Something Old, Something New

I can honestly say I am back in the swing of things since winter break ended and we are back in the the daily grind, counting down the days until ISATs (state testing) are over and Spring Break will begin. January and February are tough months here. It is frigidly cold, which means days on end of indoor recess, cabin fever, and utilizing the creative side to get kids out of their seats and moving, while learning at the same time. I find myself overly tired at the end of every day. It's not so much that I count down the days until Spring Break, but more so counting down until the days get longer and the sun shines.

Over the course of the last few weeks I came to the realization that I am officially OLD! I can't say that I feel much different that I did in my 20s, other than the fatique, so I have secretly held on to the belief that I am still young. I guess I'll have to settle for young at heart. :)

The first instance was over the holidays. We had a few friends over for dinner. The one couple was slightly younger than we are. A conversation began revolving around the healthy appetite of my oldest. Since he began eating table food, he has always been able to consume a great deal of food. He isn't a picky eater (the exception being Kraft Macaroni and Cheese). He will eat just about anything. So he is often affectionately referred to as Mikey. When I made this reference at the dinner party, it was met with blank stares.

So who is Mikey? This is Mikey: He is the young boy who was featured in the Life cereal ads when I was kid. The catch phrase was "Give it to Mikey, he'll eat anything." So the nickname seemed appropriate. After explaining I thought, wow, I am part of a slightly older generation.

The experience that sealed the deal occurred this last week. I was in the car with 'Mikey' who asked to play his iPod through the car speakers. Feeling in a generous mood, I obliged. So I drove down the road as he played song after song filled with words I didn't know. My only choice was to try to find a beat I could appreciate as he repeatedly asked me, "Do you like this song?" All I could think was I'm OLD! Yikes!!

So that is my old, here is the new. Over the last week, my students have been studying for their science tests. I have to teach both 3rd and 4th grade science this year. (In other years I am also responsible for 5th grade, thankfully this year they push into their homeroom class.) I needed to find a way for my students to constantly be studying/reviewing the concepts I have taught. I found the answer when I was thumbing through a copy of the Family Fun magazine. The following idea/article got my creative juices flowing: http://familyfun.go.com/playtime/homework-game-919268/
I already make flashcards for my students to study from at home, but what a fun way to 'trick' my kids into studying in the classroom. And they LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!

So I got out posterboard, markers, my Cricut, Cricut cartridges, and my laminator and went to town. Yes, I do have a laminator. It is little, only does 8 3/4 inches width, but it comes in handy. I generally order my lamination pouches at Oregon Lamination online, it was the cheapest I could find. But as of late, Sams Club has started carrying them. The price is the same, but no shipping! (Total side note)
One of my centers is Game. There are a variety of games my students play: POP! (practicing sightwords), Words Their Way (word study games), OOPs!, and others. After they have played, they place this card up on the board.

Disclaimer: The pictures on this posting were all taken with my old camera, so the quality may be lacking. Sorry, but I didn't have the time to retake all of them.

(I did take the gameboard to be laminated at OfficeMax. It cost around $6, but I know that my hard work will be protected for at least a few years.)

This is the finished product. I chose to 'decorate' the board with different science concepts across the 3 grade levels. I am hoping that while playing the game, the images will become implanted in their young minds and they will recall the info come test time.

I apologize for the lighting, but took close ups so you can see what exactly is on the board.

I included the stages of matter and the parts of a flower.

The rollercoaster reminds the students of our discussion on speed and velocity.

Two grade levels need to be able to classify animals and give an example.

So I included those visuals
A few simple machines:

The sun, earth, moon, and a constellation for the space unit

The seasons for when we study weather

The water cycle and a skeleton for human development

My students love playing OOPs! I found some Smurfs (in the Target dollar bins) to use as place markers. They have a great time. To be honest I'm not sure they even realize they are studying. But it is easy to tell who is studying the cards at home! Those are the kids who win the game. The funny thing is it has, in some cases, encouraged others to start studying.

This last week, I ran into the problem of two different grade levels needing to use it at the same time, so I brought in an old Candyland game from home. The students had to answer a question correctly before they drew a card to move forward. So if you don't have a Cricut or the time to make a board like I did, use what you have at home or what you can find at a garage sale, Good Will, etc. The kids really don't care...they just like playing a game!!