Sunday Scoop

I am not always great with resolutions, however...this year I am working on some words to be inspired by.  A motivational word bucket list so to speak. On January 1st...I went to Currently and was amazed at all of the great words that are inspiring us this year! I wrote many of those words down and added a few of my own! I now have them posted at school, in my teacher notebook, and even in a little jar! I wish I could take a picture right now, however...one of the words on my list is...

RELAX! So...I am up north at our cottage...sitting by the fire...and thinking...I need to connect with other teachers...CONNECT is another word on my list! Two birds with one stone! So...

I popped over to The Teaching Trio to connect once again with some great bloggers! I have missed posting each week!


Here's the Scoop...

This week...is our first traveling volleyball tournament in Milwaukee. It is a 3 and 1/2 hour trip for us, but I will have two of my girls with me. We are going to make it a memory packed weekend...that is my hope! One of my words is ADVENTURE...I will see what that adventure might be! We will be CONNECTING with family for starters!

I am still setting up for this week's lessons. They are a bit more adventurous as well. We are celebrating with a Penguin Party using my STEM Winter Antics Pack with my 2nd graders to wrap up our solids part of our FOSS solids and liquids unit!  I am also planning with my amazing...wonderful librarian, lessons to go with our Makey Makey boards that I just purchased for science/art/music/library so that we can COLLABORATE ...yes another goal...hope to do that with other teachers in other schools, too!

Also hoping to finish my holiday STEM St. Patrick's Day Pack and STEM Easter Pack, but really love my STEM Robot Pack...so I am aiming for 2 more done this week. GOALS are another one of those magic words and my goals are big this 2016!

So with all that being said...FUN is a big goal in my mind! I think sometimes we are on a hamster wheel ...always doing the same thing. I only have so much time with my children...I must make some fun happen. So...today? Not sure, but I will think of something!

Happy January!

Currently January...Happy New Year!

It has been a wonderful vacation. Full of cooking, cleaning, and family!!! I might not love the cooking and cleaning up that goes with it...I might not even love cleaning out closets and torturing our garbage man with over 11 bags of garbage, but it feels good! No more papers shoved in empty spots or gift bags in 5 different spots...anyone relate? Most importantly...our time with family has been priceless. Currently...I am sitting here feeling very thankful that we survived another year and that we have so much to happy about from the year 2015...as well as amazing events to look forward to in 2016!

I love connecting with Farley Over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade. I love seeing how everyone else is doing, too!

Listening: OK...no more football since I started...now the Twilight Zone! Much more fun! Love the twists and turns of the plots!

Loving: the time off! We have stayed up late and woke up late! I got a new mattress and let's just say...I sleep so much better! Loved the card games...Wii competitions, shopping expeditions, movie watching, cleaning and purging our bedrooms and closets of years of memories... Loving my hubby and I going out to eat on New Year's...loving that all my kids were home for a week together...loving that we spent some great family time with my sister and her family...love these pics of today's water park fun...(forgive the hair...)

My sister and I...love the time together and the talks we have had! I am so grateful!

My niece...we went down the slide and were experts at the lazy river! 

My nephew is a cutie, petutie! He only wanted me to go down the slide with him! My heart is so full!

Here are 3 out of my 4 kiddos with their cousin! What a great day filled with fun and family!

Wanting: More special moments with family! I really loved the time our family spent together. Planning and following through on those moments are a new year's resolution.

Needing: To finish some holiday STEM packs, but I am waiting for some fun new clip art that might be showing up from Graphics From the Pond! I love Mel's work! I have almost everything done...maybe I need to get back to work...been playing too much! It has been a fun and eventful break! It is almost over...

My word is appreciation. I have to remember to be appreciative of people and events around me! Appreciative of the learning that takes place in my classroom. Appreciative when I have a special moment with my family...I have to see the little things around me and be thankful for them...appreciative!

I am so appreciative of TPT this year! My product sales have been pretty good...steadily climbing...finding more ways to add great science activities into my classroom and into my store. TPT has helped me provide some help to my two daughters in college and even helped me not put our Christmas presents on the credit card! I don't feel so scared about not having enough money to pay all of the bills. I also am appreciative of TPT getting my creativity going! I love finding great ways to integrate STEM and stations into my FOSS lessons and TPT keeps me thinking. I love being able to do that when so many teachers are having to present their lessons out of a scripted book! Appreciative! That is what I feel!

Happy New year blogger friends and thanks for stopping by! I am almost done with a freebie...stop on back!

STEMTASTIC New Year!

This last year was filled with a lot of great changes in my classroom. I took my FOSS lessons and made sure that I could add a STEM lesson for each kit that I use. I am happy to say that my students are interacting and engineering each month kindergarten through 5th grade. It isn't always easy when you have to stick to a road map, but here are some great ways to find a spot for STEM:

1. Using a great picture book, you can have students connect to the story by interacting in a building activity that coordinates with what they just heard. For example, we are learning about Solids and Liquids in our 2nd grade FOSS unit. I took the book Up Goes The Skyscrapers by Gail Gibbons. We used solids to create the tallest tower. We then wrote about it and reflecting on what worked and what could be modified. Then we tried again! 
2. Another great idea is using an anchor chart to help you set the stage for learning. Use what you have to teach science and then pose a problem to the students so that they have to create a solution. Here is an example... I have to teach the FOSS Water unit. We created an anchor chart that has us try to figure out why water is so important in our lives. I posed the problem..."What would happen if there was a major catastrophe that would cause the water to be unsafe...like an oil spill? How could it effect the environment? What could be environmental engineers and figure out what we could do to clean up a spill." That started a great engineering lesson and an oil spill clean up. It was a great way to also start our water unit.

Oil spill clean up supplies and environmental engineering challenge...Can you clean up an oil spill? How does this affect our water supply? 

Another great idea that was sparked by our Animal Adaptation unit was to create our own animal using the book What If You Had Animal Teeth? or What If You Had Animal Hair? by Sandra Markle. Both great introductions to how animal parts help them survive and defend themselves. It followed with an anchor chart of how animals have different hair and teeth and how it helps them. We then created an animal that protected their food... a piece of candy. A great internet game to connect is Build Your Wild Self ( I showed it on our smartboard and they drew what adaptation they wanted on their own drawing as I built my wild self. I discussed why picking that adaptation might help me. This helped them then create their 3-D model).

Great books to integrate reading, writing, and STEM!

Here is their wild selves after picking ideas off the smartboard interactive as a large group.

Here are the 3-D models. This is a great writing connection as well as an engineering project for any kindergarten and first grade classroom!

3. Another great way to integrate STEM into your classroom is incorporate it right around a holiday! I love integrating STEM during a change of seasons as well. STEM Winter Stations and STEM Valentine Stations are in the future and my students can't wait! Here are the STEM packs I made this last month to get ready for winter and Valentine's Day. I am already getting set for ST. Patrick's Day and Easter! Stay tuned!

STEM Penguin Winter Antics Stations great for theme days or reward days!

STEM Valentine's Day Stations to integrate four fun STEM stations into your school day!

STEM Winter Stations 2 is a great way to have some winter indoor fun! Find a great book, create an anchor chart, and then set up a supply station or have the supplies already set for the kiddos and you are set! Science made simple!

Have a STEMtastic New Year! And remember there are always ways to add science and engineering into your school day!

The Three Bears Rock!

So after four years of teaching the different names for the different sizes of rocks...I finally...finally figured out a better way to teach the three major rocks in our lesson...Pebbles...Gravel...Sand.

Why not take a story that they know...the Three Bears and make it add up! We have three different sized screens...A papa bear screen...a mama bear screen...and a baby bear screen! I retold the kiddos the story of the bears, but I added that Goldilocks also took their rock collection they had from a trip to the beach and mixed up all of their treasures! Papa Bear's Pebbles, both large and small are mixed up with Mama Bear's gravel, both large and small...and you know how Baby Bear just loves playing in the sand and now his sand he brought back from the beach is now all mixed up!

What should they do? Can we help? Let's take Papa Bear's BIG Screen and use it to separate his pebbles...and the medium sized screen to separate Mama Bear's gravel and then the little screen to separate the little gravel from Baby Bear's sand!

I model it for them...then we play a matching game with the pictures of the outcome I want and the word cards...miraculously they matched them up almost immediately!

Who would have thunk?

Unwrapping Holiday Ideas Linky: STEM STYLE

The kids are all nestled all soundly in bed...while visions of really excited students go around in YOUR head. Kids love to be actively engaged! I know that can be hard when it gets cold outside or you are needing to test your students, or that our kiddos know there is a break in sight...

Focus On Fifth...a team of teachers devoted to 5th grade...(a grade I taught for over 15 years, until I switched to K-5 science) are hosting a great link up to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas! Here is how we can celebrate along with them...whether you teach 5th or like me anything in between, here are great ideas for the holidays!

A great way to support academics, yet unwrap some holiday fun,  is to read a great book that can tie in Science Stations...STEM engineering fun...or even team building reading...writing...science activities! Let's get started!!!

Here are some easy STEM steps to unwrap some holiday fun:
1. Pick a great picture book to start discussion. For my Penguin stations I like to use...

I use this book because it has great facts about Penguins and I can then go into an anchor chart that allows me to discuss what they would need if they lived where penguins did...and then what we would need if we were penguins. It leads into many STEM station ideas. I also to unwrap some fun with the book...

2. Find a transition with your book as to why students are engineering. This is a fun way to add some science adventure into your day! It is great for students to be themselves...and work as a team! Great transition into engineering when Tacky and his penguin pals can work together, too!

3. Using the scientific process is key to making another key transition...making connections through writing. For each station that  my students participate in...we follow up by drawing... reflecting... modifying...and sharing our ideas with the class(which are included for each station in the packs!

If you want to unwrap some Gingerbread fun...cookie decorating...gingerbread house making...reading and writing...and STEM science fun...Here are some more great ideas for before and after Christmas break!

Again...First, unwrap a great book!

Second...make connections....and predictions...plan...then create...


Finally...reflect...modify...and then share! And repeat with another great STEM station!


Here are some great STEM products or what I like to call Teacher's Little Helpers to get you through the holiday season and beyond...

STEM Penguin Stations on TPT

STEM Christmas Stations on TPT

Gingerbread STEM Station Pack on TPT

Christmas Science Stations on TPT

STEM Winter/Christmas Stations for Littles on TPT

Add some holiday cheer into your classroom day by unwrapping more great ideas over at...

Happy Holidays from the Science School Yard!

An InLinkz Link-up

Currently...December!

 What great things await this month. It's time for a bit of a break (two weeks)...time to think about Christmas present lists(all those odds and ends!) ...time for planning for a Christmas birthday...yes my second child was born on Christmas...we opened presents first then went to the hospital...Best Christmas present I ever got!!!

Thanks again to Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade for hosting this blog linky! I am a bit late to the party...but I finally made it!

My son and I are laying around this evening...he is reading his book and I am finally getting to the December Currently!

We just came back from the Christmas Parade and an annual Party held by friends. Always nice to catch up. It was the warmest night that I can remember in December...32 degrees! You could actually enjoy the outdoors!

I ordered almost everything online this year! Everyday things are arriving! I have to start wrapping it soon...maybe this weekend. It is one of my least favorite things to do. I am really bad at it.

Every year for my daughter's birthday, we play birthday or Christmas Bingo. I get Dollar Store gifts...gift cards...and gag gifts to add to the center of the room. When you win...you yell HoHoHo and then pick a gift! It is one of our favorite traditions...besides finding the pickle!

We have two more weeks and then vacation...so I am setting up for our Christmas STEM week next week! The kids are learning about solids and liquids in 2nd grade so we are making a toy for Santa as if we are elves! In first grade we are working on the Gingerbread Man...taking a break from our rock unit...In 5th grade we are working on Kitchen Chemistry...Snowman style...making polymer snowmen!  Poor 4th Grade...they have to continue working on the Human Body unit! 3rd grade is doing water and the Gingerbread Baby...Kindergarten...those cuties are integrating their reading series with a lesson on magnets...and then next week...Gingerbread Man traps and gumdrop towers!

We use a f aux tree...I am allergic to real ones. I take it out of the box...and presto...it is ready to go! I can't wait until my whole family is together! The countdown is on...21 days until Christmas!

Happy Holidays!

A+ Images: Free Blogger T-shirts for Teachers!

Have you heard of TeacherShirts.com by A+ Images? 

A few weeks ago I heard about how I could get a custom teacher blogger shirt for FREE! I love freebies, and signed up for a blogger meet up in October...what a perfect way to share who I am...and my little blog in the middle of Wisconsin. I took advantage of their limited time offer and uploaded my logo on their easy to use online design tool. Within minutes I had created my own custom blog t-shirt! They had tons of t-shirt colors to choose from, and I love how perfect the color turned out! The material and quality of their t-shirts are excellent! I washed my t-shirt and it still looks great...no fading or shrinking!

A+ Images is a family owned business located in Indianapolis, IN. I love the fact that they are family owned, and anyone purchasing their products are helping support a family rather than a large corporation. My husband is a PE teacher and coach and routinely needs t-shirts for school. I can't wait to find a way to give back to a great business that sees what we do as valuable! 

You can purchase their ready made designs or create and upload your own. They can even add "bling" to your shirt using rhinestones, or if you prefer they can do custom embroidery. They are super easy and friendly to work with, and they ship fast! While on their website, I noticed so many awesome teacher t-shirts! I'll definitely buy from this company in the future.