Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Plants – We Eat Every Part

We just started a new chapter in science! We are learning about plants. In between learning about things like photosynthesis and pollination, we are also learning about the different parts of plants. What better way to learn about them than to eat them!

Monday we ate some seeds. Would you like to know what kind? They were yellow, but after we applied some heat, they became white and fluffy! That’s right, we had some delicious popcorn. We were able to very clearly see the seed coats after we finished, because they fell to the bottom of the bowl.

6a00d8341d837f53ef00e5522191038833-800wi

Tuesday we had stems and leaves to drink. Sugar cane stems and tea leaves, that is. The students were super excited to be trying yet another part of plants.

long-island-iced-tea1-1

Tomorrow we will be having roots for an afternoon snack. What do you suppose they will be? Ask your student if you’d like to find out!

Learning about the Senses

Last week we spent time learning about the 5 senses. On the day we talked about touch, we had lots of fun exploring a box full of different items and trying to decide what we had been touching. We realized how much we really rely on our other senses to help us!

IMG_20120910_101213 IMG_20120910_101206

Product Review – The Quietest Classroom Pencil Sharpener

As I have been reading various teaching blogs lately, I have been seeing reviews for this pencil sharpener popping up all over the blogosphere.

greenonwhitealphaWith it’s retro styling, it intrigued me, but what interested me even more was the fact that all these other teachers were amazed at how quietly and effectively it sharpens pencils. As a busy teacher, I am quite made constantly aware of the noisy pencil sharpening epidemic that plagues so many classrooms. I’ve tried the electric pencil sharpeners. They dull quickly and the motors burn out easily. I’ve tried letting students use their own personal sharpeners, but that ending up with a floor that looked like the bottom of a hamster cage. So, when Troy at Classroom Friendly Supplies offered to let me try one in my classroom, I jumped at the chance.

IMG_20120918_093834

When I opened it, my students were in awe. When I showed them how it worked, they were super impressed. As they have used it over the last week or so, I have asked them what they think about it. They say things like, “It’s the best pencil sharpener ever!” or “I like it because it gets the pencils so sharp!” or “It is so quiet it doesn’t bother me when I’m trying to work.”

You can see a video below of the sharpener in action.

It truly is quiet. It has cut down a lot of noise in my classroom. The students love it. This teacher loves it! What more can I say? Check it out at Classroom Friendly Supplies.

 

*** I received this product from Troy at Classroom Friendly Supplies in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received.