March 2011 - Always Learning

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Always Learning - March 2011

Let's Go Fly a Kite: SUPER simple, and inexpensive, kite instructions

March 31st 2011 03:38

Okay, what is going on? It is snowing here, real heavy flakes.

I don't want to complain, but it is March 30th after all.

Anyways, on March 21, the FIRST DAY OF SPRING, (by the way), I took my art class outside. We hit the parking lot with the following supplies;

8 x 11 inch paper

masking tape
coffee stirrers
plastic table cloth
hole punch
kite string
scissors

We made AWESOME Kites. These little babies went together in less than ten minutes and were up flying in the air as soon as the string was attached. Amazing. Truly remarkable.

The instructions are so simple. I will quickly explain, but also give you the link to the website where I initially found this jewel of a project. Once my class had their kites flying for a while, I interrupted them, sat them back down and challenged them to make a second kite......without any instructions from me.

I just wanted to be sure they all understood and could recreate this kite at home, or on vacation....although, I must say...What a wonderful Spring Break we are having....snow? seriously? *sigh*

To make;
1. Fold a sheet of paper in half, hamburger fold.
2. Place your finger on the outside of the fold and bend the top sheet back. This will create an awkward fold, not quite from the center like a paper airplane would be.
3. Fold the other side back to match.

4. Place a coffee stirrer across the top, like the horizontal part of a cross.
5. Tape this down securely, and then tape along the seam
6. Attach a long, thin strip of plastic tape cloth to the bottom of the kite.
7. Punch hole on the opposite side of where the cross bar is taped.
8. Tie the kite string to the hole and take outside to release into the blustery wind.

Confused? Check out Big Wind Kites

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Posted By: Sylvie Branch - Category: Age 4-6, Age 6-8, Age 9-11, Craft, Toys

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Sky Art Projects

March 20th 2011 02:19

Sky Science Art Lessons
Art encourages students to look closer at a subject. Recreate comets, stars, constellations and clouds using art supplies. This will enhance sky science lessons or provide an interesting subject to base your art projects. Students from preschool through high school can benefit from the combination of art and science.

Painting the Night Sky
Winter Constellations
Make a Comet
Cloud

Sky Science Journal;
As a class project create a monthly moon book. Place a calendar of the moon on the front page. Assign a day to each student for them to draw the moon as homework. Place the images in order to build a book showing the changes of the moon. Encourage the students to be creative and use a variety of materials to create their moon picture, such as crayons, paint, chalk, collage items or a combination of supplies.

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Posted By: Sylvie Branch - Category: Age 3-4, Age 4-6, Age 6-8, Age 9-11, Books, Craft

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Edible Earth Science Projects

March 13th 2011 02:49

Edible Earth Science Projects

Incorporating food into your earth science lesson plans is a great way to grab your students' attention. Whether they are in early elementary school or working on a high school science project, edible materials engage the senses and can be used to illustrate different properties of the earth such as naturally formed crystals, plate tectonics and the layers of the earth's crust.

Rock Candy Instructions

Yummy Layers of the Earth

Five layer Earth Cookies

Pancake Tectonics

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Posted By: Sylvie Branch - Category: Age 4-6, Age 6-8, Age 9-11, Cooking, Craft

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Fun Ideas to teach the Main Idea of a Story

March 13th 2011 02:33

Fun ideas with the main idea....

Third graders are ready for a challenge. Teach them how to find the main idea of a paragraph to help build reading comprehension. The main idea is the most important part of a story, all the other sentences are details.

Kids in this age group are also full of energy. Mix up desk work with some fun alternatives to the text book, pencil and paper. As they begin to navigate more complex concepts and ideas find ways to fully engage their senses to keep them engaged in the learning process.

Debate and Vote
Tell a story. Ask four or five children to come up with what they think the main idea of the story might be. Write their answers on the board. Have these students defend their main idea to the class. Students can then take a vote to see which main idea seems the most plausible.

Arts and Crafts
Create an art project or craft pertaining to the main idea of the lesson the class is learning. Art could be as simple as drawing a picture to illustrate the main idea. A craft can be a clay creation.

Read more fun ways to engage students in discovering the main idea of a story....here

Becoming skilled at finding the main idea will continue to serve third graders throughout their life. Quickly finding the main idea on standardized test questions will greatly increase overall scores.

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Posted By: Sylvie Branch - Category: Age 6-8, Age 9-11, Books, Craft

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Edible Earth Science Projects

March 5th 2011 01:23

Edible Earth Science Projects

Incorporating food into your earth science lesson plans is a great way to grab your students' attention.

Whether they are in early elementary school or working on a high school science project, edible materials engage the senses and can be used to illustrate different properties of the earth such as naturally formed crystals, plate tectonics and the layers of the earth's crust.

Make Rock Candy to show crystal formation... Sweet!

Recreate unique crystal formations in a batch of rock candy. Watch the cube-shaped crystals form just like the crystals that make up diamonds and quartz.

You will need;
* a large paper clip
* tall clear glass
* piece of string at least two inches longer than the height of the glass.

Directions;
1. Pour a cup of water into a saucepan.
2. Add three cups of sugar and heat until sugar dissolves.
3. Remove from heat and let cool for 25 minutes.
4. Tie one end of the string to the paper clip and the other to the end of a paper clip.
5. Pour the sugar mixture in the glass.
6. Set the pencil over the top of the glass, letting the paper clip and string fall in the mixture.
7. Once the string is saturated pull it out and lay it on a piece of waxed paper.
8. Let dry completely without touching it for several days.
9. Then, place it back in the sugar solution and leave undisturbed for at least one week. At the end of the week the crystals should be clearly defined, and ready to eat!

More Edible Earth Science Projects found HERE.

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Posted By: Sylvie Branch - Category: Age 3-4, Age 4-6, Age 6-8, Age 9-11, Cooking, Craft

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Stages of Art Development

March 3rd 2011 01:13

Every child, rich or poor, goes through the same basic sequence when starting to draw. Make the most of the different steps by offering a variety of interesting materials to explore...

Art Development through the stages
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