STEM - Is the way to go! October or November activity

After the success of our first STEM activity I figured I would give it a try again.  Who knows maybe the full engagement was just a fluke.  

To check out the first STEM activity I did with my kinders click on the link below.

Apples Up On Top - Stem Activity

Once again we did this activity with our STEM buddies.  

I have been trying to do one STEM activity a month so this is my second one.

I like to incorporate literacy into my STEM activities.  For this activity I am used the book
The Great Pumpkin Smasher by Anita Bernarde.

Click on the picture to purchase your copy

                                                                   

I started out reading the book.  I stopped reading once we got to the part about the pumpkins being smashed.  We then went outside so we could smash a pumpkin.  

Pardon the costume it was Halloween Dress Up Day

We went back in and read a little more.  I stopped at the part when the twins were sharing their plan to stop The Great Pumpkin Smasher.  

That is when I gave the challenge.  The students had to build something to protect their pumpkin.  

They could pick 3 items.  

The documented the supplies they were using and then drew a plan.

They then shared their plan and created their protector.

We then went outside and tested the protectors.

We went back inside to see if our protector was a success.  The kids LOVED unpacking the boxes to see if their pumpkin survived.

Check to the little girl on the left!  She was SO excited hat her pumpkin survived!

After finding out if their pumpkin survived The Great Pumpkin Smasher, they finished the last page of the STEM packet.

My students once again loved this activity!  They were 100% engaged for over one hour!

If you would like to check out this activity click on the link below.

The Great Pumpkin Activity - Click Here

Hope you like it! 

Let me know what you think!  

A day you only dream about... (pictures included)

Yesterday was one of those days that you dream about as a teacher.  It is the kind of day that reassures you that you are doing the right thing, you are making a difference.  Above all it makes you love what you do even more. 

I am not going to lie. I walked out of school today with a little more pep in my step.  I might have even been smiling to myself as I headed to my car.  It is one of those days that I am thankful to be a teacher and this is why I love my job!

After school, the conversation that I had with my husband:

Me:  Today is one of those days that you dream about as a teacher.

Husband:  Retirement?

Me: No!  (duh) A day of 100% engagement, discovery, problem solving, and FUN!

Okay...so I am definitely a teacher!  

I must admit to you I don't really think much about retirement.  Heck, I don't even know when my next break is.  I know it is sickening...but I love my job that much that breaks are perks and I am not living for the next one.  

Okay so enough gushing about my AMAZING day.  Let me share with you why it was so AMAZING and how I got my students engaged, discovering, problem solving, and having FUN at the same time.  

I recently started selling products on teachers pay teachers and I always seem to get a little boost when I use one of my products for the first time.  I am like a little kid...as I start the lesson I think wow this is going to be great.  Okay so I am easily excitable.  :)

We started our apple unit this week and I decided that I would end the week with my first STEM activity.  

Check it out here!

Only $3.00

First thing this morning, our 3rd grade STEM buddies came to my classroom.  In the past I have had reading buddies but after the successful morning I had we now have Stem buddies.  We will get together once a month and complete a monthly STEM activity.   

We started out by reading the book Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss.  

After reading the book we discussed if the book was real or make believe.  

We then talked about if they thought it was possible to stack Apples on Top of Their Head? 

I then gave them the challenge...

Dou you thing you could stack apples up on top?

The guidelines:  the apples had to be free standing and stacked on top of each other.  

I then showed them the supplies they had to use. 

Plus a little duct tape.  

They then filled out the first page of the packet.  

Duck tape?!  How cute!

They then came up with a plan.  

Once they explained their plan to us they could get their supplies.  That is where the REAL fun began!  Discovery and problem solving at its best!

And then we had our first success!

The other students listened as they explained their plan.  

At this point student went back to completing the challenge.  Some students made adjustments to their plan after seeing what worked.  We then had more successes!

Each success had their own unique differences.  

At this point we had the students stop exploring and fill out the final page of the packet.  

This folks is what 60 minutes of 100% engagement of 64 students look like.

One hour of exploration, discovery, problem solving, and FUN!

Here is a picture of my bulletin board.

A little peek of the apple activities we completed this week.  

$2.00

Get the bulletin board set here!

Or you can buy the bundle of all of my apple themed products here.
Apple Bundle

Hope you get a chance to have a great day just like mine really soon!

An Apple a Day - All Apples, All September

At my school we have monthly themes.  As a kindergarten team we sit together and decide what themes we want to do for the month.  We don't all teach the exact same things, but we teach the same themes.  We meet weekly and share our ideas, but lets face it all teachers are different and sometimes we want to put our own touch on things.  

Here are our monthly themes:

September is one of my favorite months!!  Okay so is...October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, and June!  Oh yeah don't forget August!

I can honestly say there isn't a month that I don't enjoy because I do

 SO many fun things in kindergarten!

Although it will be easier to blog about the activities as I do them (which I will do)

I want to share some of my favorite activities with you now!

Apple Craft

Of course we make an apple craft!  Who doesn't love crafts!?!?!?!  

I will add a picture soon but here are the directions. 

What you will need:

Cheapy (not a real word) (super cheap) small white paper plates

Red, yellow, green, and brown construction paper

glue sticks,  green pipe cleaners, and a hole punch

Have students pick an apple color.  

Then have them tear up nickel to quarter size pieces of paper of the color they choose.  

(You will be surprised how difficult this can be for some students. 

 I try to do lots of paper tearing activities to strengthen fine motor.)

They will glue those all over the front of a paper plate.  

The less of the plate that shows the better.

Once plate is covered staple on a small, rectangular piece of brown paper for the stem.  

Punch a hole in the apple.  

Cut pipe cleaner into smaller pieces (worm size)

Stick piper cleaner out of the hole and tape to the back.

Voila'! You have a super cute apple craft that focused on fine motor (tearing paper).

Apple Tasting

Who doesn't love apple tasting!?!?

I have parents bring in 5 red apples, 5 green (granny smith) apples, and 5 yellow apples. 

I cut the apples with an apple cutter.  

I pass the apple slices out one color at a time.  

We taste and then brainstorm describing words to describe that specific color of apple. 

Once we have done that I pass out the next apple color to taste and then we brainstorm.  

I continue this until we have completed this for each apple.

We then graph our favorite apple. 

Here is a product I created that includes all of the following:

Beginning Sound Match Game
Printables for graphing your Favorite Apple
Decodable Reader
Life Cycle Worksheet

Click here to check it out!

This unit includes a few different activities that I do in my classroom.

Here is a Bulletin Board set you can use after Apple Tasting!   

This set includes a banner, a craftivity, and a writing pages!

Click here to check it out!

We usually have our one field trip of the year in September.  

Guess where we go...

The Apple Orchard!  

Love this fired trip!

While at the orchard we get apples!  

Guess what we make?!?!?

If you guessed applesauce you are RIGHT!

Applesauce

We use 1 apple per student.  We core it, and peel it.
We use one of those AWESOME apple peeler/corer dohickeys!

After 8 year of teaching kindergarten and making applesauce I have finally invested in my own!

Totally worth the money!

Here is a link if you want to order your own!

                                                                   

Here is the link for the applesauce recipe that I use.

I use a crockpot, slice & peel them in the morning, and let them cook all day!

YUMMY!

Applesauce Recipe

Now for my newest idea!  

An Apple STEM activity 

Stem activities are the newest rage in education!

Here is a quote that I got from a blog about Stem activities.  

Too often, STEM education begins with a disjoined introduction to engineering and technology concepts starting in middle school.  And while any exposure to STEM is good, research study after research study on STEM education has shown that kids who experience STEM early through hands-on learning are the ones who will be best equipped to develop a strong understanding of STEM concepts as they get older. 

To read more from this blog click here!

I was trying to figure out an apple STEM activity that I could incorporate into my kindergarten class. 

This lesson is differentiated for grades K-5.  

I plan on using this lesson to introduce my apple unit. 

I will first start by reading the book 10 Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. 

Click on the book to get your own copy.

                                                                  

The entire STEM activity is based on this story. 

I researched this lesson by trying it out with my own boys.  

Here are some pictures!

They loved it!

They are in fifth grade and a freshman and look at those smiles!

This lesson includes all of the instructions and worksheets 

that you need to complete this activity.  The worksheets are differentiated for grades K-5.

Click here to check it out!

I have also created another apple themed bulletin board set.

Check it out here!

If you are purchasing my Apple Products you can order the bundle! 

It includes all of the above items for one low price!  

I hope you found a few useful ideas!