Leprechaun Traps

Have you ever set a leprechaun trap? This was the first time I've had my students build leprechaun traps.  It was a great STEM project!  I had my class draw a "blueprint" for their trap and write the directions they thought they would follow to build their trap and then they went home....

They each did a FANTASTIC job ~ or their parents really did :)  We looked on Pinterest as a class to give them some ideas before they started drawing their blueprints.  You can find some great ideas at Moms and Munchkins. Everyone took turns explaining how their trap was going to catch a leprechaun. Then we set them up all around the classroom at the end of the school day and crossed our fingers that we might catch a leprechaun!  The kids had so many things they were going to wish for if they caught the little guy.....

NO LUCK! The kids were bummed that no one caught a leprechaun. But they enjoyed the "bag of gold" our leprechaun left.

And then they had to clean up the mess our mischievous leprechaun left for us.....

In the end, it was a great day and a wonderful project that allowed parents to get involved. It's definitely a keeper and maybe, just maybe, we might catch that sneaky leprechaun next year.....

Kid Quote of the Week

This week our school has been celebrating Africa.  We've tried food, listened to guest speakers, made crafts, watched videos......  We've done so many activities!

Our last project was making a necklace with a paper plate.  While explaining to the kids how it would look like a necklace (I of course put the example on to demonstrate how the necklace-plate would look), Jane let me know how it REALLY looked!

"It's the cone of shame!" Jane ~ Oh Witty One

Needless to say, it was no longer a necklace but "the cone of shame".  I had a good laugh and so did the rest of the class; however, I don't think I'll ever look at a paper plate the same again....

Parent Gift ~ Student December Craftivity

Every year I try to think of a creative, cute, and EASY crafitivity for my students to put together for their loved ones as a gift in December.  Every year after I finish the creative, cute, and EASY Christmas project I think "WHAT was I thinking! NEVER AGAIN!"  This year "we" made these creative, cute, and "easy" wreaths from tulle.  Incredibly cute, right?!

All you need is a 3 inch ring (Any office supply store or HERE).

Tulle (HERE or I found mine at Walmart) cut to 6 inch long pieces in any color you would like (it took 35-40 pieces).

 And ribbon (HERE or Walmart again) of any size so is can hang.

It will be so easy, I said...

They can tie knots, I said...

It will be easy, I said...

They can tie double knots, I said... (They tie them in their shoes all the time!)

It might be easy, I said...

It will be so creative, I said...

It's easy?! I said...

I only have 22 to fix, I said...

What was I thinking!!! I said...

Ahh, it turned out so CUTE!! I said...

I think I'll think of something else next year. I said...

Math Journals

Math Journals are a quick 5-10 minute activity that I use in my classroom.  I love that it can be a quick check of my students understanding of the concepts I've been teaching and I can also add in new concepts that are a preview to things to come.

I looked all over Teachers Pay Teachers for labels that were already made, could be printed on to mailing labels, were core aligned, and made for first grade.  BUT NO LUCK! So... I made my own, and I LOVE them!!

Each label is aligned to 1st grade curriculum and can be done in as little as 5 minutes.  I start the year by placing the first label in my students' notebooks. Each day that we work in our Math Journals I give my students a new label.  I just do a quick check, star their paper, and stick a new label on the back of their hand. My students are responsible for placing the next journal label on the next blank page.  (...... Sometimes the next blank page is really the middle of the notebook!)

You can find Math Journal Labels for the entire school year HERE (That's 180 labels!), or find labels for each month here:

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

I also have a FREEBIE if you want to sample my Math Journal Labels to see if they are a good fit for your classroom too!