Wishlist Wednesday: Herding Kats in Kindergarten

This week's guest blogger is from Herding Kats in Kindergarten. Please take a moment to stop by and check out all the classroom ideas, resources, and best of all FREEBIES!

 

Hi all! This is Jennifer from Herding Kats in Kindergarten! I am a mom of 4 (ages 5 to 12) and the proud teacher of 19 superfirsties in Oklahoma. I am thrilled to be guest posting on Wishlist Wednesday! When Lori first invited me, I really had nothing on my Wishlist, but then I walked into the kindergarten class across the hall and saw something I really wanted! It was after school, and I went to pick up my son Joshua, who for some reason hadn't come straight to my room at the end of the day. When I walked in, he was siting at a table with his teacher, a few students who hadn't been picked up yet, and our Title I coordinator. They all looked incredibly serious as they gathered around a colorful gadget on the table and they were suspiciously quiet. This is the gadget they were so intent on:

Turns out that Joshua's teacher was using The Eggspert as a kind of quiet game! The Eggspert would randomly choose a color and whoever's color it was would have to sit silently for 10 seconds while the Eggspert ticked down. If they could be quiet for that 10 seconds they got a little candy. What a great way to help a child learn self-control! It was clearly very difficult for one of the students to stay silent - she had to cover her eyes and mouth with her hands and her whole body was shaking, but she did it! It's only 10 seconds, but you can increase the time as they get more self-control. I thought it was a great idea to use with those itty-bitties that haven't mastered sitting still or not talking. A lot of our kinders come to us with no prior school experience, so they find it very difficult to wait patiently, to sit still, to stay quiet etc. What a fun way to work on those so-important skills! 

 Mrs. McKelvey also uses it to randomly choose tables to line up for lunch or which tables get to go to free choice centers first. But, it's so much more than just a fun classroom management device. It also functions as a kind of Jeopardy buzzer system. Just divide your class into 6 groups and assign each student in the group a number. Then assign each group a color on the Eggspert. Now you can have the different tables play against each other as you review concepts. Every child with a 1 in front of them holds the buzzer first and buzzes in if they know the answer. Then they pass the buzzer to the student with a 2 in front of them and so on. This way no one fights over the buzzer and everyone gets a turn! 

The Eggspert is great for making concept review fun - it's easy enough to use that kindergartners and Mrs. McKelvey can figure it out (she is one of those adorable technologically inept people - I frequently have to help her reply to an email or reset her Smartboard - so if she can do it, anyone can do it!). When I get one for my classroom I know I'll use it to practice spelling words, as well as addition and subtraction facts. At the beginning of the school year I can even use it to review procedures, for example, "Who can show me the proper procedure for walking in the hallway?" might be one of my questions. 

 I also have to give a shout out to Educational Insights for standing behind their product. Mrs. McKelvey had some trouble with hers and emailed the company, which sent her a brand new Eggspert! You can't beat customer service like that. In short, The Eggspert is on my Wishlist and hopefully I will be able to add it to my classroom before next year! 

Thanks again to Lori for letting me share my Wishlist, please drop by Herding Kats In Kindergarten and say hello!

Wishlist Wednesday: Mama of Many Blessings

Nicole is my guest blogger for this week's edition of Wishlist Wednesday. There are tons of wonderful resources on her blog, so be sure to stop on over there and leave a comment or 2!


Hello everyone. I am Nicole from Mama Of Many Blessings, I was so very honored when Lori asked me to be Wishlist Wednesday guest blogger! Her Wishlist Wednesday series is a  wonderful series, I have enjoyed reading!

First and foremost I am a daughter of Christ, second I am a wife to an amazing husband of 13 years, and I am also a mama to 6 blessings, Serena(13), Dustin(12), Cody(10), Anthony(8), Ethan(4), and Gabriel (2). I blog over at Mama Of Many Blessings, sharing about our homeschool journey, arts, crafts, recipes, hands on learning, and of course our life with 6 kids (3 special needs) which can get quite interesting and yes, crazy sometimes. I started blogging as a way to connect with other homeschool moms, and as a hope that someday my kiddos will be able to have the blog to look back on all the fun homeschool experiences we have enjoyed during our homeschooling journey.

I had a hard time trying to think of 1 thing at the top of our classroom wish list, but I finally was able to come up with something that would be a huge help to our classroom along with our house, something I have wanted for a while now. An indoor sensory gym. First off we are a family who is not into much television, as the matter of fact we don't even have cable, we do have Netflix, but the kids are VERY limited on what they are allowed to watch, so keeping active and having other options for the kids is something that is pretty high on our list. Although having 5 boys is enough in itself to need somewhere for them to get their energy out on rainy days or during the winter when it's to cold to stay out for long, but having 3 boys with sensory issues just makes the need even greater.

The sensory gym is a kit you buy and put together yourself, my husband is good at that stuff, so he would be the lucky person to have to put it together for me. When you add in the gym, wood, ladder/monkey bars, a rope ladder, and a safe floor under the gym comes with a price tag around $500. Of course if you had to pay someone to put it together it would cost more.

Source: kidsdreamgym.com via Nicole on Pinterest

So there you have it our #1 wish for our classroom/home what child wouldn't love something like that in their house/school. I can't wait for the day my wish becomes a reality! Thanks for taking the time to hear our Wish. Please take some time to stop by and see all the fun we are up to at Mama Of Many Blessings!

Wishlist Wednesday: Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After

This week's guest blogger is Vicky from Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After. You should definitely stop by and check out her creative ideas and all her awesome freebies and give-aways! Don't forget to become a follower and leave some comments while you're there :)

Hi there everyone ~ I'm Vicky from Traditions, Laughter and Happily Ever After. I was thrilled and honored when Lori asked me to do Wishlist Wednesday for her over here. I have been teaching for...gulp - 18 years and have seen a lot of changes in education over that time. I teach at a wonderful school in southern California just north of San Diego. I could come up with SEVERAL ideas for my wishlist but after doing a little research and talking to my principal I would have to say iPad(s) for the classroom. I found this photo/link from Pinterest - it has lots of great ideas on how to use iPads in the classroom.

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We share our campus with a special needs preschool and each of the preschool teachers got 3 --- yes you read that correctly 3 iPads for their classrooms about a month ago with special ed funds. They came with these super cool, thick, spongy protectors so there would be no damage even if dropped. The possibilities are endless with an iPad as far as classroom use. But after researching about the use of them I discovered that there is strong evidence that digital technology in the classroom ( such as iPad's ) has been proven to have very positive effects on the learners. It has shown to
* improve confidence levels
* improve attitudes towards learning
* improve student engagement
and even improve student attendance
Now what teacher wouldn't want those benefits on top of just the fun and wonderful opportunity of having the iPads in the classroom...it would be so great! Well I appreciate the invitation to come on over and be a guest blogger. I do wish I had a magic genie or wealthy donor's choose benefactor here to help me out and grant me my wish -- LOL Thanks again Lori! ~~ Vicky

Wishlist Wednesday: H is for Homeschooling

This week's wishlist is provided by Sierra from H is for Homeschooling. I am so excited to finally have her guest post. I have gotten to know her blog pretty well, mostly through linky parties! Please drop by and leave her a comment on her amazing site! I know you will find some great treasures there, I always do!

Hi Cachey Mama's Classroom, Readers! I'm Sierra from H is for Homeschooling, and I am so glad to be a guest blogger for Lori today! This series is a fun way to look ahead and hope for the best, both things I enjoy doing. My Hubby-Man and I have two amazing little boys- "Boogie", who is almost 2.5 and "Bam Bam" who is 9 months old. I started "tot school" with Boogie at the end of the summer, which is also when I started blogging. I wanted to remember our homeschooling journey from the beginning, and blogging is a great way to make memories and join a community. The way we do tot school has developed and changed over the past 7 months, and we are currently in a period of child-led play more so than structured play. This is what works for Boogie right now, so I am making it work for me too, even though I have a background as an English teacher and really like structure. Someday, when the train table is put away, I will cry for these slow, unstructured days and miss them. Even knowing that, I do daydream about our future classroom. In the wee small hours of the morning, when I am feeding my littler one, I catch up on my Google Reader feed and often see posts featuring homeschool classrooms. Since we mostly do tot school in the kitchen on the floor, and because my supplies are in diaper boxes in the laundry room, or spread throughout the kitchen in various boxes and cabinets, my wishlist item is a homeschool classroom. I don't ask for much, do I?!

Here are the top 3 spaces I love, and why.

Source: 1plus1plus1equals1.blogspot.com via Sierra on Pinterest

I love this classroom from 1+1+1=1 because of all the wide open space, the storage space (closets and bookcases), and the fact that each child and their mom has their own work area. The only downside is that there are no windows.

Source: homeschoolcreations.blogspot.com via Sierra on Pinterest

I love this classroom from Homeschool Creations because it is so bright and sunny!! I also love the ceiling, the window seat and reading area, the color on the walls, as well as the wide open space, and the separate learning spaces for each child (there is also a table they use for working together) and their mom.

Source: confessionsofahomeschooler.com via Sierra on Pinterest

I love this classroom from Confessions of a Homeschooler because of the windows, the giant shared table, and the incredible organization. There are also a lot of great things hanging on the walls, like the map and alphabet banner you can see in this picture, but there is also a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree and a huge whiteboard.

So, if anyone wants to buy me a house with a spare room that is huge and has lots of windows and a couple closets, my family would be much obliged :P

Thanks, Lori, so much for letting me come over here and share my wish!

Wishlist Wednesday: Crazy for First Grade

Introducing, this week's guest blogger... With over 2000 followers and a Teachers Pay Teachers store you will adore, it's Anna from Crazy for First Grade. Make sure you stop by her blog to check out all her wonderful first grade ideas!

Hey there, I'm Anna Brantley over at Crazy for First Grade. I was SO excited when Lori contacted me to be a Wishlist Wednesday guest blogger here! I'm currently the mom to an almost 3 year old son and a public school first grade teacher to 21 amazing students in Watkinsville, Georgia! It didn't take me long at all to know what was #1 on my classroom wishlist. Earlier this year, I went to a technology fair and discovered the SMART Table. I'm talking love at first sight, y'all!! The SMART Table is the very first multiuser/multitouch technology tool that allows groups of students to interact and work simultaneously on one surface. With around a $7,000 price tag {OUCH!}, I knew it was a wishlist item right away, but was still just thrilled to be able to play around with it for a little while!!!

So, what does a SMART Table do & why do I want one?? 

• Multiple students can interact with the SMART Table at the same time on the table’s multitouch screen surface. That's right, more than one finger at a time to manipulate objects!! 
•  It's perfect for an engaging learning center or small group activity. 
• It comes with eight awesome applications – Multiple Choice, Hot Spots, Paint, Media, Addition, Puzzle and more. Using the tool kit, you can customize & create activities by changing backgrounds, questions, and images. For example, you can create themed activities for any of the applications to match them to any SMART Notebook lesson activity or Senteo/Response question set. 
• You can find tons of free & ready to use SMART Table activities on SMART Exchange! I love that many of the activities involve categorizing and sorting. 
• You can use a Document Camera with the table. 
• It's portable, but can also be locked in place. 
• Last but not least, it's super FUN and a fabulous way to incorporate technology to meet the needs of your students. 

 Check it out for yourself!!

   

 Thanks again, Lori, for letting me share my wishlist item!!! 

Anna Brantley

Wishlist Wednesday: Toddler Approved

This week, we have Kristina from Toddler Approved, an awesome blog with so many wonderful ideas for toddlers on up! Please stop by and show her some love and appreciation for guest blogging here today.

Hi, I'm Kristina over at Toddler Approved. I am thrilled to be here at Lori's blog today! I am currently a stay-at-home mom with two kids (ages 4 and 1) and in my past life :) (before kids) I was a National Board certified elementary school teacher who taught a special day class for children with mild to severe disabilities. My blog is just a way to help make our lives a little bit more educational, creative, and fun. I blog alongside of one of my best friends and am loving all of the new people I have met through this experience.

I have loved reading through many of the previous Wishlist Wednesday posts and really have had a difficult time trying to decide what to share with you today. I am a pretty simple mom. We make do with what we have when we want to create and we have far too many crafty supplies. We love books and I would love rooms full of them, but my husband would probably go a little bonkers if we added any more to our collection! One thing that has been on my mind a lot lately is who I am becoming as a mom and an educator for my children. Last week I wrote a post sharing Eight Ways to Deal with Anger as a Parent because I have been struggling with that lately. So today I thought I would share with you my "mom wish list." If my kids could express it, this would be their wish list. I am a work in progress on all of these items!

I wish for a mom who...

• says yes every time that I ask her to come play with me
• looks for the good in me each day and then teaches me to DO good through her example
• is well rested and energetic and takes good care of herself
• teaches me to be a good friend to others 
• allows me the independence I need to grow and learn on my own
• has high expectations for me but loves me despite any silly mistakes that I make
• always listens when I am talking and pays attention to me (doesn't multi-task while we are talking) 

That's just a start... I could go on and on. Do you have a wish list that your kids or students would make about you?

Wishlist Wednesday: Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas

This week's guest blogger is Fern from Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas. I love her wonderful activities and ideas. There are freebies, recipes, coupons and so much more on this blog, so please stop by and visit!
Hello there, I am Fern Smith from Fern Smith's Classroom Ideas. I absolutely love Cachey Mama’s Wishlist Wednesday and I’m thrilled at a chance to get to know some of her followers! I work at an older, Title I school in Orange Park, Florida. My parents moved here in 1978 so that I could attend a safe, excellent school district. I would have attended the school that I teach at, but we moved when I was in 7th grade. All of my neighborhood friends, at the time, had graduated from this elementary school. I moved back to this school district as fast as I could so that my children could graduate from here! I love telling my boys and girls the street I grew up on and how I came back to teach at this school for that very reason! It is now considered a very poor community, but I wouldn’t work anywhere else. My children NEED me! I have worked at “rich” schools and “poor” schools since I am a Navy Wife and I now plan to retire from the school I am working at right now! I was hired full-time this year and was also blessed to be voted Teacher of the Year.

So now that you know my school’s background, I can tell you that luckily I want for nothing. If I request furniture, it shows up. A laptop? My AP was back in less than 20 minutes. We have unlimited copies, unlimited paper, all the textbooks and test prep that we need. When we hold tutoring sessions, if I ask for something, I get it. When my supply money was $7.00 short on a Frog Pond game I wanted, it was rounded up, no question asked. I’ve been at other schools where this isn’t true, so I’m not leaving for the World! Our church also stocks a room with donated backpacks, crayons, pencils, paper, all sorts of school supplies. When a child needs something and can’t afford it, just get the key to the donated items room and they are back in the business of learning!

However, with all those luxuries available, the one thing I wish for more than anything is that my students go to the PUBLIC LIBRARY and develop a love of books. Although I teach Math & Science, I am always loaning them my books, no check out system required. I tell them, “I trust you, return it when you are done.” I’ve never lost a book yet! Then I tell them, just down the street {seriously, only about 3 blocks} is the library where you can get 25 books at a time & it is free!!! It is the same library I went to growing up!

I now have quite a few families that go and the parents will tell you it is because I “hounded” the child into going! My parents wanted to travel and see the World, and then plopped down in this small, little town in 1978. The one place I loved no matter how poor we were or how well off we were doing, was the public library. The books at the library let you travel to many wonderful places each night as you read! I tell my students that I was wealthy because my parents read to me! It is going to be their job when they are parents to read to their children.

Hopefully saying that one little thing, over and over, might break their cycle of poverty!

Wishlist Wednesday: Sharing Kindergarten

Hi sweet bloggers, this is Mary from Sharing Kindergarten. 

I love to share ideas for Kindergarten (ish) students.

You need to know that I love my job! My goal is to be the BEST teacher I can be. This is my career, passion, hobby, and never ending goal. I want to share it all with you on my blog,http://sharingkindergarten.blogspot.com/

Want to know my most desired wish? I want… to teach. In other words, the testing and paperwork process needs to calm down. It does not have to stop… just calm down.

Yes– there is a time and a place to assess students. Yes– There is a time and a place to do paperwork. BUT, each student matters, counts, and deserve my time and effort. I want to teach everyday not assess everyday. I want playtime, art, movement, science experiments, food, glue, messy faces, colored hands, and tons of smiles and laughter every.single.day.

I am blessed because my school “gets it” more than most. We teach students with faces, names, families, and personal struggles. We do not teach test scores. 

I know I am preaching to the choir, but that is what is #1 on my wish list.

I hope you stop by my blog to see all the actual teaching ideas we do everyday and tell we what is your favorite thing to teach. I have a freebie waiting for you.

Wishlist Wednesday: Beautiful Books

This week's guest post is by Rivka at Beautiful Books. She reviews all kinds of children's books for preschool age and provides exciting and fun activities to go along with them. Take a moment to check out her blog and become a follower!

Thanks so much to Cachey Mama for inviting me to share on Wishlist Wednesday! My hope is that this post is as inspiring and fun for you to read as it was for me to write!

Books are always at the top of my wishlist, and every classroom and home should have plenty. (Need some ideas? You might enjoy browsing my top picks.) But almost every mamma and teacher wants more great books.

So what else do I want? A better place to read them! Thankfully this post gave me an opportunity to do something just for fun. Logged into my Pinterest account and started pinning and creating the perfect book nook. I know just where I want to put it - in the living/playroom right next to the two tall book shelves. It is kind of a mess right now.

Here is a picture of what it looks like now:

What’s Wrong With It

1. There is a desk (you can see the corner on the right hand side) that just becomes a dump all for everything that doesn’t have a place.
2. The single chair was great for one child snuggled in my lap, but now is too little for my three little ones and primarily is used for the cushions that can removed and used for tumbling mats.
3. While their is wonderful light coming through the window, on cloudy days, or in the evening, it need more light. I would love some wall sconces to bring in some nice warm light without cluttering the floor.

My Wishlist

1. I would like to paint the bookshelves that are there white, and the walls a calming blue to bring some color into the spot.
2. Add another small corner bookshelf, as the books are overflowing off the shelves right now. Perhaps make this just for board books or books for the youngest so they are in easy reach.
3. Put the craft supplies that are on the upper shelves in decorative boxes and label.
4. Add bean bags and pillows in decorative colors and fun patterns where the desk is now for a comfy place to sit. Perhaps put a little tent in the corner for some privacy when wanted, just really drapey curtains over the window.
5. Add a basket or two for books as well to keep things tidy and add a touch of whimsy.

Browsing online, I came across a free interior decorating software called Homestyler.com, so here is what I was able to come up with as a rough sketch (note the 3rd rendering of the picture put a strange wall that covers half the photo, but you get the idea).

Just shows you the power of visualization! Immediately I went from feeling discouraged about the mess that is there right now to inspired about what the space could will become.

Why This is My Wishlist Wednesday

If you want your children to be lifelong readers, a big part of the job is building good memories around reading and making it fun. While there are lots of ways that we already do this, I know that having a special space for snuggling and reading would make it all that much better!

Wishlist Wednesday: Taming My Flock of Firsties

Hi! It's Beth Ann from Taming My Flock of Firsties.

I feel so fortunate to be asked by Lori to be a guest on her blog. 

{{{BLUSH}}}

When we first took on Guided Reading, so many years ago, our school bought so many books in every level. We have a book room with thousands of books. I wish that we could have all the books leveled the same. Some are Reading Recovery Levels and some are Fountas and Pinnell. When we go to borrow books, we have to look up the corresponding levels for each book. I know it's something little, but it would save me that little bit of time. :)


I would LOVE one of THESE pencil sharpeners.

I have seen them mentioned on many different blogs. My kids are obsessed, as I am sure they all are, with the electric pencil sharpener. It doesn't work correctly. We actually have two in one area. They have to begin with one and finish with the other. Not distracting at all!


Another thing I wish we had in our classroom was a real rug. Ours is actually carpet squares, duct taped together, into a big rectangle. I know it serves it's purpose and we get along just fine, but it would be so nice to sit on a real rug to have our Morning Meeting.


Thank you to Lori for letting me post. 
I had so much fun thinking of things I wanted. 

Wishlist Wednesday: Swamp Frog First Graders

This week's guest blogger is from Swamp Frog First Graders. Please "hop" on by her lovely blog to see wonderful learning ideas, educational discussion and lots of awesome freebies for you to print and use with your class!

Hello Everyone!

I'm Heidi from "Swamp Frog First Graders" blog.

 I'm so excited to be a guest blog posting for Wishlist Wednesday on Cachey Mama's Classroom today!

I enjoy creating math games for adding, subtracting, and more with things my son used to love to play with as a young child....(and so we bought a ton of them)

 and now he's grown and I NEED to find a use for them!

My kiddos LOVE putting together Mr. Potato Head 

even when they have to do math to do it :)

I found patterns for Mr. Potato Head at "play2learnprintables.com"

It's a great pdf pattern for a simple game of rolling the die, counting the pips, and adding the body parts to the potato head :)  I ran them in color on cardstock and laminated them before I cut them out.  

I also have a box of Mr. Potato Head game pieces that some of my firstie friends get to play the Roll a Mr. Potato Head game with .... luck of the draw or best behavior...hmmm.  

I've added a twist for my firsties by having them use two 10-sided dice.  I had to manipulate the code sheet to include all the number combinations, but it seems to work.  I added things like: roll a 14, loose a turn.  Roll a 18, get an extra roll.  Roll a 1 or a 6, choose an arm.  Roll a 2 or a 17, choose a mouth.  

I also have a code card for using two 6-sided dice. 

 Same idea....just adding two numbers for each body part from the Mr. Potato Head printable.

I don't remember who came up with the recording sheet that my firsties write out their number sentences on.  I'm sure it was one of my wonderful team mates 

or maybe...a crafty teachers from

 the "First Grade Teachers in TN" blog....but it's not a necessity.  

You could always have them record their rolls on a dry erase board.

If you want the sheet, you can download it HERE.

Hope you enjoy Mr. Potato Head!

Hop on over to the swamp if you get a chance!  

I'd love to share some more ideas with you!

Cheers,

Heidi

Wishlist Wednesday: Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives

Mrs. Lirette from Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives has been kind enough to guest post for Wishlist Wednesday this week. If you haven't had a chance to check out her blog, you are missing out! There are fabulous ideas and lots of marvelous freebies. Also, she is a contributor for Teaching Freebies too, the new spin-off of Teaching Freebies. Please stop by and leave Mrs. Lirette a comment!


Hello there everyone!  I feel very honored to be guest blogging for Lori at Cachey Mama's Classroom for her weekly Wishlist Wednesday post!  I am a mother of an almost three-year old and a classroom teacher to 18 fabulous 2nd graders!  I have also taught kindergarten and first grade and can tell you that there is nothing I would rather do than spend all day inspiring and learning from little people!


There are definitely two things that have been on my mind lately that I would love to have. 


First up {for the kiddos}....

An endless supply of glue sticks!!!


Why is it that January hits every year and I am always begging for more glue?  It doesn't matter how many glue sticks a child brings at the beginning of school, they always seem to disappear.  I'll admit, we use glue sticks a lot in my room.  There is definitely no shortage on art projects, student-made vocabulary flashcards or "notebooking" activities and all of those require that wonderful stick of glue.  I realize that liquid glue last longer but I cringe every time I see a student with a bottle in hand.  I've "just a dot, then you stop"'d my heart out and liquid glue still ends up making a wet mess.  Boy, does that make me grateful for glue sticks- even if they do dry up quickly!


And secondly {for myself}...

I would LOVE to have my very own binding machine!


I can definitely work my magic with a little laminate and some binding!  Don't you just love making class books for your library?  Not to mention, a bound copy of a child's writing masterpiece makes me grin from ear to ear.  There is something to be said for the published look!  If I had one of these sweet things I would bind away!  Wouldn't you?


Thanks to Lori for inviting me to ramble on about my wish list! :)  Drop by and say hi at Mrs. Lirette's Learning Detectives!

Wishlist Wednesday: Alina's Adventures in Homemaking

This week's guest blogger is Alina from Adventures in Homemaking. I love all the adventures she and her son embark on. But the best is how she describes in such detail all the things they learned including exactly what questions were asked and the process of finding the answers. It is truly inspirational. I highly recommend checking out her blog!

The Littman Classic II SE Stethoscope

Learning Resources Simple Stopwatch

The first time I heard my heart beat through a stethoscope brought an awareness of my own body and life to me. Suddenly, the fact that the heart pumps blood throughout my body turned from an abstract idea to a real, live whooshing and sucking sound. When learning with my kids, I scour my memory for those little ah-ha moments in the child in me learned something profound.

Cachey Mama's invitation to her Wishlist Wednesday gave me the perfect excuse to daydream about two items I've wanted for a long, long time. Since some of our learning goals for the year require meausurement and experimentation, I dream of a stopwatch and a stethoscope. There are so many ways to use these two tools, together and individually, to make comparisons and study relationships. These comparisons are best illustrated on paper by charts and graphs, one of Max's favorite hobbies.

Max can use the stopwatch to compare his pulse to that of his sisters. Or that of his friends and neighbors. He can keep an ongoing chart measuring his heartbeat after eating, after bathing, after playing, after dancing, and even after getting upset. He can find an average for his resting heart-rate. He can explore averages across the spectrum of activities. What is the recovery period (the time it takes the heart to get back to resting beat after exercise)?

We could explore frequency in other creatures by using the stopwatch and picking a given amount of time to observe the dog and see how often he scratches, growls, barks, or sits in a 7 minute period. Then we could graph this. We could try again at a different time of day and see if our results differed. If they did, then we would try the entire experiment again the next day to see if we could discover any peristent patterns that might suggest relationships between time of day and frequency of particular behaviors.

What better way to spend time waiting in grocery lines or at large events than asking people nearby to be part of an ongoing average resting heartrate experiment? There are so many ways and so many contexts in which these two tools could help us learn about our world and how it works.

Other experiments and explorations might include:

• Relationship between grooming and horse's heart rate
• Fitness tests and challenges
• Relationship between perceived color and heart rate
• How fast food travels from mouth to stomach
• A day in the life of your heart
• Sound ranging
• Effects of various exercises on the cardiovascular system
• Relationship between caffeine and typing speed (with me as guinea pig, of course)

There's no way to predict the relationships and comparisons Max and Micah would discover with two simple tools.

Wishlist Wednesday: Playing with Words 365

This week's guest blogger is from Playing with Words 365. She has freebies, activities, resources and best of all (in my opinion), her Thrifty Thursday linky party! Here is what she has to wish for this week.

I am SO excited to be here with you all guest blogging for Lori. I was thrilled when she asked me to be a part of her Wishlist Wednesday. What a great topic!

I wanted to start by telling you a little about myself. I am a speech language pathologist specializing in working with preschool aged children (ages 2-6) though I have a total of 15 years experience working with children of all ages and all abilities in numerous teaching environments. I also happen to be a mother to two amazing little people, E age 3 and my baby Ev who just turned one last week. I blog about a variety of things relating to being a mother and a speech pathologist but mostly I blog about children’s learning activities, most of which can be adapted to be used with children of all abilities.

So now, onto my wish! What would I wish for? Well..I am going to tell you two ;)


What I wish for for me...

If I could have ANYTHING to use in my classroom at home (with my own kids), my "classroom" when I am working as a speech pathologist, and as a blogger, the answer was REALLY simple. 

A new camera.

Photography happens to be a hobby of mine, but I also use my camera a ton as a blogger and a speech pathologist. As a blogger, good pictures can really help "make a post" so a good camera can help. Also, as a speech pathologist, I often use my camera to take pictures of my students/clients to make personalized learning materials for them, like social stories or picture communication systems.

OK so I won't lie...I have a decent camera now but this is Wishlist Wednesday, right?? And I wish for a

Nikon D7000.

Oh Nikon D7000 how I love thee! One day you will be mine! :D


What I REALLY wish...

As much as I want the camera, if I could wish for ANYTHING, I would actually wish for my daughter's illness to go into remission. She suffers from Juvenile Arthritis, an autoimmune disease that causes her immune system to attack her own joints causing pain, swelling, inflammation and joint damage. Every week we have to give our daughter an injection of a medication (that is actually used in Chemotherapy to treat cancer!) to suppress her overactive immune system. She is also on daily medications and our lives the last year since her diagnosis have been riddled with doctors appointments and therapies. So, I wish for remission for my daughter and hopefully a CURE for this disease that effects over 300,000 children in the US.

Doesn't she deserve to be pain free?

Thank you so much Lori for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your awesome Wishlist Wednesday! Feel free to come by and say Hi at Playing With Words 365 Cheers! ***********************************************************************

Wishlist Wednesday: Whole Child Creative Curriculum

This week's guest blogger is Carla from Whole Child Creative Curriculum. If you have not visited her blog yet, you definitely need to stop by! She has so many wonderful learning ideas and even a "free" section. We all love free, especially after the holidays, so come and take a look. I also like her "Teach Me Tuesday" feature.

Hi Everyone!  I am happy to be guest posting here at Cachey Mama's Classroom, and am excited to share a simple experiment that preschoolers love to do...over and over and over!  I blog about teaching preschoolers at Whole Child Creative Curriculum, and would love to get to know you there too!  I host a weekly link party on Tuesdays and invite you all to link up any education-related posts you'd like to share!

Now, on to my wish...

Early childhood is such an important time in children's lives!  Their minds are inquisitive and they love, love, love to experiment!  You could turn them loose in the kitchen and the mess would let you know they learned a ton!  Of course, that same mess is the biggest reason preschoolers don't always have the freedom to experiment the way they would like.

My wish for this Wednesday (and for the entire new year!) is that we can worry a little less about the mess and give our kiddos a few more chances to learn about their world through experiments.

Color Cups is a fun experiment that preschoolers will happily repeat more than once!  As they do so, they learn about colors, mixing, liquids, weight, and texture.  Their fine motor skills are strengthened as they pour, pinch, or scoop and their observation skills are enhanced as they notice new aspects of the experiment each time.

Color Cups' Supply  List is short:
4 plastic cups
4 spoons, droppers, or other tools to transfer water
red, yellow, and blue food coloring  (You can always use other colors too, but these do mix nicely.)

Preparation is easy:

1-  Fill three of the cups about half full with water.
2- Add 2-3 drops of food coloring and talk about the way it mixes with the water.  You could let your child stir it up if he is impatient!
3- Place a spoon in each cup and give your child the empty cup.

Step back and let your child experiment!  Don't worry about the spilled water...it's just water!  Take some pictures and keep paper towels handy.

Most preschoolers will be done within 15 minutes, but will want to repeat the experiment again a few days later.  After a few repetitions you can vary things by letting your child drip the colors on a piece of watercolor paper or by providing a cup with something in it besides water.  Above all, remember to have fun!  Preschoolers learn when they are engaged and enjoying what they are doing!

Thanks again to Cachey Mama for having me over!  Feel free to come say hi at Whole Child Creative Curriculum!

Wishlist Wednesday: Read Write Sing

Here is today's guest blogger from Read Write Sing. There are so many incredible ideas on her blog, you need to stop by and check it out!

I teach full-day kindergarten in a Christian school; we have a class limit of fifteen-- amazing, right?! The low student-teacher ratio is a blessing, but my number one wish is to have a larger class. At the moment, my class size is ten. There are days when I feel like a mother to a set of sextuplets and a set of quadruplets!

With a small class, familiarity can be a detriment. A few extremely vocal students have snappy tempers. They would like to have their own desks and work spaces--in other words, they would rather not share! As second semester begins, I am planning opportunities for this group to celebrate each other's talents and accomplishments. I will model the art of conversation with more thoughtfulness and deliberation. There is a possibility that I will change their table seats every other week, not every week, thus providing them with a longer period in which to learn cooperation.

Birth order dynamics have played a major part in our class dramas. In my group of ten, seven children are first-borns (five of these are "onelies"), two children are the youngest in their families with older siblings spanning more than six years, and one child is the youngest in his family. To see the whole picture, you need to know that nine of my students are girls...and that baby of the family?...he is the boy. I'm considering getting a master's degree after finishing this school year! :-)

In addition to a few more students (boys, please!), I am wishing for creative ways to promote patience, self-control, and lovingkindness. The Christmas break has given me much-needed time to pray for my students, to reflect on the joy they bring to each day. May 2012 be filled with dreams come true for all of you! Thanks, Lori, for allowing me to share my thoughts!

Wishlist Wednesday: Ms. Preppy

This week's guest blogger is Caitlin from Ms. Preppy's Adventures in Primary and Polkadots. I love Caitlin's insights into teaching and the wonderful activities on her blog. Many of them can be purchased at very reasonable prices from her TpT store and they are adorable! Be sure to stop by and take a look.






Hey guys!  I am so excited to be guest posting over here at Cachey Mama's Classroom!  I'm sure everyone is crazy busy right now trying to wrap up last minute gifts and going to parties and maybe you're even still teaching {if so, my heart goes out to you.  We got out of school yesterday and that was rough enough!}.  By this time of year, we are all too familiar with wishlists.  We've made them with our students, with our children {if you have them}, and maybe we've even made one.  Today I'm going to share the top 5 things on my wishlist for my classroom:
5-A limitless supply of construction paper!  We have to order our own at the beginning of the year and I'm nearly out.  If there weren't so many stinkin' cute projects floating around blogland, I wouldn't need so much construction paper!
4- A spare printer cartridge.  Am I the only one who works in a school where it seems to take an act of congress to get ink?  We aren't allowed to order new ink until our current cartridge is completely empty.  Makes zero sense.  I can understand not keeping a ton in stock, but can't we have a few on hand?  Especially since they always seem to run out around report card time...
3- A cloud.  In my shoes.  My feet ache by Wednesday.  I need to find some shoes that are a little more comfy.  I'm just not ready to sacrifice style for comfort yet.  Cute, but comfortable shoe suggestions are welcome.
2- A pellet ice machine.  Oh how I love some good pellet ice, like Sonic ice.  Ahhh...so refreshing.  I wish I had my own personal machine in my classroom.  Instead, I have to walk ALL THE WAY upstairs {well, it's not really upstairs it's more like upramp, but everyone calls it "upstairs".  Either way, it's just too far.}.
1- Another me.  I have 30 kindergartners, 28 first graders, and 25 second graders.  I need another me.  They need another me.  Can you imagine how much more could be accomplished if I could divide and conquer with another teacher?  Aahhh... I'm dreaming now.  But it would be so nice.  So nice. I hope you all get at least a little something off your wishlist on Sunday!  Merry Christmas and I hope you'll stop by sometime and visit me over at Ms. Preppy's Adventures in Primary and Polka Dots!

Wishlist Wednesday: The Silver Lining

This week's guest blogger, Mrs. D has some great ideas on her blog. I love her thrifty finds and activities she does with her class. Please check out her blog and enjoy her post!


Hi, everyone!  I'm Mrs. D from The Silver Lining!  I am so excited to be a guest blogger today at Cachey Mama's Classroom. :)  {This is my first ever guest post on a blog!  Woohoo!}  So, here are my wishes {just a few!} for Wishlist Wednesday:

{1}

This is my fifth year teaching (all in first grade) and I have built a nice little classroom library.  I look for books all.the.time.  Especially in thrift stores.  I literally oooohhh and aaahh when I find books for $1.00 or less.  However, most of the books I find are classic story books, Disney stories, Dr. Seuss (which of course is fab!), and so on.  I always scour the shelves WISHING I could find some awesome *leveled* books.  So, that is the first wish on my Wish List.  I would love a leveled library to keep in my very own classroom! 

{2}

Have you heard of Teacher Tipster?  I'm sure you have!  If not, Google him NOW. Anyway, he introduced me to these:

They are called Talk Point Recorders.  They record up to 10 seconds of sound!  The possibilities are endless.  I soooo wish I had a set.  I would use them for spelling word practice, sentence dictation, math facts...anything! :)

And lastly...

{3)

I wish that all my students will have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!  There are so many kids in my classroom (and my school) that are dealing with difficulties in their home lives.  I hope they all have a safe and wonderful Christmas.

Happy Wednesday, everyone! :)

Wishlist Wednesday: Tinkerlab

This week's post is by Rachelle at Tinkerlab. Talk about creative! There are so many fun ideas and experiments on her blog that allow children to explore and discover on their own. Head on over and tinker around on this awesome blog!

A Wish for Confidence

Hi, I'm Rachelle and I write about creative experiments for kids over at Tinkerlab. Today I'm here to talk with you about a wish that I have for building childrens' confidence. I spend a lot of time thinking about who I want my daughters to be when they're older (mini-me's, of course...okay, only kidding), and I'm especially interested in raising them to believe in themselves. Young children are full of their own ideas, and I hope that my kids can retain this sense of self as they grow older. Today's post on my blog is Six Tools for Building a Child's Confidence, and I'd like to share three more tools with you here on Cachey Mama.
Trust. Children put an enormous amount of stock into what their parents or teachers think, and its our role to show them that we believe in them. For example, my 3 year old loves loves loves my sewing machine. I don't let her use it unsupervised, but when she does use the machine all I do is help her guide the fabric. She presses the pedal, lifts the foot, and cuts the thread. The same can be said for the electric mixer and cooking at the stove. We don't do these things all the time, but I try to find ways to build these moments of trust into our days together. Iteration. For a child to truly understand how things work, he or she needs to test it out multiple times and in various ways. Think of the child who just learned to write his name and how he'll write it in various sizes, on different kinds of paper, vertically and horizontally, all in an effort to understand the written word and his particular place in the world.. In this example, my daughter frequently paints with liquid watercolors and wanted to test how blowing paint through two different straws could create different effects. Tinkering. Pulling things apart to undertand how they work helps children grasp the bigger picture of the world around them. We had an old monitor that was scheduled for a trip to the dump, and decided to pull it apart (carefully) so that my daughter could get a close look at some circuit boards and wires that live behind the computer. Another way to go about this is to give children some small tools and an old clock, and a fair amount of time to take it all apart.

What do you think helps build a child's sense of confidence?

Thanks for inviting me to share with you today, Lori. It's such a pleasure!

Wishlist Wednesday: La-La's Home Daycare

This week's guest blogger is Lori from La-La's Home Daycare. She has tons of wonderful ideas for preschool age children. Check out her blog for more great projects she does with her kids!


Hi, my name is Lori from La-La's Home Daycare, and I am very excited to be a guest blogger today here at Cachey Mama! I want to share today a Christmas Craft that is so fun and easy to make, and doubles as an ornament, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. The children were so excited to make this craft after we had watched the DVD. 

Items we used: 3 craft sticks googly eyes red pom poms red and green construction paper red yarn Elmer's glue hot glue To make glue the three craft together, as forming a triangle shape, but leave room at the top for antlers.  Add the nose and googly eyes. I free handed the Holly leaves and berries, and they glued in place. Last add yarn with hot glue for fast drying. Very easy, simple fun Christmas craft! Thanks so much Lori for having me here today!

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