Wednesday we touched on the history of Saint Patrick. So today we’re going to focus on the various St. Patrick’s Day products that SmileMakers carries, which are perfect for any classroom!

St. Patrick’s Day Stickers
SmileMakers carries over 10 varieties of St. Patrick’s Day stickers that have shamrocks, kitties, pots o’ gold and much more. We even have Make-Your-Own Leprechaun stickers.

St. Patrick’s Day Pencils
Festive and functional! These St. Patrick’s Day Pencils are perfect little gifts for students of all ages. Choose from a shamrock or leprechaun design.

St. Patrick’s Day Toys
Temporary tattoos, headband antennas, and pinwheels are just some of the St. Patrick’s Day toys we carry. Want a variety all in one package? Check out our St. Patrick’s Day Sampler which includes necklaces, bubbles, and headband antennas all in a “pot o’ gold.”

Did you know roughly 40 million Americans trace their heritage back to Ireland?

And on Wednesday, March 17th, those 40 million, along with millions of others around the world, will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day.

Photo Credit: cobalt123 on Flickr.com

But who is Saint Patrick and why do we celebrate him?

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is believed to have been born in Britain toward the end of the fourth century. Stories also claim he died on March 17th, 460 A.D.

Before becoming a priest, Saint Patrick believed he heard the voice of God in a dream, telling him to go to Ireland to become a missionary. After being ordained, he went to Ireland to minster current Christians while also converting non-Christians.

It is also believed that Saint Patrick was the creator of the Celtic cross. According to History.com, Saint Patrick “superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that veneration of the symbol would seem more natural to the Irish.”

Although the island of Ireland does not have snakes, stories of Saint Patrick famously banishing snakes from Ireland claim to be false. According to sources like National Geographic, Ireland has never had snakes.

What other stories to you know about Saint Patrick? How will you be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in your classroom?

Monday kicked off the start of the No Name-Calling Week project. The event was inspired by the young adult novel called “The Misfits” by James Howe, which chronicles four friends in junior high school trying to brave the frequent name calling they endure.

The purpose of No Name-Calling Week is to provide students and teachers with tools to eliminate name-calling at their school.

No Name-Calling Week started back in 2004 by the No Name-Calling Coalition, which was created by  GLSEN, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing and several national partner organizations.

The project is geared toward grades 5-8, but anyone who is passionate about eliminating name-calling can participate.

To learn more about No Name-Calling Week, visit the website http://www.nonamecallingweek.org

The 7.0 earthquake that occured last Tuesday has devastated the people of Haiti, especially in the capital of Port-au-Prince.

People around the world are coming together to help Haitians in their time of need, including schools across America.

According to an article in Education Week, the president of the American Federation of Teachers has asked members to donate funds to the American Red Cross and the United Way Worldwide Disaster Fund.

An article on HudsonHubTime.com said local Ohio students in the Hudson High School French Club are collecting money for a fellow student’s family who lives 15 minutes from Haiti. French is one of the official languages of the country.

Is your school or class participating in some sort of donation or relief effort for those in Haiti?

SmileMakers has a cool new product that is a sticker reward and an activity all rolled into one.

What’s great is you can participate right on our very own SmileMakers website. All you have to do is choose the sticker, select your color, and use your mouse to draw. Once completed, you can print out the design to wear!

This is a great activity for students and youngsters at home. Color-Your-Own-Stickers have characters like Cinderella, Hot Wheels, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Disney’s Cars and more.

We’re very excited about this new product and hope you are too.

Check out our Color-Your-Own-Stickers product page for more information.

We also have a huge selection of pre-made color stickers of your kids’ favorite characters like Hannah Montana, Hello Kitty, Mickey Mouse, Yo Gabba Gabba, High School Musical and much more.

A recent post from the popular social media website Mashable.com discussed the ways “social technology” is being embraced by innovative educators at a time when many school districts have blocked sites like Facebook and Twitter.

The article discusses examples of how secondary schools and universities in the U.S. and the U.K. are using social media to their advantage.

Marquette University in Wisconsin uses Skype, a free video conferencing software, for Spanish students to interact with native speakers in South America.

A high school in Florida uses cell phone text messaging and blogs so that students can interact with their teachers and classmates regarding school matters.

Has your school implemented a type of “social technology” in order to better educate students? What are your thoughts about adopting the tools mentioned in this post?

A man remembered for devoting his life to social justice, Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired many for his passion, leadership, and dedication to civil rights and nonviolent activism during the 1950s and 60s.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day became a National Holiday in 1986 but was not enacted in all 50 states until 1999. It occurs on the third Monday of January, in order to be close to King’s birthday on January 15th.

“The greatest birthday gift my husband could receive is if people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds celebrated the holiday by performing individual acts of kindness through service to others,” Coretta Scott King is quoted saying on MLKDay.gov.

How will your class celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

We are at day 5 into the 2010 school year and classrooms everywhere are getting back into the groove.

The National Education Association posed a great question for their latest edition of Question of the Week, “how do you reestablish your classroom routines and get your students back into the daily swing of things?”

As we head into the “back nine” of the school year, what methods or tips do you use in order to manage expectations?

One commenter to the question said she reviews her school and classroom rules, and what she expects of her students’ behavior moving forward.

What do you do at your school?

The new year only has a few days under its belt yet February will be here in no time, which means Valentine’s Day.

This day of honoring significant others with chocolates and flowers comes with few knowing the true history of the saint for which this holiday is named.

Interestingly, there is not one specific St. Valentine. According to History.com, “the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred.”

Although these St. Valentines had unfortunate endings, it appears, according to legend, their deaths were all for the sake of love and happiness.

One story claims Valentine wed young couples during a time when it was “illegal.”

Another legend claims that Valentine, while in jail, fell in love with his jailer’s daughter and wrote her a note signed “From Your Valentine.”

Lastly, one story claims that Valentine helped Roman prisoners escape because they were treated so poorly.

Do you delve into St. Valentine’s Day history with your class? Please leave us a comment with how you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your students.

On November 5 and 6^th SmileMakers exhibited at the New Jersey Education Association meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  Approximately 50,000 educators attended what is believed to be the world’s largest annual teacher meeting and we were there giving away free gifts and catalogs.  To learn more about the event go to www.njea.org.