Kids Bored? Let Them Help You Tag the Keys

You can get brightly colored nail polish at the dollar store. Designate which keys get which color, and they can paint them to help tag them. (If the weather's nice, they can do it outdoors.) Not only will this give the kids a sense of being useful, but you'll find the color coding very helpful in the long run.

Another Summer Activity for the Kids - Make Their Own Shower Curtain

If the kids have their own bathroom (or even if they don't), give them some fabric paints and permanent markers, and let them design and create their own shower curtain. I did this long ago with my boys, using a plain white flat sheet.

(The picture is a representation, and not the actual sheet they made. Theirs had mutant ninja turtles and such on it. :)

Go On a Treasure Hunt!

Draw up a treasure map and leave it for the kids to discover at the breakfast table. Don't explain further, but watch and see what they do. Let them hunt down the clues until they find the treasure you've carefully hidden. It could be a new game or toy, or it could be tickets to a movie they've been wanting to see. Or it could be tickets to a water park. The possibilities are endless!

Science Gif - Bending Water With Static Electricity

Sometimes you don't need to show a whole video to instigate a science experiment. Sometimes a brief gif will work.

(Note: If blogger freezes the gif, here's what is happening. Rub the balloon briskly with the towel. Then hold the balloon close to the stream of water. The water will bend toward the balloon!)

Stay Tuned!

I'm attending a ToTs and Technology Conference this weekend in Galveston, TX, where I hope to get some great ideas that I can share. Our school has neither interactive boards nor iPads, so this is my chance to catch up with what's now available for the classroom, and to see it in action!

My Summer Bucket List Linky Party

As promised, I post ideas and thoughts throughout the summer. I've also teamed up with several blogs in a Summer Bucket List Linky Party. So check back periodically to see if there's anything you can tag, copy, or save.

In the meantime, here's what I plan to do this summer:

*Be on the lookout for neat little ideas or toys that I can use in games.

*Make a few more 10 Minute Smarter games that would be suitable for the beginning of school.

*Check with other teachers to see what they have to offer that I can use or adapt. (Yay, Pinterest and blogs!)

*And have a Happy Summer!

It's Been a Great Year

Today I'm in my room, shutting it down for the summer. Yesterday, I surprised the class with plain white cotton t-shirts (Hanes) that I bought at the dollar store. They got to sign each other's shirts with permanent markers. Yes, it was a bit of an expense, but I had been buying a package of 3 shirts (@$5.50 each) a month until I had enough for the entire class. The shirts were a huge hit, and several kids made sure to get other teachers and students to sign their shirts, too.

It was a memorable day, capping a very memorable year. Take care, Kinder class of 2012!

Have a Happy Summer!

Field Day 2012

Today was Field Day. Other schools call them Play Day. But basically it's a "yes, you will get wet" day. In the 90+ degree weather, I had a spray bottle of water and misted down the class as we had fun. Of course, the best games were those that involved water. We had a real water slide, a carry-the-soaked-sponge-on-your-head relay race, and a bouncy house, as well one of those carnival bell ringers (where you hit the spot with a heavy mallet).

Next year I'd like to see a sit-on-and-bust-the-water-balloon relay race.

It's Graduation Day!

Here they are, waiting to go into the auditorium to receive their diplomas. The reason they're on the floor is because we took our chairs in earlier that morning.

Happy Memorial Day!

Eating Healthy (So a Child Can Understand It)

Our students keep hearing about "eating healthy" and making healthy choices. So to help my class, we took paper plates and divided them into fourths. We then labeled each section: meat, fruit, bread, and vegetable. And we "filled" each section with pictures cut from catalogs. We also discussed the fact that a piece of meat or a pile of mashed potatoes covering more than its "share" is too much. I think the lesson worked, especially when I watched them making their choices in the cafeteria.