Marchis an important learning month! It also seems to pass by so fast, parent-teacher conferences,  third quarter ends and the fourth quarter begins, Spring Break, and it’s about a month before standardized testing!! SO, IT’S CRUNCH TIME!! It’s important to make learning fun, but also purposeful. One activity I love using is my Basketball STEM Challenge, it’s perfect since college basketball is starting their March Madness Tournament. Connecting important skills to my students' interests is critical in making learning fun and engaging.  Students love shooting hoops and learning h ..read more

Valentine’s Day Fun:  Some of my favorite STEM activities are Valentine’s Day related.  Students get excited during holiday seasons, and there is nothing like keeping them engaged using a STEM activity. 7 Valentine's Day STEM Challenges are a fun way to engage students in learning.  I love using Conversation Hearts! They are cheap! It’s way too easy to spend too much money in the classroom, so I try to find items that are easy to find and not too expensive.  Taking students through the Science Process while engaging them in fun Valentine’s Day Activities helps th ..read more

It’s important to keep your students engaged during the holiday season. Some of the best ways to keep your students learning and to prevent behavior problems is to engage them in STEM Christmas activities.  Students love STEM Christmas Challenges.  Here are a few of my favorites, they are easy to implement and my students loved them. 1.   Christmas Tree Challenge:  Students will construct Christmas trees using Spice Drops and tooth picks.  Students will have a limited number of resources and will have to make decisions while constructing their Christmas Trees ..read more

    I love the fall season from the Pumpkin Spice to pumpkins and mums by my door.  Friday night football games and the cool breeze in the air, make this one of my favorite seasons.     STEM is a huge element of my classroom. My Halloween STEM Challenges are a great way to hit the Next Generation Science Standards for Engineering and Design.  Check out the K-2 Halloween STEM and the 3-5Halloween Challenges.  Fall also brings parent-teacher conferences and report cards. In my district, we have started Student-Led Conferences. I had mixed feeling abou ..read more

Wow! The first five weeks have flown by! I have been SOOOOO exhausted, but I’m liven’ the dream!! Yes, I always dreamed of being a teacher and here I am!!! On my 20th year of teaching, I’m still always learning new things. Adding more STEM into my curriculum is always so important! One of my favorite new activities is my STEM Balloon Powered Cars!   Just watch them go--------    A fun way to introduce the Phases of Matter was with SLIME! Yes, I said slime.  I know all the kids are into it, so why fight it!! Glue is cheap at the beginning of school and your kids will thi ..read more

What a Great 1stWeek of School What a great week of learning.  One of our favorite STEM projects was building Pencil Towers. Students learned the importance of working together to complete a task. Students design, engineered, and constructed pencil towers.   Only at the beginning of the year would we have enough pencils for everyone to do this activity at once.  If you want to checkout these activities click here!  *Next time we will start the towers on the floor! Always learning!  Our Quote of the Week:  Our Word of the Week: Effort ..read more

STEM Station Organization is the key in making STEM activities easier! ·      Students can get their materials and clean up when materials are clearly labeled and easy to access. ·      Key items to have in your STEM cart: cardboard paper rolls, marbles, paperclips, cups, tape, craft sticks, string, cotton balls, straws, rubber bands, toothpicks, ping pong balls, cards, index cards, pipe cleaners, balloons, modeling clay, spoons, & lids. ·      Check out the labelsHERE! Chalkboard Display boards: I don’t alwa ..read more

Classroom Decorations Getting my classroom, student ready!! This is my favorite part of the year, looking for items that will fit perfectly into my classroom.  It’s like a hunt to find the right things that will help with organization but also create the best learning environment for my students.  Since we spend a huge chunk of our time there, I want it to make my students feel more at home! The first thing I did this year was to think about my color choices.  I’ve had pinks, purples, and other bright colors in the past. I love those colors, but I’m a little tired of them.  ..read more

5 End of the Year Activities       Wow! Another year is about to end.  I’m so tired, but I want to leave my students with activities they will remember.  It’s also important to keep students actively engaged until the end. So here is a few of my favorite “End of the Year Activities!”  5. STEM Paper Airplane Challenge is a collection of activities where students create paper airplanes for different purposes.  Your students will love the last days of your class designing, creating, engineering, predicting, and testing their creations. Students will ..read more

Fidget Spinning in the Classroom Making Mayhem Meaningful Wow! Another new trend! Students spinning different kinds of spinners, and retailors marketing them for something that will help students focus.  I’m a teacher who has ADD so I fidgeted with everything as a student, and as an adult.  The key with fidgeting is to figure out how to do it without distracting others!  So, in my classroom my students can use theirs~ if they do it without distracting others.  If they’re waving it around showing everyone~ they’re not fidgeting they are distracting! Life Lesson! Teachers ..read more