Friday Feature: Kites

I found this awesome website that shows you step-by-step how to make a kite. Best of all, they actually work!
Check it out!    Kites

Friday Feature: Mother's Day

I was overcome with illness last Friday, so here are two Mother's Day Ideas to make up for not posting.

Bath Salts We will be making these this year for the wonderful ladies in our lives!

For this project you will need:

Ziploc Quart size Baggies
Epsom Salt
Perfume Oil
Food Coloring
Glycerin
A pretty container to put the finished product in

In the plastic baggie, combine about 1 cup of the Epsom salts, a few drops of perfume oil, a 1/4 teaspoon of glycerin. Add food coloring to make desired color. Seal the baggie, and squish vigorously to blend all ingredients. Clip a corner of the baggie and squirt the colorful, scented salts into the pretty container.

Watercolor Cards We will also be giving our Mother's these beautiful handmade cards.

For this project, you will need:

White construction paper
White Crayons
Watercolors of your choice
Water
Paintbrushes
Any choice of covering to keep both kiddos and community clean

Have student write their message to  mommy dearest with the white crayon on the white construction paper. Students then use the water and watercolors to paint the entire card. The white crayon writing will stand out against the watercolor paint. They turn out beautifully, and the kids think it's magic!

Feature Friday: Earth Day Projects

In honor of April being Earth Month, here are a couple of "green" activities that we are going to do in my class: Coke bottle Terrariums and Bottlecap Buttons and/or Magnets.

I didn't come up with the Coke Bottle Terrarium idea, I just remembered doing it when I was in kindergarten. So I Googled it and found this-Coke Bottle Terrariums.

Bottle Cap Buttons - This is a craft I learned from friends in college. This activity may be a bit too much for kinders, but I am constantly astounded by what my kids can do, so we are going to give it a try.

Materials needed:
Bottlecaps from glass bottles
1" hole punch
Various types of paper to hole punch, and cut out (magazines, old calendars)
Various beads, sequins, or small objects that will fit on a 1" circle
Pour-On resin
Craft Magnets/ or Button Backs
Hair Dryer
Hot glue gun and glue sticks

Use a 1" hole punch to punch out circles from various kinds of paper (magazines, construction, etc.). Students can cut out letters to spell words inside their buttons, or decorate with glitter, beads, or whatever crafty thing that will fit on a 1" circle.

When students have finished filling the inside of the button, the teacher pours the resin (mixed according to box directions) in the button.  Use the hair dryer (set on low) to blow out the bubbles in the resin. Let dry overnight to harden. Attach the magnets or button backs to the back of the filled button with the glue gun, and voila....Bottlecap Buttons and magnets!

The First Feature Friday- Building a classroom Family

Awhile back, I wrote about a couple of directions that I take this blog. A friend suggested that I could start doing features to integrate some of my other educational-related musings, and I thought it was a brilliant idea. So, henceforth, I shall be posting an idea/ activity or activity that I would like to share or try in my own classroom on Fridays, and sharing Smartboard tips, tricks, and lessons on Saturdays.

For the First Feature Friday, I would like to share a beginning of the year activity that I want to use next year.
The goal is to promote and build a safe, family-like classroom environment, and help students understand how important every student is. The materials needed are a floor puzzle (teacher keeps one piece), the book The Crayon Box That Talked, and the song We Are a Family by Jack Hartmann (on the Learning to Love CD).

Read the book to children, discussing how the crayons act, and how they would feel. After the book is read, as a class, put together the floor puzzle. As students realize that their picture is not complete without the missing puzzle piece, discuss how the classroom family is not complete without every person. Listen to and learn Jack Hartmann's We are a Family.