Estonia Photo (c) Average Betty

Remember that time you won a Taste Award for Best Web Food Program, which included a fabulous trip to Estonia, but you were too afraid to fly over an ocean, so you asked your dear friend and fellow food blogger, Average Betty, to go on the trip for you, and she had an amazing time, and when your friends and family saw the pictures they couldn’t believe what an idiot you were for not going?

That’s right, I didn’t go on what could’ve been the trip of a lifetime because I’m afraid to fly. Actually, I’m not that scared of flying – it’s the crashing that I’m really not into. Anyway, as you’ll see on her blog, Sara went and represented like a boss.

Below you’ll find a wonderful video recipe she did for Karask, a very traditional Estonian barley bread. The bread looks fantastic, and I'm looking forward to trying it. I insist you head over to Average Betty to get the full recipe, as well as see and read more about the trip. 

By the way, the painfully cute spoon pictured here is a souvenir that Sara brought back for me. I've heard nothing but great things about Estonia, but that they have freakishly small wooden spoons there tells me all I need to know.

Even though I didn’t make it over there myself, I want to thank the Taste Awards for the honor, and the fine people of Estonia for making the trip possible. Enjoy!

Quitters are losers!

So, brothers and sisters, you can still be winners in your marriage! You just have to make your spouse feel "SPECIAL".

Others treat your spouse as a brother, as a sister, as a mother, as a worker, as a colleague, as a friend, as a leader and the list goes on...

And the truth is, your spouse craves for your attention and longing for your time and support.

- Your spouse just wants you to value his/her efforts.

- He/She just wants you to say "wow/ Masha' Allah" at little little things that he/she does.
- Your spouse craves for your smile.
- Your spouse feels complete when you find time for them.

So, don't quit! Keep persevering! Allah will reward you for your efforts, Insha' Allah.

by Salman Hameed

Here is Bill Nye simply saying that evolution is an essential concept in biology, and if we want a scientifically literate society, then it is important to understand it. And for the sake of the future, keep the children away from the idiocy of creationism. This is a short 2 minute video - and I agree with his basic message. I liked his analogy of biology without evolution is like geology without plate tectonics. But what I didn't like was the sole focus on young earth creationism (YEC) - the idea that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. I know that this is the most popular form of creationism in the US, but this is  a geology/astronomy problem and not a problem of biology. If one starts with the premise that the world was created with the last 10,000 years, then the implausibility of evolution would naturally follow from that. From science communications perspective, I think it is better to separate out the the problem of understanding deep time and the fact that species have evolved over billions of years. By the way, this simple video has generated quite a bit of a reaction in the comments - and the video has been viewed 2.5 million times!

We have been looking at the responses to evolution in the Muslim world and find that young Earth creationism is completely missing (though biological evolution - and in particular, human evolution, is rejected by a significant part of the population, depending on the country). The only place it has popped its head is amongst some Muslim groups in North-America - which is a fantastic example of how cultural influences shape these views. 

I’ve always been fascinated with Israeli couscous, also known as pearl couscous, and have received several food wishes recently for a recipe showing it off. I’ve had it most often in cold salads, but for whatever reason I decided to turn it into a hot side dish.

Since it’s nothing more than tiny balls of lightly toasted pasta dough, I thought it would work well in some type of macaroni-n-cheese application. I decided to skip the traditional béchamel and instead use more of a risotto technique. Short story short, it worked great!

I’ve always been a fan of the southern delicacy “pimento cheese,” so I decided to hedge my bets and toss in some of the bittersweet jewels. All in all, I really liked the dish, and how well it held up. The shot you see at the end, when I dig the fork in for a taste, was actually filmed three days after this was made, and had been reheated in the microwave. Despite sitting in the fridge, and the less then gentle reheating, it was still creamy and delicious.

By the way, the chives may seem like a simple, optional garnish, but they’re not. Put them in. They really finished this recipe off right, adding a fresh counterpoint to the semi-rich mixture. I hope you give this “ballsy” recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 small, side dish sized servings:

2 tsp melted butter

1 cup Israeli couscous

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup diced pimentos

3 oz sharp cheddar cheese

salt, pepper, cayenne to taste

1 tbsp freshly sliced chives

View the complete recipe

by Salman Hameed

We will continue the theme of understanding the reception of biological evolution with a recent paper by Heddy and Nadelson: A Global Perspective of the Variables Associated with Acceptance of Evolution published in Evolution: Education and Outreach this past May (Doi: 10.1007/s12052-012-0423-0). If you don't have access to the paper and are interesting in reading it, you can drop me an e-mail and I can send you a pdf copy.

Here is the abstract:

 A Global Perspective of the Variables Associated with Acceptance of Evolution

by Heddy and Nadelson 

The controversy of biological evolution due to conflicts with personal beliefs and worldviews is a phenomenon that spans many cultures. Acceptance of evolution is essential for global advancement in science, technology, and agriculture. Previous research has tended to focus on the factors that can influence acceptance of evolution by culture or country. Our research explored the relationship on an international scale using secondary data analysis to research evolution acceptance for 35 countries. Our results indicate significant relationships between public acceptance of evolution and religiosity, school-life expectancy, science literacy, and gross domestic product per capita. Implications and future directions for research are addressed. 

I will post my comments on the paper on Friday and will be looking forward to your input as well (for comments, please do read the paper or at least skim through it).

Check out past Irtiqa Journal Clubs here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

( الزهد ) للإمام الحافظ العلامة أبي بكر أحمد بن الحسين بن علي بن موسى البيهقي , وهو المسمى بـ: ( الزهد الكبير ) وله ايضا : ( الصغير ) ذكره في (كشف الظنون)(2/1423) , والكتاني في ((الرسالة المستطرفة ))

إسناد الكتاب : (معجم ابن حجر)(265), و(صلة الخلف )(ص259)

قال الحافظ في المعجم المفهرس (ص 98) الكتاب (265) كتاب الزهد للبيهقي , أنبأنا به أبو الحسن علي بن محمد بن أبي المجد شفاها أنبأنا أبو محمد القاسم بن المظفر بن عساكر إجازة إن لم يكن سماعا أنبأنا محمد بن غسان إجازة مشافهة أنبأنا الحافظ أبو القاسم علي بن الحسن بن عساكر أنبأنا أبو القاسم زاهر بن طاهر أنبأنا أبو بكر البيهقي به

طبعات الكتاب :
- طبع في مؤسسة الكتب الثقافية 1408هـ بتحقيق ( عامر حيدر), وعدد أحاديثه (987) حديثا
- وفي دار القلم الكويت 1403هـ بتحقيق تقي الدين الندوي

مواد للتحميل :
الزهد للبيهقي ط مؤسسة الكتب الثقافية / بدف

                          من مرفوعات الاخ المبارك ابا يعلى البيضاوي وفقه الله

by Salman Hameed

One of the great things about New York City is the cacophony of languages you hear on the streets. In fact, it is this diversity that makes New York - well New York. I did my undergraduate near NYC and had a chance to visit the city on many occasions. As far as a I remember, I had conversations in Urdu on many occasions - and no one batted an eye. Oh - but that was the 1990s. As it turns out, Urdu has become a suspicious language - at least for the NYPD. Here is an article about this profiling based on Urdu and Bengali. Okay so I can potentially see why Urdu is considered suspicious (thanks to people like Faisal Shehzad), but how did Bengali speakers got roped into this? May be the NYPD is still using some pre-1971 maps. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Earlier this summer, Thomas P. Galati, commanding officer of the New York Police Department’s elite intelligence division, sat for an unusual legal interrogation, during which he talked of his keen interest in Urdu-speaking New Yorkers. 

“I’m seeing Urdu,” Assistant Chief Galati said of the data generated by his eight-person demographics unit, which has eavesdropped on thousands of conversations between Muslims in restaurants and stores in New York City and New Jersey and on Long Island. “I’m using that information for me to determine that this would be a kind of place that a terrorist would be comfortable in.” 

Chief Galati, whose job it is to stalk the terrorists who may live in our midst, continued along this line. “A potential terrorist could hide in here,” he said. “Most Urdu speakers would be of concern.” 

All of which sounds reasonable, sort of, maybe. Except that something in the neighborhood of 80,000 New Yorkers, mostly of Pakistani and Indian descent, speak Urdu. 

A little later, Chief Galati turned to those New Yorkers — perhaps another 20,000 or 30,000 — who speak Bengali. 

“The fact that they are speaking Bengali is a factor I would want to know,” he said, adding that the information was used solely to be able to determine where “I should face a threat of a terrorist and that terrorist is Bengali.” 

Hmm..interesting. From that logic, there must be a lot of other potentially suspicious languages (kind of like Minority Report for languages - and, there is an unintentional pun in here as well). But I'm sure that this program of tracking Urdu and Bengali speakers must have led to a number of terrorist leads:

But here is the problem for those eager spies among us. Asked if all of this compiling of Urdu- and Bengali- and Arabic-language hangouts, and all of this listening in on the chatter, had resulted in tips about potential terrorist plots, Chief Galati conceded it had not. 

“I could tell you that I have never made a lead from rhetoric that came from a demographics report,” Chief Galati said. (His larger intelligence division has participated in many terror investigations.) 

The lawyer Jethro Eisenstein, arguing on behalf of plaintiffs in a long-running civil liberties dispute, conducted the legal grilling of Chief Galati. He is trying to determine whether the Police Department’s counterterrorism policies violate a consent decree limiting surveillance of political groups. 

Oh - okay. So there were no leads from this kind of profiling - and the Chief still thinks it is/was a good idea. Yikes! I wonder how many people were investigated for this particular linguistic proficiency and who now have a file in the police investigative record.

Read the full article here.

And while on the topic of languages, it appears that Turkey is now even expanding its influence over English. Researchers are now claiming that Indo-European languages, including English, had its origin in Turkey 9000 years ago. How convenient - and I would say, a bit suspicious...

Photo courtesy of Robin Ove, from
the blog, What About the Food

Michele and I just returned from a wonderful long weekend in Portland, where we attended the 2012 International Food Bloggers Conference. It was our first visit to “Stumptown,” and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay (although, I never did see even one stump).

People were very friendly, and the local food scene was as vibrant and interesting as I’d heard it would be, but the highlight was the photography workshop I got to participate in with my friend, and celebrated NY Times food photographer/writer, Andrew Scrivani.

Despite a few minor glitches, we somehow managed to fool the large audience into thinking we’d put on an informative and highly entertaining show. My theory is that they were so hung over from the night before that they weren’t fully aware what was going on, but nevertheless, the reviews on Twitter were embarrassingly positive.

In case you missed it, here’s a video that my friends at Jenn-Airshot, showing some highlights from the session. I’d like to thank them for sponsoring the event, along with Anolon, Wüsthof, OXO, and Ninja. Also, a huge thank you to Sheri, Barnaby, and the rest of the Foodista/Zephyr Adventures’ team for inviting me to participate, and for putting on such a fun event. See you next year in Seattle!

For additional coverage of the event, I invite you to check out Andrew’s IFBC post, as well as my new friend Paola Thomas’ entertaining recap here. Enjoy!

A Few Random Post-IFBC Thoughts:

Saying Goodbye to Social Media

It’s over. The social media bubble is just about to burst, and anyone who is unfortunate enough to be standing underneath it when it does is going to get soaked with scalding hot irony. That’s right, the very food bloggers whose unbridled enthusiasm for social self-promotion helped build this cheesy soufflé, are now tiring of the pungent scent, and openly rooting for its collapse. Shame on us. I’d do a Facebook poll to see what you think, but by the time I figure out how to set it up, the site will probably be down.

Instagram, FTW

One app immune to this social media fatigue is Instagram. It seems as though food bloggers love it just as much as the food in their pictures. It’s no wonder. Thanks to Instagram’s filters, those forgettable cell phone shots we used to post are now brilliant works of art…every one of them…brilliant. What used to be a blurry eggplant is now transformed into a scene so poignant, Joseph Pulitzer would weep. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to set up a shot of my cat sipping on a cappuccino.

Portland Has Great Food

Michele and I had one great meal after another during our stay. We enjoyed the uniquely delicious cuisine of Le Pigeon, got our smoke on at Ox, and dined al fresco at Departure, where we experienced a view as spectacular as Chef Gregory Gourdet’s food. And, don’t even get me started on the amazing local beer and cocktails. I look forward to a return trip soon, so we can check out all the places we missed. Thanks again to everyone to chimed in with recommendations!

by Salman Hameed

Mars is no longer looking like an alien planet. Here is a spectacular image that shows geological layering on Mars. This is the where the rover is eventually headed - the base of Mount Sharp - about 10km away. I don't know about this particular image, but it is possible that the colors may have been scaled here to show the geological layering more clearly. Nevertheless, this is breathtaking!

And here is another image with another camera with slightly less resolution. But you can also get a sense of distance with the annotated picture:

For more images, go the Curiosity website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

المتن المشروح :   مختصر سيرة النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وأصحابه العشرة للحافظ عبدالغني المقدسي

الشيخ الشارح : عبد الله بن جبرين

صفحة التحميل

تحميل الكتاب مصورا

 

المتن المشروح : الفصول في سيرة الرسول لعماد الدين إسماعيل بن عمر بن كثير الدمشقي

الشيخ الشارح : عبد الرزاق بن عبدالمحسن العباد

صفحة التحميل

من مرفوعات الاخ المبارك ابا يعلى البيضاوي وفقه الله 

It may be blasphemy to say that hot fudge isn’t the ultimate warm ice cream topping, but after tasting this amazing salted caramel sauce, that’s exactly what I’m suggesting. 

Hot fudge has a lot going for it – namely it’s hot and it’s fudge – but the way this complex, salty, slightly bittersweet caramel marries with the vanilla ice cream is a wonder to behold. Actually, I just had a thought…next time let’s use both!

The procedure couldn’t be easier, but you really should be sure to use a heavy-bottomed pot, and one that’s plenty big enough. As you’ll see, the sugar can really bubble up and over, and will make a sticky mess of biblical proportions.

Also, be extremely careful not to drip, spill, or splash any of the caramelized sugar on your skin. We’re talking instant 3rd degree burns. In fact, if you’re kind of clumsy, maybe it’s best not to take a chance, and just have the kids make it for you.

I know some of you will want an exact temperature for knowing when to turn off the heat and add the butter and cream, but I don’t have one. I’ve always gone by look and feel, and I’m not changing at this late age. Having said that, I'm sure there are a thousand links where you can get that kind of information.

Anyway, I really hope you put this on your culinary bucket list. Homemade salted caramel sauce is one of those things we all need to experience before heading to that big ice cream parlor in the sky. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 1 1/4 cup Salted Caramel Sauce:

1 cup white sugar

5 tbsp butter, cut in slices

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream (*Sorry, don’t ask me about substitutions. This needs cream!)

sea salt to taste (any salt works)

View the complete recipe

This post was co-written by Eric Ries and Sarah Milstein, co-hosts of The Lean Startup Conference.

Marc Andreessen hardly needs introduction, but we're pleased to introduce him anyway--as a keynote speaker for The Lean Startup Conference on December 3, 2012 in San Francisco. Among the most respected thinkers in Silicon Valley, Marc may be most familiar to you as co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz. Or perhaps you remember him as the guy who built the first widely used web browser. Or maybe you think of him as a founder of Netscape. Or of Opsware. Or of Ning. You get the picture. We'll be honored to have him on stage.

Among the reasons we're excited is that Marc helped popularize the idea of product/market fit, homing in on the absolute importance of creating a product that resonates with a specific market--a key concept that is foundational to many Lean Startup techniques.

Marc wrote about it way back in 2007 when he addressed the question, "What causes success?" In a must-read post, he explored startup teams, products and markets in ways that only a close participant could see:

"If you ask entrepreneurs or VCs which of team, product, or market is most important, many will say team. This is the obvious answer, in part because in the beginning of a startup, you know a lot more about the team than you do the product, which hasn't been built yet, or the market, which hasn't been explored yet...

"On the other hand, if you ask engineers, many will say product. This is a product business, startups invent products, customers buy and use the products. Apple and Google are the best companies in the industry today because they build the best products. Without the product there is no company. Just try having a great team and no product, or a great market and no product...

"Personally, I'll take the third position -- I'll assert that market is the most important factor in a startup's success or failure.  

"Why? 

"In a great market -- a market with lots of real potential customers -- the market pulls product out of the startup. The market needs to be fulfilled and the market will be fulfilled, by the first viable product that comes along. The product doesn't need to be great; it just has to basically work. And, the market doesn't care how good the team is, as long as the team can produce that viable product."

Marc then explored aspects of teams and products and markets, and the he concluded this about product/market fit:

"When you get right down to it, you can ignore almost everything else. I'm not suggesting that you do ignore everything else -- just that judging from what I've seen in successful startups, you can.  

"Whenever you see a successful startup, you see one that has reached product/market fit -- and usually along the way screwed up all kinds of other things, from channel model to pipeline development strategy to marketing plan to press relations to compensation policies to the CEO sleeping with the venture capitalist. And the startup is still successful.  

"Conversely, you see a surprising number of really well-run startups that have all aspects of operations completely buttoned down, HR policies in place, great sales model, thoroughly thought-through marketing plan, great interview processes, outstanding catered food, 30" monitors for all the programmers, top tier VCs on the board -- heading straight off a cliff due to not ever finding product/market fit.  

"Once a startup is successful, and you ask the founders what made it successful, they will usually cite all kinds of things that had nothing to do with it. People are terrible at understanding causation. But in almost every case, the cause was actually product/market fit."

Marc isn't just a unusually insightful writer; he also a thoughtful speaker. We'll hear more about what he's learned about product/market fit since 2007, what it's like to become one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after investors, and ways he thinks people misuse Lean Startup concepts to their detriment. We're excited to continue this conversation with him at The Lean Startup Conference. Register here to join us.

In related news, we just opened up another block of early-bird tickets for the conference so that you can see speakers like Marc at great rates. The last three blocks sold out quickly - and once this block sells out, prices go up. You can register here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

المتن المشروح :  أدب الطلب ومنتهى الأرب للإمام محمد بن علي الشوكاني

 

الشيخ الشارح : يحيى بن علي الحجوري

صفحة التحميل

من مرفوعات الاخ ابو يعلى البيضاوي 

جزاه الله خير

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

المتن المشروح : حلية طالب العلم للشيخ بكر بن عبد الله أبو زيد

الشيخ الشارح : سعد بن ناصر الشتري

صفحة التحميل
تحميل المتن مصورا

 

 

من مرفوعات الاخ الفاضل ابا يعلى البيضاوي وفقه الله 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

المتن المشروح : المحصول لأبي بكر محمد بن عبدالله ابن العربى  المالكي  ت 543 هـ

الشيخ الشارح : سعد بن ناصر الشثري

صفحة التحميل

من مرفوعات الاخ الفاضل ابا يعلى البيضاوي وفقه الله

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المتن المشروح : الورقات في أصول الفقه لأبي المعالي عبد الملك بن عبد الله الجويني/ ت 478 هـ 

الشيخ الشارح : مشهور بن حسن آل سلمان

صفحة التحميل

تحميل المتن مصورا 

 

 

من مرفوعات الاخ الفاضل ابا يعلى البيضاوي وفقه الله 

كتاب فضائل القرآن للفريابيpdf

رابط الحفظ

https://ia700503.us.archive.org/10/items/fadael_qyran_feriabi/fadeal-quran-firiabi.pdf

by Salman Hameed

There is a nice piece by John Bohannon on Afghan universities in last week's issue of Science (you may need subscription to access the full article). Where do we even begin in a country that has been at war for over three decades, and where basic infrastructure is lacking outside its capitol and a few other cities. While it is a hopeful article, one can also see the challenges associated in building a good educational foundation:

In 2002, Afghanistan had 12 barely functioning universities; now it has 30, and they enroll roughly 100,000 students. Secondary education has enjoyed an even more impressive recovery, with the number of high school graduates increasing sevenfold since 2002.
In fact, that surge has overwhelmed the country's system of higher education. Admission to public universities is based on a nationally administered exam, and students pay no tuition. The Ministry of Higher Education projects that, without a significant increase in capacity, universities will be able to offer spots to only one in 10 students who apply in 2014. 

The anticipated leap in demand was one reason the government created AUAF as the country's only not-for-profit, private and independent university. The U.S. government is its main funder: The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has spent $200 million on higher education programs in Afghanistan since 2002, and half of its current tranche of $90 million for program funds is designated for AUAF. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah calls the school a “best-in-class institutional partner” and says the university is intended to show “the value of true, high-quality higher education in helping societies grow and develop.” 

Okay - it is good to see US money going into educational projects. But it is the large public universities that can have a larger impact:

But while AUAF may ultimately train the elites, the vast majority of Afghans seeking higher education will find it in the public university system. And that system is creaking.
Only a 10-minute drive away, Kabul University represents the yin to AUAF's yang on the circle of Afghan higher education. Its leafy, walled-in campus serves as a quiet oasis in a city that struggles to provide even the most basic amenities—water, power, waste disposal—for its 5 million residents. Its 20,000 students make it by far the largest university in the country. 

Founded in 1931, Kabul University is also the country's most prestigious, and its science programs are bulging at the seams. “This is introductory physics,” says Mohammad Arif, a chemist and dean of the faculty of science, poking his head into a lecture hall. The sweltering, windowless hall, with hundreds of students crammed into every seat right up to the top wings, looks more like the setting for a rock concert than a physics class.
“We are at double capacity,” Arif says. Some 1500 students are pursuing science and math degrees in the departments under his watch. The total does not include applied science majors in the university's schools of engineering, agriculture, and medicine. 

But it is vital to keep the long history of Afghanistan in mind - and the fact that it has largely been part of the big game between other powers: 

The current situation is a far cry from the recent past, says the 62-year-old Arif, who has taught at Kabul for 2 decades. “In the days of the Taliban, it was normal to have only one or two students in our classes,” says Arif, a cosmopolitan intellectual who was forced to wear a beard and turban during their reign. And that era was only the latest insult to the country's system of higher education. 

Arif had just finished his Ph.D. in chemistry in Moscow in 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded his homeland. “That's when everything fell apart,” he says. The departure of Soviet troops in 1989 led to a civil war that subsided when the Taliban took over. “We just never recovered.”
...
It wasn't always so. During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union competed with each other to invest in Afghan higher education. “The early 1960s was a golden age,” says AUAF's Fayez. There were academic exchanges and research collaborations with U.S. universities such as Purdue University, the University of Wyoming, and the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Columbia University went a step further, building an institute in Kabul to train future teachers. Fayez was one of many Afghans in the program, which included a year in New York City. 

Not to be outdone, the Soviet Union invested heavily in science and engineering. It helped to build up Kabul's polytechnic universities, and by the 1970s Afghan academics were shuttling constantly between Moscow and Kabul. One reminder of that partnership is the fact that the older generation of Afghan scientists and engineers, like Arif, are just as likely to speak Russian as English. But the Soviet invasion soured that relationship. 

Nevertheless, the literacy rate has hovered around 20%. It is now up to 28%,  but there is still a long way to go. There are some positive signs now and I hope that the country see an end to the war at some point.

Read the full article here.

 

 رابط الحفظ

http://www.archive.org/download/waq50925/50925.pdf 

by Salman Hameed

I just heard that Neil Armstrong passed away. Here is a part of the footage of his famous phrase, "One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind".


You can also check out the front page of the New York Times from July 21, 1969. Here is a collage of Walter Cronkite's coverage of Moon landing:


Farewell, Neil Armstrong.

Just a quick note to let you know we're thoroughly enjoying our first visit to Portland. As we'd heard, they take their food (and apparently everything else) very seriously here. The photos below are from an amazing dinner we had at Le Pigeon (sorry, cell phone shots). By the way, the foie gras profiteroles (yes, you heard me) were topped with a perfectly made caramel sauce, which will be the new video recipe post on Monday. Stay tuned! 

Rabbit and Eel Terrine. Peaches, Avocado, Foie Gras Miso Vinaigrette.

Halibut, Uni, Grapes, Champagne Sauce.

Foie Gras Profiteroles, Caramel, Sea Salt.

Welcome!

Here is the view of our first grade hallway at Wayland Bonds Elementary!  This year we decided to go with a camping theme.  We made our doorways look like log cabins by making logs out of butcher paper.  We all bought a pine tree from Mardels.  I also had my mom sew red and white checker curtains for each of our windows.  Each one of our doorways has our names on them out of the wooden letters you can purchase from Hobby Lobby or Michaels.

 

Here is the camping welcome sign as you enter the first grade hallway.

 

We each took laminated scrapbook paper and glued it to the wall with a cloths pin.  Now we can easily hang the student's work in the hallway without having to use a lot of tape!  This awesome idea came from my teammate Ms. Fleming!

 

 

My Classroom Pictures

Here is a look into my classroom!

 

 

 

This is my teacher desk.  I got rid of the traditional desk I had in my classroom.  I never sat at it and it took up a lot of space.  I love using this table as my desk!  All my office supplies are stored in the drawers that are located behind my desk.  Pictures of the drawers are below.

 

 

 

 

I have each pod of desks labeled with group signs.

Click HERE to download my group signs from my TpT Store!

 

The baskets on the shelf are each student's individual book basket for their independent reading books.

 

I use this pocket chart to store the student's library and lunch cards.

Weekly Activities and Worksheets

 

 

 

This is how I organize the week's worksheets and activities.

 

Sharpened Pencils

 

When my students need a sharpened pencil they just come get one from the drawer.  This prevents the students from interrupting my lesson using the pencil sharpener.  To keep sharpened pencils always on hand I have my student helper help me at the end of the day sharpen all the pencils.  I found this storage container at Wal-Mart.

Need a Color/Found a Crayon

When there are crayons found on the floor, the students simply put them in the bin.  Then whenever someone needs a color they can just come to the bin and get the color they need.  This helps prevent a big interruption when a student needs a certain color crayon.  I purchased this storage container at Wal-Mart.

 

 

Click HERE to download my pencil and crayon system labels on my TpT store!

 

Centers

In order for the students to know what math or literacy centers they go to each day they look to the center wheels.  Each section of the wheel has 2 to 3 names written in it.  Each day the students go to the center that their name is located.  When that center rotation is over (about 20 minutes later), the students follow the arrows to their next center.  I have a total of eight centers.  Four centers are worksheet centers and four centers are game/activity centers.  Odd number centers are the worksheet centers and the even number centers are the game/activity centers.  This allows for the students to go to one worksheet and one game center each day.  The students do two centers each Monday through Thursday.  Then, Friday is used as a day to finish any unfinished center work.  Then, as a class we go through and grade the worksheet center work.  I found the storage containers that I put the worksheets and games in at Mardels.

Each center tub is labeled with a sign.

Click HERE to download my literacy and math center signs from TpT!

Each student has a math and literacy center folder that holds their center work for the week.  They take these folders to their centers each day.  All center work stays in these folders until Friday when we go over the work as a class.  Anytime a student has extra time they are to check their center folders and finish any unfinished work.  These folders are stored in the pocket charts to prevent a desk full of folders and paper.

 

 

FREE Centers!

 

 

 

The writing center has many different supplies for the students to be creative in drawing, coloring, and making stories for their writing.  I have included stencils, colored pens, stickers, markers, stamps, shaped scissors, etc. for the students to use.  In the Science center I have scales, measuring tapes, magnifying glasses, etc. for the students to explore with.

 

 

Morning Work Drawers

 

 

 

Planning morning work can be so time consuming and also take a lot of copies - so I needed a new system.  My teammate Mrs. Fletcher from Fletchtastic in First came up with this awesome idea!  Each morning the students come in and get their morning work drawer for the day.  The students know which drawer to get for the day because they have a folder with a morning work calendar that is labeled specifically for them.  Each day on the calendar has the morning work drawer number they are to complete.  Half of the drawers have worksheets to complete and the other half of the drawers have a file folder game or some sort of hands on activity to complete.  Each activity is meaningful and reviews the skills that have been taught in class.  After morning work time is over, I go around and check each worksheet and activity the students completed for the morning.  If they missed any problems they get immediate feedback.  Also if they complete their morning work on time they receive a small sticker on their morning work calendar. I couldn't believe it when my first grade students learned the morning work system and got it down so quickly!  I bought the drawers from Michaels.  They were so much cheaper than the drawers Mardel's sells!

 

Files

I have organized my math and literacy worksheets by skill.  This makes pulling a worksheet for a center or activity really easy.

 

Click HERE to download my Math File Folder Labels by Skill on my TpT store!

 

Click HERE to download my Language File Folder Labels by Skill on my TpT store!

My themed worksheets and activities are stored in my unit binders.  Using these binders to store all my unit stuff makes it so much easier to find and pull the things you need.  I can't even imagine how many file cabinets and what a big mess of paperwork I would have if I didn't use these binders!

Click HERE to download my unit binder covers and spines from my TpT store!

Construction Paper/Fancy Paper

 

All my construction paper, writing paper, border paper, etc. is stored in my file cabinet in hanging folders.

Teaching Carpet Area

 If you have ever looked for a carpet for your classroom - they are really expensive!  I found my carpet squares at Sam's and they were so much cheaper!!  I actually love these carpet squares.  You can move them and adjust them however you want.  Each of my students has an assigned square they come to each time we meet at the carpet.  This prevents many problems like students sitting by other students that they talk to, sitting far away, fighting over where they sit, etc. 

Also, instead of buying one of those expensive pocket chart stands - I just bought a clothes rack from Target.  It works just as good and costs way less!

Cubby Boxes

Each student has their own cubby box.  I use these cubby boxes to place each students graded work in.  I placed it right behind my desk, so I can easily turn around and place their work in their cubby box!  I also got these cubby boxes at Sam's.

Read Aloud Books

To keep the books I use as my read aloud books separate from my other books, I have organized them into these magazine holders.  Each holder is labeled with the unit or theme of the books.  I got these holders at Mardel's.

This holder has all my fall themed books that I use during my read aloud time.

 

Click HERE to download the labels I use for my book holders from my TpT Store!

Organizing Books

I have the books that the students read organized by reading level.  I am really particular that my students are reading books that are within their ZPD range.  By organizing my books by reading level it really helps the students be able to easily find and read books that are on their level.

Click HERE to download my leveled book bin labels from my TpT store!

Organizing Supplies

To prevent my students from playing with scissors, glue, etc. when they are not supposed to- I do not allow them to keep their supplies in their desk.  Instead many of the supplies are kept together in certain parts of the classroom.

Each one of the bins has the different supplies stored in them.  I bought these bins at Lakeshore and they came in a package of four.

 

Click HERE to download my supply labels from my TpT store!

 

 

 

Each one of these supply tubs are assigned to a certain group.  This has a group supply of red pens, glue bottles, scissors, etc. in them.  This is a fast way to pass out the supplies when needed!  I bought these tubs from Target for $3.00 each.

These numbered bags are used to place different student materials in that you might need in the middle of a lesson. Instead of having to pass out each of the supplies you can have what each student needs in their bag at all times. They just grab their bag and come to the carpet or to their desk. It makes things so easy! I bought these bags from Oriental Trading. I cut the numbers out of material and then had my mom sew them on.

Organizing Manipulatives

My manipulatives are stored in these storage containers I purchased from Mardels.  It is very nice having the storage containers with the lids.  It prevents the manipulatives from spilling out when bumped into.  I can easily pass out manipulatives or have the students come get what they need from the bins.

 

 

Click HERE to download my math manipulative labels from my TpT store!

Storing Games

I had my husband make this cabinet for me.  Inside the cabinet I have many storage boxes.  Each storage box is labeled with a specific math or language arts skill.  For example, one of my tubs is labeled rhyming.  All my rhyming activities and games are stored in that storage box.  I can easily find and pull out games for centers or activities since they are organized by skill. 

Keeping Desks Together

I was tired of my desks looking like a train hit them by the end of each day, so I found a great and cheap way to keep them together.  I use medium and large sized zip ties to keep them together.  I place the zip ties on multiple places on the desks.  It works really well!

Here is a look from under the desks where the large zip ties were placed.

I used the medium sized zip ties on the legs of the desks.  I bought these from Lowe's.

Here are the actual zip ties I used.

My husband is really good at fastening the zip ties really tight...so he's the one that puts them on the desks for me.  :)

 

Keeping Items Organized Inside Cabinets

The best way to keep my things organized inside my large cabinets is by using baskets.  These baskets can be found at the Dollar Tree for $1.00!

Here is an example of some of the baskets I have.

Here are all my large books stored together.

Inside this cabinet I have my anchor charts hanging up.  See my blog post Storing Anchor Charts to see how I did this.

Here is a look at my other large cabinet.  I used more baskets, storage containers, and boxes to store my items.

Keeping Items Organized Inside Drawers

To keep my office supplies inside my drawers organized I used baskets and storage containers to keep the items grouped together.

Since I don't have a traditional desk in my classroom, I use these drawers to hold all my office supplies.

Inside Cabinets

 

This cabinet holds my monthly bulletin board bags. Each bag holds monthly supplies, decorations, activities, etc.

I have a free center and inside recess game cabinet.  This prevents me from having to pull from different places to get out games for the students to play.  My students can easily find and get out the games they want to play with during indoor recess or free center time.

Free center games and activities cabinet.

Inside recess game cabinet.

Bulletin Boards

Changing out bulletin boards during the school year can be very time consuming and expensive - so I came up with bulletin boards that I can keep the same during the school year and also ones that are good to have.  Here are pictures of my different boards.

Birthday Board

Each student receives a birthday certificate and bag full of goodies on their birthday.  This makes celebrating each student's birthday so much easier and a good way not to forget.

Classroom Rules Board

On the first day of school we sit down as a class and make our own classroom rules.  These rules are created during a discussion by the students, while being facilitated by me.   Surprisingly, student created rules are often the same as – or even tougher than – rules a teacher might create.   The rules the students create become the standard for expected behavior by which all students agree.   When students actively participate in establishing rules for the classroom and agree to them, they are more likely to follow the rules because they take ownership and know the importance of them.   In turn, this leads to a more conducive learning environment with fewer classroom disruptions. These classroom rules, also known as our Classroom Constitution are signed by the students and posted in our classroom for all to see!

Accelerated Reader Board

Visit my blog post on Accelerated Reader Rewards to see what I do to keep my students motivated to read and take AR tests!

Click HERE to download my AR Rewards from my TpT store!

Star of the Week Board

Each week one child in our class is chosen as the "Star of the Week." This is a special opportunity for that child to be highlighted throughout the week and share some important parts of his or her life with our class.  Each student will be asked to fill out some information and collect some special items to display on our "Star of the Week" bulletin board.

Behavior Management Board

This is our Star Behavior bulletin board.  For this behavior management tool groups of students work towards earning stars for good behavior.   After four stars are earned the students may trade their stars in for a letter.  After the group has spelled out the word STAR they receive a prize and the process begins all over again.   Some prizes include: picking from the treasure chest, a sweet treat, a sweet drink, and/or free computer lab time. Note: It is not as important to spell STAR first as it is to see how many times each group can spell STAR and how many prizes they can earn!

Calendar/Schedule/Behavior Management Board

This bulletin board used to have all my calendar stuff on it but I have now begun doing my calendar routine on the smartboard.  There are tons of great smartboard calendar lessons on the internet and on TpT that you can use!
 

Click HERE to download my Daily Schedule Cards from my TpT Store!

 

So instead this bulletin board has been changed to display many different useful tools that we use each day.  First, we have the calendar with important dates listed.  I also have our schedule posted for all the students to see.  I think it really helps the students when they can see what is planned for the day.  It also prevents questions like, "When is lunch?" or "Do we have PE today?". 

 

 

 

I have a tree made out of butcher paper.  This tree gets changed out each season to reflect what a tree really looks like during that season.

I also have our behavior management pocket chart posted here.

Restroom Break

This is a picture of the restroom break system I use. When the green sign is posted the students (one at a time) may move their number next to the restroom sign and take the pass and go. If the red sign is posted, then they may not leave the classroom to take a break. (Unless of course it is an emergency.) This prevents students from raising their hand and asking to go to the restroom in the middle of your lesson.  Eventually the students catch on to when is an appropriate and inappropriate time to leave the classroom.

Click HERE to download my restroom break signs from my TpT store!

Outlaw Word Wall

I don't have a traditional word wall.  The words that we post on our word wall are words that cannot be sounded out to spell.  That's why our word wall is called the "Outlaw Word Wall."  These words are outlaw words because they break the traditional spelling rules.

Visit my blog post titled Making Your Own Alphabet Strip to read about how I made my own western themed alphabet strip.

Anchor Chart Wall

I use many anchor charts during my lessons.  I found that I needed a place to display them so the students could refer to them if they needed to.  I hot glued clothes pins on my back wall.  It makes it so easy to hang and switch out the anchor charts when needed!

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