December Fine Motor Fun!

Can you believe it is December already?!  After Thanksgiving, we dove right into holiday prep and lots of holiday activities.  This year my class seems to be weak in fine motor so I am trying to incorporate various activities each week to work on building up those little muscles.

Decorate a gingerbread man

My students love playdough!  An easy adaption to just using playdough is to have a cut out of a gingerbread man and challenge the students to make eyes, nose, mouth, buttons etc.  I love seeing what they come up with!

My original mats came from Unique learning systems last year, but I could not locate those this year.  So a quick fix was, I searched for gingerbread man and printed out a couple that I found on the internet.  I then laminated them for durability and to make cleanup easier.  You can also find some great free gingerbread house mats at PreKinders!

Making Ornaments

So this one is two-fold.  Work on fine motor and knock out a parent gift in one!  I found these cute felt ornaments at Hobby Lobby that also have a little picture frame.  We used glitter to decorate them a bit.  Instead of just shaking on the glitter, I gave each student a small pile of glitter.  They then needed to "pinch" and "sprinkle" to put the glitter on the glue. This went amazingly well with the 2 and 3 year old kiddos.

Cutting Practice

My 4/5 year old class needs major cutting help.  To help this we made presents with wrapping paper.  They each got a rectangle of white paper (we are also working on rectangles).  Next they needed to glue on wrapping paper, but first they had to cut the wrapping paper into rectangles.  Each student was given 3 strips to cut into 4 or 5 pieces.  They then used a glue sponge to glue down the pieces.

I hope this gives you a few fun ideas to help you through this busy time of year!!

Collaboration with Gen Ed Teachers

Collaboration with general education teachers can be one of the hardest jobs of a special education teacher.  You need to find time to talk that fits in with both teacher's schedule.  Then if you have students in more than one general education class, you need to work out times with multiple teachers.

I have been teaching in the co-teaching and inclusion setting for the past 13 years.  Here are a few tips I have learned.

Document, Document, Document

One of the most important things I stress to all special education teachers (and General ed!) is documentation. Document the accomodations you are using with students and ask general ed teachers to do the same.  Document goals, document behavior and document communication.  I have a communication sheet that I use to document conversations between myself and general education teachers.  Some of my teammates use a notebook that goes between them and the general education teacher.  

Set up a time to meet

I have always had a set meeting with my general education teachers at least once per month.  I talked with them and we figured out what day of the week and time worked best, then added it to the calendar.  For example, last year, I met with a teacher the third Friday of every month at 8:15 AM.  This gave us a set time to discuss how students were doing or if we were co-teaching anything together, time to plan the next month.  Ideally, if you are co-teaching you have common planning, but lets be real, that does not always happen. 

Be open to change

When you are working with another teacher you need to be open to change and open to trying things a different way.  Learning new strategies and ideas can strengthen your teaching and help your student succeed. 

Check these out!

Here are some other place to find more ideas about collaborating with general education teachers. 

• Lynda's Top Ten Ideas for Collaboration between General Education and Specia Education teachers
• Collaboration between Special Education and General Education teachers
• Special Education is not a Classroom, It's a Team.
• 9 tips to help Special Education teachers and Classroom teachers collaborate

Teacher Self Care

We all have heard the saying that "You can not pour from an empty cup".  We know how important self-care is, but sometimes as teachers (and moms), we sweep it to the side so we can continue to do our mountains of paperwork.  As special education teachers, we often work with kiddos who are behaviorally and/or emotionally challenging.  With these challenging situations, we could experience "compassion fatigue"  This can lead to increased depression, emotional exhaustion, decreased happiness at work, difficulties with our personal relationships, and loneliness.  The stress we experience can also impact our concentration and attention (Shapiro, 2007).  When we take care of ourselves it shows not only in our appearance and emotions but also in our teaching and classrooms. This needs to be something we focus on DAILY, not just once in a while.

I asked my coworkers how they practice self-care and they came up with a great list.

• sleep, going to bed early no matter what
• pedicures 
• drinking lots of water
• meal planning for clean eating
• water aerobics
• alone time
• watch mindless tv
• read 
• dipping into the candy drawer during planning
• new pens
• teaching Jazzercise
• walking 4 miles daily
• morning/nightly walks with lots of talking and laughter
• a husband who cooks
• girls night out
• daily stretching
• Chocolate

I know what you are thinking, "Caitlin, this list is great, but how do I fit it in?"  My number one  answer, make it a priority.  Just like getting your IEPs written, reports filed, and lesson plans completed are a priority, self care must be added to that list.  I schedule a pedicure once every 1 -2 months.  I put it on my google calendar and then share it with my husband.  That way he knows that I am taking that 1 hour for me.   I do the same thing with a girls night out.  I also take 10 - 15 minutes every morning to stretch or do some minor weight lifting.  This helps me get ready for the day and focus on what I need to do.  Every night, I read before I go to sleep.   How do you practice self care?  Please share in the comments!

I started a teacher self-care board on Pinterest.  Check it out here for more ideas on how to take care of you!

Tracking behavior in preschool

In my opinion, one of the hardest things to help students with in preschool is modifying their behavior.   In order to know if they demonstrate behaviors (okay, usually this is obvious) that need modification and to know if our interventions are working we need to have some kind of tracking system. I have talked about data collection before and I know that one system doesn't work for everyone.  I switch my behavior tracking systems sometimes multiple times throughout the year.  Today, I wanted to share some ideas that work for me.

First things first, you need to identify the behavior you are targeting.  Once you have your target behavior you can move onto one of these methods.

Matrix:

 I have said before and I will say it again.  This is a great system of you can keep up with it.  In my current position, I find it difficult to keep up with.  You can find out more about that by checking out this post.

Tally: 

Sometimes I find the easiest way for me to track is a simple tally sheet.  Currently, I am doing this to keep track of the number of times I need to redirect a student during circle. One of my coworkers shared a how many times sheet she found at this website (Really, there a few great tools here).

Rubber band or paper clips: 

Something else I have talked about before.  Put paperclips in your pocket or rubber bands around your wrist.  Move them to the opposite pocket when the behavior is exhibited.  If you need to track multiple students or behaviors you can use a different color for each.

Task analysis: 

Sometimes we think a task analysis is just for teaching a student to do a task.  However, right now I have the perfect example to use for behavior.  One of my kiddos refuses to use the bathroom at school.  This student is completely potty trained.  We decided to break down the task of using the toilet to figure out what may be the reason behind her behavior.  We now are tracking how they do with each step and finding that the act of standing in the bathroom is not the issue.  To track this, I have a sheet that lists each step and then a space next to the stop for the date, level of prompting, success rate, and reinforcements needed.

The biggest thing you have to remember is to do what works for you.  If you don't like it, you won't do it.

Organizing for Small groups

I don't about you, but being a special education teacher, I tend to run a lot of small groups during the day.  While running groups, I have little to no transition time so everything has to be ready and at my finger tips.

The first way to do this is good planning.  I have a weekly planning sheet for each group. Nothing grand, but it works for me.  Next is your set up.

I have a set of 10 drawers and each drawer is labeled.  In the drawers are activities by group, various alphabet activities, the books for my Orton-Gillingham/Wilson assessments, paper, and other resources.  This makes it easy for me to grab what I need quickly.

On the white shelf, I have a plethora of materials.  The small drawers hold letter and word card for quick drills for each group. On the very top is a utensil organizer I found in the clearance section of target that I use to keep pens, pencils, glue, scissors and those kinds of things that I need to use.  I also have a small 9 drawer organizer where I keep brads, paperclips, binder clips, etc.  The little containers hold reinforcers (because in special education editable reinforcers are often a necessity).  On the middle shelf, I have white bards, games, dice, and "teacher" books.  On the bottom shelf, I have a basket with my gel boards, a basket of whiteboard markers, colored pencils, crayons, and a box with my word cards.

So that is it, everything is all over the place, but I can get to it and use it quickly which is what I need.  I find that by the end of the week, my space is a disaster area so cleaning up after myself is always needed.

Social Stories 101

Social Stories.  We say it a lot, but do you know what they actually are and how they can help your students?

What are Social Stories:

 The concept of Social Stories is attributed to Carol Gray. She began developing the concept in the 1990's and if you look on her website she has a few articles explaining the history.  In short, a social story is a learning tool that is used to provide social supports for individuals. Social Stories are evidence-based and help the individual using the social story understand some of the little things in life that we often know innately. If you are doing a true Social Story, then you follow Carol Gray's protocol.  Honestly, I think the ones I write do not follow the protocol, but they work!

Why should I use Social Stories with my students:

Social Stories are great ways to help students understand expectations, routines, behaviors in a specific situation.   Social stories can provide visual/pictorial examples of expectations and are usually in story form which makes them more interesting to our students. 

Which students should I use Social Stories with?

All of them!  Ok, so I know typically we that that social stories should be used for students with Autism, but I have found that they work with all of my students.  Sometimes, just have those expectations written out is a reminder of what the student should be doing. 

How do I write social stories?

I promise it is not as hard as it seems.  A great way to start is a good old google search for social stories on ou specific topic.  I usually don't find exactly what I need, but I then can sometimes get some ideas and make the story fit my situation. I like to use real pictures and will go around taking pictures of set up situations for pictures to demonstrate what behavior I want.  For instance, I have a student who is having a lot of difficulties getting on the bus.  My first step was to take a picture of the bus drive, bus aide, the seat the student sit in, and the bus.  I then was able to write the student a story about getting on the bus, riding to school, getting off to see all their friends and having fun at school.  Guess what?  Getting on the bus has been much easier.  

If you want to know more about the prescribed way of writing a Social Story, this article from PBISWORLD is useful. 

I wrote it, now what?

Introduce the story to your student in a non-stressful time.  For example, a story about how we handle name calling should not be presented for the first time as a reaction to the student being called a name.  It should be introduced beforehand so the student is familiar with the story.  It can then be pulled out in that specific situation.  The story should also be reviewed at various times to remind the student of the expected behavior.  I often keep a copy of the story in the student's desk or book box, a copy in my classroom and I send a copy home.  This provides lots of opportunities to practice the skills and allows parents to be an active participant. 

Where can I find more information?

Here are some websites where you can find out more about Social Stories or find some examples:

• Carol Gray Social Stories
• PBIS World Social Stories
• Speaking of Speech: Examples
• One Place for Special Needs: Lots of Examples and info

Data Collection in ECSE

Data Collection can be tough.  Between teaching, behavior management, bathroom routines, nursing services, speech, OT, PT, assistive technology and who knows what else how are we also supposed to collect data?!?  Well, guess what.... we don't have a choice. (Ha, I know you all know that, but sometimes we need a reminder).

Embedded Instruction:

 The number one thing I do to make sure I can collect data while wearing all of my other hats is to embed my instruction.  When you embed instruction into your daily routines, you can collect data on the things you need.  Embedding instruction means that you purposely plan and teach through your daily activities.  I wrote a whole blog post on this.  You can find it by clicking here.

Matrix:

I like using a matrix to collect data in my ECSE classroom and when I am teaching K-2 self contained.  A matrix allows me to see what I need to work on all at a glance and take data right on the sheet.  I keep a copy of my matrix on a clipboard that I or another adult can easily access and add data points.  I then transfer the data to a graph for the individual student.   You can find a little more out about a matrix ( and how it links in with embedded instruciton) at this blog post. 

Be Ready to Collect Data:

Have copies of your data sheets ready to go.  I keep a binder. clipboard, or a hanging file folder (depends on the year) filled with the data sheets I need.  I also keep the items I need to assess with the sheets.  For example, if I need Alphabet flashcards those are kept in a drawer with the needed sheets.  I recently did an alphabet check on my preschoolers using the PALS quick check.  To make sure I could do this quickly, I have all of the sheets that I need preprinted and in a binder.  I put the sheets that the kids read off of on a page protector.  Then I assess as one of the center rotations.  There are usually 2-3 kids in a center so I work with one and the other one does an activity like puzzles or a fine motor box.  I wanted to share a picture of my binder, but we have had a larger than expected snow fall and I didn't take pictures ahead of time (#bloggerfail). 

Don't make it to hard:

Do not get yourself in a frenzy tryign to collect data. If you make it to hard, you will not do it.  If you need to, go back to the simple ways .  Put a pile of paperclips in one pocket  and everytime a student exhibits a behavior, move a paperclip to the other pocket.  You can do the same with rubber bands.  I even know teachers who have kept data on their arm with a pen or put a sticky note on their body to collect data.  I have also been known to wear a teachers apron (a nail apron from the hardware store works awesome also) and I keep whatever it is I may need such as sticky notes and pens in that. 

Preschool Holiday activities

We have been having a lot of fun in my preschool ECSE class.  The kiddos are super excited about Christmas and  I have been using that to my advantage. 

We have been using playdough to work on our fine motor skills and imagination.  We used popsicle sticks and playdown and tried to make trees.  Later in the week after reading and the Gingerbread Man, we used gingerbread man cuts out (laminated!) and made faces, buttons, etc.  The kids were then having their gingerbread people talk to each other.













This tree has been a huge hit!!  I found the felt tree at the local thrift store for $4.  I then used cut outs that I received from Carson Dellosa (Part of the Holiday Fun Collection) as ornaments.  The kids have loved these cutouts! They are not only using them for ornaments but as cookies in the play kitchen.








What have your been doing in your classroom to keep the December peace?

Flexible seating in the Special education classroom

Ever been to a professional development and after sitting and listening for an hour you just need to move?  So you cross and uncross your legs, tap your pen, then get up and go use the bathroom because "Hey we are adults and we don't need to ask to use the bathroom".  Well, guess what?  Our students need that movement also.  Studies have shown that students focus more on instruction when they have opportunities to move and sit in a position that is comfortable for them.   As their teachers, we need to help these little people find the best learning position for them.  The best way to do this is to offer a variety of options.  

Set Boundaries/Guidelines:

Before I let me students try different seating options, I set the guidelines or boundaries for the option.  If you don't follow this, you don't get to use.  Period.  For example, if sitting on a wobble stool students are not to stand on the stool or spin around.  If using a wiggle seat, they are not to poke it with a pencil.  You have to set up what works for you.  All teachers have different expectations and personal limitations.

Types of Seating:

Wobble Stools:

These have been a hit with my 4-year-old students through adults. (Yes, I sit on them).  Students love to sit on them while working on puzzles, doing word work, in small groups etc.

Stools:

Really any type of stool is awesome.  One of the teachers I worked with last year wrote a grant to get 5 stools that were used at one of the small group tables.  The kids loved the option. 

Standing:

Yes, standing needs to be an option.  Some kids just need to be able to stand.  Sometimes I will give boundaries on the floor in the form of a tape box that they need to stay in when they stand.  You can also use a standing desk or take a regular desk and adjust the legs as high as they will go.

Sitting on the floor:

Sitting on the floor is for more than story time.  You can lower a table and students can sit on the floor and still work.  They could also use lap desks or clipboards. 

Wiggle Seats (AKA Stability/Exercise disk):

These awesome seats were originally designed for exercise, but the kids love them.  I let my students use them in chairs and on the floor.  You can find a variety of types with different types of textures.  Change how much air in each one to meet each child's needs.  If you do look to buy these lookup stability disk or exercise disk as those prices are often cheaper. 

There are so many more options and this is just scratching the surface.  I hope this gets you thinking about how you can offer other seating options to your students.  I would love to hear, in the comments, how you use flexible seating in your classroom. 

Sensory Bin Fun!

Do you use sensory bins in your classroom?  This year I have decided to implement sensory bins with my preschool class and the bins have been a huge hit! I wanted to share some of what we have used so far that has been successful.

Base Materials:

I have used a variety of base materials to get our bins started.

• colored sand
• rice
• kinetic sand
• straw
• leaves
• Kidfetti plastic pellets
• oatmeal
• water beads

Add ins:

Some of our bins include the base material and then just stuff to scoop and play with such a cups and funnels.  In some of the other bins, I put various items that the kids can hunt for.  Here are a few examples:

• plastic/foam letters
• small pumpkins
• bugs
• plastic shapes
• numbers
• mini erasers
• items that match our current unit

Tips:

• Limit the number of students per bin. I only have two students per bin. 
• Set rules.  I tell the children that they can not throw the items around and need to keep the "stuff" in the designated areas.
• Use lunch trays to help contain. 

I am loving how these are all working in my classroom and plan in making a variety throughout the school year to fit with our units and the time of year.  I am still working on organization, but once I find something that works I will share! 

 I would love to hear how you use sensory bins in your classroom.  Please share in the comments below.

October Alphabet fun!

Happy Fall!!!  I am so excited for cooler weather, leggings, hooded sweatshirts, and carving pumpkins.  Oh, and The Little Old Lady who wasn't afraid of Anything!  October can lead to so many fun activities that really grab our kiddos attention.  I wanted to share some of the alphabet games I play with both my preschoolers and K-2 kids to keep them engaged and learning in October.

1. Alphabet Bats

My student love these bats!!  They are paper bats on a clothes pin.  Each bat has a letter on it.  The kids pick a bat out of the bag, read then letter and hang it on the string.  Letter practice and fine motor all in one!

2. Alphabet Scarecrows

These scarecrows are so much fun and can be used in a variety of ways.  Students can practice saying the letters, handing you the correct letter, matching the upper and lowercase letters and the list goes on. I got these scarecrows for free from Make Learning Fun. 

3. Pumpkin, Pumpkin

This is very similar to books I use later in the year (Valentine, Valentine and Farmer, Farmer) however, instead of using a book I use a plastic pumpkin or a pumpkin cut out.  I put letters/numbers (cards, magnetic, etc) inside the pumpkin.  The students then take turns pulling out a letter and saying what it is.  Sometimes I will throw in a few distractor items like a spider or finger (Pretend of course!). 

4. Spider Webs

This is one of my favorite activities and I pull it out multiple times a year.  I have used black paper plates (from the dollar store) and a silver permanent marker to make spider webs.  Each web is programmed with a letter, number, shape, etc.  (I think I may make a few with sight words this year).  I then spread the plates on the floor and the students place spiders( I use these that I bought on Amazon) on the letter I call out.  You can see more about this activity by checking out this post. 

*This post contains an affiliate link for Amazon.

5 Freebies to start your year

Happy September!  Happy Back to school!  Yes, I know I am late on the train, but just like everyone else, back to school time is crazy around here!

Here is a list of freebies for you to use to help you plan, make activities for independent work binders, for a quick center, subplans, or just on a day that you realized you didn't plan enough!

1. Name activities for parents:

I just found this Freebie by Tara West and it is perfect for me to send home with my preschoolers and maybe even some of my kinders for name practice at home (Ok, I will probably use it with my own child also).  I have not decided if I will save it for parent conferences or give it out next week at Back to School Night, but either way.  It is a win!

2. Printable Packs by 3 Dinosaurs:

If you have not discovered 3 Dinosaurs yet, I highly recommend bouncing over there right now.  I use Cassie's Printable packs not only for my preschoolers but also for my K-2 kiddos.

3. Planning Playtime Freebies

Planning Playtime has a Freebies page where she has various freebies that will work for each month.  While I am not a fan of using worksheets in preschool, I feel like a lot of these activities I could make into reusable activities for independent work binders for my K-2 kiddos.

4.  Make Learning Fun Themes

Another one of my favorite places to check is Make Learning Fun.  If you go to the themes section you can find tons of activities for math, language arts, etc. all on a specific theme.

5. Alphabet Letter Hunt

Tot School has these free Alphabet letter hunt sheets.  I am using these in conjunction with the Unique Curriculum.  As I introduce letters, students can use these sheets to practice recognizing the letter.

Meet the Parent: Special Education Style

As a new teacher (Okay, and as a veteran teacher) meeting your students' parents can be scary.  It is almost akin to meeting the parents of your new love.   However, this does not have to be so stressful as long as you prepare yourself and start off with a positive relationship. Parents are the best advocates for their children and they love to be your advocate also (I say this as a teacher and as a parent of a child with an IEP).

Get to know your students

I know, how can you get to know them when they have not been in your room yet.  Guess what, as a SPED teacher we have a slight advantage to general ed teachers in this department.  Paperwork.  Who ever thought paper work could be a good thing?! In this case, it is great.  So grab a cup of coffee, sit down and take some time to read over IEPs, parent surveys, evaluation reports, reports cards, etc that are in the student's cummulative folder.   This information will help you have an early peek into the windows of your student.  

Get to know your parents

Again, how?  Look at the paperwork!  If parents have filled out school paperwork look to see if the parents have the same last name, is the student living with one parent, both parents, grandparents or someone else?  

Make the first communication POSITIVE

Try not to wait until open house to contact your parent's for the first time.  Call home and introduce yourself, send a postcard to your student saying "Can't wait to meet you at open house!", send a quick email.  Anything to let your student and their family know that you are happy to be working with them. 

Ignore the Negative Nancy

My first year at my new school I was warned about one parent and how she was so hard to work with.  I was a nervous wreck!!! However, I was positive and gave a friendly approach.  Guess what?! She became one of my biggest supporters. We were able to have open lines of communication and talk about the best way to approach her child's education without so much as a frown.  

Communication

Let the parents know how to contact you.  I have a business card that I give to parents when I first meet them and every year I have their child, that simply has my name, phone, and email. I had them printed on VistaPrint, but you could just print it one peice of paper or even a sticky note.  This way parents know exactly what they need to do if they need to contact me.  I have also started using Remind so that parents can text me, which for some is easier.  Remind keeps a log of conversations so I can just print it out if I need to.  I have also had parents who would only communicate via Facebook messenger.  I try to do what works best.  However, remember that you have to have the type of communication that works for you.   If you are not comfortable communicating via Facebook or Instagram then give the parent your accepted forms of communication and move on. 

I hope this helps you feel a bit more comfortable when it is time to meet the parents!  Do you have any other tips or ideas to help new (or seasoned) special education teachers?

Working with Para-Professionals

**This post originally appeared on A Special Sparkle on July 21, 2013.  It has been modified/updated a bit.**

One of the scariest things for me my first year was not the kids, but working with my paraprofessional.  I mean, she was old enough to be my mom (Sorry Ramona!) and she had been working in that classroom and school for at least 5 years.  

 When I went into my classroom for the first time she had her (very large) desk in the back corner with some stuff hanging on the wall near it.  The first thing I did was move her desk.  I had to make sure the room was mine and the way I wanted to be setup so that we could have a successful year.  We never met until the first day that teachers had to be in the building and all of the paras came to eat breakfast with us. Of course I was late to that breakfast because I got a flat tire (Go me!!)

 Our first year was crazy, but we became good friends and in the past 11 years, I have learned a lot.  I am no longer working in that school, I now work in a different district with a different group of paraprofessionals (all who I love dearly), but what I learned my first year (and every year after that) has been invaluable.   The paraprofessionals I currently work with are great!  We are friends and even though they sometimes get very motherly on me, I still wouldn't trade them for anything.  With that being said, here are a few things you should keep in mind when working with paraprofessionals.

Respect

 Treat your paraprofessional with respect.  Don’t ask him or her to do anything you wouldn't do. If they are expected to change a diaper, then make sure you jump in a change a few yourself.  

Expectations

 Let the paraprofessionals know what your expectations of are them.  I find it best to write it out.  That way you can always refer to it.  I made a plan a few years ago that I was told was very helpful.  You can check it out here.  Feel free to adapt it and use as needed.  Also, while blog stalking browsing, I read a great post on Make Take Teach where Julie explains how she structures student time in inclusion using a curriculum matrix.  This also provides that paraprofessional with a plan.

Open Communication

Keep the lines of communication open.  I can not stress this enough.  The ladies I work with are my lifeline at school.  If I am out, they are the reason the classroom runs smoothly.  There are often evenings where we are on the phone discussing something that happened during the day or texting reminders to each other.   This year I am planning on having a communication center where I can post notes for the day and a “ Ask Caitlin” notebook so they can write things down that I need to address at one of our meetings.  I also want to include a calendar in this area. 

Ask for help

 Ask the paraprofessionals for ideas and suggestions.  They are a wealth of information and sometimes will have an idea that you never thought of.  This can be for anything from a lesson idea, behavior modification or a suggestion on how to word an email. 

Have FUN!!

Most importantly, have fun!   

Here are some links to some other sites that you may find helpful information on working with paraprofessionals. 

• Paraprofessional Survival Kit
• Kindergarten Paraprofessional Handbook
• Working with Paraprofessionals
• SPeNSE Fact Sheet
• Advice for working with Paraprofessionals

Simple experiments for the Pre-K - 2nd grade classroom

Experiments in the classroom can be awesome for some and scary for others.  I love doing various experiments with my students.  Just like cooking, there is so much you can tie in to make is cross-curricular.  To give you some ideas of what you can do in your room, my boys and I did some experiments together.  Their ages are 8 and 5 and they loved all of the activities we did!!

Density

We explored density by adding 3 liquids to a mason jar.  We used maple syrup, water (we used food coloring to make it blue) and vegetable oil.  The kids took turns adding the liquids (we started with the syrup, then the water, and lastly the oil).  When adding each liquid we predicted what would happen.  We then experimented with density by dropping various items and seeing where they would settle.  This was a huge hit!!  They dropped all kinds of stuff into the jar:  paper clips, chocolate chips, crackers, toothpicks, a penny, animals crackers, and cheese.  It was so neat to see where each item settled.  In the classroom, you could make a prediction sheet for this and have the kids record what they think will happen and what really does happen.

Marshmallow Structures (STEM)

The last activity we did involved using marshmallows and spaghetti noodles.  We used these to build structures.  My husband walked in just as we were starting so he jumped in on the action.  It was neat to see how each kid put the structure together.  The ultimate goal was to have the structure support something, but we never got that far. 

Scented Playdough (Recipe included!)

The first thing we made was peppermint scented playdough.  This was super easy and came out great! The kids helped measure, mix, and add ingredients.  Afterwards, they played with it and it kept well in a plastic bag.   I typed up the recipe for you and you can get it by click here!

With this activity you can talk about what happens as you add each ingredient, why might the water need to be hot, etc.  For ideas on what you can do with the playdough, check out this previous post! 

Slime/Putty

Slime is the new hit thing right now.  We actually made two different kinds.  The first was a kit that B insisted I get from Michael's. ( I am sure by looking at the picture of the box, you can see why B wanted it.  Oh, boys!)  At first, it seemed too gooey, but after sitting overnight it was perfect.  The 2nd was a recipe from a book that we borrowed from the library.  This one did not turn out well. I am not sure if we messed up or the recipe was bad.  It was way too watery!!  Last time we used this recipe from PBS kids and it came out much better.

I have used the slime recipes when talking about solids and liquids.  The kids think it is cool how using the school glue goes to a solid glob.