Glamping

After all of the talk about Dr. Mangione's love of camping and her wonderful discounts, I had to share my experience from Easter two years ago.  Ben's parents rented this cabin in Fall Creek Falls, and we spent each day hiking and exploring.  Our niece and nephew were there and loved it!  There was a big Easter egg hunt, and the park is definitely kid-friendly.  

It was WONDERFUL, and I had no idea that something this great was just a short car ride away!  If you haven't been to Fall Creek Falls, it is definitely worth the drive! :)

Here's a little more info if you're interested: Fall Creek Falls

 

Me and Carter, who was in kindergarten at the time.

 

Lots of swinging bridges!

This was our cabin that his parents rented.  You don't have to "glamp" quite as much as we did. 

This was our longest and toughest hike, but so worth it to find this beautiful waterfall at the end.

 

Race for the Cure

This weekend, we made a trip home to Memphis to support my Aunt Debbie in Race for the Cure.  She is a nine-month breast cancer survivor and one of the most positive people I know.  We arrived at 6:30 and there were already lots of people there with music playing and lots of positive energy! 

 

This is me and my cousins with my aunt, in pink.

Graham was so excited to see so many people up early with him for once!  He was a trooper!

 

My sweet mom :)  We make as many trips to Memphis as we can fit in so that Dee Dee can have lots of Graham time.

Debbie underwent many radiation treatments with horrible side effects, and she still has some side effects and symptoms daily, but she is SO strong.  She doesn't complain and finds the positive in any situation.

 

Cousins :)

 

 This is a yearly tradition, a picture of all of the survivors. 

It was a great morning and such a powerful experience.  You can find more information about Race for the Cure here. 

Our Last Class

I have to say... I am pretty bummed that our class is over so fast!  Honestly!  Weekend classes are usually tough because they are so quick and make for some pretty long days, but I really enjoyed this class with all of you.  I have a new outlook on science and am excited to put all of these practices to use!

My video wouldn't post on here, but I have shared it with my family and they loved it!

During lunch, we decided to have our own mini tailgate while watching the State game.  

The next week they were #1!! :)  Hail State!

This was my first science lesson to put together, and it was a learning experience for me.  It made me get outside and dig around and realize how important hands-on learning is for our students.  I loved the discussion that came out of our living and nonliving activity.  It will be a great way to get students engaged, thinking, and talking to each other.

More Insects

My insect project haunts me again!  I couldn't resist capturing a picture of this little guy for my blog.  He was so calm and sat next to me while I enjoyed lunch outside.  

I watched this quick video on my praying mantis friend.  

10,000 miniature eyes?  How cool is that?

 

 This idea could be great for an insect lesson.  Students can have fun crafting, while also learning about labeling the insect's parts.  Anything but the take-home project that has parents keeping bugs in their freezer for months! :)

Fall is Here!

Fall is here!

 

 

 

 

Graham and I have been loving this pretty fall weather.  Stroller rides are one of his most favorite thing.  I've also been moving his swing outside to soak up as much of this awesome weather as possible. 

Incorporating a daily weather chart is an easy, but important way to get your students thinking about earth science and the weather and climate.  Here are some cute, simple ideas that could be filled with a students' daily role.  






There are also lots of fun weather science experiments that can be done in the classroom, like the rain experiment found here. 

 

Solar System

After my last post and thinking about my insect project, it reminded me of other projects I did in elementary school at home and was more worried about the presentation of it than the content. Science has never been one of my favorite subjects, and I'm starting to see why!  This is why it is SO important for us, as teachers, to create a fun and positive learning environment for our students.

In third grade, we all completed a solar system at home similar to this one:

I can't remember going to different stores looking for the right material that my teacher wanted.  I also remember my mom talking to other mom's about how to do certain parts because it had to be done in such a particular way.  We all came to school with the same exact project, identically labeled and colored. 

I found this website with some fun solar system ideas they can be done in the classroom 

One of my favorites was this flip book. The students can pull it out as a reference throughout other lessons, and I feel would benefit more with something they can keep forever. 

Outdoor Fun!

Hi from Graham!!

 

 

As the weather is getting cooler, I have been trying to spend as much time outdoors as possible!  I was looking at all that there is to do in our area and thought I should share.  I found the site Nashville Fun for Families.  It has some great ideas for indoor activities, outdoor activities, day trips, and has activities sorted by the holiday and season. 

Even though I want to limit depending on field trips in my classroom, ideas such as these can be printed and placed in their take-home folders.

We could also design our own zoo or park and let our imaginations take over, as seen here.  

 

Insects

This little guy was hanging out outside of my bathroom window as I was getting ready this morning.  It reminded me of the insect project that I did in elementary school.  The dreaded insect project.  We would find bugs, freeze them, and then put them onto a Styrofoam board with a pin and label them in a certain way.  It was another project for the parents. 

 

 

 

So what could we do instead? 

 The first thing that I think of is that this project could have been done in class.  We could use this as a great time to go outside together and explore!  Ms. Bonnie would be proud!  Rather than killing the bugs and putting them on display, we could identify them and watch them in their natural environment.  We could go back to the classroom and chart our favorites and discuss why.  

This site has all kinds of neat bug art projects to do along with an insect lesson.  There are lots of cute insect clothespins that could be created, too, to help display their art.  

Seashells

I'd say we had another fun and successful weekend in our science class!  One of my favorite parts of the weekend was going through the different table activities and stations based around shells.  

I absolutely love the beach.  Any beach!  I lived in Miami, Florida for a year and a half.  My family vacations to Fort Walton, Destin, and Gulf Shores often.  We also go with Ben's family to Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina every July, which is very different from Florida's beaches, but still a beach! :)

My favorite part of our activity was the shell mold.

I did a similar activity when I was teaching school-aged kids in the summer program.  We went on Ben's family's beach trip for a week.  All of my kiddos asked for a souvenir, so I collected shells all week for them.  

Here's the activity that we did when I came back:

1.  I passed around pictures of my trip and we shared vacation stories.

2.  I made a sensory bottle with sand, salt water, and shells from my trip.  They LOVED this.  We kept it in our science center of the classroom, and it was one of the sensory bottles that they would always take turns playing with.

3. We looked at a map of my trip and talked about how long it took to drive and how long it might take to fly or even walk.

4.  We had writing prompts and wrote about shells.

5.  They shared their writing and then picked out their favorite shell to take home.

 

Even throughout a summer program, it is easy to incorporate science (and language arts) activities.  This proves how much fun hands-on group work can be!  Plus, my shells were even cheaper than the Dollar Store :)