Ancient Chinese Fireworks Craft

In third grade in Virginia, one of the biggest (and most fun) units that we teach in social studies is about ancient civilizations. We study Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, and Ancient Greece. The kids love learning about these cultures! They are fun to teach too because each place is interesting and unique! At the end of the unit we get to compare and contrast these cultures and use all that we've learned to create some fun projects. 

This is an example of one of the projects that we did in class to enhance our study of Ancient China. One of the Ancient Chinese contributions was that they invented fireworks. 

We used pipe cleaners, paint, plastic plates and construction paper to create these firework paintings. I took about 4 pipe cleaners and bent them in half. I twisted one side of the halves to make a handle and then put out each individual pipe cleaner at the bottom to create a pointed 'star' shape. We used the twisted pipe cleaners as a handle and dipped the 'star' shape onto the plastic plates, each one with different color of paint. I chose to only use red, blue, yellow, and white so that when the colors mixed, there would not be any yucky, neutral grays or browns. As more students created the project, the paint colors mixed but that made it look even better! 

This project went well with our Ancient China unit, but it could also be used to celebrate Chinese New Year! Students really enjoyed getting to use paint outside of the art classroom and making something so beautiful! You can see that some are simple and some chose to make more complex designs! 

This idea is all over Pinterest - I did not come up with it, I just found a way to incorporate it into what we were learning. :)

Love & Sparkles,

Miss Jones

FREEBIE Valentine's Day Thank Yous!

Hi everyone! 

Happy belated Valentine's Day!

I just created a quick FREEBIE for you to thank your students for their Valentine's Day gifts! 

In my class I received so many sweet Valentines, candy, and small gifts! While I am writing some personal thanks you, I also created this to print and give out to my whole class in a weekly folder that gets sent home to parents! 

It includes a half letter sheet thank you card that you can sign and copy, then cut in half to send home and a foldable card that you can use to write on the inside. There is a black and white and color version of each card.

Please visit my TeacherPayTeachers store to download the FREEBIE (Click on the picture or use the link above) and follow my store for more! 

Love & Sparkles,

Miss Jones

5 Minute Quick Draw

The two weeks ago, we had a historic blizzard! We had over 20 inches of snow come down over the weekend. We spent the weekend curled up inside, drinking hot cocoa (with a kick :P) and binge watching Netflix. This blizzard and the small amount of the snow we had the night before it started cause us to miss seven days of school, with two weekends in between, so a total of eleven days out, with only 1 full day of school in 14 days. 


That is a lot to miss after have a two week winter break only a few weeks before - and at the end of the quarter no less! We were scrambling to get everything packed in before report cards were due. Even coming back to school on Monday after the blizzard we had a 2 hour delay - talk about lacking routine! 

I knew that if it was that hard to me to get back into it, it would be even harder for the kids! I didn't want to just jump back into EVERYTHING that we had missed and needed to get done. We needed time to share and appreciate being together again! On Thursday before we went back, I sent a check in email to parents and asked them to send me pictures of their family having fun in the snow storm. I used all the pictures I got to put together a Google Slides to show the students - we had a lot of fun looking at each others neighborhoods and snow covered driveways. 

Normally on Mondays we do a quick weekend update and everyone gets to share about what they did over the weekend. However, with a 2 hour delay we do not have time to do a morning meeting, so instead, to ease back into learning we did a 5 minute quick draw. 


I gave each student a blank piece of computer paper and asked them to take out a black marker. I explained that they would draw a picture of something that happened over their "snow-cation" using only their black marker. They needed a title and their name and it needed to be done in 5 minutes. I set the timer and the room filled with the gift of silence and focus...ahhh...

After our 5 minutes was up, we hung our pictures on our clothes pins outside the door for everyone to see. It was a fun, quick way to get our focus back, get ready for learning, and share about our weekend. This type of activity can be utilized in lots of different ways, not just sharing about a weekend/vacation - do a quick draw about a subject you've been studying or at the beginning or end of a writing.

Love & Sparkles,

Miss. Jones

P.S. Be sure to share it with your school's art teacher - she will be impressed with their lovely, simplistic line drawings! Trust me ;)

Writing a Weekly Newsletter

Something that I have done since I started teaching is sending home a weekly newsletter with my students. I think it is so important to keep communication open with parents and let them know what is going on the classroom and how they can support learning at home. The parents love it and it makes them feel more connected with what their child is learning in the classroom.

My newsletter has evolved over time. My first year, I started out by writing a document in Microsoft Word, adding some clip art, proof-reading, and then printing out the copy and making 1 copy for each student to take home in their Thursday Folder. Thursday Folders go home with student papers, fliers from school, and other important forms and information.

My second year I added a question to my Open House form about how parents would want to receive a newsletter. The majority of parents preferred email, so I adapted. The information in the newsletter stayed the same, I just sent it out via email on Thursdays (and no more cute clip art). I created a 'Parents 2015-16' distribution list, now known as a Contact Group (I didn't know you could do this on Microsoft Outlook until my third year) and send it out as 'bcc' to respect everyone's privacy. It made emailing so much easier. 

Here is a general outline of what I include in every weekly newsletter - 

Salutation, 

Quick Hello/Connect to something that's been going on outside of school or weather.

In language arts this week we.... Talk to your child about this that we've been working on...Moving forward we'll be working on...

In math this week we...Make a connection to how parents can help students use this skill in real life...Next week we'll be working on...

In science this week we...Ask your child about this...Next week we will be...

In social studies this week we...Work on/Look for/students need to know...Next week we will...

Any extra information about what is coming up in class (recorders, field trip money, forms, in class events, etc.)

Important Dates
Look at your school's website and add any important dates (PTA events)
Add any test dates
Add any holidays, early release days, etc. 

If you aren't already doing a newsletter, I strongly encourage you to start one! Parents will love it, it will create a stronger home/school connection, and it lets you reflect on and summarize your week.

Love & Sparkles,

Miss. Jones

How to Move to a New Classroom in the Middle of the Year

In my last post I shared my first room...and I mentioned how I had to move out right before spring break! My school was going through a renovation when I started working there and my pod was a part of Phase 2! For us, that meant we were the second pod to move out and we did it over spring break. This was a very exciting time, but I definitely put in a lot of long hours packing up all of our stuff and making sure it was ready for my new classroom. Ah...my new classroom - a door! a bathroom! a sink! a door! (Yes, a door was super exciting). 

I wanted to share some tips I learned from moving that will make it easier for anyone else who has to move classrooms in the middle of the year. We weren't able to move any of our stuff ourselves, so we just had to walk in on Monday hoping everything we had was there. Here are 5 things I learned from my big move.

1. LABEL EVERYTHING!!!

Anything that you want to keep, put your name on it! I used a Microsoft Word document and made a 'label' in large print with my last name and new room number on it. I taped it to every box, every piece of furniture, even on my globe and teacher chair. This way, in case anything goes to the wrong place, the person who finds it will know where it belongs. Also be sure to label what is in the box - I did this with a big Sharpie marker. Don't use tiny labels, use something people can see as soon as they look at it.     

                                   

2. FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN BRING & IF YOU WILL BE GETTING ANYTHING NEW

When we moved, the administration told us that most of the old furniture would not be coming with us. We got new student desks, student chairs, and teacher desks. Only certain approved pieces of furniture were allowed to come with us. Talk to your admin so you know what you need to clean out and what you can keep in it's place.

3. USE SMALL TRASH BAGS TO STORE STUDENT DESK CONTENTS

My students all had their own desk with their own supplies in it. I gave each student a small white bathroom trash bag. I had them put all of their stuff in it, then I used the Sharpie marker again to label each bag with the students name. I put these into 2 large boxes. Don't let the students take all their supplies home with them...who knows if you will see it again.

4. USE A SPECIAL LABEL ON THE BOXES YOU WILL NEED ON DAY #1

On my boxes, I used big, flat, foam hearts that were left over from Valentine's Day to label the boxes that I would need ASAP the day we got back from spring break. I also put them on the boxes of the students desk supplies. When I got back from spring break, I really walked in to a room of stacked boxes. Having those essentials (Expo markers, erasers, pencils, pens, post its) were essential (heh) for the first morning! I also got there early to put out students supplies on their new desks.

                                     

5. ASK FOR HELP & ENJOY THE RIDE

Moving classrooms is a BIG task! Ask custodians for more boxes if you need more, ask someone to make sure you are putting the boxes together correctly (this happened to me...I'd never moved before anywhere), ask someone for help lifting heavy boxes (ever tried to lift boxes of classroom library books SO HEAVY!). If possible, find a friend who is available to come in with you on the first day you're back. They can be putting stuff up or away for you as you teach.

All ready to go!

Don't stress - it will all get done! Re-organizing and getting everything put away in my new room took me at least a week, if not more! For things like the classroom library, you can even get the kids to help you unpack. 

While this is a super exciting/just a little stressful time for you - this is also a super exciting time for the kids! Look how fancy and clean your new space is! Don't forget to just enjoy your first day in your new classroom together!!!

Love & Sparkles,

Miss Jones

Throw Back to my First Classroom! #PODLIFE

Hello friends! 

Welcome to my blog! I am excited to share with you my love of teaching and looking pretty! I have been reading blogs for years and I have been amazed by the communities that exist just because of passion for one thing or another. I can't wait to be a part of the community of teacher bloggers! I was also inspired by Principal Principles to start this blog - her blog is amazing! Check it out - I've linked to her post about how to start a blog, but everything she has is great! 

To start, I thought I would throw back and share my very first classroom! This was in August of 2013. My school is technically 'underground' and our playground is on the roof of our building. Interesting, I know! (I am still at the same school, but we have since been renovated. I'll do a before and after post sometime..) The inside of our building was made up of 4 pods. Each pod was shaped like a round pie and each classroom was a slice. Notice that we have no doors! 

We also had windows between the ceiling and the 'walls.' If you look through the entrance of my classroom, you can see someone standing in the hallway because we also had windows in classrooms that showed into hallway.

I was a lucky teacher because I had windows to the outside! You can see the windows partially covered in light blue paper (to block out construction). I also had a door to the outside in my classroom! It could not be blocked, so my desks had to be off to the side. I even had a set of steps in my room. This was a great place for kids to read and to watch readers theaters. I liked the steps and windows!

You can't see it in these pictures, but I also had something else most classroom do not have nowadays - a TV. I had a small TV that plugged into the steps. That is how we watched morning announcements and dismissal. I had one white board and 2 small chalk boards. 

This little pie shaped classroom will always hold a place in my heart. My first classroom, first open house, first teacher conferences...and then right before spring break, I had to pack it all up and MOVE OUT!!! That's right, first year, first move...but that is a post for another time. 

Love & Sparkles,

Miss Jones in Third