Let's Get Growing

It's my favorite time of year, planting season. Time to get our kinder-gardeners learning how to plant seeds so that when they are BIG first graders they can see their pumpkin patch. Sometimes it takes a long time to grow BIG.

Starting from seed and watching them grow so that we can replant them in our school garden is very exciting!

Our first graders are able to learn about insects and plant flowers so that the bees come to pollinate the vegetable flowers so that we can eat beans, cucumbers, kale, broccoli, and squash to name a few.

Here is our new improved School Garden! New benches, new  beds, new pumpkin patch!

Indoor planting and observations in our Green House!

2nd graders, with the help of their FOSS kit grow everything from beans to tomatoes, zucchini, and kohlrabi as they learn about what a plant needs, to the parts of the plant. My favorite activities include planting potatoes that they will pick as third graders "gold rush style" as well as the mystery seed for Mother's Day as they wait to see how parents pass on traits to their children...marigolds just blooming look like the adult marigold from the nursery!

3rd graders are learning about sound, but it is equally as important to get them growing, too! Next week, during Earth Week we will be learning about planting container gardens as we focus a week on living sustainably! We will also do a quick lesson on how eating vegetables "sounds" good to me when they plant their cabbage plants that are donated to our school each year. I hate to say that most of them died. They cam this year three weeks early, before spring break, and after it snowed 11 days in a row. Our grow lights didn't do them justice!

4th graders will soon plant the three sisters as they are learning about Wisconsin Native American tribes. Beans, Squash, and corn will be their specialty!

After 3 years of waiting...edible stems! Asparagus!

5th graders will get first hand lessons in World War II as I share my father-in-law's WWII memorabilia and we plant a victory garden of tomatoes, broccoli, and lettuce. We might even throw in some radish and spinach to boot!

This year, we are also lucky enough to get honey sticks for our students so that I can teach a pollination lesson to our kindergarten through fifth grade students. We will focus on pollinators for April's Harvest of the Month!

Here is our garden tip of the week...

As you teach students how to plant seeds, use these six simple words:

1. Scoop...

2. Pat...

3. Poke...

4. Drop

5. Cover....and then Water!

As the students get older I add more and more concepts to those 6 simple steps. K-2 just those words work, however as they get older we focus on how far down the seed should be placed in the soil and learning to read a seed packet!

So there is a run down of our School Garden progress! Whether you are growing in a baggie, or in a milk carton...in a container garden or a large school garden...I will always say that planting a seed is magic! It allows children to see where their food comes from and it allows them to get their hands dirty as they learn!

Here is a FREEBIE to get you growing!

Cricket Capers: Simple Science Lesson

It is insect time in first grade! Sorry...we can't find any outside right now, we still have snow, but that doesn't mean we can't invite some to join us. Introducing...crickets! This is a great way to compare non-fiction and fiction books about a topic. Here is a simple science activity for you...

What you will need:
1. Crickets (about 16 cents per cricket)
2. Containers from the Dollar Store with little holes poked on top for air
3. Sponges for water
4. Egg Cartons to climb on and hide under (they are nocturnal)
5. a potato or carrot for liquid and food

There are some great non-fiction stories out there...I use Myon or EPIC Books. The one we used is from MYON that our district purchases.

What to do:
1. Introduce insects...
2. Sing a fun song like "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes..."
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
Head, Thorax, Abdomen
2 Eyes, 2 antennas, and and exoskeleton
Head, Thorax, Abdomen

3. Discuss rules for working with live animals (no shaking, share the container, be respectful...)
4. Let them observe and write them down, draw what they see (I set up my sheet using Insects: In and Out of the Classroom to help. I also use a word bank on the board for their observation words)

5. I also play cricket sounds as they work...


6. We make a circle and share what we learned and observed. The students love being able to tell the difference between make and female. It is also fun to hear what they were able to see as they watched the containers.

7. We also watch the Very Quiet Cricket...

8. Finally, we wrap up with a symmetry activity where they draw the other half of the cricket and write at least three things they learned.  I use this as an assessment on what they know.

Going Buggy can be fun! With some help from our Cricket friends!

Symmetry and Sentences! Math and writing in one activity! 

If you need anything...you know you can bug me...email me or write a comment! I would love to hear from you!

Simple Machines and STEM Solutions

It is time to start our last FOSS box for 5th grade...sorry if someone out there loves the levers and pulleys box, but my students don't seem to like that one very much. Soooooo....how do I fix that? We start by learning about the six simple machines and then we finish with our cardboard arcade that incorporates all of the simple machines!

We first start off using our science notebooks to write down what we think the 6 simple machines are. This is fun to watch. Then, I share the simple machines on an anchor chart with an example. I don't show videos very often, but Bill Nye is great for introductions.

I use sentence stems...I have found that giving sentence starters/stems for the students helps them focus on what they should be looking for while watching a show or answering questions after an experiment.

Watching Bill Nye Simple Machines allowed us to find examples and make connections. Here is what we used:

1. A ______________ reminds me of ______________.

2.  I was surprised that __________________________.

3. The effects of using simple machines ____________.

4. An example of each simple machine includes_________.

Here is the link for Bill Nye Simple Machines on Teacher Tube!

After we are done sharing with our groups what we learned...I pose a problem. I give each group a weight and ask them to use our STEM Store to create a simple machine that will bring the weight from the floor to the top of the table.

 I give them time to draw an idea and then share and build. Once they are done building...the students share what they were able to create.

These two examples are very different than each other...but that is what is great about STEM Challenges...

Teamwork and sharing are two other great benefits! Now...we add the FOSS Pulley Lessons....

Here is the current pack Simple Machines Cardboard Arcade found in my store. I will be adding some great new activities as I update this pack this month. After using this pack many times I still love the activities, but after doing STEM challenges for the last two years I love seeing how the kids love to be engaged each week with a new Simple Machines Challenge. FOSS friends....I love adding this pulley challenge...using the first grade wheels to make a vehicle with an inclined plane challenge....stay tuned!

Easy STEM solutions allow for students to find quick ways to learn about a subject by investigating, creating, and sharing. By letting my students create a solution by connecting what they learned in a video to solving a simple problem of how to get something from the floor to the table gave them ownership!  That is what we need to include in our routine to get our students ready for the jobs of tomorrow!

Sunday Scoop...Hop On Over!

It was a very different Easter this year...our third daughter is in Florida with a friend...miss her! We celebrated on Saturday so that our oldest and her boyfriend could go to both families...happens when your children date and need to share time with each family...the best thing is that his family came over for dinner Saturday! Love that they are part of our little group of 6. So the Sunday Scoop is late because we just cleaned up the house after our two oldest headed back to college! Only 5 weeks and we have a college grad!

I thought I would share a little freebie with you tonight. My littles love play dough! So, I whipped this activity together for them this week! Here is the link for this cute freebie!

I am linking up with my favorite Sunday Friends...over at The Teaching Trio! Love seeing how everyone is planning their week!
I am really not one to relax, however I really need to take a break. I hope to do that with my son! We have made a little plan for the week. Each day we are doing one big thing together or for each other. He wants a friend over and then they want to go downtown...we want to take in a movie on Tuesday...it is cheap seat night....Wednesday we are going to our local museum with family friends... then we have to try to figure out what else we could do on our stay-cation! We might go to a trampoline park a few hours away, but there is snow in the forecast again. Yuck.

I am looking forward to learning how to snapchat better. My kids love it, but I really haven't done it too often. This seems to be the new thing for teachers to connect so why not give it a shot! I realize I need a better phone so I may have to do that.

Happy Easter, Everyone! Hope your Sunday was filled with family and traditions!

Building Blocks Stations: Playing With Purpose

The week before spring break and all through the school...there's a full moon in the sky and the teachers didn't know what to do...

Our little kiddos have a look. You know what I mean. It's a crazy kind of wild eyed look they get when they need a break! I try to finish up all of my FOSS kits right before break so that I can finish the school year with the last kits I need to do, so one last week of FOSS Balance and Motion. I wanted to find a great way to tie in the concepts of rolling, spinning, and sliding and wanting to make it completely hands on! I LOVE Legos and so did my son. He is now almost 14 and the Lego box has not come out in a while. Why not pull them out and take them to school for my first graders to play with.

Did I say play? Okay...what I really meant was learn with. No...I really did mean play! I am so very fortunate to be able to use my time to integrate fun ways to tie in our concepts through toys and STEM activities! I try to find ways to play with a purpose whenever I can!

So what I did was planned 6 stations that had the students rotating once they finished the building and reflection sheet...they could move onto the next station.

What I didn't realize as my first graders started working and playing with the Legos is that on average 4-6 students per class had never played with Legos before. Legos are expensive and I teach at a school that is 82% poverty. Sometimes I forget that the opportunities that my own children had are not accessible to my students. I realized that these stations meant more than I originally thought!

Wanting to set up these fun Stations in your room? Here is the linkto my TPT store...Give these stations a try!

I will leave you with a quote by one of my favorite poets..."It is a happy talent to know how to play." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hey Peeps...It's Time For Easter STEM

It is the week before Easter and it is time to find a simple way to add STEM Easter Stations to your science time. Here is a simple way to add science concepts...

An adaptation is a process of making changes over a long period of time for survival. This can include changes in looks and in behavior. This concept is a great way to teach students how we adapt and change and so do animals!

For my bigs...we share an adaptation book from EPIC books called Animal Adaptations by Patricia Armentrout. We make a list of how animals can look different and a list of how animals behave. After the list is created I tell them that they are going to be collecting jelly beans, but they can not touch them with their hands. They must adapt to the task by creating something that will help them collect their food in the jelly bean patch!

Love all the different ways they try to adapt to not being able to use their hands!

Our winners...so cute and so proud!

Here is another fun version of the Peep Palace!

For this activity they can only use the items I provide at the STEM Store...our supply table. I give them time to build. Then, we set up the jelly bean patch and let the first person test their adaptations. The first team to collect and place the beans in the cup yells out Jelly Beans! We then modify if we need to and then try again until everyone gets a chance to collect their food.

Jelly Bean Patch Fun! Adapting to not being able to touch the jelly beans with their hands...

The second part of our hour was spent making our peep palaces. We discussed ways that animals protect themselves by building a special home. Some are way up high in trees. So I challenged them to make a home for the Peep rabbit that would be higher than anyone else's. The shortest home would have the predator eat their Peep first, going in order until the predator was full! We just learned about food chains so this was another perfect way to incorporate that review! Finding ways for STEM to fit in your classroom is just that simple...Here is the pack that I got those two activities from! Check it out in my TPT store...four fun Easter STEM stations that can bring holiday fun and science together!

Jelly Bean Picker and Peep Palace are just two of the fun activities in this pack!

Enjoy some Great Easter STEM activities! Happy Easter!

Sunday Scoop March 20th

It has been a few weeks since I shared my Sunday Scoop. I love checking in with the Teaching Trio and friends to see what is on everyone's platter. So...3...2...1....blast off!

It has been a busy weekend. I have been lucky enough to have my two girls home from college...so that means our family of 6 is complete for a few days. That also means loads...and when I say loads...I mean I do believe every article of clothing they own coming home to be washed.

I hope after a fun photo shoot yesterday with the girls, that I can actually get a picture with all of us for a nice picture I can have of the 6 of us!

My girls and I...One lucky mom!

I have been goal setting and trying to use my time more wisely. I have to say at first it was easy...make a list stick to it, but it has been harder when there are things at school and at home that change your ability to get work done...new phones at work so training in the morning...spring concert at school gone almost 3 hours... committee meetings this week....and I love my kids home, but I am lucky then if I can check my email and sneak in a quick facebook scroll...I am sure that I can get back on track and get some of my to do list done!!!???! Right? I am getting spring break fever...four days and counting!

My family will be home once again next weekend and with boyfriends and their families I want to make sure everyone can be together for a nice meal. That may mean we will have Easter dinner on Saturday. I have learned that it isn't the day that makes the holiday...it's the time you spend together that counts!

Enjoy your week!