Thoughtful Thursday: Recycling

Our Thoughtful Thursday posts will vary in topic week to week. We're going to play with both sides of "thoughtful". Some weeks we will be focused on topics that have kids thinking. These posts will include subject themed (math, reading, science, etc) type posts as well as other "get them thinking" topics. Other weeks we will be focused on being thoughtful. These posts will include being kind to others, helping the environment, etc.

For our first edition of Thoughtful Thursday we are talking about a topic that is a little of both: Recycling!

For some time now, we have been recycling drink cans. The entire family (4 households) have been saving cans and we take them to the recycling center with Lil Man. While we do benefit monetarily from this, it's also a great experience for him. He loves watching the different machines they use to move the cans to the scale, weigh them, and then shoot them into the back of a trailer.

Recently, Manda was asked at work if she would like to take off some of the old fixtures they had removed during a store remodel. She loaded up some stuff and we took it off to the recycling center. We've made a trip since then in a truck. All of the stuff was steel, so we got to drive across the scale to weigh, drive around back to unload, and go back across the scale. It was a different experience.

Here's some pictures from our first trip:

We talked about electromagnets!

Do you see the car?

 

 

 

More electromagnet discussion!

 

 

 

 

Do you recycle? Have you been to the recycling center? Wouldn't this be a great experience to share with a class of students?!

  

Wired Wednesday: Internet Safety Month

Did you that June is Internet Safety Month? Well it's perfect timing too! Being home for the Summer, kiddos have more access to computers and internet-capable devices throughout the day. This is the perfect time to teach the kiddos some internet safety. It's always good to refresh their minds on it too. Lil Man watched a Brain Pop Jr video about Internet Safety. It's great for a wide range of ages.

KidsHealth has a short but thought-provoking article. It makes you think about what can happen when your kiddo accidentally types "Legs" instead of "Lego". It also shares a little about safety laws.

Check out the FBI's Kids Safety Tips. It includes internet safety as well as some other ways to protect yourself.

NetSmartzKids is another good resource.

Check out KidzSearch for a kid-friendly search engine powered by Google. Keep those little eyes off unnecessary inappropriate search results. Plus, on the main page, there are quick links to fun, educational games.

Remember it's Internet Safety Month and it's important to teach our kiddos of the do's and don'ts of being on the internet.

Share your internet safety tips and resources with us!

~Steph

Teacher Feature Tuesday: Katie Orr

We are so very excited to kick off this part of our new schedule! We have had such a great response from our fellow TpT teacher-authors and bloggers!

Our first featured teacher is:

Katie Orr

Katie has taught 4th grade previously, but she is currently a reading interventionist for a 5th and 6th grade center. This was her first year as a reading interventionist, and she is loving it! 

Katie Orr's TpT store opened in August 2012. You can check out her TpT store: Katie Orr and her blog: Mind Sparks

Why do you teach?

"Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a teacher.  In fact all through out my schooling, I never even considered another career.  Growing up I had some amazing teachers--and they inspired me to be a teacher. I know it is cliche---but I really do love working with kids. :)  Their love of learning, innocence and positive attitudes is contagious!"

Why did you open your TpT store?

"When I accepted my job as a reading interventionist for 5th and 6th graders, I quickly realized there was a lack of resources for my students.  So......I started making reading resources, lesson plans, graphic organizers, games and more games for my students.  Teachers in my building kept asking to borrow what I was making, and urged me to start a TPT store.....so I did! :)"

How has TpT made a difference in your life personally and/or professionally?

"I can't begin to explain the difference TPT has made for me! Personally it has helped me save money---and who doesn't love that!!  Professionally I have connected with some amazing educators....who have given me invaluable ideas, feedback and suggestions on how to help my students.  I also have discovered some great blogs---with some awesome tips and tricks for teaching.  TPT has just done wonders for me personally and professionally!!!  I LOVE IT!!"

I wish someone had told me...(share some advice for TpT sellers)

"...to upgrade my membership sooner!!  I know it seems like a lot of money at first--but it is so worth it!"

We've taken some time to snoop around her store and we are loving her great resources! Head on over and check out what Katie Orr has to offer! We're hoping she'll be back to share some of her great freebies with us one Friday!

New Look

We had someone design us a new logo and decided to change up the background on our blog too! Check out our new look!

If you grabbed our previous logo for your blog, be sure to update it with the new one!

~Steph & Manda

Make It Monday: Tank Craft

We hope you are as excited as we are! It's time to kick-off our new weekly schedule! That means it's time for...Make It Monday!

Today we started a schedule with Lil Man and a chore/allowance system! (More coming on all of that soon!) But we are super excited about getting it all set up!

Summer has set in for many of us. Have you heard the dreaded "I'm Bored" yet this summer? Thankfully, with everything we've had going on to start off our summer, Lil Man is pretty good at entertaining himself. For instance, one of the first days of summer he came to me and asked for my help with a making a tank. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share a inexpensive, quick, and easy craft for kiddos.

Therefore for our first edition of Make It Monday, we're going to share the small craft that Lil Man wanted to make...

Here's a short little "interview" video of our Lil Man sharing his tank:

He wants to add some type of wheels/track to it and color it, but here's what the "finished" product looks like: 

Here's what you'll need:

                                                      --empty tissue box

                                                      --tape (preferably packaging tape)

                                                      --3 toilet paper rolls 

                                                         (probably could use 1 paper towel roll)

As I said, this is an inexpensive, quick, and easy craft. All of the supplies we had around the house. He actually convinced me to take some tissues out of the box and put them in a basket so he could go ahead and use it. Then he gathered the toilet paper rolls. And we had packaging tape because we were packing boxes getting ready to move. 

Here's how to put it all together:

Slide the three toilet paper rolls together or use a paper towel roll.

Fold in half on one side of the tube. This makes it easier to attach.

Tape around where the rolls meet on each end.

Tape the folded end into the tissue box.

And you're done! Decorate and/or add some tracks/wheels if desired!

I hope you enjoyed our first edition of Make It Monday and this quick craft to curb summer boredom! If you make this craft (or anything) we'd love to see it! Share your Summer Fun ideas!

~Steph

Fill in the Blank!

Let's have a little bit of fun the next couple of days!

Fill in the blank in the following statements...

Goals for Summer 2013

1. I would like to go ______________. 

2. I want to read _____________. 

3. I want to do ______________. 

4. I need to do ______________.

5. I want to learn _____________.

Tuesday...already? Almost Wednesday here...

Due to some technical complications and lots of craziness we were not able to launch our summer line up yesterday. We have decided that we are going to announce the weekly line up today and hopefully a few interactive posts this week. We want to hear from you! Some of it will simply be questions that we are asking and want your opinion on!

Now let's discuss what to look forward to for the Summer line up...
Being home with Lil Man this summer, we're going to try to focus a great deal on fun and educational activities with him. The majority of our posts this summer will be about things we do with him throughout the summer. We're hoping this will be a great resource for parents, babysitters, camp counselors, etc as well as still great stuff for teachers :)

Make It Monday--We will discuss anything that can be made. We will highlight some of our projects over the summer. Each week you may see foods, arts, crafts, etc. Lil Man is excited to debut next week with our first edition of Make It Monday with his small, quick Tank craft!

 

Teacher Feature Tuesday--Each Tuesday (June-July) we will feature a new teacher (TpT teacher-author and blogger {blog is not required}). We're hoping to continue this weekly feature after July, depending on how many responses we get so keep them coming! (So far it's looking pretty good!) If you would like to be one of our featured teachers, please complete the form! This will be a fun way to get to know other TpT teacher-authors and bloggers in the cyber world!

Wired Wednesday--We are going to be working on researching various technology (devices, programs, apps, etc) to share with you. We will be doing reviews and/or tutorials for different technology. We will be adding polls to ask for input on what you'd like to see next!

Thoughtful Thursday--Each Thursday we will discuss things that will get the kiddos thinking! Most of the time this weekly post will have a subject (reading, language arts, math, science, social studies) theme.

Fun & Free Friday--We will share something fun we have done with Lil Man. This may include things such as a game, nature walk, or going to the zoo. We will also be sharing some TpT freebies each week! If you would like your freebie to be featured, please fill out the form.

Weekend Wrap-Up--For our weekend posts we will share things that we did throughout the week that didn't make it onto a different themed day, but that we really want to share. We will also review snippets of our weekly posts and look forward on what's to come!


We are so excited about this new schedule!! Are you ready??


~Steph & Manda