Free Webinar!

There is still time to sign up for the FREE webinar.

Our book study doesn't kick off until July 15, but the author has invited all participants to attend her
webinar for FREE! The fun begins at 5:00 p.m. (PST), 8:00 p.m. (EST). You need to sign up as a participant on my blog and I will email you the code.

ALSO- I am giving away 1 ticket to Mariah Bruehl's eCourse, Playful Learning Spaces. This 6 class course is valued at $125!


I can't wait to see all the ideas from this wonderful webinar and book. Come on over and sign up now!

Kinder Vote!

Hello Science Friends,

Please stop on over and vote for your favorite Kinder blog! There are so many great blogs nomminated so vote for your favorite Kinder blog today!

Flash!

Hey Friends,

It's a sale and just...because. Click on the image above and it will take you to the store!

Affordable Supplies!

Hey friends,

I was sent a package by Craft Project Ideas to preview. These products will be available to purchase in July at WalMart. I hear that the prices are $0.88 cents each. I was excited to be able to preview these items because I love getting prepared for a new year. First, I liked everything in the box and the quality was great. These are things any teacher can use and I liked the product line itself. Each and every year we need a new stock of pens, stamp pads, stamps, locker tags, awards, stickers, postcards, pens, notepads, file folders and the list goes on. The classroom decorations were cute too. I noticed a few owls here and there! But my favorite part were the stamps, stamp pads, mini erasers and flashcards. I started thinking at this price these were going to be my go to items as I stock up for take home bags. I am heading out to the store this week and I will check to see if these items are available!

Critters In The Classroom!

Hello Science Friends,

I am so excited that I will be contributing to Critters in the Classroom this year. This was a blog I followed last year when I decided to introduce critters into my own classroom. As I am thinking about what critters will be coming into my classroom this year I am sure this will be a wonderful resource for me again. I hope you join me and the other wonderful teachers who share their classrooms with critters. If you click on the picture above it will take you to the blog and I really hope you follow the adventures of all the critters this year.

You would be surprised at how easy it is to incorporate critters into your own classroom. I think the most important part is first deciding what kind of critter would be best for you. I spent a lot of time thinking and planning this out last year before I introduced critters in my class. I decided that my critters had to be feather and fur free critters which was a challenge at first. This year I had crabs, fish, snails, frogs, worms and butterflies. We did release the worms and butterflies so they were only critters for a while in our class but we all enjoyed them when they were with us. For the entire year we had crabs, fish, snails and frogs. We all agreed that this was a very worthwhile experience to share our classroom with critters to observe and research. I hope you join me here and there as we talk about critters in the classroom. I would love to hear about your critters too!

When you hop over to Critters in the Classroom be sure to get your hands on the Ant Freebies by Erica Bohrer. I swear after looking at all the ant fun she had, I really wanted some ants too!

 

A Star Is Born!

Hey Science Friends,

I was busy making a Mind Jar for my classroom. During this process of trial and error with recipes, I discovered that the little Mind Jar was so mesmerizing and captivating that I had a hard time putting it down. I knew if I couldn't put it down then I would probably have a problem with the kids. I was originally was going to use this as a tool to provide a child with a Brain Break when he or she is acting inappropriately. After I experimented with it for quite some time, I realized this plan would never work so a star was born...My Star Gazing Jar. If you would like to make your own click on the image below.

I loved My Star Gazing Jar so much that I wanted to put this in my Science Center. I found a recycled basket, some Science books, a reading pointer and put my Star Jar into the basket. I loved the idea so much and I remembered that I had seen a great post about Galaxy Playdough and I thought it would go well with the contents of the basket. My new addition to my Star Gazing Science Basket just had to be a batch of Galaxy Playough by Fairy Dust Teaching. If you would like to make your own Galaxy Glitter Dough just follow along because it could not be any easier!

What you will need:

2 cups of plain flour

2 cups of water with black and blue food coloring

1 Tbsp. of cooking oil

1 Tbsp. cream of tartar

1 cup of salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix liquid ingredients in a large pan. (FYI: I found black food coloring in a large size at Big Lots - so I added the entire bottle! I added a small bottle of blue food coloring. It made the dough so deep and rich!) Begin to heat liquids.

In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Add to the heating liquids. Stir until the dough gathers and thickens. Cook until it gets that sheen to it. Let it cool slightly and then knead to bring proper consistency. Store in plastic container.

Now you are ready to get out there and explore, create and discover!

Playful Learning

Hey Science Friends,

I am excited to be a part of the book study for Playful Learning this summer but what I am most excited about is that my chapter is on Scientific Investigation which is true to my heart. I have spent this year working on projects within my district that have helped me grow professionally in many ways. Most of that work has really pushed me to define what I believe is appropriate for Kindergartners across all subject areas as well as curriculum. I think in this last year I have reflected and thought more about teaching young children and how to be the best educator I could possibly be. For just a small part of this summer I wanted to dive right in to thinking about teaching from a different perspective and this time the focus will not be data and assessments or curriculum or rubrics. Instead, the focus for this book study will be meaningful learning experiences. I hope you join me as we take a look at Science and young children from a different perspective.

Books for Science!

Hey Science Friends,

I have been having some kind of fun working on Science curriculum. If you are in my local district you should think about signing up for Weather Camp in August because something tells me that it is going to be good and lots of stuff for your classroom that will shape your year. Because I was thinking about all this Science fun, I wanted to share this with you. As I was blogging this morning I saw something posted on Kreative in Kinder about the Kohl's books that were on sale. I had to check it out because the books and animals are now on sale for $2.50. The best part is that they have a great tie in to some of the Science content most of us teach. With such low prices on the books, shipping doesn't seem so bad at all.

Is it an insect or not?

Animals and offspring!

My Five Senses!

And this one is my favorite because it goes along with my other favorite!

Eve Bunting explains, a true story inspired this Ducky survival tale: in 1992, a crate of 29,000 bath toys washed overboard from a Hong Kong cargo ship, and hundreds of the toys have since turned up on beaches, primarily in Alaska. These two books could be used when talking about water as a natural resource and pollution!

The Trials of Science!

Hey Science Friends,

I feel like I have been away for a while and I guess I have been. The real truth is that I have been trying out a lot of new Science stuff and getting down to the nitty gritty on some new activities. As you probably know there is a lot of trial and error before something gets posted. I am in the trial and error stage and can't seem to get out of it. I firmly believe that Science should be hands on and inquiry based even for the youngest Scientists. That being said, it is often difficult to find age appropriate investigations that really teach the Science concept. I am fortunate this week to be working on writing Science curriculum and fortunate to be able to be sitting with Science friends and discussing what Science really looks like with young children. Usually one great idea or thought can generate several more and I want to try them all. I look forward to sharing new ideas and investigations with you this summer.