YouTube as a Teaching Tool

Let me first day that I'm the type of person that rolls my eyes at the mention of YouTube for kids. I've used plenty a YouTube videos to learn about a.home maintenance project, but I think of the endless hours of cartoons kids watch on their parent's phones and how these often have a hidden inappropriate joke embedded in the middle of the video by an older child. However, I know it's important to stay with the times for the sake of our student's engagement, so I want into watching the following videos created by a teacher for his classroom:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYG_f-y8-BY

This video appeared to be the teacher's first YouTube attempt and he was a tad more novice. It was filmed in his home and the quality of the video was poor. It was more like a lecture he would give in class. He was upbeat and had a nice disposition, but there was no reason this could not have been executed in class otherwise. I could see it would be useful to have so students could review for a test or watch over and over again as needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evo5sgWIBTA
The longer video on the 10 Amendements was extremely well done. The teacher had obviously been inspired to engage students.  Fun props, high quality crisp video image, pneumonia devices, hand symbols, and varied tone, all made this a video impossible not to watch, listen, and learn. Even the teacher's hairdo was more fun and his jokes were well-placed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epuwfzEJ4PU
This was a 30 second video on the amendments and this time the teacher added a bold backdrop. This stepped it up a notch and the brief time period was sure to work for even the shortest of short attention span.

I think all of these videos were useful for reinforcing content and exam review. I will definitely consider doing my own videos to support what I do inside the classroom and for students to access outside of school.

Sink and float Natural water play

Fill a bin with water, seashells, pebbles, leaves, flowers ,etc. to explore sinking and floating. Give kids some aquarium nets and measuring cups. enjoy!

Cool off with paint on a hot summer day!

This is a fun activity to do on hot summer day to cool off or to do during the winter when learning about ice and temperature. The pictures below were during winter. In the summer, you can take this outside on the sidewalk, too, for added fun!

Simply fill an ice cube tray with water and add food coloring.

To paint, pop out colored ice cubes and place in paint palettes. Have fun painting and watch them melt!

Fun in a sandbox...without the sand!

Kids love the sensory experience of sand, but did you ever try the same scooping activity with birdseed? Selecting small seed will be less of a choking hazard and most kids that put it in their mouth will spit it out. You can use the "birdseed scooping" in conjunction with a lesson about nests, eggs, and/or birds.

Sprouting Activities with Kids

'Tis the Season for Growing! Spring is finally almost here. This is a great older book full of fun sprouting ideas to get kids thinking about how plants grow.

I found this treasure at my local library.

Has a great up close photo showing a sprouting seed. Check out that cotyledon & radicle!

Bean Sprout Activity! They grow within a week.

A watercress terrarium, but this can be done with grass or winter rye seed easily.

Sprouting veggies! This child used these as trees, cute!

You CAN sprout grasses in your home or classroom window.
Winter rye is a no fail grass to use and super fast.

Natural Treasure Pouches

Does your child love collecting found objects on their walks or hikes? Do you need something to get even the most reluctant child into nature? Try these fun little pouches. Kids can use them to collect all those special treasures they find on their walks. The best part is, they are no-sew, so kids can do them!

Begin with a small rectangle piece of cloth.

You can start with any size cloth. I have used here a piece measuring approximately 4 x 6 inches.

Fold cloth in half and glue sides together.

I placed a sheet of wax paper underneath. Be sure to fold "dull-side out" (your patterned side will be facing each other on the inside). The stick pins are optional here and you may not want to use these with kids, it just gives the fabric some extra steadiness while you work.

Rub fabric glue on the two sides using a q-tip or paintbrush. Be sure to get some glue in between the patterned sides, otherwise it won't stick. You don't need to glue the bottom, since you just folded it in half. The top will be the opening of your sack, so be sure to leave that glue free.

Place another sheet of wax paper and press firmly on the glued edges.

Place a heavy book on top and leave for 15-30 minutes.

Remove and flip pouch inside out. Fill with treasures as desired.

I included some acorns here that painted and rolled in glitter, for added fun.

The "treasures" found here can be used for a treasure hunt game in which you hide these items inside a basket of autumn leaves. The painted/glittered acorns are particularly fun to include in this game!

Finished natural treasure pouch!

Celebrate the Harvest Season with crafts using seeds and corn husks!

I gathered these wonderful fall-themed activities from programs at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

Seed Quilts

All you need is cardboard, tacky glue, and seeds from your pantry for this one!

Begin with squares of cardboard.

I cut my cardboard squares approximately 5 x 5 inches. Cut as many squares as you would like to make in your "quilt." If you are doing this for a class project, you should cut one for every student.

Squeeze the glue, then place the seeds in a desired design.

Finished "Seed Quilt."

The last step would be to glue your finished seed quilt squares on a larger piece of cardboard, so your "quilt" can stand together.

Corn Husk Crowns

Begin by tearing corn husks into tiny strips. All ages love doing this. For a picture of corn husks and the strips, see my corn husk dolls pictures below.

Tie an elastic cord around an empty picture frame. You can use a piece of  cardboard instead. The frame/cardboard should at least be a foot wide.

Children can tie the corn husks using a simple knot all the way around the cord.

All ages love wearing the crowns!

Corn Husk Dolls

This is a good craft for the older child. It does take some patience. The pictures have been flipped upside down due to a formatting error in the computer, my apologies.

Begin with 4 corn husks.

Tear one corn husk into strips.

Take two corn husks and bunch together.
Secure with a corn husk strip (double knot).

Flip the corn husk over the end and secure
below the "tail," forming a head.

Separate the "flaps" and insert the final corn husk.

Tie off the "waist." You should cut the arms down to a
desired size and cut off any extra ends of the strands.

Tie off the "wrists."

Tie off the "ankles," if pants are desired. This step
can be skipped if a "skirt" is desired instead.

Autumn Harvest Magnets

This is a great activity to not only celebrate the fall harvest, but to recycle! I gathered this activity from the Garfield Park Conservatory and modified it a bit.

Your supplies.

What you will need to make this project: an old seed catalog or magazine with plentiful fall-themed pictures, clear packing tape, glue stick, strong glue, magnets, old postcards.

You may wish to use laminating paper instead. It works just as well. But I do suggest the hand laminating film (also used for book covers), the heated lamination film would be a bit too heavy I think.

Select photos from the catalog and glue to the postcard.

Cut out the pictures and lay them face down on clear packing tape.

Place a second sheet of tape on the backside to "seal" the pictures.

Glue on magnets. Make sure you use a strong glue.

Regular Elmer's won't work here. Use a strong glue such as Aileen's Tacky glue.

Finished product! Now hang on your fridge to dress up your kitchen for fall.

Save some seed...a great fall activity!

In autumn, you can find a flower with seed inside just about anywhere. Sunflowers and marigolds are especially easy ones. You will need to look for a dead or dying flower. Then, you can pull the seeds out from the center. Then, make your own seed packet to store them in. I discovered this useful activity at the Garfield Park Conservatory.

If your marigolds look like this, they are ready for seed saving!

What you will need: 8.5 x 11 computer paper, stapler, writing utensil.

Fold one third into the center of the paper.

Fold remaining third inside over the first flap.

Fold in half.

Remove mature seeds from seed pod (this is a dead marigold flower here).

Staple one side, making an envelope with a solid bottom.
Place seeds inside.

Fold over top edge and staple shut.

Label. Finished!

Spread some seed with SEED BOMBS!

If you haven't heard of seed bombs, you are missing out on a wonderful wonderful thing! Apparently, seed bombs have been around since the beginning of human civilization, but I first learned of these magical creations from South Side Seed Bombs. Check out this site, the woman that runs this business is just as wonderful as these little bombs! http://southsideseedbomb.com/

What is a seed bomb exactly you may ask? They are an ingenious invention created to help plant seeds in a very easy way and keep predators (aka squirrels, birds, mice and other creatures) from eating your seeds before they could sprout into the plants you need. They are also an easy way to disperse seed, just throw and grow!

Seed bombs provide the solution in that they provide the protection the seeds need from predators.

What will you need?

compost (or soil)
seeds of choice (go native!)
natural clay (from craft store pottery section)
paper plate

This activity works great for all ages-you can't go wrong with mud!

What you need to get started.

1. Start with a spoonful of compost (or soil if you don't have compost) and a ball of red clay. Pick out your seeds. This is a great way to disperse native seeds in a prairie.

Smoosh. Mix it all together.

2. Mix the clay, seeds, and compost together. This part is especially fun for kids.

Roll into a ball.

3. Roll back into a ball, let dry.

Last step.

4. Throw in desired location (in ground or a pot). Great way to lay down seeds for the fall to sprout in the following spring.