So much for last year's blogging goals!

My last post was almost one year ago on July 22nd.  The Sunday after that post I found out I was pregnant.  Sweet lil' number 2 arrived on April 9th.  Blogging and creating products for Teachers Pay Teachers were placed on the back burner as I adjusted to my new teaching position, planned for a long term sub, and figured out how to be the Mom to two awesome daughters!  I am hoping this summer to get back in the blogging game...once a week would be great! Twice a month may be more realistic!

So far this summer I have been thinking about classroom decor.  I want something consistent, that I can use year after year.  Changing decor each year gets expensive, and now that I have 2 in daycare, my budget just won't allow for my classroom to express the annual theme my school does each year.  This year's theme is "Get in the Game" and my hallway has chosen Candy Land as our board game.  We will decorate our hallway to resemble the game.  I am hoping to come up with an awesome motto using SWEETS as our acronym.  I am throwing some ideas around...Students With Enthusiastic Educated Thinking Skills?  I will get it eventually...

For my own classroom I have been scrolling through Pinterest looking at pics of awesome classrooms.  This is the time of year I start to wish I was in an elementary school and could incorporate some of the cute ideas I find, but I teach 5th grade in a Middle School and cute doesn't always cut it there. 

What has really caught my eye are black and white classrooms with pops of color, and of course a chevron pattern.  I love chevron...and polka dots!  And they actually look really cute together.  So far I have created Calendar Monthly Headings using a great Chevron background.

Available on TPT

I envision black fabric on the bulletin boards.  Solid borders on those bulletin boards.  And accents of color, like with the calendar headings and classroom rules.  I am working on my seating plan as well.  My department head, mentor, friend, leaves her class set up with 5 "tables"  all year. ( we have desks in the classrooms and not tables, every other science teacher in the district has tables, go figure).  I want to try doing this as well with each table, or team as I will call them will be numbered...or colored, I haven't decided.  The team signs will add another pop of color.  I want to attach the signs to tissue fans or paper lanterns, like these on Oriental Trading.

I really think it is all coming together in my head, I just hope I can transfer my idea to my classroom!
Wish me luck!

Choice Board Template--Free Product in my TPT Store

I have created a template, available in Power Point, and made it available at my TPT store.  Use this template to create your own choice board or task cards.

You can choose to group activities by color or shape.

Can be used with any unit that you are studying or any subject! Great for all grade levels.

HTML as a Second Language

I honestly thought the hardest part about blogging was going to be keeping up with it.  And don't get me wrong.  That has been difficult.  I am no where near creating a schedule for posts or even posting weekly like I wanted to.  

This week though it is all about the appearance of the blog. Developing a color scheme, graphics, how do I make a button?  What is a blog button?  How do I make a pretty, eye catching header and why isn't it centered? So many issues.  So I did what any newbie would do, I GOOGLED it.  A lot of awesome information out there A LOT! Much of it was simple and easy to follow, but a lot talked about HTML and coding. It was a foreign language. 

I do not code. I wish I knew how.  I know it is becoming very popular to get kids to start coding.  A team mate of mine introduced the kids to Scratch.  A free program offered through MIT--I know right! The kids loved it.  They made their own games and had a great introduction to computer programming, and I thought isn't that awesome.  

 

New TPT Product--Properties of Matter Choice Board

I am super excited about the most recent addition to the Ham it Up in Science TPT store.  The Properties of Matter Choice Board is filled with 16 differentiated activities that students can complete independently or with a partner. Activities are divided into four levels of difficulty based on Bloom's.  Each level includes 4 activities.  These are great for the multiple ability levels in our classrooms.

Every school year starts off with this TEKS, classifying the physical properties of matter.  Personally, I think it is one of the most fun TEKS we have in terms of getting the students' hands on stuff and actually investigating with science tools.  It is a great way to start the year off!

I also love using choice boards in the classroom.  There is something exciting about a classroom that allows students to work on a variety of activities in order to learn or review a concept. I really like to give students a choice to show their knowledge.  Students who enjoy creative writing can write a poem or short story about matter changing physical state.  The more analytical students can develop investigations to determine the physical properties of an object.

I have in the past struggled with the management of the choice board activities.  This year I am thinking about creating a folder for each student and storing the folders in milk crates in the classroom.  They can store their unfinished work in the folder and when they have completed an assignment they can turn it in to be graded.

How do you use choice boards in your classroom?  Do you use choice boards in your classroom? How do you manage the "organized chaos"?

First TPT Store Milestone!!!

I am super excited! I sold my first product on Teachers Pay Teachers!!!

I was very apprehensive about putting anything on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I struggle with thinking that I could create a product that anyone would actually want to see let alone purchase.  But then it happened.  I have been lacking the inspiration to work on anything else that I could put in my store, and actually selling a product has made me feel a little more motivated.

Now it is July, the only full month of summer vacation and I hope that I can use "nap time" to work on my products.

And hey, if you happen to read this would you mind leaving a comment?  Just dying to know who is seeing what I write.  Also, please share on Facebook, Pinterest and any other social media things...

My Scientific Summer

In the past, one of the first assignments I gave to my students was to write about their summer, from the point of view of a scientist.  I had advanced students, the type of student that read about Newton and Einstein for fun so most had an above grade level understanding of scientific concepts.  I am inspired this summer to do the assignment myself.  Currently I am flying from Houston to Denver and already I am noticing the science around me.  

There is the obvious, the airpalne itself.  A wonderous piece of engineering technology.  The mechanics involved in keeping the plane in the clouds.  The clouds themselves outside my window, the condensation stage of the water cycle.                 

The plane ride really got me thinking about all the science around us all the time.  Driving from Denver to Avon, in the Vail Valley, I was kicking myself for not being able to magically stop the car and take a thousand pictures.  The layers of sedimentary rocks in the canyon walls, the river that had carved out the canyon over millions of years, and the rocks that had been weathered by frozen water and literally broken in half.  It was super cool.  Yes, super cool.  

I am inspired to bring this project back into my curriculum.  What a great way to get to know my students level of knowledge and ability.  I want to model the assignment with my vacation, perhaps using Prezi or a movie making application.  I want to use my own Scientific Summer to get them excited about the science in their lives.

Any ideas on using this sort of project in your own classroom?  

   

Using My Summer Wisely

The summer has officially started.  The last week of school was a whirlwind of activities and events.  The following week was curriculum writing and my daughter's 3rd birthday.  So I just now feel like I am taking it easy, and by that I mean I've been spending a lot of free time on Pinterest stocking up on ideas for the next school year.

 

I really want to make good use of my time this summer.

My biggest goal for the summer is to develop a BLOGGING SYSTEM!  I just couldn't get it going this school year but am hoping if I can get on a schedule this summer, it will be easier to keep it up come August.  There are so many resources out there for those looking to start a blog that I really have no excuses!

My second goal is to add content to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I love TPT. There are so many resources that are available that I truly believe have improved my teaching.  I would love to develop products for my classroom that other teacher's may benefit from.  I know I already have things in my collection that just need to be made "marketable" and I really want to make devout more time to that this summer.

My third goal: TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT SCHOOL TOO MUCH!! I make no promises!