I’ve written a lot about using geocaching in school, but I just found this great video on the www.geocaching.com site that explains geocaching as a hobby. With the weather turning warmer, this might be something that you and your family may want to try! It combines two of my favorite things: the outdoors and technology!
Archives: Fun
Fun Learning Projects (from Jen Wagner)
I love Jennifer Wagner’s projects for elementary students. They are very project/themed based, and she always has a mix of “old favorite” and “new ideas” each year. When you participate in one of her projects, your students also have the chance to collaborate with other students around the world. I’ve had teachers participate in her Oreo project, Room with a View, and a Valentine Card Exchange. They loved them! Here are some exciting ones she will be offering this year:
Projects to Sign Up for Today
Guess the Wordle:
- Open Ended start and finish (Do as little or as much as you want)
- Great for grades 3-5, but could be used by any grade.
- Helps with higher level thinking
- Could be used as a welcome activity in the mornings
O.R.E.O. Project
- Runs from Sept. 21-Oct. 16
- Could be completed in 1 or 2 class periods, but includes enrichment ideas to take it further.
- Entails stacking Oreo cookies and comparing results from around the world.
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
- Learn about weather, tall tales, and compare and contrast.
- Runs from August 31 to September 18
- Looks great for K-5
Upcoming Projects that Look Good
You’ll need to keep a watch on these projects so you can register for them.
Where the Wild Things Went
- Runs from Oct. 12-Oct. 30 (Corresponds with movie version release)
- Students will extend the story of “Where the Wild Things Went” using a wiki
- Skype may be included for classroom reading
Holiday Card Exchange
- Runs from Nov. 30-Dec. 18
- Classrooms will participate with 24 other classrooms from around the world
- Classes will mail one card to each class (so count on postage for 24 cards)
- Google Earth will be used to map places
- I’ve had third graders participate before in a similar Valentine’s Day project, and both teachers and students loved it!!
There are more projects too….to see a list of all projects, visit the Projects By Jen website! Click here to see a description of all the projects she will offer this year.
And, if you decide to try one of these projects, please let me know! I’d love to lend a helping hand!!
We are Multicolored
Celebrate your uniqueness! Create you own flag at We Are multicolored, a digital art project put on by the Lower East Side Tenement Art Museum. You can email it, save it, print it, or download it. I could see this as a writing prompt to celebrate diversity and global awareness…plus it’s a way to practice clicking and dragging with precision.
Here’s mine…a mix between the USA, Mexico, and the UK. I live in the United States. The country that has most affected me is Mexico because I spent a summer there learning to scuba dive. The country I would love to visit is the United Kingdom (though there are at least four others close to the top of the list). I most value the blue in the US flag that represents justice, loyalty, and perseverance. What would your flag look like? What do the colors and symbols mean?
Need directions? Here’s Langwitches quick and easy “How To.” It was through her blog that I found this site (though she credits twitter). Got to love having a network!