Static Electricity

The last few weeks have been really weird. Since the pumpkin patch we have really one had one normal week of program. Last week was our parents night so we spent all week practicing our dance that we were performing for our parents. My students and my team teachers students got together and did the macarena and the chicken dance.  Totally cute. 

The week before that there was only two days of school and I had a sub both days. So the did spider webs and a halloween safety lesson. 

This week however we had an awesome science activity. We did static electricity. So heres the lesson plan. 

Static Electricity

Materials: 

Balloons

Felt

Salt and pepper on a plate

A good wall for balloons to stick to

Procedure:

Each student is given a balloon that they blow up and tie. Then the students put in groups of four. The groups are then each given a plate with salt and pepper. They are told to charge the balloon by rubbing it on their head or on the felt.  They then pick up the pepper and salt with their balloon.  

Next the students are asked to explore how else they can use the balloon. We had then stick them to the wall and to each other. They also made each others hair stand on end. 

Last the class had to work as a team to make a shape or line with their balloons on the wall. We have a felt covered wall that we used. We then explained that this is called electricity and that if it had been dark enough they would have been able to see a spark. 

Before the students cold leave they had to pop their balloon and throw the  pieces away.  

It was so much fun to watch them explore through this self lead activity. 

Any questions? Raise your hand.  

Miss Hadleigh 

Pack Pumpkin Patch

This last Friday, my after school program managed to take all 120 kids to a pumpkin patch. Everyone got to take home pumpkins. We also had a short lesson from the farmer who then carves a pumpkin in less than five minutes. The other rotation we did was a straw maze. The kids loved it. I didn't. I had a really bad reaction to the hay.

Anyway, what I want to get to. While we were picking pumpkins on of my student starts yelling from the other side of the patch. "MISS HADLEIGH!!! I FOUND YOU THE PERFECT PUMPKIN!" He had been puppy guarding this pumpkin from all the kids. When a seven year old tells you it is the perfect pumpkin, you take that pumpkin home. It was a really good pumpkin.

That's all for today.

Miss Hadleigh

Silly Pumpkin Slime

This week for science we made silly pumpkin slime. It was super fun and super easy. I didn't let the kids make it themselves, I made it and then let them take some of it home. While I was making they had to write down what I was doing. Then half way through I had them make a prediction of what was going to happen next. After that they wrote what happened. The day I did this I was actually being observed by the district. I was so glad the kids were having fun and giggling when she came in. 

Here's the recipe. 

In a small bowl combine: 

3/4 a teaspoon of Borax

1 1/3 cups of very warm water. For my warm water I warmed water to the boiling  point. I used a cup of this and then 1/3 a cup of room temperature water. It worked well. 

In a larger bowl combine 

2 cups of white school glue (about 4 to 5 bottles)

1 1/2 cups of very warm water

Orange food coloring 

1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. I made my own pumpkin pie spice. I'll include that at the bottom. 

Once both bowls are combined separately combine in the larger bowl. Stir. Stir. Stir. The mixture will congeal into a slime. If all the water doesn't go away, take the slime from the bowl and mix with your hands. 

And thats it. They loved it!

Now for my pie spice. 

3 tablespoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves

Combine in a small bowl and mix well. Store in a small jar. 

Thats all!

Any questions? Don't forget to raise your hand. 

Miss Hadleigh

Mistakes lead to Learning

I needed to put this out there. I needed to see what everyone else thinks about this subject.

So here's the story. I have a team teacher right now. Yesterday we were working on a project that will be displayed at parents night in a few weeks. Each student was asked to write two thinks they like about afterschool on  a paper light bulb. My team teacher was teaching while I was cleaning the cafeteria. She would not let them write in marker. She MADE them write in pencil. When I suggested she let them use marker she said, "no. Then they will mess up and we will look bad." Keep in mind our students are in the second, third, and fourth grades. They WILL mess up!!! It going to happen. I politely told her that mistakes show they are learning. She still didn't budge. The students then colored the light bulbs with markers and now you can not even see what they wrote.

 This is a pretty common occurence with us. I let them use markers anytime we write she always makes them use pencils. I only make them use pencils on homework.

Who do you agree with? Me or my team teacher? Should the students be allowed to make mistakes or should we control them so much that there is never a mistake on work we show their parents? How do you feel? Do mistakes lead to learning? Or should we never show the mistakes?

Please leave your comments and ideas!!

Any Questions? Don't forget to raise your hand!

Miss Hadleigh 

I Love ME!! Prevention Lesson

This is a few weeks late. I keeping meaning to post this. Well I have plenty of time in between classes to do it now.

On September 23 I taught a lesson to my students about self esteem. It was simple and easy to understand for the younger students.

Materials:
Paper with a five petal flower drawn on it, one for each child
Markers or Crayons

Objective: Students will learn how to appreciate themselves and like themselves for who they are. The students will demonstrate this by writing five things they like about themselves.

Instruction:
Give each student a paper flower. Instruct students to write their name in the middle of the flower. Talk to the students about things they like about themselves such as they are nice or they like their hair. Have each student write one thing they like about themselves on each petal of the flower. (Five total.) Go around the table or room and ask each student to share one thing they like about themselves.

NOTE: Every lesson I post will be very short and to the point with minimal instruction, as I only have twenty minutes to teach my lesson.

My students seemed to understand this well and followed directions and each completed their flower. This is pre lesson to a positive self talk lesson I am working on.

Any questions? Raise your hand.

Miss Hadleigh

Hall Passes and Aprons

All students in the AfterSchool Program have to have a hall pass to get a drink or to use the rest room. It doesn't matter where you are or what age of kids you have. Most schools require hall passes. Well my supervisor bought us all hall passes at the dollar store. They were defiantly worth only a dollar. By the third week of program, mine was no longer laminated, the whole had been ripped through, (three times) and it had been ripped in half. Granted everyone elses was looking better than mine but not by much. I was done with it. So this weekend I made new hall passes for all eight teachers. They are just two pieces of felt sewn together with a piece of ribbon between the two pieces. I then took a sharpee and wrote on them. They work much better. Here. Have a picture.

Now, I was also tired of carrying everything around in my pockets or in my cart. I hate when I need something and I have to go all the way to my cart to get it. So I made this.

Yup. I made that. And yes it is an apron. I love it. And so does my supervisor and my co-workers.
I used this tutorial/pattern with only one small change. I didn't use the interfacing and it seems to be working just fine.

Any questions? Don't forget to raise your hand.

Miss Hadleigh

Why I do what I do

Some people have asked how I can manage to go to work and pretty much babysit kids all afternoon. Others ask why I decided to go into teaching. Well, here it goes. I am finally going to try and put it into words. Words on paper.

I love kids. I love playing with them and helping them have fun. Most days I have a lot of patience. This made me a good candidate for the job I have now. It also was good because I plan on being a teacher. That is what I am going to school for. Now why did I pick that? I didn't want to be like my mom. Or my sister. Or any of my friends. Every other career choice I made, no matter how short it was for, was because my mom, sister, or friend wanted to do it. One day I finally decided not to be like everyone else. I realized my love for children and teaching while I was working on my senior project at a preschool. That was when I knew. When I knew I wanted to teach. And wanted to teach little kids. Like really little. I decided then to open a preschool. I originally started my degree in music education but learned I was tone deaf, so I switched to elementary education.

This brings me to my job. I love my job. If I can I will stay at this job until I get my degree. May or may not happen. Why do I love it so much? Well for starters I love my students. They are some of the sweetest kindest and most polite kids I have ever met. I love watching them learn. I love teaching them new things. I love seeing when something finally clicks for them, or when they think something is cool. I love when they look up at me and say "OH!!! I get it!!" That is the best feeling ever. When something finally makes sense.

I do what I do because I love it. I love watching them learn and play. I love helping them learn and have fun. That is why I do this, and why I always want to do it.

Any questions? Don't forget to raise your hand/

Miss Hadleigh