Educational Youtube Videos

I was in a fabulous Social Studies classroom this week and the teacher showed a youtube video by songs of higher learning. I looked them up on found they have a couple of catchy songs to help remember concepts.

Social Studies:
Continents and Oceans:


44 Presidents:


Science:
Skeletal System:


Phases of the Moon:


Comets and Asteroids:


The Earth:


Math:
Dividing Fractions:


~Mrs. Scott

Teacher Aid Gifts

I love our teacher aids! They are hardworking, patient, knowledgeable, and flexible. They are also not paid nearly enough for all they do!

Our department decided to start the year out reminding them that they are appreciated.

The reusable cups with lids are for them to take to their classes each period without having to worry about spilling. We found as many flavors as we could of single use lemonade and limeade.

~Mrs. Scott

Pinterest Fun Finds!

Borrowed this from my blog to share here:

This is the time of year teachers stop basking in the summer laziness and start planning our classrooms. Pinterest has lots of ideas for all things school, but I thought I would use this Friday to focus on getting prepared. All websites can be found by clicking the link under the image.

Monster Stamps: What is more wonderful than these?? The price! They are only $4!

Double Dot Mini Cooler: $59 for Pottery Barn, for schools that let you have them (or rebel teachers wanting to hide the contraband)


Chair Pockets: Using book covers!





Labels: These are so much cuter than the labels I have and they are free!



Where's your name?: A fun solution to help kids remember





Password Sign: Introduce a new vocabulary word each day (I may do weekly for junior high, since we don't have them all day), to enter or exit classroom password must be used

Beak the Clock Timer: Also comes in red and yellow for $19.99

Reminder Bracelet: Do you have kids who always forget to tell their parents something or bring back supplies (I WAS that kid)




Writing Workshop: Visual on writing progress


Smore Learning: You HAVE to check out this link! The whole classroom follows the camping theme and it is fabulous!



Book Cover Pennant: Love it!



Fly Bulletin Board: Looks a little more teenager-ish! :)


Poster Wizard: Design your own posters (you may use this to steal some ideas below)


Crafty Drawers: Scrapbook paper makes these look so much fancier!



Hanging Book Mobile: Probably wouldn't pay $72 for it...


Hungry Caterpillar Lanterns: Couldn't find an original link, but luckily I ALREADY had another pin on my "Party Planning" board with cheap lanterns: $1.95/each



Direction You Choose Poster: Free Printable


Blooms Poster: SO much prettier than the ones I have been given!


More Important to Be Nice: This would be easy to replicate!


"Book" Shelves: Brings a whole new meaning!


Read Across America: Would probably change this to display the world. Students pin where their book takes place.


Every Moment Printable: Free and a variety of colors

Believe in Yourself = Be You: FREE Printable, could send this to walgreens etc. for cheap


Count Your Blessings: Free Printable (She has other really great printables too)



Energy Art: $70 on etsy, or could make yourself for tons cheaper



Gaga Equation: For the math teachers; not all posters are elementary! I heart this! Prices start at $14.56, but would be easy to make your own


Lightbulb Rug: From Walmart starting at $31

"We Can Do Hard Things": For the kids who always say "this is hard"

File cabinet makeover: could be covered using fabric, scrapbook paper, or wrapping paper

Chalkboard wall decal: adorable for $40

~Mrs. Scott

Reading Cabana

I am so excited to have a fun reading area in my 7th and 8th grade class this year where the kids get to enjoy a good book the same way I do at home: comfortably lounging!

The area where all of the fabric is bundled hides a tv that doesn't work, so draping was made easier. I purchased the fabric from Jo-Ann Fabric, they were have a sale for $1/yrd off, and then a 20% teacher discount, but even with that I spent WAY more than I planned! The pillows were on clearance from Marshalls from the outdoor seating section and are super plush. After one of the teachers on my campus came and checked out the cabana, she came back with 3 more pillows that she wasn't using and matched perfectly! The lighting was also donated by teachers who weren't using them. I heart free goodies!

I love that one of my favorite (and MY previous 8th grade math AND mentor) teacher is named Suzanna, so the reading area has been dubbed "The Suzanna Cabana" in her honor! She even has the perfect accessory for the location!

~Mrs. Scott

New Teacher Gift Ideas

If you have some new teachers/faculty on your campus, be part of the welcoming committee with an idea below! (These gifts would also be great for your child to give to their teachers on the first day of school or at meet the teacher!) For more details, visit the original site by clicking the underlined link.

Sobe - "We are SO excited you are going to BE ___'s Teacher"/"We are SO excited you are going to BE on our campus this year!"

Lotion - "Hope you have a smooth year!" - website even has multiple printables to choose from.


Teacher Survival Kit - blog gives you a list of gifts to add to the basket along with a cute little saying to go with it

Air Freshener - Would change the wording to say "Hope you have a SCENT-sational year!" You need to check out this blog b/c they have a lot of other great suggestions.

Soda - "Soda"-lighted you're my teacher/at our school!

Cupcake Bouquet

Fortune Cookies - "We are so fortunate to have you as a teacher!"

Teacher Supply Cake - a new spin on the popular diaper cake!

Skor Candy Bar - "We Skor'ed Big!"

~Mrs. Scott

Million Words or Less

I found this idea before my first year of teaching and haven't found a better "get-to-know-your-student" activity since. You find out so much about your students, their interests, learning styles, background, and fears. What surprised me was how much you also learn about their families living situation, educational background, and especially their opinion towards their child and his/her education.

The assignment is for parents to describe their child in ONE MILLION words or less. I give this as "Parent Homework" for extra credit the first week of school. The kids LOVE the title and the fact that the first person I am assigning homework to is their parents! My students are always pretty good about harassing their parents into completing it because of the extra credit, a chance to read about themselves (unless the parents send it in a sealed envelope), and just the fun in making their parents do a little work!

I usually ask for it back at the end of the first week of school and then read the letters over the weekend. I have also asked permission from some parents to make copies and share with the students other teachers.

Here is an example of the letter I use. You can click the link below and change it to suit your personality. (Hopefully it works, this is my first attempt at uploading a document!)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD FILE

~Mrs. Scott

Bubble Math

I thought I would write this blog now, so that you can go out and purchase those bubbles that are marked down on clearance with all the summer stuff!

I did this lesson a couple of years ago with my 7th and 8th grade students to go over properties of a circle. They had a lot of fun with the activity and it was much more interactive than just doing practice problems off a worksheet.

Students blow bubbles onto large construction paper. When the bubble lands and pops it leaves a circular ring, which the student quickly traces before it dries.

We learned that the lesson works better if students use multiple types of wands, otherwise the bubbles turn out to be pretty similar in size.

Once student traces a set number of circles (we did 10) they then find the radius, diameter, circumference, and area for their bubble imprints. To give a greater variety of numbers, students were asked to choose different units of measure throughout their poster: centimeters, millimeters, and inches.

*Would also be a good lesson to use for finding original volume of the bubble.

~Mrs. Scott

Reward for Bright Ideas

Due to nutritional guidelines most schools don't allow teachers to give candy as an incentive anymore, and you can only give so many pencils and homework passes before it loses its novelty. Here is another "glowing" suggestion! :)


I found these glow bracelets at Michael's for 15/$1, and after a 20% off coupon (which you can get by signing up for their email list) I bought 10 tubes (150 bracelets) for around 8 bucks!


I used my sons old playdough container because it has a screw on lid and is harder for sweet little hands to sneak some out when I'm not looking. The labels were made using my new silhouette and some spray adhesive.

I'm thinking about going back to buy more to stock up, and also to give out at Halloween to trick-or-treaters!

~Mrs. Scott

Crate Seats: Extra Seating and Storage!

I found this great idea on Pinterest. I don't have enough chairs for each student to have one PLUS go under my guided reading table. My day pretty much consisted of moving chairs back and forth. Then we had to find the "missing" chair... I could go on and on. So, when I saw this....

I thought... I can do that! I e-mailed a picture to my mom and she too got super excited about using our "crafty" side. Off to the fabric store we went to get supplies to make these. I found the cutest fabric to match my frog/pond theme for my classroom.

Next I went to Wal-Mart and the crates were on sale for $3.50. They had many colors to choose from (pink, green, blue, back, red, and gray). I also had to buy spray adhesive, ribbon, and batting. (If you choose to do this, get something thicker than batting.)

I sprayed the adhesive onto the wood and wrapped the batting around the wood pieces. Then we had to staple the fabric on using that really huge stapler. I also added ribbon across the top to just add a little flair.

Finished product:

It was so easy to make and the total cost for 6 crate seats was a little over $50.

~Mrs. Halbardier