What Critter Is It???

In science class last week, we played a game called WHAT CRITTER IS IT????  **You have to say it in a deep, echo-ish, announcer voice to get the full effect...** 

Anyway, my kids went crazy over these magnifying glasses.  Have you ever heard of Modern Woodmen??  Our principal signed us up for a teacher activity kit- it's FREE!  And I'm so thankful!!

We've gotten so many supplies - and they all come with enough for each child to have one to keep.

We've gotten:
** pencils made from recycled denim and money
** jump ropes
** piggy banks
** magnifying glasses

The last one was what we used for this lesson.

OH- and each package comes with a nice binder of resources for you to use in the lessons... it's where the game "What Critter is it?" came from :)

Anyway- we played the game.  Teacher reads clues based on food, water, shelter of an animals.

Example:  Critter drinks dew drops found on plants.  Critter lives in a web.  Critter eats insects.

Answer?  You guess it- SPIDER!

Anyway- so after playing that game- we went outside with our magnifying glasses to find some critters of our own.  When they found a critter- they had to stand up and give us clues based on food, shelter, and water of the animal and we had to guess it.

Here's some pictures.

 The kids found a hole- and did you know that we have a fire breathing dragon living under our school??  That's what the kids thought lived in that hole anyway :)  **Being the science teacher, I had to be a Dream Squasher and tell them that it probably wasn't a dragon...**

They found everything... and when I mean everything... well, here's what I mean:

 Look a little closer....

A melted, squashed, ooey gooey mess of a left over green apple sucker.  BLECK!

So, check out Modern Woodmen- and see if you can get in contact with a rep near you to get your hands on some free supplies!



What's your favorite free teacher resource??

Moon Models

I talked {{here}} about a moon activity I did with my Kinders a while back.  They loved it- they still talk about the phases of the moon every once in a while... it makes my teacher heart smile!  Anyway- so it was a no brainer when the junior high science teacher at my schools asked me if I wanted to bring my Kinders down to make models of the moon.  I knew my students had prior knowledge of the moon- and would be excited to learn a little bit more about it.  So- off we went- to the "big kid" lab.

We used salt dough. 

1 cup fine salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water

Knead until mixed thoroughly.

The junior high students each took a Kindergartener and helped them shaped the moon- and then they used spoons to make the craters and wooden rods to make the surface of the moon more realistic.

We set them out for a couple of days to dry, and we are going back sometime this week to paint them.

It was really a fun day- the kids had a blast.

What is your favorite thing to teach in science??

Last Day for a Giveaway!

So my life has been crazy busy, and I haven't been able to tell you about an awesome giveaway I've been given the honor of participating in! :)

My blog friend, Staci...  No I do not speak in the 3rd person about myself- this is another Staci, spelled the EXACT same way my name is spelled.  We were meant to be friends :)

She's Staci from     

Anyway, Staci joined me for my giveaway, and now I'm excited to be a part of her giveaway.

Because my life has been crazy and I haven't been able to blog for a while - I'm late to tell you about the giveaway- and now there's less than 12 hours left until she picks a winner- SO HURRY!

Here's what you can win:

Holly from    is giving a $10 TPT gift certificate.

I am giving away any 2 items from my TPT or TN stores.

And Reagan from is giving away any 3 items from her TPT store.  Reagan- I can't figure out why your old button is showing up!  sorry dear.

But, best of all- Staci is making each of the 3 winners a cutie coffee cozy.  I'm digging the flower power one- it would make my hot chocolate so hip and trendy and much less naked and exposed.

 

So- what are you waiting for?!  You have LESS than 12 hours- so go...

NOW!

Click {{HERE!}}  She'll be picking 3 winners- so that's 3 times the chances to win!

Happy Sunday friends.  I'm out on Monday for a school evaluation visit.  So- I probably wont get back to blog land until mid-week :-/

Good, Bad, and Ugly

My bud Holly, over at Crisscross Applesauce is hosting her first ever linky party!  I couldn't wait to join in!  So, without further ado... here is my:

Here's my:

GOOD:

 I should tell you that this isn't ALWAYS how my coatroom looks.  I walked back there while my kids were at Library to take a pic to put it under my "UGLY" category- but my kids pleasantly surprised me with a clean coatroom!  Wahoo!!

 Again, this isn't always how my art center looks- but I'm actually proud of them for putting the glue bottles back in a nice order instead of tossing them in the bin.  Everything looks good! 



Now it's time for...  the

BAD

 My inside recess area... ugh.  I'd love to know how other teachers keep this area organized.
Let's move on before I get hives...

 Ugh- double ugh.  I asked my principal for a sink in my classroom- and he delivered!  But, with a sink comes MESSES.  I try to teach my Kinders responsibility and wash out the sink when you are finished washing out a paint brush, or rinsing something off after a science experiment... but, life happens and sometimes it gets forgotten... and thus we get stains.  And sometimes clogs.  But, I'll keep my smile on my face because I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a sink in my classroom- it sure beats doing finger painting and then sending 5 and 6 yr olds DOWN THE STAIRS to the bathroom- because that equals paint on handrails, walls, doors, blah, blah, blah.

And now it's time for the

UGLY

 my desk..... 

 a little closer....

 closer yet...

 THERE!  Do you see it?  That is what Holly calls a "crud collector" and I've got 2 of them lined up back to back!  It's where my book orders, highlights orders, field trip forms, thank you cards, school stationary, etc find a home.  I've seen all these blog posts about going teacher desk free- and I'd LOVE to do that- I would LOVE to have that extra space in my classroom for a fun little reading tent or something, but then where, oh where, would my book orders live??????

And, when I get a little braver... I'll show you one more UGLY that I was too ashamed to put on here.  I know, we all have one, but I have a closet that just lingers and stares at me and shouts DO SOMETHING... but I always ignore and blog hop instead :)


Thanks Holly for the fun linky party- and for putting up with my Good, Bad, and Ugly, I'll leave you with a little freebie- but it will only be up for 2 days- after that you can find it in my TPT or TN stores.

It's my Fact Families Math Station.  Click {HERE} to grab your copy!

Leave me a comment if you're able to use the fact families!  And don't forget to link up with Holly!

How to blow a bubble

Pinterest.That's all I have to say....  it's addicting, but FULL Of awesome ideas.

Here's what I'm talking about...

We did these super cute How to Blow a Bubble activities.  I loved it because it is cross-curricular... and when we talk about Common Core Standards- killing two (or multiple) birds with one stone is a big PLUS!! :)

Here's how mine turned out:  (and please, if this was your original idea, let me know- I'd love to give credit where credit is due.)

The kids got to have practice with:  story sequence, non-fiction "how to" story telling, ordinal numbers, as well as many fine motor skills needed for the artsy portion of the activity.

So, I made a printable activity to use with the activity.  Click to download it via Google Docs HERE!
Here's what you'll get:

Leave me a comment if you were able to use it!! 

In other news... I'm working on compiling a list of all these amazing blogs- so many are popping up all over the place, my newsfeed is getting overwhelming.  I've created pages at the top of my blog to help me keep track of all of them. Please comment below if you'd like your blog listed in my pages.  I've already got some up there, and I'm going to keep adding, but I dont want to forget anyone- so if yours is missing, please let me know! :)

Hodge-Podge!

TGIF friends!!  :)  I have a lot coming at you today, so sit back and enjoy the ride :)

If you haven't heard of Miss Squirrels then I'm going to guess you've been living under a rock.  No, really, she is a bloggy-bestie of mine and it's not just because we have the same name!  haha :)  She is having a giveaway once she reaches 250 followers (only 8 more to go!)  she is hosting a giveaway and has asked me, Reagan, and Holly to join in.  (I must say, I'm honored to be a part of this with these amazing bloggers- they are def. in my top fav blogs!!!!)  Anyway- follow that little nut Miss Squirrels and let's get this party started!!!


In other news... I've decided to join up with to do 12 on the 12th.  It's 12 pics of your day on the 12th.  Well, I'm a day late and a dollar short... but I can still link up, right?  Sure I can :) So here you go... my 12 on the 12th.

1.  Woke up and ate breakfast.  Here's my Henry (youngest) eating awfuls and benas.  (That's Henry-speak for waffles and bananas.)

2.  I filled my sensory tub with Easter eggs.  They get to hide things in them for their center partner to find... things like money, letter tiles, unifix cubes, pattern blocks...

3.  In Religion, we are learning about the 12 disciples.  In Matthew, Jesus makes them fishers of men.  We made fishy faces and acted out how to be fishers of men (using kind words, helping a friend, doing what's right...).  I decided a man hanging from the end of the fishing pole wasn't a great idea, so I used this one instead.  The kids LOVE glitter (and well, really I do too- so it was a win-win!) so when you put anything with glitter, it's automatically an engaging activity!

4.  We start our week long pop tabs war this coming week.  My Kinder parents were ahead of the game and already sent some in- so we almost have our first tub full already!!

5.  I ate a Reese's peanut butter egg.  These are my favs- yum.  My mouth is watering for another right now.

6.  My class just finished reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle.  This group of kids have been so interested in chapter books.  I've read them Mudshark, Judy Moody, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle.  I'm wondering if we have time for another one before summer hits.

7.  Ran to town to pick up microphones for our junior high musical.  We are doing Annie, Jr.  It's shaping out to be really cute!!!  I'm excited.  It's this coming Thursday and Friday nights.

8.  Worked on a few projects for my photography hobby.

9.  I may, or may not have eaten another Reese's peanut butter egg.  I'm tell you- I live for Easter so I can have me some peanut butter eggs.  I heard they made peanut butter BUNNIES!!  I need to find them!  

10. Played with my boys for a bit.  I think I just realized something... I've never shown you pics of my boys.  (have I??)  Well, without futher ado- here's my boys, Wade (left) and Henry (right).  No- they aren't twins.  They are 2 years apart!!!  Henry is just a BIG MAN!!

11.  My town has an auction every Thursday night (I don't go every week, just when the mood strikes me), so I went with my mom and dad while Ben stayed home with the boys.  I walked away with an old wood bat for Wade and Henry and 2 camping lanterns.  My mom and dad bought my family a state park pass- so we plan on camping it up this spring/summer- so I thought they were good picks!  I dont have a pic of the actual loot I got, but here's where I went.

12.  And to cap off the night, I went home, snuggled in bed to read my newest addiction (besides peanut butter eggs...) with Ben while he watched TV.  I'm at the "tick tock" part.  I CAN'T PUT IT DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, there, now go link up too- even though you're late like me!




Oh, and one last thing- hop over to

and leave her a comment on her Community Unit giveaway.  The first 5 get it for free- and I'm going to be #1- so hurry before they are all gone!