A Day in the STEAM Lab

My school day this year is drastically different than it was when I taught third grade. My day flies! With only two minutes between classes, I can easily go hours without finding my way to a chair.



Second Grade
My first class comes at 8:05. Last week my second graders were making state of matter posters to compliment what they are learning in the regular classroom.

 



Planning
Planning usually involves setting up for Kindergarten. This week I also finally hung up the big bulletin board I’ve been putting together for the last month.



Kindergarten
I am so happy to have a planning period before the little ones come in. They are almost always the class that requires the most set up. We usually do small group activities. I did not get pictures of our splatter painting adventures last week. (They will eventually be owls.) On Friday we were using the colAR app.



I plan to do a whole post on this next week. I told the kindergarteners that we were doing magic. They couldn’t argue! You print the coloring sheets and then use the free app to bring the pictures to life. Coolest. App. Ever.

Fifth Grade
The craziest part of my day is the switch from kindergarten to fifth grade. There are supposed to be two minutes between classes, but I usually end up with 2 seconds between those two classes.
Last week the fifth grade spent a day finishing up their Famous Frosty Faces.



I have just finished posting this to my TpT store.



It is on sale right now in my store. I love the way these came out!

Lunch…then First Grade
After fifth grade I have lunch. I usually eat at my desk after trying to get set up for first grade.



They are comparing numbers up to 120 in class, so we used the Wii to compare bowling scores. Those waiting for a turn on the Wii played SumDog. They were all thrilled!

Fourth Grade
My fourth graders did not get to make snowflakes for the big hallway display, so they worked together to make 3D paper snowflakes to hang in the hallway.



I printed these directions. Students were less than thrilled to learn that I was going to make them READ and FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. They eventually stopped begging me to just tell them how to do it.

Third Grade
My day ends with third grade. Last week I decided to reinforce some of the fraction activities they were doing in the classroom with some SMART board practice.

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One of my favorite parts of my schedule is that I repeat the same activities for three days in a row. (Once with each class in the grade level.) By day three I might be sick of it, but I feel like I have ironed out all the kinks in my plans.

I know I’ve said it before, but I love teaching in the STEAM lab. It is still a work in progress, but the room and the curriculum are largely based around my vision for what a STEAM lab should be. It is fantastic!

Be sure to go check out other schedules!

Before, After, and Pin-it-to-win-it

I’m exhausted. Seriously exhausted.

I haven’t read a single blog since Monday. I haven’t even looked at Bloglovin’ to see how many unread posts I have now.

Monday was a rough day back. I was overwhelmed by my classroom. The computers are here, but the tables I picked won’t come in until the end of September. The work order to update the electric sockets and data ports was put in back in June, but they haven’t done it yet. Without electricity, I have iMacs waiting in boxes. We were still sorting out the SMART board, so it obviously wasn’t ordered yet.

Monday night I baked cookies and decided that Tuesday was going to be a better day.

I couldn’t change furniture/technology that was not going to be there on time, so I decided to focus on what I could do. Up first was the purple cabinets. I could not live with the purple cabinets.



The picture does not tell the tale of just how bad they were before. The blue makes me happy. The polka dots help hide the imperfections in these very old doors.



On the other side of the room is the kiln in a metal cage. I won’t even tell you how many people asked which kids I’d planned to keep in there.



I used a bungee cord and curtains I already owned to take care of the cage-like doors. The cart holds crayons. I found it on clearance for $31 at Michaels. I used my color cards to label the drawers. I also have the world’s largest tub of old crayons in my room. I had some students help start to sort the crayons by color. It did not even start to make a dent in the world’s largest tub of old crayons.



I brought my kids with me two nights last week. The first night I was coating the cabinets in Mod Podge. I sent my pint-sized helpers outside to paint the stools with water. My oldest also helped sort crayons. The second night they made wood bead necklaces. I kept the wood beads around just for that purpose!

Here are a few more ‘Before and After’ shots.



On either side of the board will a big table with 12 iMacs each. You will have to use your imagination for now.



The GIANT blue cabinet was too big to fit out the door. It must have been assembled in the room. I SO was happy to see it go! I have my owl rug in place and am just waiting for the SMART board to arrive.

Looking back at all the “Before and After” pictures I can tell just why I am so exhausted!
I’d planned to take final pictures of my room on Friday when I left, but they’d just moved in a giant laser color printer. It is a monster, but a monster I’m thrilled to have in my room! It won’t be set up until Monday. For now, I have a giant box.

For now it is family fun for the weekend. Miraculously everyone is napping, so I have time to look at TpT and to plan for the big sale tomorrow. I’m giving feedback and looking back at my wish list.
I recently updated my “Who am I?” pack. I’m happy with how it turned out!



As a reward for making it through the longest post ever, let’s play pin-it-to-win-it. Here’s how we’ll play. Pin any of my products to Pinterest and leave the link to the pin below. Monday night after my kids go to bed I will use a random number generator to pick a number and that person will win the prize they pinned. You may pin as many as you want and each will count as a different entry.

Enjoy your weekend!

QR Codes in the Elementary Classroom

I posted a flash freebie last weekend with QR codes and I had a few questions about how to use the cards. While this isn’t new to a lot of people, I wanted to share how I’ve used QR codes in my classroom.

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When I first saw QR codes I was intrigued. I found some freebies on TpT that were worth trying. I’ve since become a big fan! Here are a some of the ways I’ve used them in the classroom.

Giving Praise

I found 75 Ways to Say Good Job on Teachers Pay Teachers. I downloaded this awesome freebie. I mounted the cards on construction paper, cut it out, and laminated it.



This isn’t the best picture, but you can see my QR Tag Folder on the left under Celebrating Success. I will send a student over to scan a tag to celebrate positive behavior.

There are so many free and paid files like this. Once you get started it is easy to create your own!

Self Checking Centers
I have purchased and created several sets of task cards with QR codes built in. The students love them.



Better yet, the cards provide instant feedback. I love the fact that students can check their answers without me standing right there.

This has become my favorite way to use QR codes. I’m working on a QR game for classifying triangles now.

Creating Our Own
Last year I had my students create word problems with the answer embedded in a QR code. There are multiple free websites for creating QR Codes. It was a project done at home, so most of my students created their codes at home. Those without access to a computer and printer could create and print the code at school.

I wasn’t blogging last year when we wrote our own, so I do not have pictures. We will be doing it again after our state testing.

How Do I Get Started?
To read QR codes, all you need is a smart phone/iPad/tablet with a camera and an app for reading QR Codes. There are many free apps for this! We have downloaded several on our school iPads.

For generating your own QR codes, I’ve been using http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ though there are many other websites. There are many options – try a few sites and see what you like best!

Some people may say QR codes are dying out, but they are still a great tool for an elementary classroom!

Want to try it out? 

I’m planning a 100 follower giveaway next week, but I wanted to try out the technology first. As a trial run giving away these two files from my TpT store.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I’m linking up:

Five for Friday

So I started typing this on Friday, but it is already after midnight. We’ll just pretend it is still Friday!

Times have Changed
I posted on Facebook yesterday about our school bus. I was looking around at the seat belts and air conditioning. My how times have changed! I don’t think I’d have minded riding the bus to school nearly as much with AC!

Math March Madness
The Math March Madness is underway. We’ve had “Top Dog Thursday” and offered prizes to the student in each class who has answered the most questions correctly. I spent all day finalizing prizes. I’m still waiting to hear back from the local college sports teams, but I got enough together to share before the end of the first round.



There is a buzz about the place over SumDog. I love it! Kids are choosing to play at home and have answered thousands of questions on their own free time. It makes all the time I’ve spent on it worth it!

Still Dreaming of Fractions
Next week we will finally finish our fraction fun. I created these fraction cards for a time line activity. I put a piece of tape on the ground and then to had them place the cards where they belong on the open line.



I have since used them for SO many things. Fractions greater than one, mixed numbers, equivalent fractions, ordering fractions, etc. I actually e-mailed them with my newsletter for my students to use to study this weekend.



When I was student teaching, the fifth grade teacher I worked with used to give musical quizzes.



The idea is just like scoot, but it is set to music. We call it musical math. It is amazing how adding a little music and moving around the room makes an otherwise plain review come to life!



I love teaching math, but I’m ready to move on from fractions. Bring on geometry!

Time Check
It is the time of the year where we begin to wonder how we will fit in all the math we want to teach before the state test. We have started working time into other activities. I’ve added “Time Check” to my Class Dojo points. I’ve started calling, “Time check!” and picking a students to tell me the time. If they get it correct they get a point. If not, they will get another chance someday soon. It is a little thing, but it is working well!

Giveaways
There are so many great giveaways right now! I have donated items from my store to a few.
Elizabeth is celebrating 101 followers. I love her little twist on the 100 followers. So creative!



I’m always one for an Irish theme! The fabulous Sister Teachers are celebrating 400 followers!



And of course there is the Collaboration Cuties 300+ followers giveaway. So many of my favorites with so many reasons to celebrate!



Lots of great prizes and lots of great blogs! Be sure to check them out!

Have a great weekend!

Five for Friday

Friday, again?

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My new case

My IPEVO Wishpool wish came today. I am in love with my new iPad case. Seriously. I love it. I was carrying it around with me for most of the day. One of my friends was teasing me about it. She joked that it even matched my shirt. Expect photos soon.

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Fractions

This week was all about fractions! I bought more fraction clip art than I care to admit this week. Bring on the fraction activities!



I’ve just posted this pack. We’ve broken up our fraction unit into two parts. This pack covers the fraction identification piece. Number lines are big in third grade and with common core, so I’ve included that as well.

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More fractions!

At the FCTM conference last October I went to every fraction session I could find! One of the activities I saw was fractions on an open number line.

I bought all this great fraction clip art, so I made these fraction outfits to practice on the line.
I’ll be adding this to my store once I create a few worksheets for my class…and to finish the pack.

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Shhh! Don’t tell anyone!

I have a secret. 

I’m not a big fan of the Dr. with a birthday this week. It isn’t that I don’t like his books. I just don’t feel the need to spend an excessive amount of time on in them.

I know. You can start throwing stones now!

I vaguely remember being so excited about my first copy of Hop on Pop. Then I remember asking my mom what the whole thing was actually about. At seven I was concerned about a lack of plot.

I was a bit of an odd child that way!

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Cold!

The Irishman is still getting over his cold, but this cold has to do with the weather! We are getting the longest, coldest weather of the year this week. I can’t wait! Florida cold is nothing to most of you, but I’ll take it!

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Have a great weekend!

Valentine’s Day Writing

I just posted my Valentine’s Day Writing Craftivity. My class has been working on this all week and we are LOVING it!



I am listening to the Harry Potter audio books right now, and I got the idea for this after listening to the scene in book 6 (I think) where Ron unintentionally eats a chocolate containing love potion. As I listened to the description of him acting crazy in love with a person he hardly knew, I decided my students would get into the idea.

Add to that some love bug clip art, and a craftivity was born.

The idea is that you were bit by a love bug and fell madly in love with the first thing you saw. Most of my students have picked an object to fall in love with – a football, a hamster, a toilet, and so on. We are publishing the writing on Monday.

I printed 5x7 photos of their faces on Friday and they have added a love bug band aid and heart antennae to finish the look. I can’t wait to get these finished and posted in the hallway! Such fun!

February Currently

It is that time again! I'm joining the fun with Farley.



Let’s see…my husband and children are asleep, so the house is quiet. The last week or so, one (or both) kids has woken up before I even made it to bed. I am working away, but LISTENING to every little noise. I’m hoping this phase passes soon!

I am LOVING the weather. Living in South Florida is rough in the fall. October comes and we are still WAY too hot, while the rest of the country is enjoying cooler weather with their pumpkins and apples. February makes it all worth it though! The windows were open and we hung the clothes out on the line this afternoon. We took the kids to the strawberry patch this morning for some yummy goodness. Love it!

I’ve stayed up late working on some projects for my TpT store this week. I’m still a newbie and trying to get things going. Now that my student teacher is starting to take over I am giving myself a project a week to prepare for the class that I can then post.

I got this one posted tonight in time for the big sale:



I am happy with all that I’ve gotten done this week, but I am THINKING that it will catch up to me soon if I don’t get some sleep!

I am WANTING my house to clean itself. I’d settle for having someone clean it for me. Sadly I don’t see either of those things happening any time soon!

I am excited about picking up some goodies during tomorrow’s sale, but I am NEEDING not to go overboard!

PET PEEVES- The first has to do with the Irishman. I love my husband dearly. He is a wonderful man who works hard. He wears a tie to work, and he works 5 days a week. I cannot figure out how it is possible that we will have 10 or so ties scattered around the house at any moment. I find ties on the kitchen counter, on the couch, in the bathroom, EVERYWHERE! We have tried several systems for organizing the ties, but it hasn’t made a difference.

My second PET PEEVE is missing manners.  It is so simple. I can’t stand listening to people old enough to know better with missing manners. My youngest is 18 months old and already says please and thank you. In class I really strive for “Yes, please” or “No, thank you” from my students when answering appropriate yes/no questions. It is the little things that can make a big difference.

Now I’m off to bed. Good night!

Five for Friday

Ahhh, Friday!



ONE: Sick kids

I was missing 7 of 18 kids by the end of the day today! There is a bug that has worked its way through my classroom. Thursday afternoon I had the cleaning crew disinfect my room after our attempt with wipes and sprays. I’m praying that I don’t get it!

I opted NOT to start a lesson on fractions and instead started a football themed contest on SumDog. They LOVED it! Some of the kids that were in class today posted on Edmodo to updated their friends who were out about what they missed.

TWO: Possessive Pets

I have been working on these possessive noun task cards for months now. I decided last week to put it in my student teacher’s plan. My class tried it out this week.



I finished fixing it up and got it posted to my TpT store this evening. Check it out!

THREE: Great Purchases

I bought Amy Lemon’s My Book of Fractions this week. I have had the students make fraction bars the last couple of years, but they always get lost and students with poor motor skills tend to end up with a mess. This book was perfect! Instead of staples I punched holes and used paper fasteners (aka brads) to make the book. The students can pull them apart to compare pages, but they store neatly without lost pages. I love it!

I love everything I’ve ever bought from Amanda. I have several of her metacognitive products. My students made their own tool boxes this week that I have bound into little books to store their handouts. I’d planned to take pictures, but I forgot. I’ll blog more about this later. I am so excited about this unit!

FOUR: The Lists

I have always been a list maker. Since my student teacher started taking over though, I have gone into list overdrive! I really got a lot done this week, but I am going to have to stop volunteering to do things. These lists are growing!

FIVE: Super Sale!

I’m taking part in the Super Sunday Sale! Be sure to stop by my store and take a look!

 

Have a great weekend!