Active student brain breaks?

Haven't tried these yet.. Definitely can be used as a filler when breaking up a long period of time. Also allows some time to have fun. I like how most are pretty active and require some sort of thinking.

Trigonometry joke

Even if you don't know your trig identities you can probably guess what this means.

New kitchen blinds

Forget 3 day blinds! Got these from Loews, the brand is Levolor. Look nice, and are sturdy. Not hard to install.

Successful fire pit

Enjoying our firepit in my backyard the night of my 30th birthday party. My uncle Mike and I put it in. We bought it from Loew's thanks to a gift card from my uncle Sean and Bert. It was $200 but on sale for $160. Here it is in progress start to finish:

Picking a spot with 49 inch diameter and leveling the circle before putting sand on it.

Algebra Walk

A great CPM lesson introducing kids to linear equations by inputting themselves as x and lining up on -3 to +3. Great for as low as 7th grade. I now solely teach it in 8th grade. Lots of prep to do. What ever the y value is how many steps forward or back they take. Powerful.

Latest Books Read...

A Band of Misfits: Tales of the 2010 San Francisco Giants

by Andrew Baggarly (Hardcover)

A review of the World Series 2010 championship season. It offers some great anecdotes about Timmy and Jonathan Sanchez that you otherwise wouldn't know. It also confirms Pat Burrel's party boy image which includes wetting his bed while in Philadelphia getting super wasted.

Also read

Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell . It describes what circumstances helped wildly successful be successful. Notice how Steve Jobs and Bill gates were born within 2 years of each other. This is not a concidence. It also talks about the numerous planes crashes by Korean Air pilots was their submissive cultural structure of being subordinate to your superiors. This book sparks my interest in reading his other book, Tipping Point.

Next up is more teaching books, a few books I've added to my favorites on Amazon.com are:

Teaching As Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher's Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap

by Steven Farr (Paperback)

(evaluator of Teach for America teachers)

A Chance to Make History: What Works and What Doesn't in Providing an Excellent Education for All

by Wendy Kopp (Hardcover)

Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College

by Doug Lemov (Paperback)

Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America

by Jay Mathews (Paperback)

 On a side note, Atlanta bullpen dude Craig Kimbrel recommended this title which has to do with golf and life in general:

Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia

by David L. Cook (Hardcover)

Job Hunt

I have applied to the following schools / school districts:
St. Dunstan
St. Matthews
St. Catherine’s (job vacancy filled)
Pacifica School District
San Mateo-Foster City
Belmont-Redwood Shores
Bayshore Elementary Daly City
Oakland Military Institute

It looks like I am considering taking BART to the East Bay to teach, with the benefit being I will have a job secured for this fall and I can prepare earlier than 2 weeks before the first day of school.

I am also considering teaching a Geometry summer school course, yet I am very rusty on my knowledge of it and may borrow a book and rehash my memory....