Halloween Science Day 2 and 3

We finished up 3 days of Halloween Science. Today was the highlight. We made fog using dry ice and warm water.  Then, I made it stop and a bubble emerged.  It was so cool!  The children screamed.  I thumped the bubble and it went "poof" and the smoke started again.

I started the dry ice in a vase.  In this pic I had just added some Dawn soap.  Watch the magic overflow.

Dry ice and warm water...ooh, spooky.

I slid a string over the bowl that had been soaking in Dawn soap and water.  Watch what happened.

 A huge bubble!!  I thumped it. It went "poof" and back to the smoke.

I was as excited as the kids.  We also made slimy worms.

As of today, I have received no phone calls from parents.  I asked one mom if her daughter had told her about our science.  She said her daughter had mentioned something about blood and hands, but she completely trusted me.  Thank goodness!

At the end of the day, we drew for winners of the human body parts.  And, every student took home two ghost eggs.

What a week!

I've recently finished a Thanksgiving Party Pack that includes some things that you might use at your Thanksgiving Feast or party.  Click the picture to check it out.

Halloween Science Day 1

For three days we are doing all kinds of science experiments related to Halloween.  I am even wearing my tie-dyed lab coat.

Today we submerged "human body parts" in water to watch them grow.

We made our own version of lava lamps.

We used this "special" spray that brought the blood to the surface of our hands.  When you slapped your hand down on the paper, a bloody handprint emerged.

I'll probably get a few phone calls about this one.  Their mouths dropped open.

Tomorrow, ghost eggs!!

50th Day of School

Today we celebrated the 50th day of school "Fifties" style. All the girls wore poodle skirts and the boys wore their white t-shirts with leather jackets.  They were so CUTE!

My aide and me...she is such a good sport

My room moms and lots of parents decorated and prepared food.  We had hot dogs, ice cream floats, cupcakes that looked like hamburgers, and shortbread cookies that looked like french fries.

We had a dance contest,  a hula hoop contest, and a bubble gum blowing contest.  I think only two of my little friends could actually blow bubbles.  And of course, we took pictures.  We had a backdrop and two cruiser motorcycles outside.  We put a boy and a girl on the motorcycle and took pictures.

Each student also had to collect 50 of something and bring it in a ziploc bag.  They filled out their collection sheet, too.

Click on the picture to download

Fall Break and a Freebie

I just got back from the beach.  For me there is nothing like being at the beach to take all the stress away.  I usually go in the spring and summer, but have never been in the fall.  It was absolutely perfect, hardly anyone was there.

Orange Beach, Alabama

Here we are at LuLu's Restaurant (Jimmy Buffett's sister owns the restaurant).

And we ate "Cheeseburgers in Paradise."

This is the form for our nocturnal animal report. Click on it, and hopefully you will be taken to Google Docs.  Font is licensed by Letteringdelights.com.

Nocturnal Animals

For two weeks we are learning all about nocturnal animals.  This week our focus was on owls and bats.

We used interactive writing to record facts about owls after we read lots of books.

Students also did a nocturnal animal report.  I'll post that as a freebie in a few days. We also did a torn paper art project.  I thought they turned out really cute.  I can post that pattern as well if you are interested.

The large owl on the bulletin board came from Deanna Jump.

Apples and Pumpkins

I love fall! I live where it gets hot, hot, HOT.  I welcome cooler temperatures and less humidity.  It's bad when you sweat so much that you wonder if you are going into early menopause.  Can anyone out there feel my pain?  At least Under Armour has put out these tank tops that are called Heat Gear designed to keep you cooler. 

Anyway, this week it was apples and pumpkins.  We made homemade applesauce.  We needed to added more sugar, like a lot more sugar.  It was a bit tart.

Some of our ideas came from Kim Adsit.

Help with Common Core

Here's two new math games I created to help address Common Core Standards.  These two address counting and cardinality.

Click on the picture to check out the game.

It's My Birthday and I'm Having a Sale

When you have a birthday as a teacher, it is so much fun.  I love having birthdays.  Today, I felt like I was extra special.

This is the bouquet I got from one of my students.  Absolutely beautiful!

King-size Hershey bars with almonds in a bouquet

Life is good.

Since I've been celebrating all day, I thought you might could join in the celebration, too.  I'm throwing a sale on all my TPT products this weekend.  Click the picture down below to take advantage of the sale.

Steve Spangler Boot Camp

This weekend I went to Houston, Texas to the Steve Spangler Science Boot Camp.  It was so much fun!

This is me with Steve Spangler.  Although I sat on the front row, I prayed hard that he would not call me up on stage.  

We got this box full of stuff (aka science equipment) to do lots of experiments. We made lava lamps, snow, and knocked raw eggs into glasses of water.  I can't wait to show my students all of this.  He also showed us some Halloween experiments that will make my students scream!  I'll share them the week of Halloween.

Click on the picture for a link to his website.  He has videos and free experiments on his website.

First Freebie

Here is my first freebie to celebrate my new blog.  It is a Fall / Thanksgiving Banner.  It says "Give Thanks." It's light brown with dark brown polka dots.  I've also included little solid colored flags to go in between the letters.  I hope you enjoy!  Click on the picture and then download.

Counting Backwards

      I just posted a counting backwards math set.  I use it during our calendar time as part of our warm-up activities. This set helps students practice counting backwards from 5 all the way to 25. I hope you'll take a peek.

The Five Senses

     We finished up our Five Senses unit.  Each day we focused on a different sense.  Here's some pictures of our smell test.

     I used film canisters and punched holes in the lid.  I put a cinnamon stick, a piece of lemon, coffee beans, and vinegar on a cotton ball in the containers.

     When they smelled the cinnamon, a student guessed "gingerbread cookies." When one student smelled the vinegar, she said "ranch dressing."  Another said "Easter eggs."  I thought those were pretty good responses.

     Here are some pictures of our taste test.

We got the paper blind folds from Party City.

     Some of our ideas came from Kim Jordano's book Super Senses.