Easy Peasy Jesse Tree...Ready to Go!

In case you haven't noticed, Christmas is just around the corner!  Are you ready????

One of my favorite December activities is the Jesse Tree.  

Check out this very simple Jesse Tree that we do each year!

The tree itself is easy to make!  See the instructions below!

Then simply add Jesse Tree symbols each day.

Click below to download the Jesse Tree unit which includes tree instructions and templates, Jesse Tree symbols, and correlating Bible Stories.

Enjoy!

Boggle or Bust!

I have hopped on the Boggle Bandwagon and I am loving every minute of it!  My 4th graders are very excited about this new classroom activity and it has gotten pretty competitive in our room! 

I changed it up a bit from what I have seen around and made my own to add more letters, thus creating more columns and rows.  

We start a new Boggle Bash game each week.  Students have all week to fill a sheet with 25 words.  They know I tally the sheets by how many letters they use.  So they need to fill up their sheet with bigger words to win...the three letter words aren't going to get you the win!

When they are finished, the put their sheet in the Boggle Bash Box (a wooden toy mailbox - I think it is Melissa and Doug - that I purchased at a garage sale and painted).  The following Monday, I tally the sheets and declare a winner.

What does the winner get?  

They go crazy over a simple bottle of Powerade!

This week's Flash Freebie is this Boggle Bash game.  It includes the heading, letters, answer sheets, and directions.  

In case you were wondering, I use a Calendar Pocket Chart from Carson-Dellosa which fits everything perfectly.

Click on the picture below to get your Flash Freebie!

Our Family Fav Toys

Our family got some fun new toys this Christmas season and in holidays past.  Here are some of our favorite learning toys that can be played with at home or in the classroom!  These have been tested and approved by my own kiddos!  (and they can be tough critics!)

 

 

First up...and probably our #1 favorite...is our Snap Circuits!

This is the set we have...

It comes with a book that gives step by step instructions on how to create awesome circuits.  This is my 8 year old daughter doing it all by herself and getting my 1 year old son involved as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next up...our Learning Resources Gear Set.

We have the Light and Actions Set, however there are many different sets to choose from.

Again, my 8 year old can pretty much put the gears together on her own.  Sometimes she will ask for adult help because it can be challenging...but isn't the challenging part the best part?!?!?  How else do they learn???

 

 

Our set comes with an electric gear turner which my son absolutely LOVES!

Not all the sets do include this...so if you are planning to purchase...do your homework!

Our next favorite thing is our Laser Maze Game.

My 11 year old daughter actually prefers playing by herself and just making laser beams even though the game is met to be competitive between more players. 

   The idea is to get the laser beam to reach your target using a series of mirrored angles.  It is hard to see the beam in the pictures, but the piece with the red button on top is where the beam comes from and she is directing it to her target pieces below. 

Finally, our last favorite toy is the Lego Fusion.

 

The idea is to build a Lego home, take a picture with your iPad, and it uploads and becomes a virtual reality.

 

All they need to do is download the Lego fusion app, snap a picture (the app gives you hints), and play!

 

 

If I had all the funds I could ever hope for...I would buy each of these in bundles for the 4th graders in my room!  They would make AWESOME centers!  But for now, we settle for playing them in our home!

 

 

 

 

 

For our Friday Flash Freebie, let's ring in the New Year FROZEN style! 

 

 

 

This is a fun and easy prep writing craftivity...Perfect for New Year's Goals and Resolutions!!

 Students will write an essay on their goals for the year using the quote, "It's time to see what I can do to test the limits and break through" as a reflection. This Unit has student templates to fill in as they go through the writing process to get their final published piece perfect!

 

 Also included are templates that can be copied to make your very own "self-portrait" Elsa or Kristoff holding your essay!

Everything you need is included so prep is as easy as making some copies!

Common Core Aligned

 

Enjoy!



The Busy Teacher and Mom Planner & a Friday Flash FREEBIE

I love teaching and spend every minute of the school day in "teacher mode".  But then 4:00 rolls around...and it's back to "mom mode".  That's when a new kind of craziness erupts.  It's not the craziness that can occur during a 4th grade Science experiment.  It's the craziness that occurs when you have 4 kids ranging in ages 1 to 11 packed into a mini van and  feeding them after school snacks while you are in route to the 5 year old's gymnastic class and checking the 8 year old's Math homework at the stop light.  Yep...this happens to me quite frequently.  What's my main goal during these times?  To remain calm and organized. :)

I have used many planners over the past few years...and have found something I didn't like about each and every one of them.  So, I created my own.  

I purchased this Mead notebook from Staples.  It is really more of a binder than a notebook but is not bulky like a binder.  It fits in my purse! (It's a large purse...but it does fit!)

I use the front pocket folder for important papers that need immediate attention.

Then I put in the pages of my planner.

The next pocket folder is for my kid's school papers.

Then I have a pocket folder for the kid's sports papers and a separate pocket folder for my grocery lists.

The organizational possibilities are endless, but this is what works for me at this moment.

To download my 2015 Planner FREEBIE, click on the picture below.

Enjoy!

Today's Flash Freebie is a set of Triangles and Angles Task Cards.

This is a set of Task Cards suitable for 4th, 5th, 6th Grade Math. Students measure the angles of a triangle and name the triangle as either acute, right, or obtuse. (There are equilateral triangles too!)

I printed and laminated off several sets to be used as a Math center in my room. That is one option. 

You could print off enough sets for every student, pairs of students, or even small groups of students.

You could also use as an assessment tool.

Common Core Aligned for 4th Grade.

Included is a recording sheet and an answer key!

To download this FREEBIE, click on the picture below!

Take Home Self Created Centers

I thought I would share what I do with Center Activities that come in magazines or online.  I like to make enough copies for the kiddos to put their own center together and then they can take it home to play.

Here is an example:

This Fall Lotto Center came from the Mailbox Magazine.

 We put together the front on a piece of construction paper and used small paper clips and paper fasteners for spinners.

On the back, we put an envelope with the playing cards that go to the center.

 The kiddos each took home and are able to play over and over again with their family!

Alphabetical Order

We took a paint sample that had nine samples on a sheet (got from my local hardware store) and the kids had to put letters in alphabetical order. 

This would also work great with putting sight words in order or word families in alphabetical order.