the new kid and celery

no
our new kid doesn’t smell like celery!
but with only 33 days left! eek!
well, right in time for end of year benchmarking! yay!
my students will latch on to a new kid like a new toy
he is the prey to their predator
first day the vie for his attention
the girls compete over who will be his read with someone partner
they offer to get anything he needs
hope it keeps up…

celery
last year was my first year in “lower grades”
keeping up with cute craft demands was a must
no holidays was to be overlooked
in 4th grade I may have mentioned Christmas and …well, Christmas
maybe some Halloween since it’s my fav

so here comes Mother’s Day out of nowhere in May last year
I ventured onto my go-to craft site Kaboose
not so much NEW and EXCITING
On to Google and viola!
Painting with celery! yes!

The stalk cut right after they begin to separate makes gorgeous roses. Idea for roses from Whimsy Girl http://whimsy-girl.blogspot.com/2008/09/celery-painting-tutorial.html

 

And cut individuals make little C’s . Idea for Hyacinths from Preschool-Daze http://preschool-daze.com/2012/04/03/e-is-for-easter-flowers-aka-grape-hyacinths/

We also made bath beads with Epsom Salt, oil of essence, and we also used food coloring. {I kept waiting for moms to say their bath water or skin was dyed, but no one did!} Then we gave the kids a large index card to decorate, and fold over a snack size baggie.

Don't forget my 31 giftcard giveaway! Click the picture for details! Happy Weekend!

31

well, this Friday I will no longer be a young 30
I keep saying I will be 30 again, but we all know better
But to make it a brighter day {besides a trip to the Windy City with my hubby! Love. Chicago.} I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for my first “real prize” giveaway!
and what better way to celebrate turning 31 than to giveaway a Thirty-One gift card!

My friend, consultant, and former teacher Heather has graciously donated a $15 gift card for one of my favorite followers!
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me:
1. you follow my blog {you are here}
and 2. follow my TpT store {click here}
and 3. BLOG about it! The more you get the word out the closer to 500 followers
and if I reach 500 followers before Monday, April 30, then I will donate a second $15 gift card to a second winner!
so that’s 3 chances to win.
If you already follow either one, then you are awesome and just let me know!
Be sure to leave your email so I know how to get the gift to you.
It’s all electronic
I will use the random number generator on Monday, April 30 to select the winner. I would do it on my b-day but no blogging allowed while on vacation according to the hubs!
easy peasy lemon squeezy
and just what could you get? a way to file all those papers you bring home…to grade, to file, graded, to keep, to recycle!

Source: time4organization.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

And I LOVE.love the new butterfly print!

Source: mythirtyone.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

mealworms on parade and a giveaway!

I LOVE teaching science.
it’s the ultimate break in my day and the kids’ too
I love having a little discussion
{kids think they know everything about science}
then handing out materials and letting them go!
I have finally revamped our mealworm unit to share with you guys! It took awhile to make is useable for others besides myself!
Using mealworms is one of the best parts of our year {a close second behind hatching chickies}

Mealworms on Parade! {a life cycle unit for budding biologists!}

here's my previous post on mealworms

    

This week we began our Sound unit
admittedly, it’s hard to teach something you cannot see to 7 year olds
but they love it!

So far we’ve taken a little journey around the school to listen for sounds, loud sounds, and soft sounds. Part of the curriculum is volume and pitch. The next day we used tuning forks {large and small} and partners compared with another partnership to decide which was lower, high, louder, and softer.

then we observed and tested ways that sound could travel. I first had them brainstorm things they thought they’d be able to hear through. Seeing as how we have a symphony of boys bathroom sounds coming through our way minute by minute, we all knew sound can travel through brick!

After some discussion, I handed out wooden yard sticks, aluminum foil “yard sticks”, and tuning forks. After testing the given objects, we tested things around the room. I must say I thought the metal water bottles may damage my hearing!
Stay posted for freebies and such exploring sound as we move through this unit!
we also had a looonnnggg field trip yesterday to the Western NC Nature Center {1.5 hours away on a bus traveling 55 mph down I-40}
On the way there, I finally figured out Instagr.am! Why not be productive??! I am infatuated! Look for my Instagr.am link on the sidebar when I get that up!

First 2 people to comment on how they could use or need this Mealworm Unit get it FREE!!!

and the first day back

Picture it.
Little home in NC
teacher mom getting dragging herself perkily getting ready for first day back after 10 days off
said teacher mom yelling calling for her 7 year old to get up
need to leave at 7:05
said 7 year old getting up at 7:10
drag him into car crying
drive in silence as he continues to cry
walk in as the bell rings
coaxing son inside the building
it really goes on this way until I threaten to call dad, then I tug him on to his room
luckily my students are half asleep this morning
ah…
So what does the teacher pack for lunch the first day back from Spring Break?

thank goodness Target still had a stash of mini-eggs for my week!

Well the first day back I promised myself I would not fuss at all!! I did ok…they did ok. I actually had one little one fall asleep before 8am! And I let her.

The first thing we did was fill out a 5W’s and H about Spring Break
who doesn’t have a bazillion things to say about Spring Break!
I pass out the sheet and they excitedly write because if it’s not written they can’t talk about it
oh the little caveats!

Here’s the sheet if you're interested. I know most of you have been back, but tuck it away in the next year file!

After a few easy going mini-lessons, we worked to finish up our Nonfiction Expert Posters
they are really turning out great!

here are a few of MY favs

favorite map

favorite comparisons

another favorite comparison

favorite use of color

favorite title

favorite diagram

and these two will be stunning once they are finished! WOW!

tomorrow they gotta get finished and we will begin sharing in class and using our rubrics to score them

I also began our sound unit today. I will post more later on, but here’s a freebie I use to introduce volume and sound.
We go on a free field trip-right around the school
they use this sheet, a clipboard, and a pencil
I stop every now and again to give them a chance to jot things down
Enjoy! click to download from TpT

Font Freaks Needed!

Update! I found the font! Woo-Hoo! It's called Lady Rene! Happy Creating with this beauty!
OK,
not much to post today
spent the better half whole attempting my parents tax return!
no joke, it was a joke
but now my baby’s home and I will snuggle up for a movie
Anyway,
*2 things*
I updated the Track your Trash file to include more options, I added morning/afternoon; morning/lunch/afternoon; and morning/afternoon/evening
Click here to download the freebie from TpT
AND
I am looking for the name of the font used in my header.
Dreamlike Magic uses it a lot, and Teacher Wife did too
I love it and want to download it
How do I not have this??
I wish I could organize my fonts, too?
anyone know a trick using Vista?
Maybe he does??

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Thanks!!

TA DA!!

It's been a fairly uneventful week other than
new hair
new blog design
and a new tattoo!

ok, not such a regular week. but a great spring break so far! I cant believe its almost Thursday!

1. I adore by new blog design. Alicia from Dreamlike Magic was very accommodating. I had very specific things I wanted and she made them even better! Great prices and quick too!

New hair was much needed. My roots were less than attractive. I tried to squeak out 6 weeks so I could go over spring break, but i won't do that again!

here's my big eyes at chili's afterwards. Love.love.love. my birds! and my fresh cut hair!

on to other things.

i just posted a trash tracking challenge for you and your students this week or next...whenever

Last year i gave each student s Ziploc baggie. all trash had to be put in there. no bins or cans were available. at our 10:00 restroom break, we charted everything and recycled what we could and tossed the rest. We also did this at the end of the day. After 3 days, they had a 3 day record of all the trash they make.

We decided if it was trash form things I made them do, or snacks, or just junk from themselves. 

See for your self with this little freebie.

click the Earth to download

I also have a link that we showed our kids after meeting Lynne Cherry.

It is a revision of Michael Jackson's Earth Song and it is beautiful. precious. and tryuly gets the message about saving our planet across.

sneaky peeky

one is a tattoo inspiration and one will be a blog design…you figure it out!

and here’s what I;m working on this week. It will include an observation booklet, a birth announcement, a daily records calendar and animal friendly experiments! Can’t wait!

I just became an author on Erica Brohrer’s Critters in the Classroom. I LOVE it! I love our students of a different kind and so do my kids! Check it out!

and just cause, here’s a random freebie. I have this attached to a clear “file holder” hot glued to my white board. After we read a book together, I place it here for easy finding. Of course, most don’t make it past the rug these days. Since we went through Questioning, the first question is always can I have that book in my book box? who would say no!?

Read Together Sign