End of the School Year and June Randomness

1)  Today is my one year bloggerversery.  My first post ever featured this picture of Ton Jones from "Auction Hunters."  How did I get this?  He came to our school site last school year  and participated in a RC car show for the kids.  He was so sweet he stuck around after the show and met all the children. He even signed autographs for the 6th graders who were absolutely starstruck!!!


2)  My husband insists on doing the Soda Trick every year to entertain the children in my class. Unfortunately, it only lasts a few seconds. We recorded it this time, so the children can relive it as often as they would like!

3)  I cant say enough about the floating and sinking experiments done at the end of the year!  I actually tricked those little ones into learning when they were quite finished with learning!  I began with a group modeling activity and taught the word "hypothesis."  We used the following recording sheet to keep track. 

This picture shows a student's drawing of the item and his hypothesis before the object is tested.  (Can you see the picture of the bear?)

The plastic bear was placed into the water and it floated.

Hypothesis Recording Sheets

You can also return to the previous post to collect this free reader. It  accompanied these lessons! Click the image to return to the previous post.

4)  Having a class pet is a must!  I have a hermit crab that I kept in the classroom this year.  Despite the opinion that hermit crabs make boring pets, I found him to be rather active during the day.  He is a climber and was often seen on top of various objects in the tank.  Many visitors stopped to marvel at him, as well as the children.  As I said, he is a very busy creature.  I recommend getting one of these for  your classroom.  He is very easy to take care of, never became a burden or an extra chore.  

5) Father's day is just around the corner and my son and I plan to make this project from Smart-Bottom Enterprises for the special man in our lives. Check it out!