A Friday Fruity Freebie

It's that time of year where we love to eat all kinds of fruit, especially the juicy ones like watermelon.  I realized many of my students haven't really tried different fruits outside their norm (bananas, strawberries, peaches, etc).  So here's a fun and tasty activity you can do with your students while learning about the fruit food group.  I put ten different fruit seeds in baggies and let students write down their predictions of what they thought the fruit seed came from.  I gave the youngsters a word bank to help them.

Here are some of the baggies I used:

My directions were simple.  They were not allowed to take the seeds out of the bag.  However, some students were smart enough to open the bag to smell the fruit fragrance, which helped them figure out what fruit the seed came from.  Some were tough like the pear and apple seeds because they both looked similar.  Also, I put in lychee seeds (an exotic fruit) to make the activity harder.  After we went over the answers, let the students try the fruit I assumed most students haven't tasted before.  I cut up kiwi, cantaloupe, apricot, mango, and cherry.

*To find the sweet and fresh lychee fruit, go to specialty or oriental/asian stores.  They are a seasonal fruit, I think, because I only see them during the late spring/summer time.

Give this juicy Freebie below:

Freebie at TpT

Freebie at TN

What is your favorite fruit to eat?  My all time favorite is mango, but right now I am craving watermelon!

I forgot to post pictures of the adorable Trophies my summer camp kiddos made for their daddies!  Here are some neat and color trophies.  Click on the pictures to read about my post on how to make them!

     

     

Have a Happy Friday everyone!!

Rewarding All Dads With a Trophy!

With Father's Day coming around the corner, do your little ones have a present to give to dad yet?  If not, why not give him an awesome gold trophy to place on his desk at work.  This easy peasy homemade craft is perfect for a father's day present.  I just did this with my little campers this week and they all enjoyed it (even the middle schoolers)! 

Materials Needed:

• 2 styrofoam or paper cups (I used styrofoam because they were cheaper)
• small paper plate
• 1 gold pipe cleaner
• masking tape
• puffy paint
• gold acrylic paint
• Elmer's glue or glue gun

Directions:

1. Glue the bottoms of the cups together. Let it dry.
2. Then tape the same part of cups that meet to reinforce the cup stability.
3. Cut the pipe cleaners in half. Then insert the stems on the sides to make trophy handles.
4. Use gold paint to cover the entire cup.  It took me 2 layers to get a good coverage of the foam cups.  
5. Also paint the bottom side of the paper plate with gold paint.
6. After it dries, glue the trophy to the plate.
7. Then use the puffy paint to write "World's Best Dad", "#1 Dad", "Best Dad Award", etc.  I used sparkling black paint.  

** You can add Dad's favorite candy inside the trophy.

What do you usually give your dad for a father's day present?  I like to take my dad to a Columbus Crew game.  He's a big soccer fanatic!

It's my birthday and I'll share a present with you!

Today is my birthday! And I love how it fell on a Friday so I can celebrate all weekend!  I am 23 today (I know, I'm still a baby compared to a lot of other fabulous bloggers out there!).  But after a LONG week of applying to teaching jobs and working, I'm taking the day off to soak up some sun!

Finding a teaching job is exhausting!  Yesterday alone, I received 7 rejection emails. :( What a sad birthday present right?! Anyways, I'm still looking.... I'm open to any state... anywhere! If you know of a school district that is hiring, please let me know!  I'm willing to go where there are jobs! Hopefully I get better luck this year. (birthday wish, maybe?)

I was contacted by EducationDegree.com and they wanted me to link up and share an article for new and aspiring teachers-- 5 Ways To Get Started in Teaching.  (click on "Job Hunt" tab)  Even though I don't have a full-time teaching career, I wanted to share for those who are in the same boat as me.  They have great tips for newbies, like me, who are looking on how to start their career.  This site helps you broaden ways to find that dream job.  There are many alternatives to teaching since the economy is still bad and lack of job opportunities everywhere before getting your dream classroom.

On a happier note, back to my birthday....
Since I love presents, here's a little present (freebie) for you!  Can I get 3 cheers for that?!  Yesterday, I taught a couple science lessons.  Here's one that the students liked. This is a science experiment that shows how water can rise in a vase due to the high and low air pressures.

Grab a copy from TpT

Grab a copy from TN

Enjoy my birthday freebie! Let me know if you used it for your classroom. I would love to hear your experience and comments!