Fun with Pizza

The link to my assignment is HERE.

Students were given portions of the following six pizza wholes.

Students organized their pizza with like pieces.

Students were asked to find one half.

Here I am modeling my findings!!!!

Students were asked to compare like halfs.

Students were asked to find a fourth of pizza.

Students were asked to find another way to make a fourth.

Students were asked to show whole pizzas with their partners pieces.

The Rut

 Oh yea!!!!! This is the way that I like bucks to act. This buck is a classic look of head down, nostrils curled, and trotting posture. I just returned from an Oklahoma hunt from over the weekend. A lot of smaller bucks were starting to do this very act. This lets me know that the older bucks chasing is just around the corner.

Some of the most exciting deer hunts can happen when the rut is going. How has the rut affected your hunts?

The Magic of the Yellow Call

This picture is of a corn feeder that has a hog proof fence around it. The "yellow call" that I am referring to is CORN. Although it is not actually a "call", it will out perform any call on the market in my opinion. I gave it that name while on a South Texas deer hunt many years ago. Feeding corn is a very popular way to draw deer in to your location not only in Texas but in many other areas of the country. The fence is essential if you have wild hogs in your area. The panels are low enough that the deer can easily hop over but the hogs can't get to the feed.

There are many types of feed and several different ways to disperse it for the deer. I personally have troughs with roofs to protect the feed from the rain for my protein pellets. The corn feeders that I use are similar to the one in this picture. I think it is very important to keep your feed dry. Mold and mildew can cause your animals all kinds of problems. Typically the corn will get eaten up quick enough that the rain has little to no affect on it.

The purpose for feeding corn for me is to draw in as many does as possible. There will be a few bucks that will frequent the bait station but that is not the theory. I believe that the more does you can keep in your area the better for when the rut comes around. Nothing will make that old mature buck make a mistake faster than a hot doe. A hot doe can make your stand location go from average to magic in an instant. You can go from seeing a buck occasionally to seeing multiple bucks for several days in a row. 

Along with feeding the deer I keep a game camera at each of my feeding locations to monitor the activity. It is always a treat to look through the pictures each week to following the progress of my set up. I will discuss the advantages of the game cameras in a future blog.

What do you think about feeding deer? Are you for it or against it? Has this strategy worked for you in the past?  

Work Work Work!!!!

Do you sometimes feel like this cat? I sure do sometimes, especially on days like today. On my way into town this morning I saw deer running all over the place. I will be day dreaming about being in my deer stand all day. There is probably a buck standing under my stand right now laughing at me saying "nana nana boo boo"!

Whatever your hobbies are that you love to do I think some days the pull of them overwhelms us because we can't go do them. It is days like today that I have to remind myself to enjoy the times that I do get to spend in the outdoors to the maximum!!!

What would you rather be doing today instead of working??

Moon Phases

THE DREADED FULL MOON

What does this mean to us hunters? Do you like hunting when there is a full moon? It has been a topic among hunters for generations. Some experts believe the moon can trigger the rut. Some professional hunters claim that the dark moon is the best time to hunt. The moon has been to blame on countless opportunities gone astray.

I personally have had some good hunts when the moon was full. It is too easy to blame the moon when you have a bad hunt. I am sure there is some good scientific data to prove some of the moon issues to be true but I decided long ago if I have time to hunt I just hunt. We definitely can not control things such as the moon phases, weather, or temperatures. I personally think that temperature is more of a factor than any other scenario. 

So I say this fellow hunters. If you have any opportunity to hunt then go hunt. What I always have believed to be 100% true is this. You can not shoot a deer laid up on the couch.....

Web 2.0 Tools Blogging Assignment

http://www.sliderocket.com/blog/

SlideRocket is a presentation tool.  You can access your site from anywhere and make your presentation available. It has the capability of themes, layouts, shapes, charts, tables, etc. that are amazing. This is a tool that I may use if I have to be absent for my substitute to use. I could also use as an in-class teaching tool.

http://freepptresources.com/

Free Power Points Resources has several different options to choose from. It has free music, PowerPoint templates, photos for presentations, advice, and all sorts of other free PowerPoint stuff. Steve Hards developed this site because of his job needs. I feel like this site will be helpful in my classroom. I can use this information to set up several different types of lessons.

https://filefreak.com/#manage

FileFreak is a site that you can share your files with anyone. One of it's many components includes safe and secure file hosting. The downloads are extremely fast. I could use this tool to interact with my students or their parents. This could be a good way to share my lessons with the students, other teachers, or the parents.

https://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Jing lets you capture what you see from an image on your screen. It is also capable of recording for up to five minutes what you do with your mouse. You can share your activities through IM, email, social media, and more. This would be a cool tool to create a project. I could do a task and send it to my students with recorded instructions.

http://www.findhow.com/

FindHow is a site that basically helps you learn to do virtually anything. It is a good tool for kids and adults alike. You can ask it about anything from A to Z. I could use this when doing class projects. If I find myself teaching science it would be helpful for science projects for sure.

http://schoolwaxtv.com/

SchoolWax is a learning library. It is designed for school, students, teachers, and parents in mind. It is a safe and school appropriate site for students who may need a little help in their studies. This would be a great site for homework. I could use this for guiding my students through difficulties.

http://my.hrw.com/nsmedia/intgos/html/igo.htm

Holt is an interactive graphic organizer. It lets you choose many different ways to organize your ideas on paper. You can save as a PDF and print out your final product. This would be good for monthly bulletins. I could also use this for lesson plans and group assignments.

http://www.exploratree.org.uk/

ExploraTree is a site that has many different bracketed outlines. You can choose from solve problems, explore, map your ideas, etc. It helps you choose a route to do a task or project. I could use these different options in many different ways in my classroom. I could give the students a project and let them choose between the options on this page in which to enter their work. I think this site would help the student get their ideas out on a bracketed form and create different ideas and angles to their thoughts.

http://www.toodledo.com/index.php?ref=td4a65c0782eb98

Toodledo is a set of powerful tools that increases your productivity and helps you organize. It has places for long notes, structured outlines, and tracks your habits. You can talk with your friends, classmates, and teachers while it's all safely stored and synced. This would be a good tool for group projects. I could use this tool for lesson plans, homework, and communicating with the parents.

http://www.flipsnack.com/

Flipsnack lets you transform your PDF documents into online flip books. It lets your audience have interactive experiences. Its digital platform is engaging and it looks great. This site is mainly for sales and marketing but I could use this many different ways. I could use any type of lesson using this tool. Like many others mentioned above, this tool has many different aspects allowing me to integrate a lesson plan through it. I could create an activity that was accessible for my students to use.

http://picasa.google.com/

Picasa is a tool that lets you manage photos. It lets you organize, share, and edit your photos. You can transform your photos with effects as well. I could use this for fun in my class. We could keep a photo diary of things that we do for fun, what we eat for dinner, and share our pet pictures. This would be a good tool for show and tell presentations. I could also learn more about my students and hopefully help the ones that I find in need when it came to nourishment!

WHAT A NEAT DEER STAND!!!

How many ways are there to hunt deer?

-stand

-still hunting

-stalking

-pushing

-using dogs

-???? how many more ways

I would think that the terrain would eliminate some options but ultimately there are several different approaches for chasing that whitetail. I grew up stand hunting (mainly sitting on the ground up against a tree). As I grew older I built many different types of tree stands. Some of these stands were probably as dangerous as trying to wrestle an alligator but it was sure fun fabricating the idea. Later I got into box or tower stands. These were more comfortable than the rickety wooden structures I put in acceptable trees. I really enjoy hunting out of tower stands. On cold days I could take a little heater with me to keep toasty! One thing I miss though when hunting in a tower stand is the close proximity of the wildlife. Other types of stands (climbers, ladder, and lock-ons) have you right there with the game. The sounds of the rustling leaves, squirrels so close you can touch, and the feel of the fall breeze can put you in a trance. 

There are definitely many different ways to hunt deer. I would love to have the one in the picture above. That is so cool!!! What type of ways do you hunt deer? What is your favorite way? 

What a foggy day!

This fog is so thick you can stir it with a stick this morning! For some reason I feel like deer move a little better in this type of condition. I have had many good outings in dense fog. Maybe the moisture in the air makes it easier for them to smell things. What do you think about this?

A few years ago a friend and I were hunting in south Texas. It was a morning similar to this. The temperature was around 50 degrees and the fog was intense. He was seeing a few deer when two bucks began to fight in the distance. He couldn't see them because of the fog but the crashing of the horns made it apparent it was to bruisers battling it out. This went on for a few minutes when out of no where a giant buck appeared through the fog. The word he used was "majestic" as the animal slowly came into view through the fog. It was the biggest buck he had ever taken scoring a gross Boone and Crockett score of 173". I'll never forget the smile on his face when I pulled up and he was standing beside this magnificent whitetail buck!

What a hunt for my friend huh??!! Have you ever had similar experiences hunting in the fog? Maybe a deer just materialized out of no where?

Why do we hunt?

Do we hunt for the fun? Do we hunt for the meat? Do we hunt for the trophy? Do we hunt for the social aspect? No matter what the reasons we hunt it should be done to fit our own desires. I have went through all three of these stages. I currently am hunting for the trophy and the meat. I love just being out there enjoying the great outdoors. I try to be respectful of other hunters who are in it for different reasons. The trophy is in the eye of the beholder. Some people shoot deer because they like shooting deer. Some people join a camp to hang out with the gang. Some may hunt to just get away. 

The ones that are hunting for a specific type of deer, (say a big buck), are in the majority of the older hunters I would think. I believe first time hunters and kids should not worry about the size of the buck. Their goal should be to have fun and learn the tactics for bagging any type of deer. Some hunters set their goals too high for the region they may be hunting and end up not shooting anything. The Outdoor Channel and similar hunting networks are great but they can paint a picture that may not be the truth for a region you may hunt. Be realistic about what type of trophy lives in your area and focus on doing your best for that area. Sometimes the television networks make it appear that all you have to do is put in your time and be patient and your eventually going to bag that big old buck. Well their are lots of variables to this way of thinking. Hunting pressure, deer population, nutrients, etc. all go into what might be lurking in your woods. Do some research on these topics and set your goals on what is respectable in your area if your are the one who is chasing the big one. Fall is in the air. I have my cameras out and am getting some good pictures. I hope this hunting season is fulfilling for all. Remember, sometimes you don't have to bag an animal to have a great time in the field.

Social Networking

In the first blog "Blogging May Have Positive Psychological Effects For Teens" the research indicated that blogging was a good source for teen morale. It talks about how face book and other media sources are susceptible to cyber bulling but it appears that the feed back on blogging was positive and encouraging. I feel like this is a good tool for teens to express themselves. They can talk about their experiences, thoughts, and ideas where the feed back is supportive and informational. This tool can be helpful for the blogger as well as the follower. 

In this second blog "The Positive and Negative Sides of Social Networking [Guest Post]" it talks about just that: the positive and the negative. The explosion of Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc. was created to be fun but has turned into a positive marketing tool. American's spend 22% of their time social networking. The study says spending too much time on "useless conversation" is not a good idea.

Within both of these blogs there are good and evil per say. I feel too many people waste their day away in "junk mail networking" but their are definite benefits to this new craze. Businesses can be productive in many ways through social media and individuals can express many different ideas this way. There just needs to be care taken in the amount of time spent plugged into the network and the quality of the information that you are getting.

In my future blogs I will be trying to explain some of the benefits of being "unplugged" from all of this technology and enjoying the great outdoors. It is an amazing feeling when you find yourself in a place with no phone service or you don't have any electricity to charge your devices for a few days. No one can distract you from what you went to do. How would you cope with this dilemma? Do you think you could survive a few days without it all at your fingertips?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/teens-blogging_n_1186435.html

http://www.converstations.com/2012/05/the-positive-and-negative-sides-of-social-networking-guest-post.html

About me

Hi. My name is Chad Breashears. I am 42 years old and from Arkadelphia, Arkansas. I was born in Malvern, Arkansas. I played baseball, football, basketball, and ran track. I got drafted by the San Francisco Giants to play baseball out of high school but decided to go to college instead. I went to Ouachita Baptist University on a football scholarship and played baseball/football. After three years of not figuring out what I wanted to be I quit school. I laid out of school for a year and went back this time to Henderson State University. This stint lasted a whopping one year. I quit once again and went to work. I got married to a beautiful Kentucky girl and she gave me two amazing little boys who are now 18 and 16 years old. We live on a farm fourteen miles south of Arkadelphia. We have cows, wild hogs out the wazoo, deer, turkey, an occasional bear, and many other wild animals to keep us entertained. I have been building houses as a contractor for the past seventeen years but the housing market has taken a nose dive. This turn of events has found me once again back in school at guess where...Henderson State University.

Along the way of trying to go to school twenty plus years ago I developed a passion for hunting whitetail deer. This interest kept me out of class too many times. It was apparent back then my priorities were not in the right place and ultimately caused me to miss the boat with graduation. Things have changed a lot since then and I am limping along trying to learn the digital world on the fly while attempting to pass my classes. I am interested in becoming a teacher at the 4th-6th grade level. I want to be around this age group because I feel like they are at the perfect age for learning and having fun. They are jacked to go to the play ground, see what mom has packed for lunch, and to come to school and be with all their friends. I think in many ways I am still that little kid at heart.

I am starting this blog to share in my past and present experiences in the whitetail world. This pursuit is a year long endeavor for me. Most of my friends hunt but they are seasonal about it. I raced cars, golfed, hunted other animals, etc. but now chasing the majestic whitetail deer is the only game in town for me. I hope that some of my information will help others in their future hunts.