How does your class solve the problem of only three people at a station?

www.timelessteacherstuff.com

• Discussing strategies with and alongside the children
• Some children are learning powerful negotiation strategies to get what they want rather than just screaming and demanding
• we talk about how its important to wait our turn
• No children are allowed to stand at the board and wait for a space
• Lots of checking in done by the students
• Only putting out equipment for three people has been helpful 

While this strategy might sound annoying it provides a place for observation of children's behaviours when they don't get their own way, don't understand turn taking, develop naturally a way to negotiate in a powerful way. Great as a writing motivator!!

How are fingerprints made and how do you find them?

Very kool site that helps children find their own fingerprints and explore the patterns their own fingers have. Great activity that embraces emotional and science.

Sourced from:  http://www.kcedventures.com/blog/fingerprint-science-for-kids

The study of fingerprints is called dactyloscopy and is used by detectives (such as the police, FBI and those that investigate crime scenes) and also medical personnel.

First, everyone has different fingerprints -- no two are alike (kind of like snowflakes).  And yes, even twins will have different prints.

Here's a great post from Livestrong about how fingerprints form in the womb.

Now even though we all have different fingerprints, there are really one three common types of prints:  arches, loops and whorls. 

After you create your own fingerprints at home, match them up to the prints in these photos to learn more about your individual fingerprint pattern.  Be sure to look at all the prints of family members -- do you all fall into the same pattern?

Doctors are researching how fingerprint patterns can tell us more about a person's health -- for example, they've found that those with ridges closer together are more likely to develop certain diseases later in life.

Character development

found image on pinterest

What a great way to integrate speech bubbles character description and deeper features for writing.

Faces

http://dabblesandbabbles.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Blank-Faces-original.pdf

Guess who game
Who dunnit

Develop that descriptive language for describing a character.
Link to enriching vocab for emotions and facial expressions.

Bottle Top Bugs

Bottle top art - awesome fine motor skills. Could link well into retell, creative story telling, and developing oral language skills. Each bug has its own personality. Extend the children to think about the needs of their bug - house, sleeping bag, transport.

Try making cakes instead of bugs.

http://pinterest.com/hilarywhite3/bottle-tops-plastic/

Moon Sand

Moon sand is made from 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil. Very soft to use. Discovered through pinterest. Have you been there lately?

Me

This station created many discussions about team work, problems solving as well as size and comparsons. When you rely on someone to help you it really motivates a child to ask for help and work woth someone else to achieve a goal. They found out quite quickly that if you help one person they will help you to achieve your goal. The aim of this station was to draw around your body cut it out and decorate it so it looks like them. We displayed them on the wall to compare sizes and challenges to complete the task. Awesome amount of learning with this station.