ONE DAY SALE!!

To celebrate TPT's 3 million members, there is a sale!! ALL of my products are included in the sale at a 20% discount! Just enter "TPT3" at checkout to get a total of 28% off. 

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Go straight to my store by clicking HERE!

ENJOY!

Our Wonder Wall

Have you ever been in the middle of a lesson when a child asks an interesting question, somewhat related to what you are teaching but you don't have time to discuss the answer? Or you really want to leave the question unanswered so the kids can research it on their own? Of course you have. In the elementary classroom, this comes up often. 

A few weeks ago, we were studying Natural Water sources and distinguishing between fresh and salt water. Then the question came up about glaciers. Are glaciers made up of fresh or salt water? I asked the class what they thought and there was quite a discussion and debate. I enjoyed watching them hash it out but then I came up with the idea of a "Wonder Wall". There is so much that we wonder about and I want the kids to learn to use their resources and find their own answers. We attach our questions on the top part of the poster with a sticky note. During our morning workstation time, students can use computers to research their answer or go to the library to check out a book on the topic. When we learn the answer, we move it down below and leave it posted for awhile. 

So far, I've only used this with Science but could see this working with other subject areas too.  I haven't taken a picture of the poster with the answer yet but I plan to. A day later 2 of my students discovered that glaciers are, in fact, fresh water. End of debate. 

The question we have now is "why is manure a good fertilizer?" They are still researching this one! Stay tuned...

Who misses outdoor recess?!

I do, I do!! We have had a long streak of indoor recess due to our chilly temperatures and I'm ready for it to warm up so these kids can go play outside! Last week, after 2 days of watching movies, we decided to spice it up a bit and do a few Just Dance Kids videos so the kids could dance around. It was greatness. The kids sure did get their wiggles out.

Last Thursday, we had expected a light "dusting" of snow but ended up getting a little more than that. The snow that fell caused problems on the roadways, especially our neighborhood streets. Our district decided to close school early beginning with high school at 1pm, then middle school and finally our elementary school released 20 minutes early. After the early release announcement, we did have quite a few parents pick up their kids even earlier.

By the end of the day, I was left with this sweet group of girls!

One suggested we have a "girl party."

Excited to go play in the snow, even though it melted too quickly to really play. 

We hear there is another winter event headed our way this week, which means more days of indoor recess. Looks like we will be doing some more dancing. :)