Lion King!

This poor post is so long overdue.  Four months late, but here are costumes from our Spring Middle School musical.   Let's pretend it's March.   In that case, next week is Spring Break! 

54 costumes ready to go!  It's Lion King Jr. time!  

These kids practiced so hard!   This was the day I finally got to get costumes on people and start altering.  The kids were so excited many just wanted to keep them on! 

Dress Rehearsal- starting off with a prayer.  

The makeup crew hard at work.  

I love when all the pieces come together.  Makeup and costume make things finally seem real for the kids.

Hyenas- these grey vests started out as lost boys outfits from Peter Pan then were adapted into Seussical costumes, and now came out for their third and final time.  I really roughed them up, added swatches of fur and black paint.  I also bought the 'fur' at the thrift store.  I really felt like I had to explain my recent purchases.  I've actually gotten to know some of the people there and they love to see my after photos. 

Mufasa-  We bough lion robes from Target and I sewed them up, took off sleeves,  took in the hoods, added headbands inside to hold them in place, and turned the belt into a tail.  The cape and belt he's wearing were one Aladins magic carpet!  

Rafaki- I love everything about this. 

Scar-  The green was once the Grinches robe (Suessical)

Pumba, young Simba, Timon 

Pumba started out as a Chewbacca adult onesie from Target and Tomin was a bear adult onesie. 

Young Simba and Young Nala.  The lionesses wore pieces made form thrifted animal print items.  I went to the thrift store three times and bought ALL the animal print.  The bigger the size, the better!  

Zazu- the blue base started as a carebear adult onesie from Target.   The tights are from a seagull from Little Mermaid.  

Pumba, Simba, Nala

A parent volunteered to make this necklace.  It was on a rope first but the kids struggled to get it off and on as needed during the show.  I made a necklace with the strongest magnets from the classroom as the closure.  It worked beautifully.  

The chorus animals. 

Our building principals always make a cameo appearance.  They came out this time as hula dancers during Hakuna Matata.  

We don't get to get on stage until a few days before the show. Of what a difference it makes! 

So this might have been my favorite show to sew for- and I think it was the student's favorite too.  Believe me, Bee, Lou, and my third graders were singing the songs for weeks.  

One of our dads is a photographer and took lovely lovely photos for us dress rehearsal night.  We are so blessed that he comes to our shows and ballgames and school events.  This one is his- it's so sweet.   This was my favorite costume and make up, and she's one of my favorite kiddos too.   

Elementary Health Resources

It's funny to see in the shop what sells better than other things.  Health resources, that's what my teacher peeps are needing right now.  I'm guessing they're in the same boat I'm in these days- non-existent or extremely outdated provided health curriculum.   That's why I created these resources for my 3rd graders.  This is what my third-grade team uses for our whole first quarter health curriculum. 

Food Plate Informational Article, Meal Planning, Food Tracking Health Activity

Before, during, or after health lessons on keeping your body physically healthy, read about the benefits of eating healthy food and using the US Department of Agriculture's MyPlate.  Use the provided note-taking paper to organize information from the included article. There are two choices of articles, depending on the level of your readers. Students can use the information from the text to plan a healthy meal as well. Cumulate the activity with tracking your eating for a day or more. Two different tracking pages are included for your selection as well.

Contents:

Page 2  Teachers’ Notes

Page 3  Shorter, easier to read article

Page 4-5  Longer, more detailed passage (best for note-taking page)

Page 6  Note-taking Graphic Organizer

Page 7  Plan a Healthy Meal Activity

Page 8  Meal Tracking Sheet- option 1

Page 9  Meal Tracking Sheet- more detailed option

Cereal Nutrition to Compare the Nutritional Facts of Cereals

Students will read the nutritional labels on boxes of cereal and record and compare the nutritional value of various types of cereals.   This activity leads to interesting discoveries about nutritional facts, added vitamins, and if what appears to be healthy actually more healthy.

Contents:

Page 2  Teachers’ Notes/Directions

Page 3  Recording Sheet with 2 columns

Page 4  Recording Sheet with 3 columns

Compare Nutrition and Sugar Content of Popular Drinks

Before, during, or after health lessons on nutrition, visually compare the amount of sugar in some types of drinks.  Students can record their findings and answer questions about the sugar content and health aspects of popular drinks.  It’s especially interesting to compare the ‘healthy’ looking drinks with what might look ‘unhealthy.’

Contents:

Page 1-3  Teaching notes and conversion information

Page 4  Single-sided follow-along activity page

Page 5  Double-sided activity page- allows for more drink choices and more written responses.

Fire Safety Informational Article and Fire Safety Plan Activity

After studying fire safety from either reading the included text piece (choice of two reading levels) or using your school provided curriculum, students can create their own fire safety plan for their own home.  If using the included text, the ‘taking notes’ foldable can be assembled and used to sort information from the article.

Contents:

Page 2  Teachers’ Notes

Page 3  Fire Safety Article -lower reading level option

Page 4-5 Fire Safety Article- longer, higher-level option

Page 6-7  Note Taking Foldable and Directions

Page 8  Fire Safety Plan Project and Rubric

The Benefits of Sleep For Health Informational Text and Activity

Read about the health benefits of sleep with the included informational text, use the graphic organizer to sort the information from the text in web form, or use the main idea and detail organizer. Students can then track their sleep and energy level for several days.   

Contents:

Page 2  Teacher’s Notes and Directions

Page 3 Article about Benefits of Sleep

Page 4  Note Taking Page

Page 5  Main Idea Graphic Organizer

Page 6  Sleep Tracking Sheet

Communicable and Non Communicable Diseases Informational Text and Activity

After reading about communicable and non-communicable diseases in, either in your health curriculum and/or using the provided informational text, students visit patient charts as ‘doctors’ making diagnosis. Students refer to their reading and record their findings on their doctor notes page. I say this several times during the year, but this is one of my favorite activities we do!

Contents:

Page 1-2 Teacher Notes, Answer Key

Page 3 Informational Text For Students

Page 4 Doctor Name Badges

Page 5 Recording Sheet

Page 7-9 Patient Charts

Understanding Your Feelings and Emotions Health Lesson

This health lesson includes a full-page article about emotions, feelings, body language,
and self-control for students to read and evaluate for main idea and detail, or use for note-taking practice. There are pieces for two different hands-on activities to reinforce the ideas of body language and facial expressions being indicators to someone's emotions. Included are a journaling writing activity sheet and a fun doodling activity.

Contents:  

Page 1 Teachers Notes

Page 2 Feelings and Emotions informational article

Page 3 Note-taking web organizer

Page 4 Main Idea and Detail graphic organizer

Page 5-9 10 photos showing emotions

Page 10 12 emotion cards for playing ‘act it out’

Page 13-14 Finish the Face emotions journaling  pages

Page 15 Finish the Face drawing page

Importance of Exercise For Youth Health Reading Article and Hands-On Activities

This health lesson includes a full-page article about exercise (types of exercise, benefits for the body, and safety precautions) for students to read and evaluate in order to summarize or use for note-taking practice. Included are a heart rate observation activity and recording sheet and an activity tracking sheet for students to use over several days to track their physical activity.

  

Contents:  

Page 1 Teachers Notes

Page 2 The Importance of Exercise For Your Health article

Page 3 Note-taking web organizer

Page 4 Summarizing Sheet- graphic organizer

Page 5 Aerobic exercise observation activity and recording sheet

Page 6 Activity tracker sheet

Pathogens and the Body

Students will research the ways that pathogens enter the human body and how the body protects itself. Students are asked to help research for the creation of an app. They will complete research using the provided articles, present their research to the class, create an "app" icon and add to the "app" map.

*Students are NOT using technology for this activity and NOT actually creating an app.

Content:

Page 1 Teacher Directions

Page 2 Pathogens and the body pre-reading page

Page 3-14  Research article and questions on 6 topics

Page 15 Icon design page

Page 16 Body map

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Or get it all in a bundle and save some money.  This is the bundle I'll continue to update.  When you buy now, you'll get free updates as I add resources this summer.  The price will increase as items are added, but by buying in now, you pay once and get all the updates as I add them for no charge.  

Health Reading and Activities -Nutrition, Fire Safety, Sleep, Diseases, Exercise   

(and... Food Plate and Exercise and Pathogens)

THE chocolate cake

My last post was our favorite chocolate chip cookies, today is our favorite chocolate cake.  There's a theme running here.  

So, I did a round of 21-day eating- which is through Beach Body and is basically low carb, low dairy, sugar-free.  So it's over and all I could think about was chocolate cake.  And it was delicious. 

I had planned to make a 2 layer round cake, but my springform cake pan was leaking.  I ended up with something not as pretty, but just as yummy. 

This cake is not hard to make and totally worth the effort.  

Favorite chocolate cake recipe

Add dry ingredient to your mixer. 

1 3/4 c flour

2 c sugar

1 t salt

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 baking powder

3/4 c cocoa powder

Mix wet ingredients separately and add to dry mix.   

2 eggs

1 c buttermilk (or add 1 T vinegar to 1 c regular milk)

1/2 c vegetable oil

2 t vanilla (I use Mexican vanilla)

Once well mixed, add boiling water and mix briefly again until smooth.  

1 c boiling water

Mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. 

Pour into well-greased pans and bake 350 degrees for @35 minutes.  

Cool.  Or better yet- toss in the freezer for a bit.  I like to ice the cakes when they're really cold.  

Icing:

1/3 c milk

1/2 c butter (melter)

3 c powdered sugar

2/3 c cocoa powder

1 t vanilla

This recipe will make 2 round cakes to layer, or a 9x13.  This time I split it between two 9x13 pans and then cut in half to get 4 layers. 

summer bucket list cookies

This is so not school related, which really has been the focus of the blog lately.  But this is yummy, and that generally takes precedent.  A friend of mine said finding the best chocolate chip cookie recipe was on their family's summer bucket list.  They'd tried 7 different recipes but still felt like there was something else out there.

Then I stumbled on a recipe that might just be it.  I was really trying to eat healthy this week.  Instead, I've consumed a lot of cookies.

Get your butter (so much butter) and your chocolate chips- we're making summer bucket chocolate chip cookies!  This is adapted from a recipe in a new book called So Much to Celebrate by Katie Jacobs.

Summer Bucket Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 1/4 C (2 1/2 sticks) butter- softened (Unsalted? Salted? Whatever... I always err towards salted!)
1 c white sugar
1 1/4 C brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t vanilla (Mexican if you can)
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/4 t baking soda
1 1/2 baking powder
3 1/2 C flour
3/4 bag or about 8 oz chocolate chips- semi-sweet, please

Get out that electric mixer and using the paddle, cream butter and both sugars.  Mix on a middle setting for about 3 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, then mix them up too.  In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients.  Add those to the wet mix all at once.  Mix up until it's looking like cookie dough.  Add the chips and mix just until they're incorporated.  Cover up the bowl (after you have a good taste- let's assume we all used quality eggs) and stick it in the fridge until the next day.  Then scoop out round balls of dough and bake @12-14 minutes at 350.  I am a baking stone girl, but you do as you please.  Don't over bake.  They will still look soft.  Let them cool a bit, like 10 minutes still on the tray and then move to a wire cooling rack or right to your plate. Whatever floats your boat.  It's nice having the dough in the fridge because you can make up a few at a time (like when the kids go to bed and you need to sit in quiet and eat fresh cookies without sharing- I mean for portion control). This makes up about 4 dozen cookies (but really, it's hard to keep track since they don't still on the cooling rack for long at my house).

Assembly Line Project -ready to share

I've written about this favorite hands-on social studies project before, but I've finally sat down and put something together so others can easily put this project together too.  It's on my TPT store From The Hive.  I did this project with my second and third graders my first year teaching in 2002 and have done it most years since.   

Assembly Lines: informational text, hands-on 

project, written reflection

After reading about production, Henry Ford, and assembly lines, students will participate in their own hands-on assembly line, and- get to enjoy a yummy treat! Then, they will reflect on the project with a differentiated written reflection.

*Prior to your assembly line, send home a note to parents (a sample letter is included). You don’t need everything I've listed, but several ingredients are best.

*In the days before the assembly line, read the informational text about production, assembly lines, and Henry Ford.  Use your social studies curriculum and/or the included informational text as needed.

*The day of:   line up several desks of same height or tables of the same height.  Make a bulletin board paper belt around the desks. Then, set up the fruit and supplies needed. I typically do this prep work while the kids are out of the room for a special.  I promise the prep work is going to be worth it!

When the students come back, I welcomed them to their first day on the job at the fruit salad factory.  I explain how the assembly line works and what the jobs are. I make sure each person gets a job. There is detailed information about the job types and roles included.

The following day students work through a written reflection activity.  There are two differentiated reflection sheets to choose from for your learners.

You can certainly put this activity together on your own.  But, if you're interested in my ready to go product, you can find it here.  It's engaging and memorable and your students are going to love it!  

 

 

Assembly Lines: informational text,

hands-on project, written reflection @From The Hive