Permission to Pin

It has come to my attention from viewing other blogs that there is a requirement or need to grant you all permission to pin my stuff on Pinterest. It is really exciting to see all the sharing of great ideas going on... and following rules is an important lesson we all adhere to in the classroom,  so I am happy to give all my permission for you to do so.

You can read all about it at Corkboard Connections, give permission yourself, and link up to say you did so. 

 

Thank you!

Valentine Love Bug Boxes

We love to make our annual "love bug" boxes.  The students were invited to create their own Valentine box.  It was given as a homework assignment and encouraged the support and help of their parents.  They were free to have their box be an animal, or a bug, whatever they could imagine.  "Use felt, pom-poms, glitter, pipe cleaners, paint, whatever you have at home.  The students were told to be sure to keep a place open for the Valentines to go in.  Hope you enjoy them.

Teacher Valentine

I "mustache" you a question.

Will you be my Valentine?

There were very fun and simple to make  Just got the black foam sheets and cut out the mustaches.  I make small slits to slip the lollipop in... and made the little cards. Got heart bags at the local dollar store and added a Valentne pencil.  So fun.

The other one is pretty self-explanatory.  Was in Family Fun magazine years ago.  Found it again on Pinterest.  Anyone can do this.  All you need is gummy Lifesavers, smarties, rubber bands and some long stick chewing gum. 

Matters of the Heart

We had a great time "mapping" our  hearts.  We began by listening to a book about friendship.  Then we had discussion about what it means to be a good friend and shared our connections to the book.  This led to conversation about Valentine's Day and "matters of the heart."

I modeled what my heart map would look like and we all agreed that family came first and should be the first piece on our maps.

We brainstormed things we would want to include and the boys chose words that were important to them.  They listed them randomly around the heart on the paper. 

After they felt they had all the words necessary, they were free to begin "mapping" their hearts.

It was so interesting to see how very different each one was.  Some boys really got into the size of the pieces, some made equal parts... other just put the words down in special places.

This lesson was a big hit.  They got very into the whole process of coloring it and using fun scissors to cut the paper heart out once completed. 

This will definitely be an activity I do every year!

Happy Valentine's Day! xxxo

Groundhog's Day



So I finally got it together to have the boys make predictions for Groundhog's Day.  It seems to me that this holiday just creeps up on us.  I was very prepared this year.  We began with a KWL and my class came up with some good things they wanted to know.  The hunt for answers began.  We learned what they really look like, how often they are right with their predictions (wrong 69% percent of the time so they are right 31% of the time.), how many babies they have, and more.  Then we made our predictions and graphed the results.  Most of the class predicted the groundhog would see his shadow, and he did!

For homework, the class was asked to imagine they had their own "burrow."  They had to "decorate it" and then describe it in writing.  I had found the sample on pinterest.  It was a very successful.  One of the boys actually said, "I loved that homework last night.  See photos attached.

Here I go!

This is my first entry. I have been motivated by the vast information out there and all the great ideas I have found and used in my classroom! It has kept me motivated and engaged with my students. I only hope I can give back and that someone out there will stumble upon this sight and find just what they were looking for