Beach Sand: creative thinking

Showing posts with label creative thinking. Show all posts

It's the first day of....

And I'm lovin' life right now!! Shopping is done (not wrapping though). Cookies are made. House is clean. I'm ready to enjoy the next two weeks!

On our last day before the break, we enjoyed a Snow Day. Yes. A snow day here in Florida. The kids dressed in their winter best. Hats. Scarves. Mittens. (And their shorts!)

We enjoyed a day of Minute to Win It games, crafts and a fun sweet treat.

The students made their own melted snowman cookies. So adorable!

I took their pictures using some fun snow hat props. They transformed themselves into snowboys and snowgirls! Using a white ink pad, they used their finger prints to create the falling snow. These really made them giggle!

We also made these clothes pin snowmen. (THIS IS NOT MY PHOTO) I put a magnet on the back and used grosgrain ribbon for the scarf. Forgot to take photos of the finished products.

One of my teammates went all out on these adorable crafts. She used CDs to create glittery snowman ornaments...all that glitter makes cringe! LOL! She was very clever with the snowman spoon craft. To cut cost, she used a styrofoam cup instead of clay pot. The kids painted and decorated the cup and then added cute details to the snowman spoon. How fun are those??

Check out more fun winter ideas for the classroom HERE on my Pinterest board. I think many of these activities can be done into January and February. After all, winter lasts until March 20th.

Looking for some winter research and activities for your lesson plans? How about a reindeer mini unit? Just because Santa has come and gone doesn't mean your students can't learn about these fascinating animals. Check out my Wild About Reindeer pack. Students have a chance to conduct research and read about reindeer, as well as write about them to create a mini-book. Assign all or just some of these activities.

Look for all my winter products and freebies here on TpT.

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing time off!

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Building confidence and self-esteem in children is a stepping stone toward being a healthier adult. When students have a sense of their strengths and weaknesses they are better able to face life's challenges, conflicts, and negative pressures. As teachers, helping students develop self-esteem is something we do on a daily basis, but not all students find success or confidence in the classroom setting. Kids can feel as if they are only as good as their test score or a grade on a report card. In this testing frenzy time, I think we need to step back and remember the WHOLE child. There are so many talents hiding within our rooms that we can't even see.

Years ago, needing an activity for the last week of school, a colleague and I came up with the idea of Hobby Time. We allowed the kids to bring in hobbies/crafts to work on and share. They were having a blast teaching each other and "showing off" what they could do. Over the years, it evolved into more than just a show and tell time. I began to realize that even the students who were not top academically had something to offer and share. Their confidence was up and their self-esteem inflated!

Hobby Time includes activities that give students a chance to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses. They have the opportunity to research, draw, create, write, and share about what makes them special. All of these activities come together to make a perfect lapbook scrapbook or can be used in an interactive notebook. What a nice keepsake, too!
Some students may need help and encouragement finding their hobby/interest/sport. Allow them to write about one they want to succeed at. Discuss goal setting and what it takes to achieve those goals. Help them discover that everyone has talents!

We need to guide and nurture the whole child. We need to take time to get to know who our students are outside of the classroom. By allowing students to showcase their hobbies, recreational activities, and sports, we will help them feel confident, fit in, and shine in the classroom!

Use this product as a back to school/get to know you activity, an end of year culminating activity, or anytime in between. JANUARY is Hobby Month so that would be a perfect time!! Do some or all of the activities provided.

TODAY ONLY you can win this product! Visit my friend Denise over at Sunny Days in Second Grade and enter her Winter Giveaway going on now until December 14th! Good luck!!

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

One week from today I will be on summer vacation! WOOT! WOOT! I can not believe it! Someone pinch me! I am over-the-top excited for summer to be here. I mean I love my job and my little cuties, but summer is just soooooo nice!

To celebrate the beginning of summer time, Britney over at Tailor-Made Teaching has organized this summer hop!

As the school year comes to a close, I start to think about summer reading. While I love to read a good adult novel, I also enjoy reading young adult books or chapter books written for elementary students. There are some wonderful ones out there! I spend time reading these books because knowing about books helps me to motivate my readers and helps me help them find what interest them. I think it's vital to be up on what is NEW in children's literature. I get it about "the classics" out there, BUT what kids want to read is what is new and popular, not old and tire. I'm talking about those books where the characters on the cover look like they walked out of the 70s. These are not appealing! Do you agree? So as you are packing up for the summer, take a run through your classroom library. If books on your shelves look old, yellow, or just plain unappealing...say goodbye! Over the summer, check out your local library or yard sales for book sales. Ask parents to donate gently used books to your classroom. Use up those Scholastic points you've been saving or go through your book shelves at home. Have your own kids do some summer cleaning. If the books aren't the right age for your classroom, share with other teachers.

Besides making kids read outdated stories, my other pet peeve is outdated summer reading lists! I don't send them home anymore and it drives me nuts when I see lists going out to kids with books I know are outdated. UGH! Drives me nuts! I like to encourage my kids to do what all good readers do to find books. Go to the library. Go to the bookstore. Talk with friends and get recommendations. Join Goodreads.com. Check out the New York Times best sellers list. In Florida, we have the Sunshine State Young Reader's Award list and it always has a variety of levels and interests for elementary and middle school students. Find a series you love. Join a book club or start one with friends. Find a reading list online and see if there are books that interest you. I also encourage my parents to give their child the opportunity to self-select books. Teach them to find good books the same way YOU do!

Here are some of the books I will be reading and recommending this summer are:

Janitors, Book 1

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

A Tangle of Knots

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures

I Funny: A Middle School Story

Cinder: Book One of the Lunar Chronicles

For professional reading, I want to finish up Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits

I hope you found a book or two to read and/or recommend to a student.

I created a little Summer Time Fun Time Activity Calendar of 30 fun activities to give your kids as they head off for the summer.

Specify the number of activities for them to complete and have them return it to you in the fall for a special back to school treat.

Now hop on over to Sparkling in Second for some more summer time fun and freebies!

Find even more freebies here:

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Allowing time for students to be creative has always been a top planning priority in my room. I'm excited to be a part of the Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store #teachercreativity Blog Hop.

Do you find the traditional book report summary or one page typed research paper boring and, most of the time, copied from the internet?? I turn and run from these old-fashion projects. I much rather give my students a project that they will make unique and I know is not plagiarized. LOL!

These little Paper Bag Scrapbooks are super, duper easy to make and can be used for just about any subject and grade level.

Here are some of the supplies that I purchased at Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft store. If you are going to have students create books based on a specific topic then purchase a variety of stickers and papers that match your theme or purchase a mix of basic paper and letter stickers. As time goes on, you will build a collection of scrapbook materials. Asking parents to donate or students to bring in supplies from home helps, too and adds to your collection. I knew that I was going to create a scrapbook based on Charlotte's Web and one about Abe Lincoln (my favorite president BTW!) I purchased materials that I knew would compliment both of those topics.

These card stock books are great and inexpensive. Check it out...$4. Get these when they are on sale or with your Teacher Reward discount. These books come in a variety of patterns and colors and there is plenty of paper inside! I also purchased those manila tags.

Ribbon, brads, or brass fasteners work great for holding these books together. A staple works, too.

Here are the quick and easy peasy steps to making a Paper Bag Scrapbook. Three paper bags will make a 12 page book which is plenty. Lay the bags on top of one another alternating them like this:

Fold all three in half. Use a hole punch to make a hole at each end of the crease, punching through all three bags.

I used ribbon on this book to hold it together. I used brads on the other book.

Three pockets are created by the bag openings. The kids love these. I tell them they are good for holding secrets and surprises! Use the tags to place inside or cut more card stock and slip it.

What goes inside those pockets is open to so many possibilities. Encourage students to create the scrapbook from the perspective of a particular book character or president or famous historical figure. The pockets could hold memorabilia, theater tickets, important documents, letters, photos, or other trinkets. The sky's the limit and so is your students' imaginations. These books make for a perfect assessment tool. You will be able to see how well they know the topic!

I created forms students could use if you wanted to make a book report scrapbook or president scrapbook. You can find those HERE and HERE if you are interested.

If you want to start your collection of scrapbook materials for the classroom start by printing out this coupon.

If you have not signed up for their Teacher Reward program, you can do that HERE. You'll get 15% off your order every time you shop!!

Check out these other teacher bloggers and see how they foster creativity in their classrooms:

Tuesday Sunny Days in Second Grade

Wednesday More Time 2 Teach

Thursday Learning in the Little Apple

Friday Ms. Fultz's Corner

Beach Sand and Lesson Plans

Happy Monday! Sending a little St. Patrick's Day green your way with a freebie! I love to offer my kids creative thinking opportunities which lead to this product. I like when they have to think "outside the box". Push themselves a little. Though I teach a gifted/high achiever class, I am a firm believer that strategies used in a gifted class are strategies that can work in any classroom. Even when I did not teach gifted students, I taught all my students the same. I've always had high expectations and always pushed my kids. Remarkably, even my lowest seemed to rise to the occasion. I believe all students have strengths and even gifted qualities in some area. These strengths may not be academic, but perhaps they are talented artists or musicians or they shine on the soccer field. I think we need to afford all students the opportunities to shine!

On to the FREEBIE! I've created some questions that require some "green" thinking! Included are 3 different pieces of printable paper for student responses. The last page can be used after reading a book about St. Patrick's Day. Ask your kids to think about facts and legends about this festive holiday.

Click ✤HERE✤ to download your copy!