Trying to Squeeze it All In!

I know I'm not alone in feeling frustrated and overwhelmed this time of year.   When the teachers are feeling a little worse for wear and kiddies are a tad overwhelmed, you know it's Standardized Testing Season! 

This sweet little board inspired by One Lesson at a Time reminds both my students and I that we love to learn!  The last few weeks we've been trying to squeeze in as much as we can until that big monster of a test arrives.  Here are some of the fun activities we've been doing throughout the day...

First up is Polygon Post-Its! I borrowed this rug from our Math Enrichment Teacher, threw down a cup of markers, and some Post-Its and told the kids to go to town during their snack break.  The kids had fun counting up the sides and identifying the different polygons. 

 

These story cubes were a lot of fun to make and a simple organizer.  After reading independently students filled out the six sides of the cube with the following:

1. Title & Author

2. Characters

3. Setting

4. Problem

5. Solution

6. Theme/Lesson

 

Next up we had a polygon hunt with our iPads and snapped about 1,000 pictures in 10 minutes! Ha! They just LURVE to use that camera!  Afterwards, we used Show Me as a way to organize our photos and identify the different polygons in our classroom. 

My students have LOVED getting to play Piece of Cake an idiom memory matching game! I'm so thankful for this product, it's been especially helpful for my population of ELL students who so often struggle with figurative language.  You can purchase a copy for yourself HERE.

 

Last, we had fun making these rainbow fraction tiles.  I laid out the strips and had pre-folded the thirds and sixths for my kiddies.  It was time a time consuming, but worthwhile project! I liked having the kids make the tiles instead of using printed out fraction tiles I've used before.

So, there you have it! We've been trying to have some fun during this stressful time of the school year and soon we will be able to breathe a sigh of relief! It'll be all over soon!

Wishing you peace of mind and serenity during this time,

XOXO

Monday Made It: Lovie-Dovie Edition

Love is in the air! Mushy gushy, lovie-dovie feelings are swirling around inside of us.  Much to their teacher's dismay, some of my third graders are beginning to make goo-goo eyes for one another.  Yikes! I warn them that their teacher cannot handle third grade love.  Anyways... I'm excited to link up with Tara's Monday Made It again this month, although I BARELY made it.  As usual! Any who...I always look forward to all of the creative ideas y'all come up with! So, here are a few things I've 'made' this month.

First up my class created this bulletin board for our third grade hallway.  I got this adorable idea from Blair at One Lesson at a Time, you can read her post about it HERE! Thanks Blair!!!

A second made-it was inspired by this sweet little pouch I found at JoAnn's. I purchased one to use as a template and picked up some felt and embroidery thread.  

Here is one of my sweet little pockets I stitched! I think this would make a great craft to make with some intermediate age children! I plan on filling these with some chocolate kisses and sharing them with some of my loves.  Who wouldn't like a Pocketful of Kisses!?

My last made it was for my kiddies' parents.  Michaels just came out with these super sweet glasses and mustache pieces made for a photo booth.  I painted them and had my students choose one to have their picture taken with.  Depending on their choice, the valentine for their parent will read:

"I mustache you a question...will you be my Valentine?"

or

"Valentine, I've got my eyes on you!"

Cute, right!?

You can read about the other little treats I made for my Valentines HERE.

Now I'm off to be inspired by all the other's linking up with Tara!