Friday Five

My Friday Five is a spin off from various post I have seen on Fridays where blog authors are sharing things that inspire them or are interesting to them.  I enjoy seeing what others are wanting or are inspired by and thought we could do this as educators.   What have you read this week, done, seen, or had happen that might benefit fellow educators.  I've tried to find things I enjoyed that made me feel positive and happy.  I hope you find something here to savor - no pun intended with a recipe included!

1.  Irene Fountas wrote a much needed piece addressing the history behind creating text levels for reading instruction and advice for all of us to consider now in Text Levels - Tool or Trouble?

2.  Judy Wallis wrote an inspiring piece filled with encouragement and the guidance we might all need right now, Teachers, Don't Forget Joy.

3.  Donorschoose.org is offering a matching promo code for all projects to use within their first week of going live.  I had a project Spark Inquiry fully funded in less than 24 hours this week.  If you have needs for your classroom and/or your students the generosity of people within your community and within the Donors Choose community can be a perfect match!

4.  Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting is down right the most delicious cupcake my daughter has ever made!

5.  Matt B Gomez has some helpful tips for managing Symbaloo.  He was also very helpful via twitter as I tried to get things set up.  Thanks Matt!