Thoughtful Thursday: Skittle Science

We did a little science experiment with Lil Man that we found on Candy Experiments. We all enjoyed it!

It's a really easy experiment to do. All you need is a bowl or cup, water, and Skittles!

We started with just a few Skittles to see what would happen...

The colors at the bottom were really cool! 

All you do is drop the Skittle into the water (gently) letter side up. The color coating will dissolve in the water (we used warm water to help possibly speed up the process). The "S" is printed in an edible ink that doesn't dissolve in the water. If you watch it slides off into the water; then the letter floats to the top. At some points when the color was dissolving it almost looked like the Skittle was spinning. We ended up with a lot of Skittles in our bowl...Can you see the floating S's?

Here's a video (it's actually like 2 or 3 combined):

It's the very beginning and the very end of our experiment. At the end you'll see a green Skittle dissolve and the S float to the top!

Hope you enjoy our little experiment; we sure did!

Making the Switch: Bloglovin'

Follow our blog with Bloglovin

As you have probably already heard, Google Reader is not going to be available after July 1st. We have made the switch to Bloglovin'; have you? I'm excited to see what it's like. It was really easy to import subscriptions from Google Reader!

I just downloaded the app on my tablet, and I must say I'm already in love! It's so easy to use and keep track of exactly what you've read and where you left off! I know that I'm going to love this for the times at the dance studio!

Wired Wednesday: Blogging for Kiddos

Wow! Can you believe it is already Wednesday?! I feel like this week has flown by! Manda is home with us today so everyone is happy! Lil Man and I are super excited to share today's post with you!    

**Disclaimer: bare with us this post got a little long winded!**

 

 Last week Lil Man was watching some videos on Brain Pop Jr. He watched one about blogs. Unfortunately, unless you have a subscription to Brain Pop Jr., you won't be able to watch the video. You can read a little about it on the page though. Basically, the video tells you what a blog is (web log), describes some types of blogs (general topics, specific subjects, personal, photo, travel, news, etc.), explains the parts of a blog (title, author/contributors, posts, tags, comments, archive, links, pages, etc), shares ways to participate in blogs (writing and publishing posts, including photos and/or videos, and reading and commenting on others' blogs), and shares a little about safety with blogs (not sharing personal info).

Later in the afternoon after watching the video, he made a comment about blogs. We told him that we have blogs that we post on (this one and personal one). He made the comment that he could start a blog. We didn't think much of it at the time, but since then, while we've been working on blog posts for here, he's made other comments.

Yesterday, we were discussing topics for upcoming weeks and he made a comment, "I could make a blog and talk about my family, things we do, and being a dancer." Mind you, he is 7 years old and doesn't really enjoy writing...so this idea is both scary and intriguing at the same time! We've always had the thought that we would like to have classroom blogs so we decided that this would be a great experience for him and us!

I spent some time researching last night about how to help him set up his blog. What he needed to know, what I needed to know, and any information I could find really. I just wasn't sure where to start with him. I actually watched the Brain Pop Jr. video myself so I would know exactly what it had talked about (hence the notes from above). I found a great Blogging Rules printable from Scholastic. I also read a blog post 14 Steps to Meaningful Student Blogging, which is of course directed to teachers getting ready to blog with their students, but I definitely got some ideas.

So then it was time to sit down with Lil Man and get him started!

We discussed about some rules:
    --Only use your first name
    --Don't put the name of your school or dance studio
    --Don't put the name of the apartment complex
    --Don't give any personal contact info (email, phone number, or address)

Then we talked about some things that he can talk about on his blog. He was having a hard time coming up with what to say so we made a circle map:

Then we sat down and wrote out his first post (I had to write because he started tearing up when he realized we were going to write it on paper. Told you he doesn't like writing; it's a big weakness we're working on.) We also helped him come up with a catchy blog title.

Then I sat down with him at the computer and set it all up. I let him choose all the fonts, background, and everything. Then he sat down and typed what we had written. 

We're excited to help him get started. We all talked about some ideas for posts for him to do. We'll keep you updated on how his blog is going! If you'd like to visit, just click the screen shot above!

Teacher Feature Tuesday: The Applicious Teacher

Are you ready? It's time for the next edition of Teacher Feature Tuesday!

Our featured teacher is:

 Leigh Langton

The Applicious Teacher

Leigh is a second grade teacher in DeBary Florida! She also enjoys spending time with her new little boy and running in her "spare time".

Leigh's TpT store The Applicious Teacher opened in September 2012. You can check out her TpT store and her blog

Why do you teach?

"I am blessed enough to have a career I love. I wake up every morning excited to be at school. The smell of crayons and glue remind me that I am making a difference in these kiddos lives!"

Why did you open your TpT store?

"I opened my store after realizing that most of the stuff I created in my classroom other teachers would see and want to use. I wanted to share my ideas and projects with more than just the teachers at my school."

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

"TpT has changed the way I teach! It is constantly forcing me to reflect on my activities and pushed me to create better projects for my classroom and ultimately my store.  It also provides an avenue for me to create. I've always enjoyed drawing and sketching. TpT allows me to marry my love for art and school!"

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

"...to have patience! I thought selling on TpT would be so easy and that buyers would fall head over heels for ALL my products. It has taken some time for me to build a (small, but ever growing) following. As long as I keep creating quality products, the sales will come."

We've taken some time to look around The Applicious Teacher store and she has some great resources! Head on over and check out what Leigh has to offer!

Make It Monday: Lunch Skewers

Today we had a really fun lunch and wanted to share it as our Make It Monday! Lil Man was excited about lunch today because it was fun, yummy, and healthy! Our lunch was inspired by this pin...





Our dining room table was covered with a makings of a craft project, so we had a picnic at the coffee table in the living room.

Here's what is pictured above: wooden skewers, Catalina dressing (in the colorful bowls), spinach, mandarin oranges, ham, bananas, vanilla yogurt, mandarin oranges (again), pineapple, and marshmallows! 

Now at this point I've probably lost you because all of that stuff together doesn't sound quite appetizing. Just stick it out a little longer! 

We had like a pack of 100 skewers, but we each took two and kept reusing them.

Here's the first skewer we tried:

We paired the spinach, mandarin oranges, and ham together and dipped it in Catalina dressing! It was really yummy!

Our second skewer was a little sweeter:

We paired banana, mandarin oranges, pineapple, and marshmallows together and dipped it in vanilla yogurt! Again, it was really yummy! 

We went back and forth between the two different ones. We even had to go back to the kitchen a few times for more ingredients! We definitely enjoyed our yummy, fun, and healthy lunch!

Can you tell he enjoyed it?

He decided to enjoy some of the left over yogurt!

What do you think? Do you like skewers? What do you like on yours? 

 

 

 

Weekend Wrap-Up: A Busy Week

We enjoyed our week of "first editions" with our new schedule! Hope you did too!
Make It Monday, we shared Lil Man's tank craft with you. Teacher Feature Tuesday, we introduced you to Katie Orr. Wired Wednesday, we shared a little on Internet Safety Month. Thoughtful Thursday, we discussed recycling. And lastly, Fun & Free Friday, we shared four great freebies!

We are gearing up for this coming week!

Lil Man has the week off from dance this week; here's to a fun week at home!

Fun & Free Friday

Our fun this week consisted of unpacking more boxes and doing chores. We did go to the pool for a few hours one day. Lil Man was super busy with dance classes this week. I promise, next week we'll have something more fun to share with you ;)

On to what you really came for...the freebies!!

Chris Cadalzo-Making Meaning shared this great freebie with us!

This blank ABC booklet is perfect for so many uses! Come up with a topic for your kiddos to research this summer and they can discover the ABCs of _______. Let the kiddos make a handmade Father's Day gift. Or maybe you're getting a head start on next school year...How about an "ABCs of Me" book for your class to get to know each other! Click the image above to download your copy!

Kamp Kindergarten shared this beachy-fun freebie!

 

This math center can also be used as independent practice. This is a great resource for Summer practice to keep subtraction fresh on the kiddos minds! Whether it's practice at home, a small group of kiddos, or maybe a summer camp group...this beachy-themed fun math packet is sure to please!  Click the image to download yours!

Tiffany Teaches shared this adorable freebie with us! 

This Summer themed packet is sure to help those kiddos remember homophones! This great practice can be used as a center, with partners or individually! You can even make it a fun-filled game of memory! Click the image to download a copy!

Heart2Teach shared this Summer fun pack freebie!

This Summer themed set is a fun way to build language skills! Kiddos will have fun with themed acrostic, writing prompt, and other fun activities! These are great ways to keep your kiddos refreshed on language skills will having some Summer fun! Click the image to get yours!

Thank you to those who shared these freebies! We hope everyone enjoys them!!

If you would like your freebie featured, fill out the form!