Sunday Funday: Consignment Shopping

 
We are on spring break this week. It is a great time to link up with Molly and Deirdre We started our break with the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade.



Our Sunday Funday was shaped around the Liverpool game. I wanted to go to a big children’s consignment sale, so I left just before 8am to ensure that my children were not left unattended once the game started. (I joke…sort of!)

It was a great day! Not only did Liverpool beat Manchester United 3-0, but I found some amazing deals at the Just Between Friends sale. The last day of the sale, most items are 50% off. I have gotten to the point where I only buy clothes for my kids at these sales. I also only allow myself to shop once they reduce the prices.



The pictures don’t do it justice. My cousin is getting married this week, so I bought my daughter four gorgeous dresses for $3 to $4 each. She is still deciding which one twirls the best. My son is going to wear the Ralph Lauren shirt in the picture. It was $2.50. The athletic shorts were $2 each. They are all branded. The blue outfit and matching hat are from Gymboree. I got all three pieces for just $3.75.

According to my receipt, I paid an average of $2.44 an item. My daughter was having a blast trying everything on. She was thrilled with our little impromptu fashion show.

So far spring break is off to a great start!

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On a separate note, please consider linking up your favorite St. Patrick's Day activity if you haven't already!

Clip Art: Sonia DeHart, Giftseasonstore

 

The linky will be up for another week. I am also giving my Sully Shamrock font to anyone who links up a St. Patrick's Day Post.

Whooo is ready for St. Patrick’s Day Linky Party

I am married to an Irishman who moved across the pond for me. Every March I enjoy making a fuss over St. Patrick’s Day for him.

Clip Art: Sonia DeHart, Giftseasonstore

 

I did Irish themed activities with four grade levels. I’ve blogged before about the Tagxedo word clouds that my fifth grade classes made using traditional Irish songs.



Most of the fourth grade was on an overnight field trip, so a few of the remaining students helped me to make Paper Strip Shamrocks.



I love they way they came! I used straight pins to hang them on the giant board outside my rooms.
My kindergarteners made rainbow puff paint pictures. It was a two day project. They started by painting tempra paint rainbows on cardstock.



Once that was dry, they filled in the shamrock with puff paint. I was inspired by this pin.



If you have not tried puff paint, you should! All you do is mix equal parts of shaving cream and glue. To make it green, you add food coloring. The “goop-ier” the paint, the better the puff when it dries. It is pretty neat!

For my first graders, I found instructions on how to draw a shamrock on this post. My husband always makes a point to include shamrocks and not four leaf clovers in our decorations, so I decided to go with it.

The first day we used white boards to practice drawing the shamrocks. I went step by step and then let them practice until they were comfortable with it.

Next, students drew shamrocks on tagboard and outlined them with black or green crayons.



The next class, we painted. They first covered the entire page with light green paint. Then, they used dark paint to paint inside the shamrocks.



All together they make up an impressive field of first grade shamrocks.

So, there you have it! These are the activities I have done this year with my STEAM classes.

Do you have a favorite St. Patrick’s Day activity to share? Please link up and tell us about it!  If you do link up, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I will send you a copy of my Sully Shamrock font. The linky will be open until just after St. Patrick’s Day.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thursday Throw Down: Google Forms

I’m joining my blogging friend Erin from I’m Lovin’ Lit for her Thursday Throw Down Linky.



I know I'm cheating just a little. I don't have notebooks in my class, so I can't really enjoy all the interactive notebook goodies, but it is as interactive as I can get in the lab!

I’ve been waiting since October to start a cardboard arcade inspired by Caine’s Arcade. This pile of cardboard has been taunting my students for a month or so.



That big box in the back has a sign on it. It reads, “Not trash. Not a TV. Just a Box.”  They have been begging to get started.

I have 18 classes. I needed to find a way to have each class vote on a photo booth prop and a game. I handed out little slips of paper for the first class, but it took WAY too long.

During my planning period I created the shell of a Google Form. When my fifth graders came, we filled in their ideas for the photo booth and the same.



I sent the finished form to the student computers. Each student completed the form and then rushed back to the carpet to view the results on the SMART board.



I refreshed the results to the sounds of cheers from the winning group. If I had longer than a 50 minute class period I would have used this information for a teachable moment about data. Instead I printed out the information for teachers who wanted it.



I’ve been using Google forms a lot lately. It is so quick and easy to gather and use the data.

Now we are working on our projects. This is a treasure chest in progress. In the background are a robot and a claw machine.



This one is ready for paint and decorations.



Can you tell what it is?



My classroom is over run with cardboard projects and smells like paint, but we are having a blast!

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I hope that you will join me Saturday for my first ever Linky Party. I’m married to an Irishman, so St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in my house - and my classroom!

Clip Art: Sonia DeHart, Giftseasonstore

I have a few St. Patrick’s Day art projects I plan to share. You can link up any post, new or old, with a St. Patrick’s Day theme. To make sure I don’t end up “Jenny no mates” as my Irishman would say, I’ll e-mail my Sully Shamrock font to anyone who links up.

I’ll leave the link up through St. Patrick’s Day, so be sure to link up your favorite activity! Hope to see you then!

Sunday Funday: OverDrive AudioBooks

We have had a great Sunday so far! After our usual Mass and grocery shopping, we headed to the pool. It was our first swim this year. The kids were thrilled. I asked my husband to take a picture of my son eating snacks poolside, but by the time he got his phone out the moment was gone. You have to move faster than that when dealing with two-year-olds!

Somehow we got both kids to nap. It doesn’t happen nearly often enough! I’m working away while enjoying my latest book. As mentioned in the title, this Sunday Funday is about my love for audio books.



Since having kids, I’ve found it difficult to find time to read. For years, I used Paperback Swap to get audio books on CD. I tried Audible after my sister got me a three month subscription  for Christmas.

Then I discovered that I could get audio books from the local public library. I don’t need to worry about returning the books. When the time is up they just disappear. Using the OverDrive App, I can listen on my phone. In the car it links up through the Bluetooth to the sound system.



Audiobooks have been the answer to my problems. It doesn’t matter how late I am, the drive to work is still the same length. I still have time to listen to my book. It makes any day better!

(As an aside, I have also used the same app in my classroom!)

Irish Loves and Tried it (Techie) Tuesday: Padlet

What a lovely start to the week! With one month to go, we broke out our St. Patrick’s Day gear. Yes, they are sticking out their tongues. At 2 and 4 that was the only way to get them looking at the camera!



The Irishman and I were both off work. We have no babysitters, so we try to take a date day for the two or three days in the year when day care is open and we are off work.

We spent the first hour or two working on a project for school. After a quick trip to Costco, we’d planned to go see a movie. Instead we decided to crash on the beach with Shamrock Shakes. Bliss!



I had my first Shamrock Shake on my first visit to Ireland. This was back in our “long distance” “You’ve Got Mail” days.



On the topic of Ireland, my husband just booked our flights for Ireland this summer! My in-laws are SO excited that we are coming! We haven’t been in years and never in the summer.

Anyway, back to the Tech Tuesday…

I have my student create a lot in my room. Due to the nature of my class, student might draw, build with Legos, create block structures, or design something online. They always hate to clean up when it is time to go.

I had this vision of creating an online gallery of their creations. At FETC I’d been on the lookout for possible sites to use that would work. Last week I started with Padlet. So far I’m loving it!



I’ve set up one gallery for each grade level. Right now our computers are not set up for students to save photos, but in the near future they will be able to create their own posts that I will moderate and approve.



In looking at the ELA standards for technology, there is an emphasis on publishing and sharing starting in K-1. I love this as a quick easy way to publish electronically.



There is a character limit on the writing, but I'm hoping to use this to get them started for some collaborative work in the STEAM Lab. 

We are also looking at possibly creating a board for the Minecraft club to post screen shots of their creations from the server. (I might be the club sponsor, but I’m still learning…a lot! I’m just hoping that my statement actually makes sense!)

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Be sure to check out the others:

5 for Friday: I’m in Love With…

It has been a quiet week on the blog because I have been busy  preparing my application for PBS Learning Media Digital Innovator contest. There are few things as much fun as hanging out after school with some awesome fourth graders armed with my iPhone camera.

Anyway, I’ve been meaning to link up with Molly all week, but I didn’t get a chance. I love her “I’m in Love With…” Linky.



These are a given. My husband, the Irishman, is Superman. While he usually saves the costume for Halloween, he is an amazing father and a wonderful husband. My kids may keep me up at night, but they also keep me amazed. This week they have both had one of those developmental jumps that leave me speechless. They are sweet, smart, and loving. We are truly blessed!

Now for some multitasking….

So here is my Valentine Five for Friday…

1:

Thoughts of Traveling Outside of Florida

While Florida has its perks, I miss traveling. The last couple of weeks has brought talk of airplane rides at my house.

I recently found out that I will be presenting a session at the NCTM Regional Conference in Houston this November. I grew up in Houston and still have family and friends there. The conference is the week before Thanksgiving, so we hope to make a family trip out of it.

Things are looking promising for a trip to Ireland to see my husband’s family this summer. He is the only one of six kids to have left the Emerald Isle. This trip is long over due!

2:

Cooler Weather

I know the rest of the country is sick of the cold, but I would gladly take a little snow about now. Anyone care to send a little my way?

After several late nights this week, I am more than a little jealous of those of you who lucked out with a snow day. I can’t complain too much though – we’ve cooled down to the 70’s for the long weekend.

3:

My “New” Position

I guess it isn’t really new any more, but I really love what I teach now. Putting together this video only reminded me how much I love my job right now.

4:

Technology

Again, this one is a bit of a given, but after going to FETC and creating my first iMovie, it has to make the list!

5:

March

My husband is from Cork, Ireland. His birthday is also in March. We always talked about moving to Ireland, but that hasn’t worked out for us yet. I try to really celebrate big for St. Patrick’s Day. It makes for a fun month that we kick off mid-February. Add spring break in there, and you have reason to celebrate!

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A few weeks ago I tried to make all my appointments. Somehow I ended up with a dentist appointment on Valentine’s Day. I’m not sure what I was thinking! (Shaking head)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

colAR Mix App Review

A few weeks ago I was on Pinterest when I came across a pin that caught my attention. The picture did not match the description, but it talked about augmented reality coloring sheets. I thought it was a neat idea, so I went to the website and printed a coloring sheet to try it for myself.



I could not believe it. I printed off all the free coloring sheets and took them home to my kids. I told my daughter that these sheets were magical.

My four-year-old’s picture went from this:

to this:

What you can’t tell from the screen shot is that the picture is turning and moving to music. It is really impressive!

I knew right away that I wanted to use this with my STEAM classes. The design above is for Chinese New Year. My kindergarten classes could not wait to see what “magic” I was going to do to their coloring sheets.



I’ve created a poster to go with the student papers to explain how to make the papers come to life. I left it for my sub to hang in the hallway while I am at FETC this week.



The free app and coloring sheets are available at http://colarapp.com. There are free sheets available as well as an in-app purchase to unlock the other coloring sheets. Most of the free coloring sheets are seasonal, but there are a few that you can use year round.

My first grade classes used the bird coloring sheet. They looked doubtful when I told them I was going to do magic, but they all were most impressed when the bird they colored ate their worm. I love that the coloring is exactly the same as the way the child colored it.



I only have one iPad in my room, so I called each student up one at a time to reveal the magic. It actually made it even more special.These are going in the hallway as well. I LOVE our poster printer.



I posted the picture of my daughter on Facebook and someone asked if it was for real. This app is really that good. Best of all? It is free! This one is worth checking out!

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I’m linking up: