Donors Choose!

Hey Readers!

I am always posting about my students and projects for school and what-not. And I am posting again! This time though, I'm seeking your help! I just started a DonorsChoose project for my class, hoping to raise enough money to buy five iPads for using during math. Check out my page! If you donate by February 6th, DonorsChoose will match your donation up to $100! Holy smokes! How cool is that?!?!

Use the match code INSPIRE!!!

Thank you times a million!
-Melissa

L.O.V.E.

Oh my goodness! I LOVE the holiday of Love, Valentine's Day! Not that you shouldn't show, give, share love throughout the year, I just appreciate a day focused solely on love. What a great reason to give my students awesome Valentine's!

 It wouldn't be appropriate to create Valentine's projects without a plethora of pink and red supplies. Pink scissors? Check. Pink ribbon? Check. Red and white baker's twine? Check. Pink and red stamping ink (in a variety of shades)? Check. Pink and red pens? Check. Stamps and punches full of hearts? Check. I think I'm ready to start!

Using the stamp seen in the picture above, I used two ink colors in order to create more play on the tags. 

Twenty-five tags later!

As usual, I packed the gifts in brown, paper lunch sacks. What can I say, they are inexpensive. Cheap version of craft wrap, but in a more convenient, mass-gifting, sort of way. 

I used the same two ink colors from the tags to stamp the heart pairs on each bag.  One color at a time to increase speed by not having to keep rewashing the stamp. 

I also own the most perfect Valentine themed punch, the one that I purchased for the bookmark and card projects from last year! I picked it up at JoAnn Fabrics with a 50% off coupon and my 15% off teachers' discount card. 

So it only made sense that when I punch the hole for tying the bags shut, the hole should be heart shaped. 

 When I finished packing the bags with novels, pencils, and Tootsie Pops, I sealed them by folding the top down once. The heart shaped punch allowed me to thread baker's twine through the tags and bag and finish with a small bow.  

All lined up and ready for anxious little (I suppose not really that little) hands to open them and create big, beaming smiles. 

How can you not LOVE Valentine's Day? For me it is a great excuse to spoil my students (They actually outdid me in that category, my desk was out of control with wonderful treasures) and remind them in a tangible way of how much I care about them.

It's not a day to think about the love you don't have, or wish for. It's about giving and sharing love with ones who are in your life at that time. And perhaps people you loved have come and gone, which exactly why you have to embrace the day and love people while they are with you. Don't let a single day pass without telling, showing, sharing, love to someone.  Your love may make all the difference. ©

Pinterest Projects!

If you are not familiar with Pinterest, it is essentially an online place to organize ideas, pictures, articles, anything onto virtual pin boards.  Plus it is hopelessly addicting...

Anyway, the hardest part for me is actually doing the neat projects and ideas that I pin. This fall I was able to use some of the clever plans I recently pinned to my advantage.  Although these projects are not really related, I figured a Pinterest project blog would save you and I the time of a few mini blogs.  

The first idea I implemented was for the benefit of my classroom.  I snagged it from Pinterest, but the original  idea came from Apartment Therapy.  I store more than colored pencils in my bins, opting to add various sizes of markers too.  

If you could see the lids, you would notice that they match the color of the products in the jugs. (Of course I did that)

My students thought this was just the coolest thing ever, and even one of my colleagues set about doing this in her class too!

My next project was to make a last minute Halloween costume in the form of a simple tutu.  I picked up two different colors of tulle from the fabric store, in full yardage rather than the easier rolls of 6 inch tulle (only because our store was sold out.) I cut strips of tulle in 6 inch widths and then folded them in half length wise. I attached the tulle to a wide strip of grosgrain ribbon in a coordinating color by pulling the loose ends through the loop created by the fold.  

Of course I failed to take a picture of myself wearing it, or have a picture taken so you can't see the final look. Blogging fail. Sorry!

I have more projects that I want to complete, but they will have to wait with all the holiday buzz! Just keep pinning!

Fun with Fungi!

Don't be turned away by the title! I promise this fungus was for the purpose of learning. I have to say that since I'm such an anti germ and gross things sort of person and have a sensitive nose, this was a huge deal for me as a teacher.  Normally I don't do food in the classroom because it is more of a mess than it is worth, but for the sake of experimenting I brought in food and we grew mold.

Our experiment called for slices of bread, pieces of banana, and orange slices.  We sealed samples of all three foods in our zip lock bags so they were not exposed to excess air.  Then students placed their bags in various places in the classroom, some dark hidey-holes and others in the sunlight.

After the first week of sitting, the students came back to discover some green, gray, and white spotting on the orange and bread, as well as fuzzy sections.  The banana was just a bit mushy and had brown veins running through it. 

After another week of sitting, the bags were getting extra disgusting.  The banana was barely holding it gooey shape, the bread was completely covered in fuzzy mold, and the orange had turned into a furry, white blob.  Plus, the bags were starting to smell... Not good for me or my sensitive nose! The little drawer that stored one of the bags was a bit odorous upon opening... Students and I quickly agreed that they were garbage bound after that! 

As yucky as these baggies were, they did offer some neat insight into the world of mold and fungus.  The students enjoyed observing the different types of fungus that grew, and then they created drawings of each item and its respective mold.  Each picture was then given a short description, either in paragraph form or as bullet points. They also made for great bulletin board material!

What's Love Got to Do With It?

My class is my pride and joy, and I absolutely love making and giving them presents. Their smiles make me so happy, and I can't wait for tomorrow!

Wrapped and ready to go! 

Simplicity! And LOVE!

The goodie bag has a major award winning novel, Once Crazy Summer by Rita Williams Garcia. There are also heart-shaped crazy straws, Valentine's pencils, and Hershey's Hugs! Plus the bookmarks!

Flashback to 4th grade!

Today my class and I went on a field trip to Fort Clatsop in Warrenton, Oregon. Needless to say, or maybe needful?, my students were excellent.  I grow increasingly prouder every day of these kids, I wish I didn't have to give them up in a month. Let's cut to the chase, I am fairly certain I haven't explored Ft. Clatsop since I was a 4th grader, and Mr. Wilson led me around the park as my teacher.  Many years later, I brought my students to the fort and Mr. Wilson guided us around the fort, this time as a park ranger.  It was a perfect day, my students were brilliant, I had wonderful chaperones, and the weather was beautiful. 

Swimming with Fishies!

This year, my first year of teaching, I immediately threw myself into the position.  Teachers were talking about how our students needed swimming lessons and they just never came through. Being that 4th grade is the general year that students in Clatsop County do lessons through schools, I volunteered to take on writing a grant to the Schools Foundation in order to fund this awesome opportunity for our kids. Thankfully, the Foundation approved my grant for close to $2500! My class started their two weeks of daily lessons on March 7th and will wrap up on Friday the 18th. I can truly say that my students LOVE having the chance to visit the Astoria Aquatic Center and learn the basics of swimming techniques. And I am thrilled because, first and foremost, it is a lifesaving skill, and secondly, swimming is healthy and fun! I took the opportunity to snap some photos today while the students worked in their leveled groups. I hope you enjoy!!!

PS: Be looking for the article in the Daily Astorian! Hopefully appearing sometime this week, if not early next week!

Get Your Groove On!

Thanks entirely to a former 4th grade teacher, the 4th and 5th graders at our school have the amazing opportunity to learn how to play the marimbas! My class just finished their 18 weeks of fun at the end of January. To cap off their lessons, my class and a 5th grade class performed for the school! I was SO incredibly proud of my students, so much so that parents commented on the huge smile that covered my face during their entire performance! Here are some pictures from their last day in marimba class! I wish I could post all 30-40 pictures but that would take an extremely long time, but let me stress one last time that I am the proudest teacher on the face of the Earth!!!

This marimba is 5 feet tall! The box is so the students can reach the mallets.

So serious!

Such a ham!

Smirking at his teacher because she's sticking a camera in his face while concentrating...

Jammin'!

Total concentration, like using scissors, mouth open, tongue sticking out...

Fourth grade ROCKSTARS!