Fragrant Books

Here's an easy activity that gets children outside using plants to explore the senses. We did this on the last day of school and the children enjoyed exploring the school grounds for fragrant, colourful, and textured plants.

Using 8 1/2 X 11 paper, measure 3 inches along the length of the paper and cut width-wise.

Put a few spots of glue at the middle of one strip. Glue it to the other strip so that they're forming a cross.

Like so.

Add glue to your plant materials. A glue stick works fine. We used white glue and it got sloppy.

Arrange on paper.

Press in a flower press, or under a bunch of phone books and voila! I made a booklet last summer and the mint leaf and lavender are still fragrant.

Interest Tables

There seems to be a school of thought that when students reach a certain grade (for some, as low as grade 3 or 4), that they should be seated at their desk (usually in rows) all day. The classrooms of teachers who think along these lines tend to be barren - no classroom library, little work of the children on display. To these teachers I must ask: whose room is it anyway?

I'm a firm believer in reading stories to the class. I've been reading novels, picture books, and graphic novels to the class this past year. All the kids pile on the carpet. I don't mind if they are sprawled out, or braiding each other's hair. As long as they're listening. 

Next year, I will have a straight grade 5 class and for once, I will have less than 30 kids. I want the room to be better organized and even more student-friendly. An instructional leader recommended the book Spaces and Places to me this week. It's a book about different ways to arrange your class. I've set up a few interest tables this year. Children like them and sometimes students will bring in objects to add to our collection. We've been studying rocks and minerals. Below, find some pictures of our interest table that includes rocks and minerals given to me by my father, and some pieces I scooped up at a garage sale in St. Catharines. Yes, you can find just about anything at a yard sale. You do have to spend money to have an interesting, literature-rich classroom. You just don't need to spend a lot. 

Big Blue Marble

Here's the intro to this show I used to watch as a child of the '70s/'80s. I really don't remember the show, but I remember the theme, which makes me now wish I remembered what the show was about. It looks like a celebration of multiculturalism. Awesome. 

All Booked Up

I wish I could find a teacher to yard sale with. So many books and other great things for the class turn up at yard sales. I hit the jackpot at the Gargantuan Yard Sale today. Books were 10 for $1.00, so I loaded up on books for the class and my son. I bought a chunky Phaidon art book for $1.00 at another sale too. 

How could you not respond to a sign like this? 

Close up of a gorgeous book on Greek mythology. I bought if for $1.00 and it will go in our class library. Kids love mythology. 
Great little book of Jewish folk tales for kids with pictures by Maurice "Where the Wild Things Are" Sendak. It cost me ten cents. 

Detail from the Singer book. 

Today's stash for the class. Cost: $2.80. In this pile, you'll also find a collection of children's folk tales adapted by Ted Hughes, and two Choose Your Own Adventure books, which were huge when I was in Grade 4/5. I'm going to read the Mayan mystery to the class this week to see if they still interest kids.