Holidays
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Neat and Unusual Celebrations, August-January August 24- Waffle Iron
Patented- NY- 1869 26- National Dog Day 27- Mother Teresa’s
Birthday- born 1910- Changed the world in many ways 31- National Trail Mix
Day September Better Breakfast Month,
Library Card Sign-Up Month, Read-A-New-Book Month, National Courtesy Month Fourth Week- National
Dog Week, National Roller Skating Week 11- Patriot Day; World
Trade Center Remembrance Day 16- Collect Rocks Day 18- First Edition of NY
Times Published- 1851 22- Ice Cream Cone
Invented- 1903 23- First Day of Fall 28- First Airport Opened October Family History Month,
National Pizza Month 2- Peanuts Comic Strip
Debuted- 1950 16- Dictionary Day 19- Star Spangled Banner
first sung- 1814 27- Theodore Roosevelt’s
Birthday- 1858 28- Statue of Liberty’s
Birthday November 1-Electric Light Bulb
Patented by Edison- 1879 7- Magazine Day and Hug
a Bear Day 9- Parade Day 19- Gettysburg Address-
1863- Lincoln 22- Thanksgiving
Write to a Friend Month 1-
Rosa Parks Day- 1955 4-
National Cookie Day 7- Pearl
Harbor Day- 1941 11- UNICEF
Anniversary- 1946 17- Wright
Brothers Day- 1903 21- First
Day of Winter January National Staying Healthy
Month National Thank You Month |
Halloween Pumpkinology (Measuring, weighing pumpkins) Steve
Spangler: Screaming Balloon http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/00000080 What would Halloween be without spooky sounds? Here's
an easy-to-do experiment using only a balloon and a hex nut from the hardware
store. Be sure to buy enough supplies for all of your Halloween party guests
because everyone is going to want a screaming balloon! Oobleck http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explorer/ooze.html Steve
Spangler: Light Sticks, Liquid Light http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/experiment/light-sticks-the-science-of-liquid-light
Just
give the plastic light stick a little "snap" and a shake and the
liquid inside begins to glow. Some people call it liquid light. Our
experience tells us that with light comes heat... but not this time. Light
sticks are more popular than ever and have become almost required apparel for
Halloween to cast an eerie glow on the candy seekers. Light sticks are also a
great and inexpensive teaching tool for students to learn how temperature
affects the rate of the chemical reaction. VIDEO:
http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/content/science-video/liquid-light |
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Thanksgiving Thanksgiving
Math Word Problems Thanksgiving Feast Our Thanksgiving feast
is always held the Monday after Thanksgiving so the students and parents can
prepare over the course of the weekend. The food is delightful, and the class
spends an hour of quality time with their parents and friends. Here are ideas
for a feast-
Christmas
Two girls in my class putting the
garland on our class’ Christmas tree, 2006 (Yes, I know it was a little after
the fact) Our in-class crafts-
painting and decorating a candle as well as a hanging photo frame and a swirl
ornament
Our
candle collection, 2006
One student (Jeremiah’s) ornament,
2006 Decorate a Classmate
Like a Christmas Tree Boys and girls separate into
their respective groups and “decorate” one of their classmates like a
Christmas tree. Whichever group makes it through the race first, wins. They
decorate the classmate with garland, ornaments, and lights.
The
boys and girls seemed to have a blast. The girls won. This idea is from Mrs.
Laura Candler, who teaches fifth grade. Holiday Cookie Jars Image © Mrs. Beth Newingham, third grade teacher in Michigan
Mrs.
Newingham’s Explanation: The gift
that I have chosen to have my students make for the past three years is
"Cookies in a Jar." I purchase quart-size jars with lids and
the ingredients necessary to make a specific type of cookie
mix. During one afternoon, I pour the ingredients
into large bowls and call students over to a table in my classroom in
groups of four or five at a time to add the ingredients to their jars.
I ask parents to send in sets of measuring cups and measuring spoons for
students to use for the special project. While I walk small groups of
students through the sequencial steps necessary to
make their "cookies in a jar" gift, the rest of my class reads
quietly at their desks or completes an assignment that I have explained
prior to the cookie-jar project. Once
all students have added the ingredients to their jar, they attach a
circular piece of festive material to the top of the jar with a rubber band
and tie a ribbon around the rubber band. Finally, students attach a
gift tag to the ribbon to indicate the recipient of the gift. The
recipe for how to make the cookies is printed on a label and stuck to back of
the jar so that the cookies can be easily made by adding butter and eggs when
the recipient chooses to make the cookies. Since
the holidays are such a busy time of year, parents tend to appreciate the
ease of having a pre-made cookie mix that can be used to entertain holiday
guests. It is also a fun way for students and parents to spend time
together at home baking (and enjoying) the cookies. I
like this gift idea because it can be altered for students who celebrate any
holiday. |
Valentine’s Day Our class uses Mrs. Renz’s idea for putting together “carriers” for the
Valentines. The students go home and use everyday materials (or materials
they intend to recycle) to make a carrier to hold their Valentines. Here’s
one from February 2007. We do not celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and Easter in our
classroom; we do an activity with our Book Buddies in kindergarten. Do you have any ideas? Please tell me about them so I can post them on here. E-mail: ilovetoteach4@(nospam)hotmail.com
(Remove
the nospam when you e-mail so it reaches me.) |
