Washing Machines, Copies & Spring Break - March Currently

Well I have officially posted twice in one day! I know the unwritten rule is only once a day but I could not pass on Farley's Currently Linky Party
I love looking at everyone's post and can lose hours of time when I should be doing school stuff.

Listening - Of course to the washing machine.  I am always doing laundry with a family of 5.

Loving - The light at the end of the tunnel, spring is 18 days away.

Thanking - I should have went up to school and did copies.  The copier is always crazy in the morning especially Monday morning. I like to have that all done if I can. Oh well:(

Wanting - The snow to stop.  We just got another 4 inches and I so want to see flowers, grass and buds on the trees.  I know, I know another 18 days.

Needing - I new outfit for the Ohio Blogger Meet Up next Saturday.  I am so nervous about going to the meet up.  I never been to one but have been seeing other bloggers' meet ups and am very curious. Was hoping a new outfit will give me some confidence.  I will blog about it next week.

Spring Break Plans - I hope to do some deep cleaning and organizing.  My hubby took off a few days too since we are all off the same week.  I hear a road trip calling us.  Who knows what adventure lies ahead of us.

I can't wait to check out everyone's Currently posts.

More SNOW and Science Stations

Happy March 1st!

Spring is right around the corner right?!?! Uh here in Ohio we are projected to get another 4 inches of snow!  Boooo!

But it has to be coming soon.  Right?

I wanted to share what I have been doing in science this month....

In science we have been studying light and sound in fifth grade and in fourth grade weathering.  With 31 kids in each class it is tough to do experiments even in groups.  Too many needs or behavior issues (off task, not following directions...)  and only 1 me.  So I started doing stations to move the kids through each experiment/activity. 

Last week in fifth grade I want them to test objects if they were transparent, translucent or opaque and why they knew.

Station 1 - Flashlight Lab - Test for light in a straight line & what happens when it hits certain objects; Aluminum foil, plastic wrap, waxed paper & a scratch plate (very cool results).

Station 2 - Sound & Light Sort (preview to this week's sound lessons).  It is FREE HERE.

Station - Study Jams Light Video & Guided Notes on the Google Classroom

In fourth grade I wanted them to really grasp the weathering, erosion and deposition process.

Station 1 - WED Crawl - The group had to pull cards to see what role they would get, weathering, erosion or deposition.  Then weathering had to "break" apart Mega Blocks (Larger Legos), erosion "carried" the blocks on their belly and crab crawled to the deposition group who "deposited" the blocks into a landform.  I did find this idea on Pinterest so it is not my own.

Station 2 - Weathering Sort - Sort cards into weathering, erosion, or deposition piles.  I found this Weathering Sort by Laura Chandler and it is FREE!

Station 3 - Study Jams Landform Slideshow and guided notes on my Google Classroom

Each group spends about 10 minutes at each station then they move to the next.  I am then able to float between stations to answer questions, check on comprehension and manage any behavior issues.  The next day I go over all the answers to each station. 

This seems to be working well.  On to light and different mediums and fossils this week....



Happy Sunday,

Snow, Lesson Plans & Refund

Of course it is Farley's Currently Liny Party. 

I love this linky! So stop by and leave some lovin' It is so fun to look around at the other blogs and find a few new blogs to follow. 

Here is mine.  Not very exciting this month...

 

 

 

Ok we are in the middle of a winter storm here in Ohio.  Nothing like out east but we have about 8 inches so far and it is still coming down.  Call me superstitious... I am wearing my PJ inside out and backwards, a spoon under my pillow and I am flushing ice cubes on the hour down the toilet.  LOL!

The next three are pretty self explanatory. 

Today I am truly needing nothing.  I have a safe and warm house with my kids and hubby.  I am content and happy.

I am not sure if the Queen of Worry can be a pageant title but I am a worrier by nature.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,
 

Make a Bad Lesson Good

Good Morning Everyone!
Today is a ......... Wait for it......

I know many of my blogger friends who have wind chills lower than ours here is Ohio are still in school but I think EVERY school is Ohio is closed.

Sooooo I thought a perfect day to write a post on my blog. 
Also I had a blooper of a lesson yesterday with my fifth grade classes & what a perfect was to reflect on how to make it better.  Both classes you are saying to yourself...yep both! One was worst then the other though.

We are currently finishing up food chains, food webs & energy pyramids.  I had the kids do a lab on yeast which is a decomposer.  You know the one where they blow a balloon up....

First I told the classes that it will take 5 - 10 minutes for anything to happen.  Well the "instant gratification" generation could not stand to wait. They were shaking and squeezing the bottles and getting all upset that "nothing" was happening.  Vinegar & baking soda has ruined the wait time.  Ugh!  It was wonderful to hear the "yeah" where it did start to work & the excitement when the balloon kept getting bigger.

I also assigned jobs & went over what they were before we started.....that was a waste of time.  Nope they did not stick to their jobs especially for the supply getter (gets, cleans up & puts away all supplies) & lab assistant (preformes the experiment) jobs.  Everyone in the group was assigned a job. That's was one of my biggest problems with the lesson. 

The supply getter was suppose to take the balloon off in the bathroom (I do not have a sink in my room.) and pour the watery yeast mixture down the drain & then rinse the sink.  Half the class was in the bathroom "helping" not just the "supply getters!"  GRRRRRRR! You can imagine how that went...kids unsupervised making their own experiments (turning the bottle upside down & squeezing the balloon & bottle until it does exploded) & making a big mess.  GRRRRR!

So I do not want to totally throw out the lesson because I think it is a great experiment.

Solutions.....
1.  I need to do the experiment as a demo and have the class research the answers to the questions I posed while waiting for the yeast to activate.  How is yeast similar & different to a green plant?  How does Baker's yeast work?  How is yeast a decomposer?  What does it decompose?

2.  Or have the class research the questions above.  Then assign each group member a job and really stress if the jobs are not followed the non-followers will lose a privilege.  Stand at the door so only the "supply getter" leaves.  Walk around and "grade" how they are doing their jobs.

Tomorrow is damage control with this lab.

 First I am going to have the kids reflect on how they could have made this experiment better.  Go over how important jobs are in a lab.  This is a learning experience for everyone.

Then discuss the questions I posed which will be written in their notebooks. 

I reflect daily on my lessons...what went well, what I can do to improve & what I am going to do tomorrow.

What do you do to control labs?  I would love to hear your input on how I could improve the lab.

If you are home...enjoy!  If not stay warm & safe!

Take a Leap of Faith? Ummmm? Ok!

Well I did it!
I am a little nervous.... but I just had to take a leap of faith!

I started a Facebook page for my blog and TpT store.  I keep checking it like an obsessed lover. Ugh!

I have a few likes but no followers:(  Boo!  I know it has not even been 24 hours but.... If you would like to follow my Facebook page I would LOVE it!  I would love to hear from you too!

Here is the link to my Facebook page 4th & 5th Grade Happiness

Hey did you notice I blogged twice in one week!  I love winter break!  Monday is going to come too soon.

Happy New Year!

Ear, Butt, Fairy & Laughter

First!
Happy New Year!
Its Farley's Currently Time!
I absolutely LOVE reading her blog, Oh Boy 4th Grade. and joining her linky party! Woot Woot!

Well I hope my title, "Butt, Fairy & Laughter" got your attention!  It gave me a chuckle!  What a way to start the new year but I am positive it is going to be an awesome 2015!  So here is my New Year Currently.... 

Listening....My 14 year old is trying to convince my 7 year old that she is watching the ball drop with some video she found on Youtube.  LOL  Keeping my fingers crossed it works!  I love listening to my kids interact when they are not fighting which some days are few and far between.

 Loving....Of course winter break but mostly importantly my new hearing.  I had my "ear" drum replaced this summer that has been missing for at least 5 years.  Today I went to my last post op hearing test and was told my hearing is back to the normal range.  YAHOO!  I did not realize how bad my hearing had become until it was given back.  Wow what a difference! Love!

Thinking.... I need to get my "butt" in gear and start some school work done before this breaks slips by. 

Wanting... I feel like I have been in a creativity slump.  I don't feel inspired to blog or create any new TpT products.  I did make one product over break because I felt my "Flashlight Friday" needed something more.  Flashlight Friday is where the kids read for the entire period on Fridays with a flashlight but it needed some accountability for the kiddos.  So poof I created 4 different quick worksheets for them to fill out, one for each Friday, on what they are reading.  Here is the TpT link if you would like to take a peek.


Needing.... I always need a cleaning "fairy" godmother.  I hate to clean anymore:(

Yes... I have been thinking of some new career challenges/adventures that still involve teaching.  Hopefully more to come soon.

Maybe... A second job.  I like Farley, have some BIG medical bills and I have decent insurance.  See loving!   So I need to bring in some more money to pay off those bills.  Gosh if I could only start creating some more TpT products. 

Wish...For a year of new adventures, good health and laughter!

Share some linky love, find a new blog or two and have an amazing new year,

Hour of Code - Coding? Me?

Happy December everyone!
The school year is almost half over!
I just can't believe it!

Well I wanted to share something that I am working on for my 4th and 5th graders next week.  Have you hear that schools are being invited to teach one hour of computer coding sometime next week (Dec. 8th - 12th)?  They hope to get 10 millions kids coding next week.  WOW!  You ask what is coding?  Coding helps us to make apps, games, websites, video games, software...... which is the future of jobs of many of our students.

 So next week I was selected to teach coding to my 4th and 5th graders which is going to be taped for a State of the School video.  There is an awesome website code.org which has tons of really cool step by step tutorials that even kindergarteners can use. 

On my Google Classroom that I have set up for each of my classes, I linked a few of the tutorials such as Frozen for the girls, Angry Birds for the boys, Flappy Code where the students can design a game using the Angry Birds game.  I even found a website (Made With Code) where they can program the Christmas lights on outside trees of the White House which will be aired on YouTube.  Cool right?

After going over the basic vocabulary and previewing the websites with the entire class I will let them loose to explore and have fun. 

For some of my students who have a little more computer knowledge I added the Kahn Academy tutorial which is a step by step tutorial that is a bit more challenging. 

They even have non-computer lessons which teaches the students to use a "code" that another student follows to recreate a pattern on a 4 x 4 graph or cups that represent the "code" that move a student robot to do certain things.  The kids are going to love it! 

 Is your school doing the Hour of Code?  Are you doing an Hour of Code in your classrooms?  If so, how are you presenting it to your students?  Please leave a comment or two I love to hear from everybody!