Today I was at my local True Value Hardware in search of a new Shop Vac. Our old one was going on eight years and suddenly died on me last weekend for no ob ...

An anemometer is a weather instrument. An anemometer measures the speed of the wind. If you are working on a weather unit with the kids you might want to make one of these cool paper cup anemometers. Materials safety goggles 2 straws 5 small (bathroom) paper cups paper punch small stapler or tape pencil with eraser push pin recycled plastic container with lid (frosting, yogurt, etc.) heavy weight to put in container (rocks/ pebbles/sand/clay) Directions (Adult Supervision Required) All participants should wear safety goggles. Use a paper punch and in 4 of the cups punch a hole about a centimeter down from the rim. In the 5th cup punch 4 evenly spaced holes about a centimeter down from the rim and also make a small hole in the bottom center of this cup. Make a small hole in the center of the rim of the plastic container Push a pencil through the center hole of the cup and also through the plastic cover of the container which will be the base of the anemometer. If desired, add some weight (sand, rocks, etc.) into the container so the wind will not knock over the anemometer. Slide one of the straws through the hole in one of the 4 cups that has only one hole in it. Bend the end of the straw that is inside the cup and tape or staple it to the inside of the cup. Place the other end of the straw through two of the holes in the 5th cup. Then through the hole in one of the other cups.Also tape or staple the end of the straw to the inside of the cup. Repeat the last 2 steps with the remaining 2 cups. Make sure the 4 cups all have their open ends facing in the same direction (clockwise) around the center cup and pencil. Push the push pin through the two straws where they overlap and then into the pencil eraser. Mark one of the cups with a marker! Use that cup as your starting point when measuring wind speed. When the wind blows count how many times the marked cup goes by in one minute. You may want to measure (count) and record the wind speed 2 or 3 times per day. You could compare morning and afternoon wind speeds. Is the wind stronger in the morning or afternoon? Compare different days. Make a graph with your data. ~ To view directions for making a protractor anemometer click here. Have fun learning about weather.

When I was 18, and bought my first car, and thought I was the coolest girl in town with a little zippy sportscar – sorry, just a little trip down memory lane. My parents

March 2012 marks our 110th anniversary. Here, we look back on the different eras of DIY that PM helped to forgeand the hard-nosed, self-reliant attitude of our readers that defined the last century-plus of doing it yourself.

Get to know the tools in English by abdulfattah

I’m excited to be sharing an easy project with you today–one of my favorite math tools: rekenreks! I don’t know about you, but I love to use rekenreks in my classroom. If you’ve never heard of rekenreks before, you will! These arithmetic racks consist of two strings, with a row of beads on each string. Each row is traditionally made up of five red beads and five white beads, but you can use any two colors you like. They are great for helping students to understand number concepts such as

This Beginner Woodworking Tools List details all of the essential tools you will need as a beginner woodworker. These basic tools will get you started on the right foot with your woodworking journey. "So you want to be a woodworker? Check out this list of essential woodworking tools to get started."

Sure, there are lots of moving parts but hosting your first workshop doesn't need to feel terrifying or overwhelming. Promise!

The proprioception sense helps with coordination and strength. Learn more about developing the body awareness sense.

Learn Tools and Equipment Vocabulary in English with Pictures and Examples.

First grade anchor charts are great tools for reminding kids about concepts in math, writing, spelling, science, and more! Check out these great ideas.

We've been learning about the parts of speech in the most fun ways. A parts of speech printable and flip book, writing our own mad libs, and more.

Setting up a writer's notebook to collect all your creative ideas in an organized way. Work through the writing process with these easy tips!

Booking Binding Press: In this guide, I show how I made this bookbinding press. It's a super easy project, so it's also quite a short video. I wanted to make a few notebooks for a while now, I usually have a few different ones and was fed up with buying them, so thought I…

On saturday 30th of jan we’ll be hosting a sensory box workshop! Sensory boxes are a great tool to use when you’re feeling anxious/depressed or otherwise. We’ll be providing boxes for you to decorate...

Catapults have been used as military weapons since ancient times to hurl stones and other projectiles at enemy fortresses. Today, however, catapults are more likely to be found launching candy across the office or ping pong balls in...

What exactly does it mean to read fluently?

When a Phillips Is Not a Phillips!: Cross-head, Cross-Point, Cruciform, Square Drive Screws and Drivers These screw types have a "+" shaped recess on the head and are driven by a cross-head screwdriver, designed originally for use with mass-production mechanical screwing machines. T…

A good workbench has a sturdy work table and enough space for your tools. We researched the best workbenches so you can choose the perfect one for any project.

Pinterest can be an amazing tool for writers to collect inspiration and information. I'll show you what to search to find the perfect pins for your board!

The ULTIMATE chocolate cupcake recipe - seriously. It's THE ONE you've been looking for... #chocolatecupcakes #bestchocolatecupcakes

Plotting a novel doesn't need to be complicated! This video workshop teaches you how to plot a novel using a super FUN & simple method and just 1 page...

Don't be overwhelmed by all the choices! Here are 14 favorites from popular Philadelphia lifestyle blogger, Coming Up Roses of the best blogging tools that I invest in regularly for my blog as a full-time blogger.

Wondering what tools to add to your toolbox? Looking for a gift for your favorite DIYer? Check out these must-have tools for DIYers.

Portable Shaving Horse Bring your shop to the woods. In the modern workshop, the tablesaw is the central tool. A few centuries ago, for coopers (barrel makers), bodgers (chairmakers), and carpenters, the shaving horse was indispensable. Woodworkers use them for, among other things, making chair parts with a drawknife and spokeshave. Often these craftspeople brought...

Cardboard Camera Obscura: Camera Obscura just means dark room! With this instructable we'll be creating a small dark room out of cardboard, cereal box, masking tape and a cheap plastic hand lens. You can use this little contraption to view the world upside down, turn it into…

This is part 2 in a series called The Epic Guide to Character Creation . In this part I will show you different heroine archetypes. I will provide examples of characters from both literature and movies/TV-series to provide you with an overall understanding of fictional characters.

Woodworking is a great practical life activity for children at a variety of ages.

Fluency is one of the foundations of a solid reading program. All of my students have fluency goals - most of which are met during guided reading groups or when reading independently - but some of the students do need more fluency practice. There are several iPad apps and activities for fluency practice that I recommend. Organizing the iPads for fluency practice First you will want to figure out how your students will be using the iPad apps and activities for fluency practice in your classroom. I would assign my students specific fluency activities that they needed to accomplish each

With the Common Core Standards in place, students are being asked more and more to use critical thinking skills to analyze literary and informational text. Inference is a prime example of a critical thinking skill used in classrooms today. Students are asked to read text and analyze it by

In the case of explaining a strategy, a tip, or a writing insight, a picture is often worth a thousand words. Or more!

Explore sunni.brightspot.brown's 4051 photos on Flickr!

Learn with Play at Home. Play based learning ideas and activities for kids.

This week we will be starting our outlines for our narrative stories. . . and I have decided to kick this writing off with my *Stretch a Sentence* activity. FUN! My kids have amazing imaginations, and tell me the craziest stories all day long. . . but when it comes to writing, the elaborate and very detailed story they told me in the morning about helping dad kill a snake BIGGER than me in the backyard, turns into, "I saw a snake." in their writing journals in the afternoon. BOO! So I plan on putting some *creative* writing in our narrative stories by stretching our five-word meaningful sentences into awesome sparkle-word sentences. I put together a cute little *Stretch a Sentence* mini poster to review how adding who, is doing what, when, where, and why to a sentence can add SPARKLE to our narrative stories. Hopefully this activity will work, and the challenge to my first graders to stretch their sentences will be gladly accepted. . . the gauntlet has been thrown! :) Click here to download this Stretch a Sentence activity from my TpT store

This post shares 6 easy ways to teach grammar in different grade levels. These ideas for teaching grammar are fun, low-prep, and effective.

I love my job. I really, really do! One of the favorite parts about my job is that I get to network with a whole bunch of very talented teachers. I love hearing about and seeing them implement creative strategies to improve student learning. During the past several years, many of our local school districts have focused on improving writing instruction. All of […]

Trim SCOBYs to improve the taste and health of your Kombucha brew. Learn to divide or cut SCOBYs safely, and when to clean or reset your SCOBYs here.