When the sugar high of Halloween has receded, you might discover that you have an abundance of candy wrappers. I know I will. So I sat down at my computer and did some searching for ideas that reuse candy wrappers. Apparently, people have reused wrappers to make everything from bowls to dresses! Personally, I discovered that…
STEM
Marvelous Inventions!
What do earmuffs, a trampoline, and Popsicles® have in common? They were all invented by children! Click here to find information about the inventions mentioned above and other inventions created by children. Share the information with your students. Then encourage your little inventors with this collection of printables! Young inventors respond to…
Creativity and Innovation in the Classroom
I am planning to do a STEM and STEAM feature for The Mailbox Magazine–Preschool. I’m loving all of the fantastic activities I see that use easy-to get supplies like spaghetti, plastic eggs, toothpicks, craft sticks, and cardboard tubes. Have you created STEM and STEAM activities for your classroom? Why don’t you try submitting your ideas…
A Big Ole Plug
Plug can mean a few different things. For some reason, I immediately think of a hair plug. No, I don’t have any—it’s just my slightly off-center sense of humor! The big ole plug I’m making today is filled with fantastic opportunities for teachers. For example, $750 worth of classroom cash (yes, you read that right!)…
Think About This!
What do earmuffs, a Popsicle ice pop, and a trampoline all have in common? The answer is right in your classroom—kids! Each item was invented by a kid. I know, get out! Like many inventions, earmuffs and the trampoline were solutions to problems. Chester Greenwood, the inventor of earmuffs, liked to ice-skate but didn’t like…
Poor Pluto
It’s not easy being a planet. For one thing, unless you’re Earth, it’s pretty lonely out there in the solar system. Sure, Mars is getting all the attention these days with some incredibly impressive visitors. But as red-hot as Mercury is, there’s not much going on. Saturn’s got rings, but no medals or awards. And…
Flatulent Footwear and the Parts of the Brain
Story time. A few of my coworkers know I’ve spent a better part of the last two years searching for just the right new pair of shoes for work. While I was about to say that I am usually not picky about footwear, the editorial fact checker sitting at the back of my brain slapped…
Rate Your Tech Savvy
Sometimes I worry that if I go to the beach, some muscle-bound guy carrying the latest awesome smartphone and a sleek new tablet PC is going to kick sand in my face. In a voice that sounds like it was carved from granite by union laborers in mud-caked overalls, he would say, “What’s the matter?…
Are You Blinding Them with Science?
Life’s a funny thing. When we asked our Facebook followers when they knew they wanted to be teachers, an astonishing number responded that they knew quite early, when they were young children. When I was a young child, I wanted to be a firefighter, mainly because of my love for dalmatians. I’ve wanted to be…
Sailing the Internet Ocean
Shortly before I set about writing today’s blog post, I came across several articles on the Internet about technology in the classroom, a favorite topic of mine. There was a particular angle to all of these articles (which came from three very different sources), and that was high-speed Internet access in our schools. We may…