Ahh summertime...

Summer is a time to relax, catch up on all the things you didn't have time for throughout the school year.  However, it seems like most teachers spend their summers thinking about new and fun things to do for the next school year.  Relax...yeah right... I have been crafting and spending hours on Pinterest looking for the next great thing I want to try in my classroom.  So far, I've found some fun things to try.  More to come...

Rotational Symmetry Art

One of my favorite art projects I do is on rotational symmetry.  The students each receive a 4 inch by 4inch square of white construction paper.  They create a design on the paper that includes a border around 2 of the sides.  Then, they outline their design in black sharpie.  Each student receives an 8 inch by 8 inch piece of printer paper.  (Make sure it's printer paper because otherwise they will not be able to see through it to trace their design.)  Students then place their 4 by 4 paper underneath their printer paper, lining up the borders in the top right hand corner.  They trace their design.  Then they rotate their 4 by 4 paper on rotation to the right so that the borders line up in the top right hand corner and trace their design.  This rotation continues 2 more times until they have their design in each of the 4 quadrants of their 8 by 8 paper.  Then, the students outline their finished design in black and color it.  Here are some of the examples from my class.  Some kids chose to use their favorite clothing brand or the popular mustache design.  Others made it more abstract.  No matter what the kids choose to use as their design, they always come out looking awesome!

SALE!!

I'm having a SALE on my TPT store.  Come check it out!!

The Great Mail Race

Last week my class received a letter from a 4th grade student in Sealy, Texas.  We were asked to join the Great Mail Race.  I hadn't heard of it before and was excited to be invited to be a part of it.  Your job is to send a letter to each of the 50 states, telling all about your school, city, and state.  You also fill out a questionnaire and mail it back to the school that asked you to join.  Hopefully we will get to hear back from the schools we invited and learn a little bit more about them.  What a cool idea.  My kids, even the ones who are hesitant writers, were so excited to become part of the race.  We just finished and mailed out all of our letters this week.  Here are pictures of some our letters piled up!

Gold Rush Projects

The kids turned in their Gold Rush projects last week.  They were given a handful of choices and a month at home to come up with a hands on project.  I was so impressed with the videos that they made.  Here are some of the models of Gold Rush towns that they made.  Super cute!

Love Is In The Air

February is a fun month for decorating.  Every year we make our super cute hearts that hang from the ceiling in my classroom.  It's a fun and easy activity that all grades can enjoy.  All you need is a pattern for a large heart and a small heart.  I have one that I just drew on a piece of printer paper.  Each student needs to cut out their pattern and then trace it onto colored paper.  They make 5 large hearts and 10 small hearts.  Then you take all of the large hearts and staple them together down the middle.  Next you glue a small heart in the center of each large heart, fold and glue again, until all of the hearts are glued.  If you want your hearts to hang from the ceiling, you need to attach a string underneath the last heart before you glue it.  I recommend wet glue instead of a glue stick.  Let your hearts dry overnight and then they should be ready to hang them up the next day!  Here are some pictures of how they look in my room. 

I also love setting up the February calendar.  Here is a picture of it!

Hope you have a great February and a happy Valentine's Day!

Gold Rush!

When I was a 4th grader, my teacher played a Gold Rush game with us that left a lasting impression in my mind.  It was a ton of fun!!  When I became a 4th grade teacher, I re-created the game and have played it in my class ever since.  We just started it in my class this year.  The game takes the kids on a journey from New York to San Francisco.  They need to pick ships or covered wagons and play an interactive simulation game where they receive gold (spray painted fish pebbles) to aid them in their journey.  I have the whole simulation game available for download at my TPT Store.  Here are some pictures from my classroom. 

 Here is the game board before we started playing.

 I use colored push pins to map the routes.

We are in process of playing now, so the seas and land are crowded.

Here is a sample of the game cards.

Joining Another Great Group

I'm on a roll.  Joining another 4th grade linky party, 4th Grade Frappes.  Can't wait to check out more great blogs!

Back To School

I'm still unsure where the past 2 weeks went, let along 2012.  It seems like these years have been flying by.  I guess that's what getting older is all about.  I'm excited to go back tomorrow to see all 37 of my 4th graders.  I have such a good group this year!  I think we take it for granted sometimes that we love what we do.  Getting up in the morning is never fun, but not knowing what new adventures each day will bring is exciting.  I'm sure though by the end of this week, I'll be counting down the days until our next break.  It was fun staying up past 9, catching up on shows and movies, and not getting yelled at by my husband for falling asleep while we try to watch t.v.  I already packed my lunch and picked out my outfit (lame I know...) in anticipation of the zombie-like state I will be in tomorrow morning.  Here's to coffee, soda, and Starbucks refreshers!  I'll start adding more to the "my classroom" page and the "organization" pages of my blog once I get back into the class to take some pics.  Just looked at the clock...8:39...almost bed time...It's a school night!

My First Linky Party!

I've learned so much in the world of blogging over the last 5 days!   I'm super excited to join a linky party with other 3rd-5th grade teachers hosted by Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies .  There are tons of great blogs connected and I can't wait to check them out.

New Year's Blog

I thought I'd start the new year off by creating a blog.  I never thought of myself as a blogger, but I thought I'd try it out.  There are so many creative people out there with great ideas to share about teaching.  Reading through their blogs has inspired me to start my own.  Hopefully I can share some of my own teaching experiences and ideas and maybe inspire someone else.  Here goes nothing....