Easy Plasticine Olympic Sport Sculpture Art and 3 Million Strong TpT Sale

Have you heard about the news?  Three million teachers are part of Teachers pay Teachers! - helping each other provide quality education resources all over the world.  Check out the sale this Thursday and Friday!

Here is my own St. Patrick's Day activity pack you can pick up for a steal!  What luck!!

It includes a little game that practices those wily # partners of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.  They have been giving my 2's the runaround lately.  I am bound and determined they will have them memorized!

Now for some easy art!!  Hurrah!!! We made plasticine sculptures of various winter sports - perfect for the Winter Olympics - it would be kind of cool to do this as part of a study based on the Paralympics that are beginning now!

This little figure skater is doing a nice deep lunge:)

What you will need:

small paper plates

different colours of plasticine

placemats for desks and easy clean up

glue sticks for rolling pins

toothpicks for reinforcements

First, have students put their names on the bottom of their plate.  Have them soften and roll their chosen colour of plasticine for the bottom or ground of their sculpture.  Explain that they must stretch it out over the entire plate bottom so that no plate is showing.  

Next students must build their sculpture with a sturdy enough body so that it does not fall over - demonstrate how to stick toothpicks in the middle of each body part - especially when connecting any limbs - to ensure sturdiness.

Encourage creativity.  Discuss adding small details to make the sculpture interesting - try to avoid big mounds of unrecognizable sporting mania:)  Show how adding eyes, and stripes on the pants, etc. will make the sculpture eye-catching and appealing!

Check out this gnarly snowboarder - I love the slopes she has got going on - definitely shreddin' some pow!

We usually have the parents and other grades by for a little museum - the kids write about their sport.  They love this but we will not be doing that this year - this week the Grade 1's are having their Career Day on Friday so that will be enough!!:)

Hope your Monday was super!

Easy Valentine's HeArt - Hee hee

Time for another installation of Easy ART!  This is starting to be my favourite blog inspiration.  Ok - so my student teacher found this idea on pinterest to use hearts to make different animals.  This might be the easiest, cutest, most enjoyed art ever!!  She decided to read the class Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister first.  Then she taught the class how to make the fish.  What I think is hilarious is how much the fish resemble each of the students that made them:)  Hee hee!!

So cheerful!!  

What you will need:

brightly coloured paper

heart tracers

felts

glue

googily eyes

Here we have a lovely angel fish!  Shimmer and float!!!

Directions: Have students make their big body heart first by folding their paper like a hot dog  Have them draw an ear shape (I always get them to feel the outside of their ear to get an idea of what half a heart is like.)  Next, have students used tracers to create other hearts for the tail, lips, and fins with different coloured paper.  Add details with felts for texture and Voilà!!  Magnifique!!!

Apparently this one is a fighting fish!!

I call this one the triangle head fish!

This can only be a puffer fish!  Watch out for this one!!

The best part is I heard one of my boys say, "What a cool idea!!"  I told him to tell my student teacher!

Also, I have just finished my newest set of plays/ Reader's Theater packet!!  I had so much fun writing them once again and the last set of Nativity plays were such a hit with my class I had to do more!!

Plus I found these cute, cute graphics from Teaching in the Tongass!  There is such talent in graphic design out there!!

Here are the colourful print out version to paste onto popsicle sticks!!  Insta-puppet!!

Happy Valentine's Day next week all!  Turns out it is also our 100th Day of school!  EEEEEeeek!!!  Minor panic attack....and I'm done:)

Be sure to check out last year's post for more good ideas!

Anyone for a Freggie Tale? (FREEBIE included!) AND Easy Marshmallow Print Snowman Art

Happy New Year bloggy world!!  This is my first post for 2014 and I am excited for all the things to come!!!

Before I explain how we made this cute little snowman art project how about a selfie!!!  I heard this was all the rage or maybe overused now?  Apparently selfie is the new # just like Snapchat and Instagram are the new Facebook!!

Here I am wearing my new necklace that I got for my birthday from my Aunt and Uncle - they are so sweet!!  My arm looks MASSSIVE!!  Not sure I am such of fan of the selfie - lol!!

Anywho - here is how we did our little art project this week:

You will need:

bright paper

large marshmallows

white paint in little containers

buttons for eyes

anything orange and papery for noses

jewels or baby pom poms for buttons

any kind of stretchy ribbon for a scarf - I unearthed some Easter coloured elastic - don't know where it came from but it worked

a black felt to draw on the arms

bright coloured paper for the hats

Students dipped the marshmallow in the paint and created the snow covered ground.  Then they used the marshmallow to make the body of the snowmen - making sure to lift straight up as they made each circle.

Students added details before the paint dried.  Don't you love how this one below turned out?  I love how you can see the purple paper through the white paint.  It kind of gives a nice texture and depth!

There is something so satisfying about that marshmallow squish onto the paper oooozzzzing white paint and creating a perfect round circle - sigh - I love art!

Now for a little Health snack!!  So I got this e-mail from my principal about this new health resource and I was pleasantly surprised when I checked it out!  Apparently it has really caught on in Ontario and it is FREEEEEEE!!!!  YES!   Click on the picture or HERE to get your copy now!!

 

I love how nicely it is laid out - the lessons fit on one or two pages and the activities are fun and meaningful!!  I started the first lesson for Grade 2 this week and we read one of my favourite stories called I Will Never NOT EVER Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child.

Then, I had prepared 4 envelopes with food picture cut outs from the 4 food groups - I snagged a stack of fliers from Choices - the cashier at the checkout was a doll and let me have a bunch when I told her I was a teacher!  Students had to guess which one of the pictures did not belong!!  Great introduction to the 4 groups. 

Then each kiddo got a flier and cut out fruits, veggies, meats, breads etc. to match the suggested servings according to the Canada Food Guide for a child their age.  They glued these onto a paper place - I find so many uses for these cheapo paper plates!! - they turned out totally cute!

Here is a little freebie I made up after the fact to go along with this activity!

Click HERE to download!

Happy January folks!!  Time to start eating healthy!!

What's a matter with you? and Easy Christmas Tree Art

Well my teachers friends - this matter unit is NOT for the faint of heart.  Yes I did use the word viscosity and volume - oh and even properties and matter!  It is important vocabulary and I think that kids need to understand these ideas now before it is too late and they are in high school chemistry and just discovering that water does not actually gain "coldness" - heat is taken away!!!  Aaack!!  I learned so much! 

Click on any of the pictures to check this item out at my TpT store.

 

Above is the front cover our our little matter lab book.  Every demonstration has a little write up to go along with it and a concluding wrap up statement for kids to fill in the blanks.  

Here are pictures from our culminating Science Fair.  It was a blast.  The girls above are doing Baggie Blow Up.  The boys below are doing Floater Boat or Sinker Stinker!!  It was an amazingly FUN mess!!  P.S.  Thank you to my amazing partner teacher Meg who always goes above and beyond for her students.  She helped me make and test out this unit - without her it would not be as wonderful as it is!!

Click HERE for some additional experiments!!

Today we took the Polar Express around the world to Germany.  I am using a wonderful little unit by Amanda Tervoort called Christmas Around the World.  I wanted to make a Christmas tree to go along with it so I came up with this!

You will need: 

blue construction paper

coffee filters

brown construction paper cut into rectangles for trunks

green tempera paint

star stickers and square stickers

sequins and beads for decorations

black marker

glitter glue

glue sticks

glue bottles

First, students will glue on the trunk.  Then, have students fold coffee filters into quarters and glue these one on top of the other.  P.S. Coffee filters are also awesome for holding popcorn while watching movies with your class right before Christmas holidays!!

Next, have students paint their tree with green tempera paint.  Finally, students can use white glue and stickers to add decorations.  My kiddos were SO into this!!!  They even look a little 3D!

Merry Christmas!!

Deck Your Christmas Activity Folder!

Well I think that this whole Christmas spirit thing added with Cyber Monday has almost knocked me off my rocker!!  I am just exploding with new ideas to try in the classroom and I am having a blast teaching about Christmas around the world.  Just posted my 10 Christmas Nativity Plays for beginning readers.  I had a ridiculously good time writing them!  Get them now while the sale is still on!!

Here are a couple of the covers of some of the plays.  Also check out the ridiculously cute graphics by Kari Bolt!!  LOVE!

On a side note I went wreath making a couple of weekends ago - here is what I created.  My sister says it looks like the forrest threw up - lol.  I LOVE it!!  It smells so nice and forresty!!

Technology Tip: Organize Your Computer Files with Flair!!

Well this is strange - this is the first time I am doing this from school!!  I just have to share a quick organizational tip - especially for all of you technologically savvy up and comers!!  I LOVE technology - but I find it especially hard to use if my digital files are not organized.  See picture below:

 As you can see my files are all over the place. I do not follow any pattern for naming, etc.  It is nearly impossible to find anything say I were to try teaching a lesson on the SMARTBoard or even plan for the next week!

FACT: Your files will automatically alphabetize themselves...BUT did you know that you can add spaces or numbers to the front of the file name and they will appear FIRST in your folder!!

YES!!  You can have your most important files appear at the top of your Documents folder for easy access!!!

Click twice on your file folder leaving time in between each click (double clicking fast will just open the file).  The first click should highlight the name of the folder and with the second click a cursor will appear.

Position it at the front of the name and add a "1" or a space, periods, or even an underscore "_" to your most used file. 

Don't panic if it moves spots.  The computer will numerically organize it for you as soon as you click anywhere else in the folder.

  My number first file is titled "_Basics Elementary".  Next comes "_Opening Activities", followed by "0LongRangePlans". 

If, like mine, your files were all over the place ordered with no thought, begin by creating folders within your Documents folder for however you decide to categorize your folders.

Open up a second window and begin transferring and organizing your files to your new numerically, symbolically organized folders.



This has made my life SO much easier when teaching with technology!!

Happy teaching!!!

La météo en français! Voilà!!

Well - report card season and Christmas concert season is almost among - ahem - upon us - if it hasn't already started for some of you!  For all you Canadian French teachers out there, with the help of my lovely multi-talented and multilingual aunt - thanks Aunt Tricia!!! - I have created a little weather unit to help teach all of the weather vocabulaire!!!

One of my favourite things to teach is French - it always amazes me how fast some of them pick it up!!  I am teaching Grade 2 this year so it will be fun to see if they remember anything from last year when I taught them in Grade 1!  And once again the exclamation marks are getting away from me...lol.

This little packet will easily fit into any morning routine.  With a little practice and a lot of fun you will have vos éléves á parler français, devant vos yeux (before your eyes)!!