I'm being featured today!

Dana at Fun in 1st Grade is being kind enough to feature me on her blog today!!

Click the picture below to check it out and learn a little bit more about me:

{Thank you Dana for featuring me today!}

Our Earth Day......Week!

We celebrated Earth Day Week in my classroom last week as I'm sure a lot of you did as well! 

We started out our week by doing a simple art project....marble painting!!

I haven't done this with my kid yet this year and they LOVED it. They cut out their own circle shape for their Earth, then worked their magic with the marbles:

They all turned out SO cute!

I used a DARLING unit from my good friend, Shannon, from The Teaching Twosome:

{If you haven't checked out her blog yet, click here! She is fabulous and has so many fun ideas.}

This unit introduced me to an amazing book, "Michael Recycle" by Ellie Bethel

After looking at this book on Amazon, I had to have it. It is adorable! I also bought "Michael Recycle meets Litterbug Doug" Seriously, check these out! The illustrations are amazing.

After reading this book in class, we talked about how we can be planet protectors and then made Shannon's Michael Recycle craft! {To see pictures of this, scroll further down the page} My kids were all SO excited to make it. 

There are so many other great things included in this 71-page unit and it's only $3.50! Definitely check it out! :)

I also used another amazing unit from Teacher to the Core:

I fell in love with this unit the first time I saw it on her blog. One of the science standards I get to teach my kinders, is Ecology! This unit breaks it down so wonderfully, and in a way that they can understand! LOVE it. If you haven't seen this already, definitely check it out!!

It is a 99-page unit including things from Smart Art activities and an Interactive Little Book, to an Addition Center and a Family, School, Community Connection Project.

My kids loved the interactive book! They were so excited to take them home and teach their families all about Ecology. 

{I was not asked to promote these wonderful units in any way, I'm just so excited about both of them!!}

The following picture include items from both of the above units about what we did last week!

We learned about what it means to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle

Then followed it up by playing a "Helping or Hurting" game to determine if the statements were helping or hurting the Earth.

 I just have to add in something here! At the end of the day, one of my little girls asked if she could draw on the board...this is what she ended up drawing:

She was pretending to be the teacher and would ask me if certain things were helping or hurting the Earth. She said, "I didn't pick up some trash, is that good or bad?" I responded by saying, "You didn't!?" In a quiet voice she said, "Not for real, I didn't REALLY do that, I'm just pretending!" Haha. I love these little kids! 

After I would reply she would draw a line from her drawing to the "Earth" it belonged to:

 The Earth on the left, has a heart on it, for helping. The Earth on the right has a bandaid (although it does look like an eye!) for hurting.

 

It made me so happy to know that she has truly internalized the information we'd learned earlier that day and I couldn't resist taking a few picture of it!

We made the adorable Michael Recycle craft, and I put it together with a Planet Protector page from the Ecology Unit. They drew a picture of how they could be a Planet Protector:

My kids also decided why they loved the Earth using this ADORABLE Facebook fan freebie (It's still there today, but I'm not sure how much longer it will be there!!!) from Graphics From the Pond:

We paired it together with a "Hugging the Earth" craft from the Ecology unit above and they turned out so good!

We also watched a video about recycling on YouTube called 

"Recycling for Kids with Waste Management's Mr. Cool Can"

 {Click the picture to go watch it!}

We also listened to a song called "Recycle It"

It's EXTREMELY catchy and my kids are still singing it this week!

{Click the picture to listen to part of it on YouTube}

I hope you all had a fun "Green" week and that your kids will try to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle more!!

Thanks for stopping by!!

Melissa

Skittles....Taste the Rainbow!

TOPIC - Skittles Game

Here is the code:

Red- Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

Orange- Favorite Memory from College

Yellow- Favorite Sports Team

Green- Favorite Fast Food Place

Purple- Wild Card(Tell anything about yourself)

Alright, lets do this....

 Red

 I'd have to say that my favorite ice cream would be anything with caramel.  

We definitely have a love/hate relationship. Haha. 

 Orange

 To be honest, I don't really have a favorite memory from College. I lived at home and commuted to school for class, then left. I loved all my classes and most all of my professors. 

I moved about 30 minutes away for my last semester to do my "Teaching Internship" and moved into an apartment without knowing any of the other girls....one of whom, to this day, is still my best friend. Love this girl!

Also, because I moved out, I was able to meet my fabulous husband! 
{Always a plus!}

 

 Yellow

 I'm more of a college sports kind of girl, and I definitely bleed red!

My husband, on the other hand will tell you that he's true blue:

{We don't really talk to each other on game day. Haha}

 Green

I hope you are all lucky enough to have one of these close to where you live. The only word to describe it is: A-MAZ-ING 

 Purple

Want to add your skittles!? Join the linky party {Click the top picture!}

Hope you're all having a great Monday!!

Melissa

 

My Lie Revealed and a Little More About Me!

The time has arrived for me to come clean about my lie from last week!

1. I worked and saved my money in high school and bought a pink car my Senior year!

TRUE

Before I bought this car I did not like pink! After I had saved up enough money, I started looking around for a car....when I saw this I thought it was awesome! So I bought it! {And named it Pepto} Pink is now my favorite color. I even got the "Best Car" award in my Senior HS Yearbook. Haha.  It even had an intercom hooked up so I could talk to people outside! I loved this car so much, when it came time to sell it, I cried.

 {Just for the record, I bought it with that little dent on the back bumper....I did not get in an accident!}
 

2. My parents have a boat and my family LOVES to go boating! My brother, sister & I have even taught ourselves how to make a human pyramid while water skiing! 

FALSE 

This is actually partly true! My parents DO have a boat and we all LOVE to go boating....but it was actually MY DAD who taught himself {and a couple of his friends} how to make a human pyramid!

He's currently looking for a picture so I can post it on here! When he finds it I'll post it up here for you all....it's pretty sweet!

 

3. I got my wisdom teeth out in December 2005 and my chin is still numb from the surgery! 

TRUE

The oral surgeon touched my nerves during the surgery and told me it may never come back....It was 100% numb for about 6 months. Following another 6 months of the tingly-coming-UN-numb-feeling. It was not fun. It has slowly been coming back, now it's mostly my bottom lip and center of my chin, at least we're making progress! 

{Maybe in another 7 years it will be back to normal? Haha}

  

As for this week.....the topic is the "Noun Game"
 

PERSON:  

My amazing husband! We've almost been married for 3 years and I love him more everyday! He is my biggest supporter and is always celebrating milestones with me. He is currently going to grad school and works so hard! He's my best friend and I don't know what I'd ever do without him!

PLACE:

 My favorite place would have to be on a cruise ship! It is the best vacation hands down. They're usually pretty cheap, and includes all your food and entertainment {minus the shore excursions.} I went on a Mexican cruise with my family before I was married and for our honeymoon we went on a Caribbean cruise!

My Grandma & Grandpa are now in their 80's and have always wanted to go on a cruise...and have always wanted to go to Alaska! SO....my family decided that we're going on an Alaskan cruise WITH them in June! {It's all booked and everything!} We are stoked!!

 

THING:

 I'm going to cheat a little bit on this one and say 2 of my favorite things: Grapefruit & FRESH garden Tomatoes. {NOT together though!! Gross!} I really think I could live off of these two round things of goodness!

(Click pictures to go to their source)
Question: Do you eat your grapefruits with sugar, salt or plain?

My answer: Salt.  

Question: What about tomatoes?

My answer: The best way to eat a tomato is like an apple. Just bite into it! (With salt too!)

My mouth is starting to water...okay, onto the last one...
   

ANIMAL:  

Giraffe. Definitely Giraffe. 

I have one hanging on my mirror in my car, and a couple stuffed animals (one of which is a LARGE one from Costco...) In fact, My husband and I went to Arizona last year and I found out that at their zoo they let you FEED their GIRAFFES!!! If I lived in Arizona, I alone, would probably go enough to keep the zoo in business!  

After we got there we had to wait in line....amongst a bunch of little kids! I was more excited than all of them put together {SERIOUSLY!} I was also EXTREMELY nervous! It was one of the best days EVER! 

  {I recently heard that the zoo in Colorado Springs, I believe, allows you to PET their giraffes....next stop....Colorado!}

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Melissa