Fun Center

The center my students fight over this center, which is why I have to pick centers know because they love it so much. It's Mr. Potato head following directions.

I first bought my Mr. Potato Head from Amazon but they have just taken it off so I bought it for 17 dollars on ebay.

Students put together each potato by following the directions from each Mr. Potato head sheet. 

They look like this:

Some weeks I even let them just play with them if they have been super good!

You can buy it right here!

It's on sale for a week! Hope you enjoy it.

New Crayon Day!

Ever heard of new crayon day? I hadn't of it either until a fellow teacher told me about it. When all crayons in your classroom are broken in little pieces... you announce new crayon day! All the old crayons are collected and new ones are given out. The kids are so excited to get new crayons.

I decided then to try and be crafty and melt the old bits into a new crayon.

Materials:
-old crayons
-silicone baking sheet

It took me forever to find one that I wanted. I ended up with a Bite size treat mold made for brownies at Michaels. But they are small enough and it worked well for me. You could also get stars or hearts.

Bake at 230 degrees for 20 minutes

 You do not need to spray with Pam or non-stick spray

This batch I added non stick spray and it was more dull than other batches!

Finished product. My kids are going to so excited.

Bringing Back Play dough!!

I love play dough. I love the smell, the colors, the feel, etc. So I wanted my students to enjoy it too to have another "break" from writing. This is so good for my students that have poor fine motor skills.

I found a recipe online that I could make in the the classroom since I have a microwave.

Kool aid recipe:

2 Cups Flour

1 Cup Salt

  2 Tablespoons Oil

   4 teaspoons Cream of Tartar

2 Cups Water

1 Package of kool aid

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl including the Kool aid. Combine the oil and water in a microwave safe bowl until it's almost boiling. Mix the liquid and the dry ingredients together. Once the mixture has cooled, knead the dough until it becomes smooth and soft.

I pulled a group of 6 or 7 students to come sit at the table with me. I read the instructions to them but they measure it out (with guidance). I did all the microwaving though because it is very HOT!

By the way it smells so good, so remind them not to eat it! 

I put the papers in a sheet projector and let them practice shaping the letters. Each group got some of the play dough they made to make the letters. I had to show the students how to roll it because some of them had never used play dough before.

Here is the alphabet paper I used!

I let the students take the paper and the play dough home for them to practice. You would have thought I have given them a hundred dollars they were so elated!

Writing with paint!

So I'm sure you have those kids that either hate to write or their writing is just horrible. Try vamping up your writing by taking a day off. Well, that's what I say to the kids. I tell them that today instead of writing letters or numbers, we are going to paint. They get so excited that they forget that they are still actually writing and practicing.

What you need:
Q-tips (1 per kid)
Paint ( Any color)
Number paper ( Whatever numbers or letters you are working on)

In this lesson my students were practicing their numbers. My lower kids were working on numbers 0-20 and my higher kids were working on numbers from 21-50. I just found some worksheets online that fit whatever lesson I was trying to teach that day.

DONT FORGET: Have them paint their name because they all look alike and don't do both sides or you will have a paint mess all over!!!!