Do You Need a Candy Cane Forest?
At school I’m in an outdoor trailer with several other specialists. I have wanted for several years to have a candy cane forest like is described in the Elf movie:
“I passed through the seven levels of the Candy Cane forest, through the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops, and then I walked through the Lincoln Tunnel.”
This year, I had several others on board with me, so we collected supplies from parents to build one. In order to make this happen, we would need the main things. candy canes, gum drops, and any other random Christmas decor, We did work in a trailer park, so we had liberty to be “trailer parkish” :D!
I did not make these, but I thought it was so very clever! I had wanted to gather flower pots because I knew they wouldn’t blow away and spray paint the flower pots. Much more cost efficient was the use of plastic bowls hat were spray painted with rock Salk glued to them. I thought this was so very clever! Next year, there are promises that we will go every bigger! Love it! I hope we spread some Christmas cheer to you a well!
How Can You Build a Turkey Gobbler with Your Students
First, what does a turkey even sound like. We mislead students many times by saying, “gobble, gobble,” when in fact they sound nothing like this. Show students this video so they can hear a real turkey.
Then I have them practice making a turkey sound. Next I hand out toilet paper rolls to everyone and ask them to see if they can make the turkey gobbler sound. We discuss how something must be missing. I direct students to feel their throat and discuss what they feel. Some students will be able to name what they feel as the word vibration. I then have them make their turkey gobbler after we talk about how sound is made from vibration. Oh and by the way, did you know that turkeys only “gobble” when they are looking for a mate OR lying down to rest similar to the sound we make when we are stretching to lie down.
After they receive their cardboard roll and unsuccessfully make a turkey sound, I come by and attach wax paper over the top with a rubber band directing them to be careful with the wax paper. If they are not, it can tear, of course. While I am attaching wax paper, I let the students decorate the cardboard with markers etc. I also tried this with red tissue paper so that it looks more like a turkey and while the sound works, I didn’t trust small children not to make a hole in the tissue paper with their wet mouth. 🙂
I did this lesson with kindergarteners and first graders. It actually worked best with first graders and they were able to have more self control with stopping their turkey gobbler sound. I have them put the “gobbler” in their backpack after we have made it and after they have all made a little sound together–for the sanity of the classroom teacher (wink, wink) and me.
Happy Thanksgiving my teacher friends!
Snow Lessons for January
I will be sharing with you my K-2 enrichment lessons for January’s return. All of these lessons revolve around snowmen.
In kindergarten we will discuss what imagination is and read the well loved Snowmen at Night.
After we read this, students will design their own snowman and describe what he looks like, what his favorite food is, his name, favorite games, etc. As we finish, students will share their work, and we will discuss who used imagination and originality.
In first grade we will also discuss imagination and originality. Then we will read Sneezy the Snowman.
After we read this story, I will challenge students to think of a way to create Sneezy the Snowman without using snow since he keeps having the problem of melting. Students will have to think of different spherical shapes they might use for the balls that make up a Snowman. For example, they might use basketballs, globes, beachballs, Christmas ornaments, or the like. It will be fun to se who has the most imagination with this lesson!
With second grade, I will recycle a lesson I have done before and love! We will create six pointed paper snowflakes after learning about snowflakes in the book below. I will link to that post here.
This year, I may change things up a bit as I use this video in lieu of the book.
Don’t forget Super Teacher Worksheets has lots of snowman resources, too, to round out any unit you may be developing!
Check Out These Fun Fall Activities!
Did you know Super Teacher Worksheets has fun fall puzzles and activities? Check them out!
10 Ways to Avoid Summer Brain Rot
- Send children outside to collect something. For example, collect, rocks, leaves, flowers, dirt samples. What similarities and differences do you see in each thing?
- Grow something that attracts butterflies such as dill and notice what happens as the caterpillars grow. Do they see any caterpillars shedding their skin as they grow?
- Go outside with a magnifying glass and look at crawling bugs. Where are they going? Are they carrying anything? Why?
- Oldie but a goodie If you have the neighborhood for it, set up a lemonade stand. Have children figure out how much they would have to charge per glass to make money.
- Learn some information above your grade level. Parents can sign their children up for Super Teacher Worksheets and either brush up on topics they need some review with or work to learn skills above their grade level.
- Look at the sky and find cloud pictures. What do chidden see? Do others see something different?
- Draw a picture of your backyard. Now draw a picture of your DREAM backyard. What would you change and why?
- For older children, buy some vinegar and baking soda. Discuss chemical reactions and the Periodic Table. Old film canisters and ziplock bags work great for a closed environment to mix the baking soda and vinegar. The pressure will build and “pop”. the kids will get instant smile with pleasure when the chemical reaction explodes. Protective eyewear would probably be best or just stand at a distance.
- Teach your dog new tricks. Make videos of these to share with your friends.
- My very favorite: Make an angletron like I discussed in the previous post and see how many places you can find the Golden Angle in nature. Here is a printable protractor so you can easily make a Golden Angle measuring tool
Are You Scrambling for End of Year Resources?
I usually am. Well, don’t underestimate Super Teacher Worksheets wealth of resources. Did you know they have cute printable for saying goodby to your students OR super fun puzzles you can do to keep your children busy on those last few days when you are working on cleaning out your room. What about the “brain rot” that happens over the summer. Don’t you think your students’ parents might enjoy a summer fun packet? Look no further! Super Teacher Worksheets has all of this and more!
Try this Great Field Trip!
A few years ago I went on THE best field trip EVER! It is a place your wouldn’t think of going. We went to the water plant. We got to see how water was gathered, filtered, and sanitized. I know not everyone has the same water plant I have, but this is a great trip worth looking into for your area. We got to do a virtual trip this year, which was also great! I’m going to list several reasons why.
- Engineering Process. Even though we didn’t watch any engineers, we got to learn about the filtration process step by step. There is a lot of thought that goes into filtering water and treating the water with different chemicals. It moves throughout several pools to filter before chemicals are added. Very talented engineers had to design this process for it to be safe for us
- Chemistry. Students were able to learn about the chemicals chlorine and fluoride. They learned why these chemicals are important for the water that comes from our faucet.
- Measurement. Our students were able to see how large a pipe was compared to their size. They are about six feet in diameter.
- Appreciation. Students listened to the workers at the plant tell about how they watch computer screens on a 24 hour basis to see if there are any leaks that would indicate there is a problem. These workers have to work even when weather is bad to protect the water supply. This will make you appreciate what comes out of the faucet even more.
- Career opportunities. There are many, many people that work at a water plant providing many career opportunities for children to aspire towards. They can learn first hand from people who hold jobs in a career field they may be interested in.
Students said that this was one of their favorite activities this year–learning about the water plant.
Consider other overlooked places for field trips, also. Have you considered your local electric plant or recycling center? Sometimes learning about the seemingly ordinary and mundane can draw student curiosity.
Make Homemade Paper for Mother’s Day
A while back, I taught an enrichment class about how people in the Far East make paper out of a certain kind of tree bark. This makes really soft paper from which you can make cards. Since Mother’s Day is soon approaching, what a fun activity to teach children! Children can make homemade paper cards for their mothers! I guarantee they haven’t done this before. You will need the following:
glass jar
large bowl
spoon
water
white vinegar (apple cider would be okay too)
colander or strainer
old cotton T-shirt or pillowcase
scissors
dried flower or seeds (optional)
First, cut up small pieces of paper and place as much as you can in the jar. Then cover the paper pieces with water. (Above is brown and white paper combined so you can see how it comes together.) Add a spoonful of vinegar to keep the mixture from molding or spoiling. Set the jar aside for about two days. In two days pour the water and paper mixture into a large bowl. After the two days or so, take the jar and it’s contents and put them into a large bowl. Now, put your hands into the bowl and mush up the paper even more. Break the pieces up into as small of pieces as you can. Now pour the goopy mixture out through a colander and drain off all of the water.
Next, dump the goopy mixture out onto the old T-shirt and place it in an area to dry. Flatten out the mixture and shape it how you want it to dry. If you are using optional pressed flowers or seeds, now is the time to place them onto the paper mixture so that they stick. If you are using flowers, you may want to add a little white Elmers glue to them so that they stick.
Let this dry for a few days on the T-shirt. When dry you may cut it to shape the paper. If you chose to place seeds into the card, you can write on it with marker to say “Happy Mother’s Day” or “plant me”.
If you would like a folded card, the paper may be ironed between the cloth T-shirt in a fold.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day
Teach your students the true story of St. Patrick. There’s more to it than just wearing green!
Are you looking for some great St. Patrick’s Day Activities? Look at the MANY activities that Superteacherworksheets.com offers!
Use Snow to Your Advantage: Snow Day Learning!
There’s no day like a snow day…in the South that is! We have had a great time for about a week and a half with a large amount of snow where I live, yet we were teaching virtually. I knew this was a losing battle. I mean if I was a child, I definitely wouldn’t be doing schoolwork when record snowfall is happening outside. I gave the kids these options, and do you know what?! I actually had some children participate!!
Here is what I assigned them:
Snow Experiments and Creativity
Do this OR pick two of the following:
Build a snow creation that no one else will think of (especially not a snowman or woman). Add extra details to make it more interesting. Give it an interesting name.  You must use at least 2 snow tools to build your sculpture. I showed them 2 snow sculpture videos in which they used tools.
What tools did you use?
How did you use the tools? What did you build? Send me a picture.
1.Measure the snow in it’s deepest part with a ruler. Use inches. Where did you measure it? How deep was it?
2. Put a some snow in a jar or measuring cup. Mark a line to show how deep it was in the jar. Bring it inside and let it melt. Mark the new line. How did it change? Why do you think this happened?
3. Throw some crackers or breadcrumbs outside. Watch the birds. Feed them. How are they eating since the snow is so deep? What kind of birds do you see? What do you notice?
5. Do you have a thermometer? Take the temperature from your hands outside. Now put on mittens. Put the thermometer inside the mittens. How did the mittens affect the temperature of your hands?
6. Get some containers with a small spout like water bottles and fill them with very cold water. Add food coloring. Make a beautiful picture in the snow by pouring your colored water out on the snow. Send me a picture.
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The actual results of my activitiesI had some students measure the snow in a jar and melt the snow in the microwave. Over a zoom we figured out the fractional amount of water that was created after the snow had melted. We discovered that one-fourth of the water remained from the melted snow.
I had students who took their technology device outside to build their snow sculpture so that the other kids could be involved in what they were doing. The sculpture changed several times as it didn’t work out like the child had planned. I also had one child build a snow fort as she turned a tunnel into a structure where her father buried her.
Another student excitedly exclaimed that he had a book about birds for the bird watching activity! (I reminded children they could go inside to do this one and get warm if they got cold in the snow.) This same child seemed to delight in waking his mother up from a nap to ask for food coloring of which they had none.
Lastly, I had a measurement competition going in which children found the depth of snow at their house. Now, I couldn’t tell you if they were being honest, but at least they were pulling out a ruler and thinking about measurement.
I hope you get a chance to experience some of these activities with your students virtually, too!
