Strong herbs -- winter savory, rosemary, sage
Herbs strong enough for accent -- sweet basil, dill, mint, sweet marjoram, tarragon, thyme
Herbs for blending -- chives, parsley, summer savory

These are the herbs I planted this summer…(so far)

Basil (Sweet) (Ocimum basilicum)
Description
Basil is an attractive annual, about 18 inches tall with light-green, fairly broad leaves. The flowers are small, white, and appear in spikes. There are several species of cultivated basil, one having purple leaves.
Culture
Basil grows easily from seed planted after all danger of frost has passed. Pinch stems to promote bushy, compact growth. Avoid lush growth as it may reduce the flavor. I have three large plants.
Harvesting
Green leaves can be picked about 6 weeks following planting. It is best to cut leaves for drying just before flowers open.
Use
Spicy-scented basil leaves are one of the most popular of all herbs used in cooking. Cooks favor basil for tomato dishes in either fresh or dried form. I will also be making lots of Pesto!

 Chives (Allium schoenoprasum)
Description
Chives are small, dainty, onion-like plants that grow in clumps reaching about 10 inches in height. They are a hardy perennial with decorative, light purple flowers. This is the 6th year for this plant.
Culture
Chives demand little care other than dividing when they become overcrowded. They are easily propagated by division or from seed and make attractive border plants.
Harvesting
Cut fresh leaves for use as they grow.
Use
Chives are used to impart a delicious, subtle, onion-like flavor to foods.

Marjoram (Sweet) (Marorana hortensis)
Description
Sweet marjoram, usually grown as an annual, is one of the most fragrant and popular of all herbs. Its growth habit is low and spreading, and it reaches a height of about 8 to 12 inches. It has small, oval, gray-green leaves that are velvety to the touch.
Culture
This plant can be easily grown from seed or cuttings. In colder climates, it is best treated as an annual or kept overwinter as a pot plant. Its color makes it an attractive border plant.
Harvesting
Sweet marjoram leaves can be used anytime. Cut the leafy stems at flowering and dry for future use.
Use
Sweet marjoram leaves, fresh or dried, can be used as a flavoring in cooking. The oil derived from the leaves is used in making perfume.

Oregano ( (Origanum vulgare)
Description
Oregano, also called "wild marjoram," is a hardy perennial that has sprawling stems which can grow to 2 feet tall. This plant is much coarser than sweet marjoram and smells more like thyme. It has small pink or white flowers.
Culture
Oregano grows well in poor soil and can be propagated by seed or division. Thin plants 10 to 12 inches apart. Stimulate foliage by cutting back flowers. Replant when plants become woody in 3 to 4 years.
Harvesting
Use fresh leaves as needed. Preserve leaves by drying.
Use
Oregano leaves are used extensively as a flavoring on pizza. Sprinkle leaves over lamb or steak rubbed with lemon juice. Add to other Italian-type sauces.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Description
Rosemary is a hardy evergreen shrub in areas where winter temperatures stay above 5^oF (-15^oC). In the Northeast, however, this perennial should be taken indoors and kept as a pot plant during winter. The narrow leaves have a leather-like feel and a spicy, resinous fragrance.
Culture
Rosemary grows best in well-drained, sunny locations in lime-rich soil. It can be propagated by cuttings or grown from seed. Pinch the tips to direct growth. I have three growing in my yard!
Harvesting
Use fresh leaves as needed.
Use
Rosemary is a popular flavoring for meats and dressings or as a garnish on large roasts. Oil from leaves is used in medicine.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)
Description
Sage is a woody, hardy perennial plant with oblong, wooly, gray-green leaves that are lighter underneath and darker on top. Sage grows 2 to 3 feet or more in height and has a tendency to sprawl.
Culture
Start from seed or cuttings. A slow starter, sow seed indoors and transplant. Plant sage where it will receive full sun. Space plants 2 to 2 ½ feet apart. Plants eventually become woody and should be renewed every 3 to 4 years.
Harvesting
Pick the leaves before or at blooming. Cut back the stems after blooming.
Use
This aromatic and slightly bitter herb is noted for its use in stuffings for poultry, rabbit, pork, and baked fish. It also can be used in sausage or meat loaves.

Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus)
Description
Tarragon is an herbaceous perennial that grows to about 2 feet tall. It has multibranched growth with narrow, somewhat twisted, green leaves.
Culture
Tarragon will grow in full sun but seems to do better in semishade. It can be propagated from root cuttings or by division. It needs protection in winter in cold climates. Make new plantings every 3 to 4 years. Mine is 2 years old this year.
Harvesting
It is best to use fresh young leaves and stem tips. Flavor is lost when tarragon is dried.
Use
Tarragon leaves have a distinctive flavor similar to anise and are used in salads, marinades, and sauces. Leaves yield flavor to vinegar when steeped.

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
Description
Thyme is a low-growing, wiry-stemmed perennial that reaches about 6 to 10 inches in height. The stems are stiff and woody and leaves are small, oval, and gray-green in color. The lilac flowers are borne in small clusters and the leaves are very aromatic. I have English Tyme so far but plan to plant lemon too.
Culture
This plant grows best in light, well-drained soil. Thin plants 8 to 12 inches apart. It is best to renew the plants every few years. Propagate with cuttings, divisions, or by direct seeding. Thyme is an attractive edging plant or a spreading plant among and over rocks.
Harvesting
Cut leafy tops and flower clusters when first blossoms open and dry.
Use
Thyme is widely used as a seasoning. Oil of thyme is used in medicines and perfumes. It goes well in gumbos, bouillabaisse, clam chowder, poultry stuffings, and slow-cooking beef dishes.

I have a large Lemon Grass Bush. It is 4 years old. I also have Horseradish that comes back every year. I have a special place that I pull Wild Garlic every year. I also have a Bay Tree. 

I love to cook and fancy myself as a real cook !

The Oconee RESA GaTAPP has offered two Saturday seminars that were timely and productive.

The first was Science based. Dr. Miriam Jordan explained how to  use Science ”Task”  so that they met GPS standards. We built the Rocket Racers that was displayed on the NASA webpage and followed the lesson plan. Even though this was a NASA lesson plan, we discovered it needed changes to really meet the Science GPS standards. The Science Framework website has curriculum maps and units that assist teachers in delivering the standards. Dr. Jordan also showed us how science standards are vertically aligned and the importance of implementation at the different gade levels.  The Math website has already introduced the mathematics vertical alignment charts. 

“Kudos to Georgia for this great resource!.”

The second Saturday seminar was Math and using manipulative (task) to teach.  Robbie Ray was right on target as usual. She introduced to them to the  GPS Math standards website and the NCTM website Illuminations for lesson plans. We played with
M& M’s. We estimated the number of different colors then counted them out. We did two different types of graphs to display information. (Try a Google search of M& M math!) She also showed us how to use normal playing cards to teach Math.  We also used dominoes. We spent the morning engaged and learning.

Please see attached pictures!

  I am on my way to Callaway Garden for a Title 4 meeting. Yes, I have of other job duties as assigned.
I will take lots of pictures for my Fliker Photo Album.

I slept so hard last night & dreamed such wonderful dreams. I have to credit my mother for this habit. . As a child, she insisted that we be in bed by 8am. We could read for a short period in bed  but lights were out completely by 9am. I am forever more the “Early to Bed, Early to Rise” person I am today.

I was thinking this morning about the different people in my life and the role model they were for me.  My mom is one of them.  My dad has a lot to do with my outspokenness, directness, & personality. I am very much like him- an extrovert in public. The other two most influential people in my child life growing up were Bonnie & Eve.  Everyone says that all teachers were influenced by another teacher- thus Bonnie.  My love of books, my lust of learning, and sense of self came from Bonnie.  My adventurous spirit, love of people and life came from Eve.

As an adult, I have numerous professional influences such as Marsha & Daryl ( Olive Forge),  Dr. Lee Gillis (GC&SU), &  Dr. Mike Walker ( Oconee RESA).   My personal relationships are few but are my salvations against myself and very influential in my approach to life.

"Intellectual growth, intellectual development, is stimulated by how we teach. . . . All educators would agree that enthusiasm, our own awe, our curiosity, our own personalities interact in a very fundamental way when we teach other people." --Jeanette Norden, Professor Vanderbilt Medical School

We talk all the time about how influential a teacher can be in the life of students. The essential question and enduring understanding then becomes: “Explain how a teacher can influence student achievement, motivation, and sense of self?”

Student achievement has numerous teacher factors, First is setting high Expectations. The second is to implement researched based best practices of instruction. The last is to use the student data to drive the formative instruction and assessment.

Student motivation can take on many genres.  In an article by Linda Lumsdem , Motivating Today's Students: The Same Old Stuff Just Doesn't Work , she highlights teachers that are successful in the classroom.  Excitement and Enthusiasm were at the top of the list. The simple fact is that if you do not love teaching then you do not need to be teaching children.

How do we teach students and teachers a positive sense of self?  My colleague, Dr. Ginny Kasper would love this part. It is embedded in brain research and learning how to self reflects.  Learning how to examine what has worked and what has failed in the past can lead to future triumphs.  I have embedded a site that has a great teaching tool for reflection: ALPS Reflection Tool. I have am also inserting a template for Self-reflection on Teaching. 

What about students? How do we teach them?  Try this approach:  During the last five minutes of class ask students to reflect on the lesson of today  and write down what they've learned. Then, ask them to consider how they would apply this approach or skill to their own life?  Journaling can be a powerful tool for learning if it is directed.

Another way of accomplishing student reflection is through the use of student-created portfolios. Even the process of selection that goes into making the portfolios helps the student to build self-awareness and ultimately gives the student more control over her or his own learning. By shifting the focus of the teacher's role from instructor to facilitator of learning, the process gives students the responsibility to determine what they need to know.

Here is are examples of Elementary portfolio’s  jut in case you think it can not be done. An example of Electronic Portfolios from Discovery Middle School.  An example of High School Portfolios used as a graduation requirement.

I conclude with several quotes:
Example has more followers than reason. We unconsciously imitate what pleases us, and approximate to the characters we most admire. A generous habit of thought and action carries with it an incalculable influence.  Christian Bovee (1820 - 1904)

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.”  Charles R. Swindoll quotes (American Writer and Clergyman, b.1934)