Classroom Catch Up: Round 1

I sure have missed the blogging world!!  I am excited for the 3 day weekend… can’t wait to catch up on everyone’s blog posts and share more about what my class has been up to!  For now, here is Round 1 of our latest classroom activities!

For the 100th Day of School, we made books filled with funny 100-related tasks.  On one of the pages, there was a sentence starter that said, “When I am 100 years old…”  To spice up my students’  imaginations, I used an app on my iPhone called AgingBooth ($.99) to transform my students into grandmas and grandpas!  OH MY!  We certainly got a kick out of this app!!  Here are a few examples:

Aren’t they priceless?!!  {Student photos shared with parent permission}

We finally got some decent snow in Ohio, which means we got to do one of my favorite activities of the year—shaving cream snowmen!  First, we read Snowmen at Night… loooove this book!  {As an added bonus, you can project the digital version of the book for free at www.wegivebooks.org}

After reading the story, students wrote rough drafts of their own snowmen at night stories and typed them using Google Docs.  Next, students used construction paper to cut out all of the decorations they wanted to use on their snowman.  And yes, the best way to give your students color options is to dump out all of your construction paper scraps all over the floor! :) 

Next up, let the shaving cream craziness begin!  There is not an exact science for this process… basically, just squirt about half a bottle of cheap, white shaving cream into a bowl.  Then, squirt in a bottle of liquid Elmer’s glue.  Finally, take a spoon and whip it up!  Students used plastic spoons to spread the shaving cream onto the black construction paper.  They decorated their snowmen with sequins, beads, and the construction paper pieces they cut out earlier.  As a final step, I sprinkle some of that super-fine-sparkly-glitter-that-gets-EVERYWHERE-for-17-days-including-your-hair on top of each snowman!  The snowmen will be very puffy at first, but if you do this in your classroom, warn your students that some of the puffiness will be gone the next day… just tell they their snowman melted a bit and they will not be as disappointed ;)

Here are a few of the final creations:

Last, but not least, we started working on our Valentine’s Day projects this week!  My class is OBSESSED with technology, which is the reason behind my latest file, All iLove About You.  The challenge was for each student to think of 12 reasons why they love their parents and then create a tiny app picture for each reason.  Students got a kick out of creating the teeny tiny app pictures!  And their reasons are priceless!!  I think their projects turned out darling!

{I love this student’s tiny little pictures!}

{Check out #5… so precious!!}

Tomorrow, we are going to mount their creations on 11X18 construction paper for them to take home!  I hope their parents like them!!  For Valentine’s Day, here’s what I’m passing out {with candy attached, of course!}

Happy Valentine’s Day!!  I will be back this weekend with more updates!  Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

PS:  I am participating in Aimee’s 400 Follower Giveaway!  Go check it out!