Christmas and Winter STEM Wishlist

What an exciting time of year. It is time to add some items to your Christmas Wish list! For two days TPT is holding a sale for you to save big this holiday season! This means a SITEWIDE SALE on Monday and Tuesday! These amazing sales don't happen very often, so it's no surprise that we all ge a little excited when it does happen! For a great reason...EVERYTHING in my store is 28% off! Don't forget to use the code SMILE at checkout!


The kids are ready for ways to add joy and holiday cheer to your classroom...but keep the academics alive! Why not try some great STEM activities to do just that!

 Why not add some simple science activities that get your students actively engaged. Here is how to  make STEM simple by easy activities with simple materials...

Kids love penguins! How about creating a penguin ice skating rink...a penguin playground...or marshmallow tower for penguin????

STEM Penguin Winter Antics Pack on TPT

Quick and easy STEM stations such as gumdrop chimney...treats for Santa table...and packaging presents...

STEM Christmas Stations on TPT

Another pack I use each year with my 5th graders is the Holiday Science pack filled with activities that include mixtures and solutions because that is the FOSS unit I am working on. I try to keep up with my road map by adding some activities that can really fit both needs!

If your looking for other ways to continue the winter...Christmas...holiday science scene...I also gave my teachers the Gingerbread STEM Pack which I love to do with my students after Christmas because it breaks up the winter blahs!  Try this quick and easy STEM pack...

My new pack I made last year for my classroom teachers that incorporates reading, writing, math, and science really incorporates each letter in S...T...E...M! Winter/Christmas STEM Stations that include candy...cookies...mittens and more!

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I Am Thankful For...Freebie!

I am so very thankful for my blogging friends...visitors...and anyone else who pops on by my site! I am appreciative that you are here and that you stop by to see what I am doing in my science school yard with my 400 kiddos! To thank you for being here...I have posted a small freebie that my second graders were working on as they finished the acorn trees and mazes. They couldn't get enough of the fun hands on STEM activities. Check out the  pictures of their hideouts! You can have fun with this one this week as we get closer to Thanksgiving.

Can the turkey hide in here???

Maybe a scary sign will deter the hunters...

Bars might keep them out!

Here is what to do...

1. Pick a fun Turkey Trouble story where poor turkey might be dinner...
2. Set out materials for them to get or have them ready at the tables...
3. Let them build their own little turkey hide out to help the turkey not be dinner!
4. Place the paper turkey inside the hideout and then...
5. Let the kids share their ideas and reflect with their sheets.

A little writing...a little reading...a little science and engineering! If you like this freebie...take a look at my STEM stations on TPT.

Download your freebie station HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! I am thankful for you!

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Turkey and Billy Goat Science

 This week, we started to use my STEM Fall Into Thanksgiving Pack. We have finished up our first units for FOSS at many grade levels and it is sure fun to take a STEM break!

I love the way that the book Run, Turkey, Run! fits our STEM activity of making a maze. We used the story map to create scenery along the way...You could always use another turkey book's story line to help your engineers...

I start with a box from juice from our lunchroom. We grab colored paper, popsicle sticks, jenga blocks, and cubes that we have in our classroom along with  a marble for each maze. 

Here are some of their a-maze-ing turkey runs!

They loved working together as a team to create the runs and the scenery, but most of all to play with the maze!

What a great Fall STEM station!

Their teacher even had fun!

Looking for more STEM lessons and ideas? Grab my Thanksgiving pack that includes scarecrows, oak trees, Turkey hideout, along with other a-maze-ing challenges here... TPT STEM Fall Into Thanksgiving Pack .

In Kindergarten...we finished up another positional word STEM activity with the Three Billy Goats Gruff! There is a great version of this story to read on EPIC books that is a nice positive twist! It goes along well with the positive twist on Miss Muffet we use with the song on youtube!

This version is great...the troll doesn't want to "have them for dinner"...He wants to have them over for dinner!

  Take a look at the kindergarten bridges and puppets that they use to retell the story! Science and language arts can go hand in hand!

We work with retelling word cards...up...across...over...under...next to...

We draw and discuss what a bridge needs in order to get across...

We then let our kinders play with the puppets to reenact the story line!

I love to see them be creative and play and science can do that! 

STEM Three Billy Goats Gruff Pack

   Next week...boats to go under the bridge! They are very excited!

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I am Thankful For Teaching Science

Every day that I come to school, I hear teachers frustrated with the new math and reading programs. Their canned lessons do not allow for creativity and the joy of reading at times is being sucked right out of the classrooms.  I see teachers testing each week and progress monitoring ALL the time. I watch them as they drop off my kids and routinely say, "at least they will have some fun in science today...". I feel so fortunate to teach science to over 400 Kindergarten through 5th graders at my school. I guess I have made it my personal mission to bring joy...creativity...imagination... challenges... and hands on learning to each lesson I create each week.

Now...let me tell you...it isn't always easy.  I have a road map to follow with FOSS as my main lesson. The science teachers that teach the same lessons...now have a common assessment...so I do have to stick to the plan...but.....

it is really how I deliver it to my kiddos. Calcite detectives sure sounds better than we are now doing the calcite test.   Adding a fossil lesson to our Earth Materials lessons sure pays off...with Harbor Freight puzzles for 2.00 and the EPIC Book... Each team got a bucket of sand with the puzzle pieces in it. They had to dig for the bones...figure out what dinosaur they found...then just like the book make sure different people had jobs! The curators got to work setting up a museum for the dinosaur. It was EPIC!

Digging For Bones!

Researchers trying to identify their find...

The paleontologists putting their puzzle together!

 The excitement was contagious.  I am thankful that I am able to find ways to make connections with my FOSS lessons. Take for example the catapult lesson. Can be ok, but if kids know the background of catapults and then have a reason to learn about the variables so that they can storm the castle...well now we are talking. Here is the introduction video I used...they loved it!

Now for the connections...

Their castle calculations...what variables will they use to scale the castle walls?

The finished castles...

               These resources can be found in my Variable Pack...check it out at TPT. I also made a new STEM Fall Into Thanksgiving Pack along with five other STEM packs. I did this primarily because my teachers are able to have a 45 minute reward time twice a month and they needed some easy ideas. They are so excited to be able to add STEM into their classrooms and allow the students to learn and have fun! Here is the pack we are using this month!

What are you thankful for? I am thankful for everyone that comes to visit the Science School Yard. Let me know if there is anything you ever need!

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Currently November

I have been very busy in October. We are working hard to add NGSS and STEM into our science lessons....we gutted our school garden and redesigned it to make it more user and mower friendly...harvesting everything we could so that our kiddos could eat it in the lunchroom. Organized the Great Lakes Apple Crunch Day...and finished four products for our STEM classes and our teachers to use for our special PAW celebrations twice a month! They are more seasonal for our kids K-5 to enjoy. I am finishing two more today...my goal was 100 products by November...and I have one more to go. Currently it is NOVEMBER and so I have to make sure it is done today so that I meet my goal. I am connecting with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade to share with you what I am up to!

Listening...We are up north. Setting out corn and apples for the deer...checking the deer cam...and whoa...take a look at what we saw...

So now we are back at the cabin talking fantasy football! I love when he shares what he is up to.

Our district is proud of all of the great things that are happening in our school garden. Our food service administrator is 100% on board to wanting every child in our district being positively affected by our school garden as well. We make videos for schools to share our Wisconsin Wednesday's food that is served in all of our schools...and with that they literally gave me a clean slate. This week, while kids were gone, and teachers had in-service...the district cut all of the sod out of the garden...cut down two trees that were causing safety issues...ground all the stumps down...dug out all of the overgrown flowers to make way for our large scale pumpkin patch...started to build new raised beds...took our 5 benches to redo over the winter...and will be cementing a new area for our picnic tables within the garden! I am sooooo excited for a chance to really make this garden special.

They saved our asparagus...but take a look at my clean slate...The Kindergartners will be so excited about their pumpkin patch next to the school. Blueberry bushes...raspberry patch...three large  raised beds...any suggestions???? 

Thinking...my kids need to get me their lists...I hate waiting until after "black" Friday.

Loving...someone on TPT made a large purchase yesterday. I wish I could thank them! I am so appreciative!

Needing...to finish new STEM stations for our teachers. We just implemented a new PAW award celebration for students making good choices. The teachers are in need of quick and easy...fun...and educational ideas that they don't always get to do. Here is what I made this week for them...

STEM Christmas Stations on TPT

Bird Beak Stations and STEM Connection on TPT

STEM Halloween Stations on TPT

I am finishing STEM Fall Into Thanksgiving Stations and STEM Candy Stations tonight! I will meet my goal if I can finish it today...Thanks for stopping by! I can't wait until I can eat pie...and see all of my kids around my table again! I miss my two college kiddos...it isn't the same without them...

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HoHoHoliday Fun

I am planning away for the next week of science lessons and into the last week of school before Christmas Break!!!!!

I am thinking a little holly and a bit of jolly should be in the works...

 Last year, I had my 4th and 5th graders working on my Christmas Holiday Science Pack ! I can't wait for the fun to begin. They love science stations and in one hour they seem to be able to get to each one!

I also made a pack for my littles to have fun with in science and in their classrooms!

You can find  Winter/ Christmas Stations at my TPT store! Happy Holidays!

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Santa's Workshop In Science Class

Next week, is obviously a busy week before we are on vacation! HOOT! HOOT! So, why not take a little break from the FOSS lessons or kits to use the concepts in a holiday way!

Our Kinders, firsties, and 2nd graders are going to be using a great freebie from Smart Chick that has the students building a gingerbread man trap. Great for STEM engineering activities. I will be reading this great version 
In third grade next week, I will be working on an extension of the FOSS water unit by seeing what would happen if gingerbread got wet. I am using the idea I got from Amy Lowe that will help extend what they are doing. I will also be adding a liquid activity that combines their slope activity. I have included it for you... My fourth graders will be working on gifts that santa will bring that goes with bones...

While my fifth graders are working on the stations I created for mixtures and solutions... Christmas Holiday Science Stations


Here are some pointers, pictures, and tips to make this station activity work perfect. First, with the chromatograhy... you can use vis-a-vis markers, that's what I use, that seems to work really well. They do the best in separating out.You can also test other markers to see if they would work, too. Check it out:

I then set up buckets for each station...

Reindeer QR code research

Chromatagraphy lights

Santa's Sleigh

Cups for each group to test for Mrs. Claus' Mix Up

Stations are ready to go! Each group has 3 cups ready with prepared powers.

Enjoy your holiday fun!

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