We followed a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet for 75 days. Read this post to know about how and why did we try this. Would you try this?
See our plant life cycle activities and why my students are so excited to write about science! Includes FREE lesson visuals for teaching about plants.
This blog post features seven strategies to help choreographers overcome choreography block. Choreography block can look or feel different to everyone, but may include feeling stuck in your creative process, uninspired to choreograph, burned out, or more. These strategies can be used by choreographers of most dance genres, working in any dance environment, overcome choreographer's block and reignite their creativity.
Here are 9 plant activities for 2nd grade. The activities are fun, engaging, and hands-on. Your 2nd grades will love them all!
Succulents are incredible plants: decorative, relatively easy to care for.
Check out these high school teacher ideas for teaching photosynthesis and respiration with animations and hands-on activities
Have you ever wondered why your Pilea leaves keep curling inward? We have too, so we looked into it and created a list of the reasons and solutions.
If you want a thriving garden, make sure the place plants near to their friends!
Are you teaching food chains? Check out these fun and creative ideas for introducing food chains to younger children.
Scaffolding, as many of you know, is a term educational experts (or people who want to sound fancy) use to describe how to break down a concept for students so that they can reach a goal or a level you want them to. It’s like building a ladder (or scaffolding around a building being […]
Teaching landforms to your primary students can be super fun with my ideas for experiments and resources to make your job easier. Plus, get a freebie!
Hi – (click on a picture to enlarge) - I'm recovering after a hip replacement and would like to share some pictures of our allotment from the last few years. Last year - with work commitments and the weather against us, we weren't able to get done much at all... it really was all a bit of a washout. There are approx 40 plots on our site, just nice, it's surrounded on all sides with back gardens and you can't see it from the entrance so we get very little trouble from veggie burglars. I've cut the main grass here for a few years and yet people still wang rocks on there... so I cut high and it's been enough to stop someone coming in with a sprayer. But we love our allotment and the time can just fly by. Our first plot was 20ft x 100ft -- the first thing we did was to put up four reinforced pallet bins, bolted together, one 6x4 and three 4x4. We fill the big one first, then turn this into the next one, then the next one until the last turn goes through a stout wooden…
In the world of gardening, there's always that one plant that catches your eye and captures your heart. For me, this month, that plant is Amsonia hubrichtii.
It's a dirty job but teaching Soils in the Environment is a fun & engaging science unit filled with activities your students will love.
ALL ABOUT EARTH Get ready for a month filled with so many fun activities to teach your kiddos all about our planet Earth . I teach this unit in April so it coincides with Earth Day. I’ve loaded up this blog post post with read aloud book ideas, free videos you can share with your students,
Yikes! Just the word “Bindweed” will make many Front Range gardeners break out in cold sweats. Bindweed is so tough to eliminate because of its extensive root system and vine-y growing habit.
A Marigold Just the name Marigold invokes images of happy warm colored flowers of reds, oranges & golds. But did you know some of these flower garden favorite varieties are edible & have he…
It was about this time last year I took my third graders outside for a paper airplane competition. We had spent a half hour working in te...
Hi Folks!! Hope everyone is well. My family has been plagued with the stomach bug for almost two weeks now. We are just starting to emerge from the haze and put ourselves back together again. (I've had to miss two days of school, and as you know, there is nothing worse than unplanned sick days when you are a teacher!) Phew!! It was a tough one. I can't ever remember being THIS ready for spring to arrive!! Anyway, I've got a quick one for you today, but trust me when I tell you that this lesson is a HOOT! This is second year that I've done this with my students and we all have such a blast. The idea is for the students to write a parody of a song. I start by showing Adele's "Hello." Next, I show them this AMAZING parody done by third grade teacher, Mary Morris, from Tennessee. Then, we discuss the meaning of "parody" (an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect) and I show BOTH videos again while we note the parts of the performance Mary Morris parodied. Finally, the FUN part! The kids write and perform their own parodies! Now, you can allow them to select their own song, but in order to keep this lesson short (we spend three class periods total), I have them all use "Hello." For students who struggle with this, have them select a topic and then brainstorm some vocabulary associated with their topic. In the picture above, the girls wanted to do a song about softball, so they made a list of words that go with sport to help them while the compose. Last year, each and every kid SANG their parody to the class! This year, only about half sang... the other half read theirs like they were at a poetry reading while the "Hello" instrumental music played in the background. Unfortunately, I didn't record our performances so I don't have any to show you (blogger FAIL!!) and I don't collect their papers because this is a speaking/listening grade (so I grade them on the spot while they perform). So, you are just going to have to trust me that this lesson is a blast! And it served as the perfect little "break" in between our compare/contrast and argument units :) Let me know if you give this a try and how it works out! I'd love to hear from you!
Are you interested in growing your own moss? This article explains the benefits of growing moss, ten of the most popular mosses, different methods of growing, and how to care for the moss afterwards. 1. Benefits of Growing Moss More and more people are growing moss for their aesthetic appeal and incorporating moss plants into [...]
From oceans to deserts and everything in between, these kid-approved resources make learning about animal habitats fun and engaging!
A round up of amazing IKEA hacks you can tackle this weekend. Take these affordable products and turn them into someting amazing that you will love.
We talk about the joy of loofah--or luffa-- (Luffa aegyptiaca) all the time, but I don't believe we've every blogged about it here. I was reminded of it when we received a letter from Candace, who heard us on a podcast talking about how much fun it was to grow loofah sponges.
Looking for companion plants for cilantro? We've got the best, worst, and most helpful tips on growing this herb in your garden.
Elephant ears are popular plants that can be grown outdoors in the garden or in pots and also grown as an indoor plant. They are…
What is the rate of respiration in these germinating seeds? Many biology teachers tell me that they dread teaching photosynthesis and respiration to their students. Since I love teaching these concepts, I always ask why they feel this way. Responses include: "My students think it is boring. It is too abstract for the students to understand. There is too much chemistry involved. There aren't any good labs to do." I would have to disagree with all of these statements. Photosynthesis and respiration may be the two topics I love teaching the most! What is more fundamental to the study of biology than photosynthesis and respiration? I have several labs (that I love!) that I do with my students while teaching about respiration. I have already written articles on two of these labs: Gas Exchange in Respiration, and Energy in Foods. This blog post is about a simple and effective method of measuring the rate of respiration in a living organism. As you can see in the photo above, I used Sugar Snap Peas as my choice for a respiring organism. The objective? To determine how much oxygen is consumed during respiration by these peas over a given amount of time. The experiment includes 2 experimental set-ups and 1 control set up. The rate of respiration will be measured in germinating peas and in dry peas that are dormant. The peas will be placed inside a device known as a respirometer. To insure equal volume in each set-up, the volume of germinating peas is first determined by water displacement. An equal number of dry peas will be used and the volume will be made equal by the addition of small glass beads. The third respirometer will contain an equal volume of glass beads only. The respirometers are assembled as seen in the photo to the left. The essential components of the experiment include: 1. Respirometers are assembled and placed in a large pan of water. 2. As oxygen is consumed by the seeds, the water will be drawn into the pipets. This can be measured with the calibrate pipet that has been inserted into the rubber stopper. 3. Since carbon dioxide is also released during respiration, there will be no movement of water into the pipet unless this is removed as a factor affecting the experiment. A small amount of absorbent cotton is placed in the bottom of the vial. This cotton is saturated with KOH. As carbon dioxide is released by the respiring peas, it reacts with KOH to form solid potassium carbonate. This removes the carbon dioxide and allows only the oxygen to be measured. 4. Measurements will be taken every 5 minutes for some length of time. Since we have a long lab period, we were able to set up the experiment and then allow it to run for 30 minutes. This lab has all the best components of a lab: Easy set-up! Easy clean-up! No fancy equipment required! Works every time! Kids love it! Happy Teaching!!
Make a simple immune-boosting and virus-fighting echinacea tincture with the leaves and flowers from your immature echinacea plant, or the roots of your mature echinacea plant.
Grammar instruction can be FUN for kids! Take a look at these ultra creative ways to teach comparative endings in 2nd grade.
With this free printable 2D shape flower, your little learners are practicing our 2D shapes, colors, counting, and fine motor skills.
Blog post at Marine Corps Nomads : Today, we wrapped up our study of plants. This was not Munchkin's favorite unit, but we got through it. I guess you can't love everything. l[..]
Staghorn ferns, which is a term that refers to several species of fern belonging to the Platycerium genus have a unique appearance that makes it…
My brother is a pro gardener, and many moons ago, he shared how he professionally edged flower beds. I decided to implement his method into my own garden, and b…
We are in our final week of our How the World Works unit and this week our story from Reading Street is Jack & the Beanstalk. It's such a fun week to explore plants, wrap up our investigations on life cycles, and explore some make-believe fiction! Sprouting a Lima bean: It seems like a strange time of the year to be doing this but who could resist sprouting a bean stalk while reading Jack & the Beanstalk? And they are so easy to do! Here is a quick overview: 1. Soak your lima beans overnight the night before you want to use them. 2. Have students wet a paper towel and place the bean on the paper towel. 3. Place the paper towel in a plastic bag. 4. Hang in the window. You can add these cute Jack & the Beanstalk castles to display them in the window. This is available in this Jack & the Beanstalk unit. To prepare the beans is pretty easy so this adds a little to the lesson by having them color the castle, cut out the door, and add it to the bag. Another great resource I found is this YouTube video of a bean sprouting. It's really cool! Parts of a Plant: To finish up our life cycle unit we are giving a summative assessment this week about the parts of a plant. I will use this to add to their portfolio. I am still searching for a great summative that would include more choice on the student's part. This will close out the unit nicely though. This is the freebie file! Download it HERE. Science: If sprouting Lima beans wasn't enough for science we are starting our FOSS kit "Trees". This will involve some nature "hikes" to the playground this week to check out the changing trees in our area and make some observations about what happens to trees in the winter. We have some nice pine trees right outside our playground fence that will make a good topic for discussion and a little compare/contrast with the trees out front that are in the middle of losing their leaves. (yes...our trees still have leaves on them!) Literacy Centers: We have so many options this week for centers! The letter of the week this week in this Reading Street unit is the letter Ii (for the second week). We will continue to work on not only the initial sound /i/ but also the medial sound /i/. Here are a few of the options in the unit. Upper/lowercase Letter Sort Upper/lowercase letter search. This is new this week and will be their first time with a word search. Write the room includes a spot to draw a picture of yourself with one of the words on the wall. This week focus on middle /i/ words. Rhyme Time includes a rhyming sheet. Students use bingo chips to match up rhyming words then they complete the cut and glue. We also have a fun listening station available with a response sheet about reality vs. make-believe. And of course all of our small groups happening this week with a full rotation finally in place. These centers keep them engaged for about 15 minutes while I make my way through groups. We are 12 weeks into school and I can finally say it's working just the way I want it to! Perfection takes time (wink, wink). Jack & the Beanstalk is one of my favorite weeks with Reading Street so I am looking forward to all of the activities we have planned. Do you have any special activities you do with this book? I'd love to hear from you! Pin for later!
It’s so much fun to learn about flowers with these worksheets that teach the life cycle of a flower for preschool. Perfect for spring and summer learning!
Looking for a project this Labor Day? We took 3 days to transform our side yard, add a pathway, disguise ugly utilities, and fence off a neglected part of our backyard. It's not maintenance free and looks better than ever- get the details on the blog!
Do picture books work with STEM? One day I read a roomful of second graders this delightful book - What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? Then we talked about what we could build in STEM! This was magic with the youngest engineers. They loved having books read to them and I often
Ideas, decorations, activities and adorable photos of a Q and U wedding in kindergarten.
