reflections Program, an annual district-wide arts competition. Last night I read enlightening poems and essays about the topic "Beauty Is..." written by K-5 students attending Old Town Elementary. It was great! I'm glad I agreed to do it.

Saturday I stepped way, way, way, way out of my comfort zone and agreed to be a speaker at Cafe Caffeine's Comedy Night produced by the very talented writer and performer Mary Jo Pehl. You see, I once took a humor writing workshop presented by Mary Jo. I suppose once you're in her circle of trust she'll nab ya'! She told me the topic of the show (Yes...a real show...lights, a stage and even a microphone! Gulp.) was People Saying Things Live and to work up a narrative, something personal, maybe a little funny. Well, I did it. People actually laughed at my story. I enjoyed myself. I'm glad I said, "Yes."

Lastly, I have taken on the NaNoWriMo challenge, an annual international event in which writers commit to writing 50,000 words be the end of November. We are encouraged to show that snarky, judgmental, demeaning self-editor the door and write, write, write. Don't worry about syntax or plot points or this or that. Get the derned story out. Spill it all over the page. Have fun! That's the goal. Just have fun writing.

And, I have to say, I am so very glad that I have agreed to participate in these three events. Predictabilty and accountabilty have been replaced by joyful abandon. All this because I stepped out of my C Zone and said, "Yes!" Join me, why don't you? You might be glad you did!

Yo ho, matie! All hands on deck! Do you have the supplies? The clear plastic bottle, the oil, the blue food coloring, and some water? All right then, you scrubbie. Let's sail!

Oil in bottle.Pour the oil in the bottle.

Water, oil, and food coloring in bottle.Pour the water in the bottle. Add about 15 drops of food coloring. Screw the cap on the bottle tight, tight, TIGHT!

Oil and water separates.Shake the bottle. Mix the ingredients all up.

Let it sit for a bit. Have you ever heard the saying, "Oil and water don't mix?" Well, they don't and this project proves it. Notice how the food coloring has blended in with the water? Watch the color change from stormy green to clear blue, just like the sea!        

Wave action.Now let's make some waves! Hold the bottle sideways and gently rock it side to side, side to side, side to side...side to side.....side to side.....

Oooo...erp....where did I put that sea-sick bag?

This week's activity has been inspired by the book-made-into-a-movie Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are. (I hope this post isn't any kind of spoiler.) I recalled this activity when I watched Max in his boat thrashing about as he sailed to the land where the Wild Things lived. He braved some pretty violent waves, didn't he?

Let's see if we can recreate the wavey and wild thrashing about on a much smaller scale. Shall we?

Let's head back into my kitchen again to gather the supplies needed for tomorrow's rumpus. You'll need a clear plastic bottle, cooking oil, blue food coloring, and water. I added a funnel for easy pouring and a paper bag just in case the waves get too wild and your tummy gets upset.

Erp.

Got the supplies? The small bowl, rubbing alcohol, white coffee filter, a green leaf, and a spoon (not pictured...sorry.) Let's get started.

First, tear the leaf into small pieces. Place the pieces in bowl. Use the spoon to smash the leaf, trying to squeeze as much juice from the leaf as you can.

Next, put about about two spoonfuls of rubbing alcohol in with the smashed leaf juice mixture. Continue to smash and stir. Let the leaf juice/alcohol mixture set for a few minutes. When the once clear alcohol becomes a nice green color your Autumn Leaf Potion is ready for experimentation.

Okay...dip a corner of the white coffee filter into your Autumn Leaf Potion. Soak up a good bit of the potion and then set the filter aside to dry. If you're like me, it is hard to wait for the potion soaked coffee filter to completely dry. Be patient, Mr. Mad Scientist. Be patient.

Once that coffee filter dries, look super closely at the leaf potion stain color change. See the trace of gold at the wiggley edge of the leaf potion stain? That's what my leaf becomes in the fall....a nice yellowish gold color.

Now, like I said earlier, my options for finding leaves that change into vivid fall colors are slim-to-none and yet, my experiment was successful! And my experiment was done with a whimpy little leaf. What if you did this with a big, fat, full, wonderful New England leaf? One that turns orange-red? I can tell you right now...with a good leaf like that your experiment will turn out tons better than mine did. I promise.

What does this experiment tell us about the changing colors of autumn leaves? Here's  a good quote from a web site called Science Made Simple (great name...don't you think?) explaining what happens to make leaves change colors. The real question is....do they really change?

Winter days are short and dry. Many plants stop making food in the fall. The chlorophyll goes away. Then we can see orange and yellow colors. These colors were in the leaves all summer, but the green covered them up.

Some leaves turn red. This color is made in the fall, from food trapped in the leaves. Brown colors are also made in the fall. They come from wastes left in the leaves.

How about that? The fall colors are inside of those leaves all along! Even when they were green. Simply amazing, don't you think?

NOT a picture of my backyard. Yours? Then go out there and gather up some leaves!!!! 

I love this time of year, when the leaves change from a deep green color to gold or red or vivid yellow. Have you ever wondered how this happens, how leaves change color? Tomorrow why don't we we do a simple little experiment to just how this phenomena takes place.

The supplies you will need will be a small bowl, a spoon, a white coffee filter, rubbing alcohol, and a green leaf. Now where I live there are 'slim-pickins' for big, broad leaves that change into vivid colors. (I live in a new housing development where the trees in our yards are similar to the one Charlie Brown chose for his Christmas tree...skinny.) If you can find some nice maple leaves or Bradford Pear leaves that'd be good. If you can't that's okay. We'll make it work.

Gather up some leaves and I'll see you tomorrow!

It's that time of year again in Badgerdog, when I glean through this semester's fabulous collection of poetry, essays, and fiction my twenty-four pups have been writing to try and decide what would be best to include in the Youth Voices in Ink Anthology. I've returned to Manor Elementary this semester and it has been great fun, like a homecoming in a sense. It’s really nice to back.

This year’s little writing community is comprised of brave kids from all walks of life: athletes and cheerleaders, artists and chess players, karate kids and dancers. And, intrinsic to all of the students is a love for reading and writing. Yes! 

These fine young authors seem to be starving to get at the page. Class goes like this. I explain the lesson, make a few suggestions and then…POW!...they blaze away at their journals as if their pencils are on fire. I just stand back and watch them go. You have to love that Manor Elementary Badgerdog enthusiasm.

Want to see this whole Baderdog experience is for yourself? Come by the Texas Book Festival this weekend and attend a reading at 10:30 in the Capital Extension Room E1.012 and hear for yourself. You'll be amazed....I promise!

Arrooooo!!!

Okay, I said simple and I mean it. And, as it goes with kids, the simpler the better. Wee ones love this activity. I promise you. You've got the supplies, right? The styrofoam meat tray sans the meat, yarn, tapestry needle, and scissors? Well, let's get going then.

Cut the tray into strips. I made mine about 2 inches wide to accomodate my fat fingers. You can make it thinner, if you'd like. Size up your child's fingers and then go for it.

If you look closely you can see that I poked a row of holes into the styrofoam strip. You might want to make your pokes a bit bigger. Once again consider the child and their developing dexterity. Make larger ones if they are wobbly sewers. Make them smaller if you'd like to challenge them a little bit.

Tie one end of the yarn to the sewing card and tie the other to the tapestry needle. Securing the yarn to the needle assures that the concentration focus will be on the act of sewing and not on keeping the dad-burned yarn on the needle. Voice of experience here. Heed it.

And then sew! In and out. In and out. Over. Under. Over. Under. Fill that card with yarn. Pull it out and sew it all over again.

I know what you're thinking. That's it? Yes. That's it. In our harried, plastic, expensive, scattered adult world we forget that what kids need most is simplicity. Pare things down. Relax. Enjoy a simple moment with your lovely child and sew.

Have simply sensational Saturday and I'll see you next week.

Nothing in this milk-chocolatey-wonderful world is more endearing than to observe tiny hands at work. Those busy little dimpled knuckles, chubby mini fingers...delicate, yet so purposeful in their discovery. Scenes like this stop me in my tracks. I deeply admire a wee one's deliberate focus as they hone their dexterity. Plus, they're so darned cute!

Saturday we will be developing the strength of those tenacious fingers, lengthening that concentration span, and spark a little bit of independence. The simple activity is designed for children from say...three years old and up. You're going to need a couple of styrofoam meat trays, yarn, scissors, and a tapestry needle.

Now I scavengered my needle out my knitting bag (I'm the worst knitter that ever walked this planet. Yet I keep at it. A glutton for punishment, I guess). You can pick up some plastic ones at a craft store, if you'd like. Just remember to keep it simple, cheap, and FUN!

See you tomorrow.

When my pal, Jennifer Ziegler, asked me if I would interested in writing a discussion guide for her hot, hot, hot YA How Not to be Popular I agreed to do it as a fellow writer and as a friend. She told me that librarians and teachers have been begging for one. And now, after completing the discussion guide,  I see why.

This book is more than a lively read; a clever, quirky tale; a fun weekend literary romp. This book is IMPORTANT! This book can make a difference in a kid's life. How Not to be Popular is a 'must read' for any teen struggling to make sense of the complicated social hierarchy so prevalent on today's high school campuses. Can you think of a teenager who isn't?

How Not to be Popular is a story about a girl who has to move often. After attending ten different high schools, she has decided it simply hurts too much to go through the effort of developing friendships only to ultimately have to leave. She's emotionally damaged. Her solution is to become unpopular. When she moves to Austin during her senior year, instead of seeking her usual status relationships with the cheerleader/dance teams types known as the 'Bippies', she sinks the the lowest level on the social food chain; the 'bottom feeders', the losers, the 'Helping Hands'.

There is tremendous depth to this novel...layers upon layers of metaphors, symbolism, paradoxical contradition, and plenty of oxymorons! Who can refuse a tasty oxymoron? How Not to be Popular is a study of the critical aspects required to live an authentic life, one that is free, honest, truthful, and all-out fun!

This book is one that, as a teacher, I would cherish and have the students read year after year after year. Oh...the things we could discuss. Things close to their hearts. I've been privileged to witness the positive, transformative affect a book can have on a kid.  How Not to be Popular is just that kind of book!

Jimmy Buffett, eat your heart out. Dig my pencil-thin mustache.Who would have known how much fun a kid/woman could have with index cards, a marker, scissors, and a nose? I have been laughing my belly button off making these goofy mustaches.

Creating cardstock mustaches is super easy to do. On your index card, simply trace your desired mustache shape. The only tricky part is  making the tiny nostril hooks fit just right. Make them too small and they'll pinch a little. Make them too wide and your stash won't stay.

Because I don't want you to waste much time fretting over your stash formatting, I have made a .pdf template of these mustaches that fit me just fine. Hope this helps jump-start your stashing good time. (Warning. In keeping with the Simple Saturday theme, the template is very simply made. Professionals, turn the other way. We're just having some silly fun here.)

What's up, Doc? Look at this funny mustache! Check out the Bugs Bunny teeth. Isn't that a crack-up?

I would LOVE to see what you come up with. I'll bet your mustaches will be mega-tons better than mine. Send me some pics of you and your stash. They're sure to be hilarious!

Email me, if you'd like, at [email protected].

Long live Simple Saturday silliness.

Need to assume an alternate identity? Blend into the scenery? Keep a low profile? Slip away in the shadows? Well, what you need, my sleuth-like friend, is a fuzzy-faced disguise and tomorrow I'll show you how to make one.

For your simple supply list all we need are index cards, markers, scissors, and your charming little nose. Fake fur or fuzz of any kind is optional.

With Tripod the Fur Shedding Machine it will be easy for me to gather up plenty of fuzz around here. Need some?

Saturday highly accomplished author Chris Eboch came to town to cast a literary spell on our incredible Austin  SCBWI group. Chris led us in a series of writing exercises ranging from character and conflict, plot tricks, fast starts, chapter ending cliff-hangers, developing setting, and enhancing plot. In short, she kept us busy!

Of late I have really been struggling with understanding the protagonist in my latest work in progress. I just have not been able to see this kid. It is suiting that an author who writes ghost stories could lead me to discover the nature of my phantom character. And, not only did Chris help me, I chatted with several folks who said that they had either come up with new story ideas or had epiphanies similar to mine.

Thanks, Chris, for haunting Austin this weekend. You left plenty of good spirits behind.

Fractions can be deadly...well, tricky anyway. Just think about all of the wacky rules involved in computing with them entail. The larger the denominator the smaller fraction. Two fractions with completely different numerators and denominators can be equal. Now, how the heck can that be true? Don't even begin to talk about reciprocals or improper fractions. And then, on top of all of this, we have to reduce these babies? Fractions aren't playing fair, and that's all there is to it.

Years ago I worked at a school for at-risk high-schoolers, I loved that job. I clearly remember sitting beside with an ex-gang member with a tear-drop tatooed at the corner of his eye and the words 'love' and 'hate' tattooed on the flesh between his scarred knuckles and finger joints. As I presented the notion of reciprocal fractions, I noticed his hand gripping his pencil wasn't not the one with 'love' printed on it.

Gulp.

 After we spent a good bit time talking about the mental gymnastics behind working with fractions and playing my game, my decorated pal began to understand the illogical logic behind computing with fractions. The scowl behind the teardrop tatoo softened. "Is that all there is to it?" he asked. I answered, "Yep. That's it."

So, let's you and I play Fraction War.

First of all gather up some index cards and a marker.

Next, write a random sequence of fractions on the cards keeping in mind what your intent to comprehend might be with the game. Do you want to grasp the notion of the simple value of fractions? What is 1/2 as compared to 1/9 and so on? (Note: It may be helpful to have fraction manipulatives available to use when initially working with concepts such as these. There is no shame in your game if you need to concretely double check the abstract, illusive, and down-right-hard-wrap-your-head-around value of these wacked-out fractional representations. Say what? You're telling me that 1/12 is smaller that 1/5? How can that be? Five is smaller/less than/littler  than twelve that last time I checked. Well, check again. We're talking fractions, bro.)

So, after you've made a pack of cards....25 or more...you're ready to play. Decide with your partner whether you're going to play 'High' or 'Low', which mean that the larger fractions take the deck or the smallest ones cleans up. Just be sure that you agree about the rules of the game before you begin. (Believe me. This is the voice of experience talking here.)

Uh, oh! Like the regular game of War, you might hit a stale mate, that is when the players have pulled two cards of equal value, or 'equivalent fractions'. In the picture 4/8 is equivalent/equal to 1/2. If that happens (and it will, hence the name WAR!) the players should proceed to draw three extra cards from their stack on hand and place them face down from their stack.

And then flip the next card in their stack on top of the faced down group already on the playing table. In this case, if we had agreed to play 'High', the 1/8 would take that stack because 1/8 is bigger than 1/9.

The more cards you make, the longer the game takes. If you really want to challenge yourself, create an assortment of fraction cards with tenths, hundreths, and thousandths as denominators to be paired against decimal cards of equal value. It also great fun to play with improper and mixed fractions in the stack.

Yeah, I can be quite sadistic when it comes to fractions. I really like working with them. Blame it on Fraction War!