CH...CH...CH...CHIA!

Here in the midwest, spring has arrived and it is time to cut grass again.  I started doing this project with my class years ago in kindergarten, but it is fun for any grade.  My students started calling them their Chia Pets, so I just went along.  They grow so quickly and are a great addition to a Plant Unit, Earth Day Unit, or I even used it to go along with teaching the "ch" sound.  They are very simple to make and every kid loves getting their hands in dirt!

Here is what you need:

1. One pantyhose leg or knee high nylon for each student.  If you have old pantyhose with runs in them, Great! We are recycling them. Just cut off about a foot. You will only use the foot part. Throw the rest away. If not, you can buy the cheapest knee high hose you can find.  I watch Walgreens for their sales. I can get enough for my whole class for $2 - $3.

2. Potting Soil

3. Cups or scoops for the children to get the potting soil out.

4. Grass seed  (any kind, I just buy a quick grow variety)

6. Styrofoam plate or bowl (you can buy new Styrofoam bowls or use recycled meat trays)

7. Tray for the dirt to fall on instead of all over your table.

I work with a few students at a time.  I hold open the nylon as they scoop the dirt and start to fill the nylon. Put about 3/4 inch of soil in the foot, flatten it out to about the diameter you want. Mine are big, about 5 inches. Now let the child add the grass seed.  Make sure there is plenty, it should completely cover the soil.  Then fill the nylon with more dirt until you reach the size you want.  I press the soil down so it is compacted into the toe of the nylon.  I tie a single knot using the rest of the nylon.  After you make the knot, cut off the excess nylon.  Place the nylon, knot side down on your plate or bowl.  Students should water it every day.  It should grow in about 2-3 days.  Then it will take off like crazy! It continues to grow after haircuts which the kids love to give.  It's like mowing their own little lawn.

If you want to add a face, you can use sequins or cut felt pieces.  The easiest way to attach the pieces for the face is to use pins with the small colored heads. (Glue does not work.) I talk with my class about the safety issue ahead of time.  I also send a note to my parents warning them about the pins in case their are younger siblings at home.

If you have any questions please email me at swideman123@gmail.com. 

Your class will love watching these grow. 

 It is also a great way to see the root system as the plant becomes more developed.

Let me know how yours turn out!

Since I did not have a picture of mine with faces, I found one at www.familyfun.go.com 

Sequins and felt cutouts look a lot cuter than these.

Tulips in Bloom!

My class has been working so hard.  I am reviewing everything I can think of before the big standardized tests. I thought I would give them a little crafty fun project to work on while I pulled math groups today.  I sometimes think we focus so much on academics and paper / pencil tasks that we forget that the creative projects are just as important.  We are studying about spring and plants, so these little(actually big) tulips fit right in.  I am one of those teachers that doesn't care if the room gets messy and glue gets on the tables and desks. It wipes off. You can clean the room up. Better yet, the kids love cleaning.  I know the fine motor skills are at work when crumbling bits of tissue paper.  I'm building those fine motor muscles for great handwriting.

Here is all you have to do to make these Blooming Tulips!  They look great in the windows.
Cut tissue in approximately 1 inch  squares, they do not have to be exact.  Cut the tulip shape out of poster board or I used old file folders.  I am cheap and I recycle everything. Students smear glue on a small area at a time, about 2 in. by 2 in. They then crumble individual pieces of tissue squares and start sticking them on.  I tell them I do not want to see any white spaces. Once the flower is covered, students cut a long strip of green construction paper for the stem and cut 2 leaves and glue them on.

Here are the finished TULIPS!

Spring Poem - Guaranteed to Be Cute! and FREEBIE

This is Guaranteed an easy poem for your kids to write!

With April being Poetry Month, I am trying to have my students write their own poems.  I have used the following Goodbye / Hello Poem in both kindergarten and first grade classes.  They always turn out cute and are so easy for the students to create.  The Goodbye / Hello poem is about saying goodbye to winter, and saying hello to spring.  I start by brainstorming the differences between winter and spring with the students.  We create lists on the SmartBoard or on chart paper of winter/spring opposites or analogies.  Think about the weather, the environment, animals, clothing, sports, holidays, foods, and activities.  Here are a few word combinations my students came up with;

ice skating - rollerblading

winter coat - jacket

snow - rain

animals hibernate - animals are active

Christmas - Easter

hockey - tennis

snow drifts - rain puddles

snow boots - tennis shoes

You get the idea.  

After brainstorming and making lists of winter words  in  one column and spring words in another, it is time to write.  Start the poem with 

Goodbye ___________(insert a winter word or phrase)

Hello _________________(insert a spring word or phrase)

Goodbye __________

Hello ______________

Keep repeating to the end.  If the students ended up with one line left over, they wrote "Hello Spring!"

Mount the poem on 12 X 18 construction paper.  I created some colorful "Hello Spring" titles for them to choose from.  Students then used fun foam shapes such as bugs, frogs, and flowers to decorate.  I had some  diecut shapes for them to use also.  

The students had an easy time creating their poem and they loved decorating their page.

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

Here is a FREEBIE!

I have created a packet of  bordered papers and the "Hello Spring" titles. It has several papers; plain lines and penmanship lines, depending on your grade.

Please become a follower here and on my Facebook page.
Click Here for to download paper and titles.

Poetry Month

April is poetry month and we started a off reading some of Shel Silverstein's poems just for fun. The kids thought they were a hoot.  I had them draw illustrations for several of his poems.  We then worked on writing our own individual poems. My hall walls are so bare so I decided to do a wall of poetry.  Our first project today was a color poem of sorts.  I laid out large chart paper with a color word written in the middle.  Students rotated to each color word in small groups and brainstormed things that are usually that color. When we were finished I gave each child an outline of a rainbow.  On each line of the rainbow students wrote the following:  

Red is...

Orange is ...

Yellow is ...

Green is ...

 Blue is ...

Purple is ...

They completed each line with words of things that are usually that color.  

They colored each line very lightly and added some clouds of cotton.  We will be adding some rainbow streamers to hang from the clouds.  This was a simple, no fail first poem for the students to write.  They turned out cute and will be the first project on our Wall of Poetry in the hall.

    What are you doing for Poetry Month?

Share your ideas!