5 small boxes of Jello (different colors)

Follow directions on Jello box, mix a new flavor each day. Each day, layer the jello mix over the one from the previous day.  By Friday, you have an edible rainbow.
(You could use the recipe for Jello Jigglers instead.)

• Divide you class into five groups and a different group gets to “cook” each day.

*To vary the shade, add a wee bit of evaporated milk in the water.

Submit your images here and we’ll share with zillions of educators.

We’re checking out the hallways for bulletin board ideas. The bulletin boards double as art and writing assignments. Send your images to terri@devokids.com

Who’s in the barn?

Mr. Big Fish

Spring Flower Stories

Thank you, Peggy, for contributing to DaVinci’s Classroom!

Submissions:  terri@devokids.com

Today we’re meandering through the hallways for bulletin board ideas.

If you’d like to submit your classroom images, please send submissions to terri@devokids.com 

When I grow up . . .

Beary Good Writing

Paper plate frogs and ducks

April Showers

Cloudy With A Chance . . .

Listen. Here’s book worth reading. Can’t you tell I stay home and read all the the time? So listen…here’s a great book. Order it today: He Said, She Said

He Said, She Said:
A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passionby Cindy Sproles & Eddie Jones

Kindle eBook $2.99 Now available in Paperback $9.95

He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion

By Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles

Do you sense something vital missing from you relationship with your spouse, children and God? 

Try He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion. This compilation of 54 devotions includes scripture verses, space for journaling, individual prayers and words of wisdom from two of today’s funniest and insightful Christian authors. This heart-warming collection of stories will inspire you to reach for the true source of joy: a life lived for and through God. These deeply personal devotions offer biblical insights and spiritual truths from the perspective of one man and one woman. 

Perfect for your quiet time. No matter if you are newlyweds or newly retired, this book of devotions will help you put the spark back into your love life and explore the precious relationships God desires for you. Begin this new year committed to spending a few moments each day connected to God. He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion touches the heart, tickles the funny bone and brings you to your knees in worship.

The concept of He Said, She Said devotions introduces the readers to looking at one scripture, from two perspectives—his and hers. The beauty in this unique type of devotion come when a man reads the perspective of a woman suddenly grasping a new outlook on the scripture; likewise the same for a woman to read the thoughts and views from a man’s perspective. The reader can then mesh the two together for a deeper and more intimate learning experience.

Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles have captured the essence of scripture through the heart of a man and a woman, addressing the passions of loving your spouse, your children and ultimately loving the Father deeper than ever before.

He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion is available on Amazon Kindle now!

He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion LINK

Link here to see the buzz:  http://www.mycarolinatoday.com/2011/03/the-curse-of-captain-lafoote/

Participate in our “Buy A Boy A Book On Valentine’s Day!” campaign and spur their imagination.

Create within them a desire to read and set sail for a life of adventure, wherever that journey may take them.

Eddie Jones

Eddie Jones is a full time freelance writer and author of five non-fiction books, one young adult novel, and an adult romantic comedy. He has written over one hundred articles that have appeared in 20 different publications. He serves as Acquisition Editor for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and is a contributing writer for CBN.com, Christian Devotions Ministries, Living Aboard Magazine, The Ocracoke Observer, and Carolina Currents.

He has taught writing classes from Pennsylvania and the Carolinas to Colorado. As a book consultant, he has helped clients place completed projects with literary agents, book publishers, and magazine editors. Eddie has a keen eye for evaluating manuscripts and can advise clients on the marketability of their work.

Telling Tidal Tales

I’m a boat swab at heart, and a thief and liar when honest work proves unprofitable. This is why when my boys were little (and by this I mean we could still feed them without maxing-out our credit cards at the grocery store or causing a world-wide food shortage) I’d tell them pirate stories on our sailboat. I no longer have a sailboat. What I have instead are two boys in college. This is way better than a boat because unlike owning a boat, college tuition payments end—if not upon graduation then when the free frat parties stop. Boat alimony, on the other hand, goes on forever. I’m sure in some way, Noah is still paying on the Ark. B.O.A.T., by the way, means: “Break Out Another Thousand.” But if you’ve ever owned a boat you know this.

Anyway, at night, before I’d tuck my small boys into their bunks (a storage locker where we kept the anchor), we’d sit on the bow of our sailboat and I’d make up stuff. Today I do this as a writer but editors have shorter attention spans than my tiny tots. At least that’s what my agent says. So I’d tell these tidal tales and the hero of the story was this guy named Captain Stinky Foot. Captain Stinky Foot was named after my youngest son. If you’ve ever spent any time on a boat in August with a crew of unwashed young males then this needs no further explanation.

Telling pirate stories came naturally to me. I’ve always been fascinated by the stories of boys snatched away from London and Bristol and forced to serve before the mast. Seems to me life at sea was more fun than peeling potatoes. And more dangerous.

I’d use whatever props I could spy from the bow—a channel marker, boat fender, or crab pot—and I’d work it into the story. A few times every year my boy’s school would invite me in to tell pirate stories. My talks followed a predictable pattern. The teacher would ask everyone to sit quietly and listen, but know how it is with kids. There’s always some smart aleck who insists on cutting up. The teacher would interrupt, scowl and eventually nod for me to continue. Almost immediately, she’d have to stop me again: this time raising her voice. By the third time I knew she meant business. I also knew I’d get sent to the principle’s office if I didn’t straighten up.

Now, when I’m asked to describe The Curse of Captain LaFoote, I explain that it’s a pirate tale awash in buried treasure, romance and dead men’s bones. The truth is, this book and the ones that follow in the Caribbean Chronicle series are love stories. Ricky Bradshaw, the hero of the book, the story is a quest to find his soul mate and manhood. There are a lot of other deep and important themes explored in the book too.

There are a lot of other deep and important themes explored in The Curse of Captain LaFoote. Things like what the poop deck is and why cruise ships no longer use them, the secrets inside Davy Jones’ locker, and why you shouldn’t walk downwind of a pirate who’s just eaten turtle soup.

Seriously, my main goals in writing this book was to spur the imagination of young readers. Boys especially.

According to KidSay Market Researchers, teen and tween online video and virtual gaming increased from 65% in 2007 to 91% in 2010. I’m a writer, not a math whiz, so I have no idea what those numbers mean but they sound really scary. So part of my goal is to give boys a compelling story they can fall into. I want to create within them a desire to read and set sail for a life of adventure, wherever that journey may take them. Even now I can see Ricky standing on the sugar-white sands of that island just south of Hispaniola. I am that boy. And so are a lot of other boys.

As part of our Buy A Boy A Book! Campaign we are encouraging parents, grand parents, aunts, uncles, Oprah and the President of the United States to buy a book and give it to a boy. That’s right. We want you to give a book as a gift.

We’ve test marketed this concept and our research shows most boys, given the choice between reading a book and visiting the dentist, will run away from home. But as a responsible adult you know dental hygiene is key to a happy mouth. Think of this book as dental floss for the mind.

Reading is key to learning. Learning increases a young boy’s chances of gaining admission to college, earning a degree, landing a job and pursuing the American Dream.

Please, won’t you give a boy a chance to dream? Boy A Boy A Book On Valentine’s Day!

Print Edition $9.95

Kindle eBook $2.99

Social networking has changed the way young people communicate. Can we keep books in ìtheirî loop? According to KidSay Market Researchers, Facebook is now the favorite website among tween (8-11) boys and teen (12-15) girls. Over 90% of tween boys and girls play games online. Could a pirate tale be the perfect antidote to the adolescent blank-stare fascination with video games?

http://bit.ly/fscQrN

Young Adult Pirate Author Seeks to Raise $10,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation

Raleigh, NC— Social networking has changed the way young people communicate. Can we keep books in “their” loop?  According to KidSay Market Researchers, Facebook is now the favorite website among tween (8-11) boys and teen (12-15) girls. Over 90% of tween boys and girls play games online. Could a pirate tale be the perfect antidote to the adolescent blank-stare fascination with video games?

“My goal in writing this book was to spur the imagination of young readers. Boys especially,” says Young Adult author, Eddie Jones. “I wanted to create within them a desire to read and set sail for a life of adventure on the high seas.” Note: Eddie sails and surfs and sometimes works. “I also want to help kids (and adults) who suffer with epilepsy. My goal is to raise $10,000 for the Epilepsy Foundation in honor of Ricky Bradshaw, the hero of the book.” (Ricky suffers from epilepsy.) “For each book sold, the publisher will donate a few pieces of eight—half a sandy dollar—to the Epilepsy Foundation.”

Jones says, regardless of how well the book sells, if it helps others become “Seizure Smart!” and raises money to fight epilepsy, it’s a success.

About the Book

RICKY BRADSHAW has never sailed the Caribbean Sea, searched for buried treasure or battled pirates on the deck of a Spanish Galleon. He’s never fallen through the floor of Davy Jones’ locker or watched an old fisherman morph into a porpoise. All Ricky knows is his lonely life with his widowed mom in a tiny apartment overlooking a marina on the Chesapeake Bay. But all that changes on a snowy Christmas Eve when Ricky’s apartment building burns down and he falls into the chilly waters while trying to save a dog with shrimp breath. Suddenly Ricky finds himself thrust into a world where there is surprising beauty on every island, danger around every corner and great honor and glory ahead of him… if only Ricky can summon the courage to survive the curse of Captain LaFoote.

About the Author

Eddie Jones is a full time freelance writer and author of five non-fiction books, one young adult novel, and one adult romantic comedy. He sails, surfs and freely admits: “I’m a boat swab at heart and thief and liar when honest work proves unprofitable.”

A Young Adult / Tween novel, Rated PG13

eBook ISBN – 978-1-935600-05-3 Available in Kindle

Print ISBN – 978-1-935600-04-6

Many thanks to Julie in South Carolina for contributing to DaVinci’s Virtual Classroom.

Please contribute your classroom or homeschool digital images to terri@devokids.com.

Please enjoy your trip down the hallways of our virtual classroom. Why don’t you participate in DaVinci’s Classroom? Send images of your classroom to terri@devokids.com and I’ll post them here.  Share this site with your teaching friends. This is the go-to place for educators to learn from each other.  Save time and money…visit the virtual classroom:  www.davincisclassroom.wordpress.com!

Utilize the hallways for beauty and space.

(Remember to check the fire safety guidelines for your school.)

Please visit my other blog:  www.davincisgallery.blogspot.com

Thanks…send me your classroom pictures.  terri@devokids.com.

~~ 4 Reasons to Market with Postcards ~~

You’re a freelance writer. Why on EARTH would you use post cards to promote your writing?

1.Your potential readers are not psychic. If they don’t know you  exist, if they don’t know you’ve written a book or if they don’t know you can write for their business, they won’t contact you.

2. Postcards are inexpensive to mail.

3. You can target the people who are your audience and send your message only to them.

4. Postcards are easy to write! It doesn’t take much time, you can flex your creativity muscles as much as you’d like. Plain and simple, complex and graphics filled… it’s up to you. Just make sure your message shines.

Most important? Market on a consistent basis because consistent marketing = consistent assignments.

This article is courtesy of Filbert Publishing. Make your writing sparkle, write killer queries, get published. Subscribe to Writing Etc., the free e-mag for freelancers and receive the e-book “Power Queries.” http://filbertpublishing.com

Thanks to Beth Erickson of Filbert Publishing for the expert advice!