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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Wanna go whale watching?

Isn't this little guy "WHALEY" cute?!  My {personal} "Smart Tarts" discovered that we can go whale watching anytime and anywhere when we have this little guy around!  I am excited for my First Gators to create this for our ocean unit {and Open House!} 

  I found this idea on: krokotak.com


Sunday, April 21, 2013

AN EARTH-SIZED SALE: 50% Off at Teachers Notebook {through April 23rd}

In honor of Earth Day {and b/c I am a little bit of a tree hugger}, I am throwing a 50% off sale at Teachers Notebook.  Every one of my items is included in this sale ... Even my gigantic farm bundle "EI EI O YEAH"{which I haven't blogged about yet} and my latest "Frog & Its Lifecycle" Bundle.
 
Get 'em while the gettin' is good! {WOW that was country!}

 HAPPY EARTH DAY!
 
Thanks to DJ Inkers for the graphics!

Jumpin' For Joy About My Froggy Bundle, Frog Video Compilation & MORE!

I am so excited about one of my latest creations ... a froggy foldable.  Kiddos can transform their very own tadpole into a froglet and then a frog.  Each transforming frog can be kept in it's very own "egg pocket" to complete the lifecycle.  The creations that the kids came up with were AWESOME!  They wanted to take it home the very first day, but we used it for some retelling and writing prompts the remainder of the week {all of which are in my froggy bundle.}
 
Check it out!  First a tadpole, then the back legs grow, followed by the front legs, the tail disappears & you have a frog ... tongue and all!  This might be one of my very favorite creations {so far...HA!}
 
Hubbie PHOTO BOMB!!
Hop to it and check out everything included:

Pick up the "Frog & Its Lifecycle" bundle at either of my shops:

         

I love incorporating videos, music & art into our learning time, so ...
NOW FOR SOME VIDEOS!
The Lifecycle of a Frog:
RETRO Sesame Street Frog Video:
A variety of frogs hosted by the San Diego Zoo:
This Desert Rain Frog is sure to have your kids giggling with delight!
THIS VIDEO IS CRAZY!!!! A FROG IN ICE!
 A CATCHY amphibian song and video:
 {for some reason it didn't pull the preview up...}
http://youtu.be/ti0HDtRY8u4
 Do the tadpole wiggle and the froggy hop! Cute song & dance:

Some "EXTRAS":
This is a tadpole to frog transforming puppet thingy.
"F" is for Frog Coloring Sheet from Coloring Guru
SUPER CUTE & FREE retelling froggies from picklebums.com:

Did you miss the link to download the "Frog & Its Lifecycle" Bundle?  Here it is again... It's ONLY $2.00!

   

I hope this blog post has been a tad{POLE} of help! HA HA!



Thursday, April 18, 2013

From Egg to Tadpole to Froglet to Frog... A printable, foldable, hands-on thingy!

 I will be uploading my froggy unit soon.  Until then, I took pictures of my own little diva modeling one of the froggy items.  I was SO excited to design and draw this fun little metamorphosing little guy. 
The kids in my classroom loved being able to make their froggy unique and use it to retell the lifecycle of a frog in a hands-on way.  They begged me to let them take it home the first day, but we had to keep him around to help them retell the lifecycle. 
Hope you thing it's frogtastic too! :D

Sunday, April 14, 2013

"Yadda, Yadda, Yadda!" Dialogue and Alexander Graham Bell

I have to admit that Social Studies is NOT my strongest subject, but, man, did we have fun learning about Alexander Graham Bell!  We even changed the lyrics to the Guns & Roses' song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to...
 
 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪"Talk, Talk, Talkin' on the telephone. Because of Alexander Graham Bell. Talk, Talk, Talkin' on the telephone..."  ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ The kids would get real squealy at the end just like Axl Rose.  HILARIOUS!

First we watched this video to learn more about Alexander Graham Bell.

Then we discussed what a dialogue {and, in fact, what a monologue} is.  We had the kids pair share a little dialogue and asked for volunteers to share a dialogue in front of the class.
 
In order to really hit it home, kids partnered themselves and each created and profile of themselves and telephone out of construction paper.  On the second day of this project students made a rough and final draft of dialogue with each other.  They were only given two word bubbles each, so they had make sure to greet and wrap up their conversation quickly.  They really rocked it! 
 
Here is the example that my co-teacher, Mrs. Johnson, and I modeled for them. {We ♥ Cross Curricular Instruction: Social Studies, Art & ELAR, BABY!}

When modeling, we made sure to match our side of the conversation by making the telephone and word bubbles in the same color.  That made it easier for the kids to not only put it in order, but also follow the pattern of their dialogue.
 
It was so cute how some of their conversations went... "Hey dood!"  "Hey girl!" "Wassup home skillet?"  "Want to go to the mall to get some new close?" We told them that SOME slang was okay b/c they were talking to their peers.  The conversations were hysterical!
 
 ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪"Talk, Talk, Talk at ya later... ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪"

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

M.I.A. and going CRAY CRAY!!

It has been SUCH a long time since I have posted!  I am taking pictures, creating games, making bundles {my farm one is DONE}, but my main focus has been on my school's talent show.

Another teacher and I host the show each year, which consists of writing the script for 20 acts, creating cheers and songs, and I dress up like a DUDE ...'stache and all.  My character's name is "Pat" and we do a play on the Spartan Cheerleaders.  The show is held at a local high school and is so much fun {and UBER stressful until we are up on the stage.}

Well, the Talent Show is this Friday, so I should be back in the groove soon!  I have so many ideas bubbling in my brain, and I need an outlet!! :)

I will be back to posting {hopefully} this weekend. Maybe I can even put some pics from the show!

On with the show!