Plants and Spring?

I wish I could say it feels like spring here, but alas, I am home today because of blizzard conditions and a chance of up to 20” of snow.  Not so fun.

So, I’m going to quickly share with you what I have in my math and literacy drawers this week.

Here is a sampling….

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If you’re interested in these centers, they are still 20% off until tonight! You can find them here!

plants math and literacy 1plants math and literacy 2a

I’m also looking for some things from YOU!

What topics would you like me to blog about?

What questions do you have for me?

Leave a comment below so I can fill up my rather empty blogging calendar with ideas!!

What’s up with this CRAZY Weather?

One thing that’s so wonderful about living in the upper midwest is that we always have 4 distinct seasons.  However, each season is not always equal in length.  Although it is officially spring, we still have snow on the ground.
Our forecast for the next week doesn’t look great either…
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*sigh*
So, this week, we are going to learn all about the wild and wacky weather that we experience!
Here’s is what is in our Math center drawers and our Daily 5 word work drawers:
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All this and more can be found in my Wild and Wacky Weather Math and Literacy center pack.
Wild and Wacky Weather! Math and Literacy Activities
Here are some other things we will be doing…
During math time, we will read this book and make symmetrical kites:
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We will learn about clouds by reading lots of books!
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and looking at this website.
This site also has lots of fun cloud pictures.
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If we have time, we’ll make some fun cloud shapes…
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This book is also on our to-do list:
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We will use straws to blow different items across the tables to see what the wind (us) can and can’t move easily.
I found this anchor chart, so I plan to replicate it: (Click on the image to go to the original source)
I love this poem from Teaching With Love and Laughter and will add it to our torn paper rainbows that we  make every year!  Click on the images to take you to Lori’s blog to download the poem for free!
I adore these projects from Julie Lee! We will definitely work on these too!
We already chart the weather every day in our daily calendar books…this changes slightly each month.  We’ve also been tracking the temperature, and using a pie graph to graph the type of weather we are having. Sorry I don’t have a current picture!
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Hope has some weather vocab cards that we’ll put up as we learn the weather vocabulary.  Just click on the image to go to her blog to download for free!

I like these anchor charts too:
Of course, when talking about weather, it's necessary to talk about different ways to measure weather in order to incorporate math into the unit.  I think it would be fun for the students to create their own thermometer (as shown in a different pin) or their own rain guage. Those are both cheap yet creative ideas. 
(Click on each image to go to the original source)
I also love these books for teaching about weather:
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We will wrap up all of our weather learning by watching parts of this fun video!
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We love Sid the Science Kid!!
Here are a ton of other great options for learning about weather!
It Looked Like Spilt Milk Big Book Cloudy With a Chance of MeatballsOh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today?: All About Weather (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library) Sun Up, Sun Down (Voyager/Hbj Book) What Will the Weather Be? (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2) Weather Words and What They Mean Weather Forecasting Splish! Splash!: A Book About Rain (Amazing Science: Weather) Rain
While we are learning about weather this week, I’m going to be dreaming about this…
Tropical Beach, La Digue Island, Seychelles
by Angelo Cavalli
Think warm thoughts, friends!