Thursday, January 27, 2011

Got snow? We do!

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Well, it has been a snowy day here in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. and finally Maryland has been hit with a decent snowfall. (Perfect timing considering report cards and comments are due this Friday! Yay!) I thought about taking my son out to make a snowman but after contemplating bundling him up just to be outside for 5 minutes, I changed my mind. Instead, we were creative and made a "tiny snowman". We gathered a few handfuls of snow, nature scraps from the deck, and a camera and we made our little snow friend. My 3 year old got a kick out of it and yet, we were warm and dry in the house! Then, I thought, we could do a sequencing activity with homemade pictures! What a great way to incorporate our pictures into a learning activity! I printed the pictures and had my son sequence them and talk about what we did first, second, next, and so on. This would easily work for any class at any grade level. Nearly everyone has a camera in their phone, Ipod Touch, or even at school. So, start snapping pictures and see what you can capture to go along with the latest units you plan to teach. Then, make a creative activity your students will enjoy! Post if you get a chance to try it!

Our "Tiny Snowman"...he was cute until our dog, Sienna, ate the top of the snowman!

My Dream Book: MLK, Jr. Activity

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I wanted to follow up with the activity suggested for MLK, Jr. Day. My students were very proud of their books and some even tied them with attractive ribbons. They were thoughtful about their dreams for the future and had many questions about the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Monday, January 17, 2011

Happy MLK, Jr. Day!

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How will you celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the classroom? My students will be creating a booklet of their dreams for the future. We will read the book, Martin's Big Words, The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Following the activity, we will create and share our mini-books and hang them in the classroom. It is important that students truly understand the magnitude of Dr. MLK, Jr.'s impact on the world we live in today.