Spies and secret agents have always fascinated me! (CIA I’m still open to being recruited if you’re reading this). I once visited the National Spy Museum in Washington D.C. and it was so cool. If you ever have a chance, definitely don’t miss out on going there. Because I know I’m not the only one who is fascinated by the…
This month we learned all about the secret and exciting world of spies! Students practiced different types of codes, learned to disguise themselves and even solved a mystery. Here are ideas for your own Spy unit or Spy party! Secret Codes The most important aspect of any good Spy unit is codes! There are lots of different types of codes…
Are you looking for some great STEM ideas to use this November? Here are my favorites! You can download a free poster of each of these challenges at the bottom of the page. 1. Create a turkey trap Before beginning this project, I love to read the book How to Catch a Turkey by Adam Wallace & Andy Elkerton. This…
The rainforest is a great thematic unit topic! You can even do it year after year and still not run out of things to learn about and do. Depending on your child’s age you can focus more on learning fun facts about animals in the rainforest or you can dive into biodiversity and conservation. Here are some ideas to get…
We just finished a unit all about the human body. Since I work with younger students (Kindergarten- 2nd grade) I wanted to make the unit very hands-on and engaging. I didn’t want to try and dive too deep in a lot of technical anatomy. I just wanted them to understand the basic function of our main body parts. Here’s what…
Summer is such a great time to learn about the ocean, beach, or Hawaii! If your kids love the Moana movie you can even incorporate that into your theme. Here are some great Moana/beach activities to try out with your kids. Moana/Hawaiian books: The Mighty Maui Makes A Friend Maui describes his many accomplishments as a demigod. But there is…
Summer days are long and sunny. You may be tempted to hide inside in the air-conditioning but there are a lot of great experiments and learning opportunities you can do centered around the Sun. Here are a few of my favorites. Create a Sundial The Sun can be used to tell time, direction and seasons. For older students you can…
Pirates are so much fun to learn about. I especially like doing this unit as the weather gets warmer in late Spring or Summer. Pirates are fun and interesting to children but they provide a lot of meaningful learning topics! Start by reading some pirate books from your local library. My Favorite Pirate Books There are soooo many awesome pirate…
With Halloween coming up students can’t help but feel excited and a bit distracted. Rather than trying to fight them why not embrace the holiday for a few days and try some of these great activities in your classroom. 1. Build a spooky Halloween Town It’s a great Stem activity that also encourages teamwork and a positive classroom culture. You…
October is one of my favorite months as a teacher! There are just sooooo many different themes you can integrate with your learning objectives. A few that I have done are: Human body- bones, brain, blood, muscles etc. This is the perfect month to learn about those things and students will think its cool and gross. Bats/Spiders Harry Potter Pumpkins…
