I've been boo'd!!

I decided to join in on the linky party hosted by Cynthia over at 2nd Grade Pad! I'm so glad Jessica boo'd me because I'm not quite sure I would've found her amazing blog!  I just love checking here to see everyone's ideas and serious awesomeness... =)

Here's out it works:  You need to BOO!! 3 bloggers.  1 who has more followers, 1 who has the same (or about the same) followers, and one with less.  Then, you get to treat them to an item in your TPT store for free.  Who doesn't love free stuff?  And who doesn't love the word to be spread about their blog?  NOBODY! (Or maybe a few, but then you're crazy..just sayin') So join in on the fun!

Here goes..

For more followers, I'm going with Laura over at Love to Teach

This girl is amazing.  We actually went to the same college together, she was just a few years ahead of me, so I know personally who awesome she is.  She has tons of amazing ideas, and she is quite possibly one of the most dedicated, hardworking people who just loves what she does.  Seriously, check out her blog, you won't regret it!

For (About) the same number of followers, I have to BOO Jessica back.. Her blog is called Joy in the Journey.. one thing that I'm really loving about blogging, is how sweet and supportive everyone is, including Jessica. Like me, she is a new blogger, and she's got some fab ideas that I think you'll like! Plus, she super sweet! You'll love her!

And last but not least, for someone with less, I'm going to Boo Bren over at The Teacher Diaries

She's just starting out, but all of you wonderful bloggers out there inspired her to join, so why not pay her a visit and let her know what you think? :)

Today, my little 2nd graders invited Scientist Justin into our room from Science Fun for Everyone.  If you live near the Research Triangle Park, I suggest checking them out.  They are a non-profit organization and their in school field trips aligned with NC Science Standards.  This guy was awesome!  The kids really loved him.  They did things like...

Build their own weather station

It includes a rain gauge (made from a plastic test tube- the scientist poured plaster in a little plastic cup and had them put the test tube on a wooden dowel by using a rubber band, then stick the dowel in the plaster, and put it up against the wall so it wouldn't fall over before it dried.), a string rubber banded on to see the wind blowing, and a UV Light detector (a UV bead) to detect how strong the sun is.  They're pretty cool and the kids couldn't wait to get them home to try them out (especially because it was raining)

They also go to see how fast they could make the wind blow...

They blew into the anemometer just 3 times to see how fast they could get it to spin, and then remembered their number.  They used a chart to compare their wind strength to "Calm Breeze, and Hurricane Winds" They tried really hard to get up to those hurricane winds, but none of them succeeded.  In fact, I think most of them only got as fast as a Calm Breeze..

They also watched a "Hail Storm"

They LOVED this!! The "hail" is little star pasta, and the scientist put Baking Soda and one other thing mixed with blue water.  It simulated how hail starts to fall, the wind blow it back up, and the hail gets bigger, and it falls again goes up, until it's so heavy that the wind can no longer push it up anymore.

Another thing they loved was trying their hand at separating these two things to simulate how strong air pressure can be...

They pulled and pulled and pulled.  We had to make sure they sat on the floor away from anything so that when they did come apart, they didn't so flying to the floor and hit their head!

And their favorite part!! The CLOUD BLASTER!! Our scientist filled his blaster with clouds from his cloud machine and then tried out his aim to see if he could knock our Science "Party Hats" off of each and everyone of our 18 little heads..

All in all, it was quite the enjoyable Monday (rare- right?)  Nobody enjoys Mondays, no matter how much you love your job, but today was a lot of fun!  

Last- I'm working on putting together a Vocabulary Yearlong plan.  With the new common core, it's more important than ever to expose students to words that might not regularly come across.  This is why I've implemented a "Vocabulary Word a Day" in my room.  I post the word at the beginning of the day.  We look up the definition, we use it in a sentence, then we think of Synonyms and Antonyms for that word (We do this during our morning meeting).  The kids are enjoying it and love learning a new word everyday.  They try hard to use it while they are talking or in their writing.  And they love the fact that I have to say these words in order to transition after instructions.  They just crack up when I give them directions and then say "pounce" so they can move.  Some of them even try to pounce (of course-right??)  So if you have any ideas of what to include in this unit- I'd love to hear your ideas.  I'm putting together posters for 180+ vocabulary words, possibly a morning work activity with the vocabulary word of the day, some writing activities, and assessments.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

Ok- I should get my butt up and making dinner before my show comes on!  The Voice!! I'm a reality TV/TruTV/competitions TV junkie (Except American Idol- I used to love it but it's just getting OLD, they need Simon and Paula back!!) -Ridiculous I know, but they are my guilty pleasures..Hardcore Paw, Lizard Lick Towing, and Operation Repo being the best :D

Ok Night Y'all!!