Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs

Back in the spring, I was planning to do a read aloud. I decided to use one of my favorite books, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. I didn't want to just read a book, I wanted a fun activity too and thanks to Pinterest, I found this.

Ideas for my student example:

I wish it would rain Kit- Kats because I already own two kitty cats.

I wish it would rain Strawberries because I love them berry much.

I wish it would rain Snickers because then you could snicker at all my jokes. 

(Insert uncontrollable laughter) C'mon, this stuffs gold!!

I ended up going with the Strawberry one because I knew the 2nd graders would get that one however, I love the other two because they are so much more original.

Bucket List

A bucket list is a number of experiences or achievements a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime. Here's mine: 

1. Fall in love.

2. Successful marriage.

3. Healthy and happy kids. 

4. Punaluu County (Black Sand) Beach in Hawaii.

5. Fireworks at Mount Rushmore.

6. Write a children's book. 

7. Take voice lessons. 

8. Flip a house to sell. 

9. Go swimming with Dolphins.

10. Take up dancing: Salsa, Line dance, Tap dance, Tango, Ballroom dancing, etc.

11. Join a Social Etiquette Class.

12. Be kissed in the rain. 

13. Fireworks in Duluth.

14. Fly in a Hot- air Balloon.

15. Start my own business (Childcare). 

16. Go Scuba Diving/Snorkeling and experience marine life up close. 

17. See a Broadway Musical. 

18. Participate in the Color Run. 

19. Ride an Elephant. 

20. Stay at an underwater hotel in Fiji.

21. Visit the Walk of Fame.

22. Go Zorbing.

23. Watch the ball drop in Times Square. 

24. Jump in a pool fully clothed.

25. Visit a Chocolate Factory (Hershey, Pennsylvania). 

26. Kiss under fireworks. 

27. Play messy Twister.

28. Smash a pie in someone's face.

29. Sing Karaoke.

30. Swim in Lake Superior.

31. Live in a house with a turret.

32. Teach 1st grade at a public school. 

33. Homeschool my kids.

34. Be a Mommy Blogger!

35. Drive a mini-van.

36. Fill a truck bed full of pillows and blankets and drive to the middle of nowhere to go stargazing.

37. Graduate college.

38. Attach a lock to a love bridge.

39. Visit Pixar Studios. 

40. Stay in Cinderella's Castle.

41. Go down the Shark Tank water slide at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas.

42. Swim with the Manatees in Florida.

43. Visit the largest swimming pool in the World (Algarrobo, Chile). It covers 20 acres which means I'll be swimming with no worries about sea creatures!

44. Visit Ruby Falls in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

45. Go Mini- golfing.

46.  Move to Duluth.

47. Learn how to snowboard. 

48. Learn how to sew.

49. Visit all the mega churches in the United States. 

50. Put a piece of gum on the gum wall in Seattle.

Water Cycle

Take a good long look at the water on the table. Now, can you guess how old it is? The water in this glass may have fallen from the sky as rain just last week, but the water itself has been around pretty much as long as the Earth has!

Today, we are going to learn about the Water Cycle! (Turn on PP)

The Earth has a limited amount of water. That water keeps going around and around and around and around in what we call the "Water Cycle."'

The Water Cycle is made up of four stages:
1. Evaporation
2. Condensation
3. Precipitation
4. Collection
(Have students repeat stages one by one focusing on pronunciation)

Evaporation is when the sun heats up water in rivers or lakes or the ocean and turns it into vapor or steam. The water vapor or steam leaves the river, lake or ocean and goes into the air. 

Water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds. This is called condensation.

Precipitation occurs when so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore. The clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow. 

When water falls back to earth as precipitation, it may fall back in the oceans, lakes or rivers or it may end up on land. When the water ends up on land, it will either soak into the Earth and become part of the "ground water" that plants and animals use to drink or it may run over the soil and collect in the oceans, lakes or rivers. We call this collection, and it is where the water cycle starts all over again. 

Next, we are going to watch a one- minute video clip that is going to walk us through the four stages of the Water Cycle. 

Now, I want us to label a poster of the Water Cycle. 

The four stages of the water cycle are evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection so this is our word bank or the words we get to choose from. 

When the sun heats up water in rivers, lakes or oceans, some of the water turns into vapor or steam and goes into the air. What is this stage called? Is it evaporation, condensation, precipitation or collection? It is evaporation. 

When water vapor in the air gets cold and changes back into liquid, forming clouds it is called? Is is condensation, precipitation or collection?

When so much water has condensed that the air cannot hold it anymore, the clouds get heavy and water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow. This stage of the water cycle is called? It starts with a p.

And the final stage of the Water Cycle, when water falls back in the oceans, lakes, rivers, or may end up on land is called? That's right, collection. Great job! Labeling the Water Cycle was not an easy task, but you did it!

Alright 2nd graders, I want to teach you a song! This song is going to help you remember the stages of the Water Cycle. This is going to be so much fun and I am super excited to be able to sing about the Water Cycle with you this afternoon. Let's all stand up and form a circle. Make sure you have room and are not in your friend's personal space.

"The Water Cycle Song"
(Sung to the tune of She'll be Coming Around the Mountain)

Water travels in a cycle, yes it does
(Use pointer finger to make a big circle in the air)
Water travels in a cycle, yes it does
(Repeat finger circle)
It goes up as evaporation
(Move hands up to the sky)
Forms clouds as condensation
(Make a cloud overhead with arms)
Then comes down as precipitation, yes it does!
(Sprinkle with fingers while bringing arms down in front of you) 

**I was observed during the second half of this lesson. My professor wrote: 
"Water Cycle- 
Students were watching a short video clip to reinfroce their learning from earlier. Great discussion post video... Very engaging and respectful. Good check for understanding. Fun review- song with actions- students loved it! Thorough, well- developed lesson plan! Nice job!!"

Cause and Effect with Frog and Toad

On Monday, Mrs. R read a story from Frog and Toad All Year Round. Today, we are going to read from Days With Frog and Toad and we will practice cause and effect. The story we are going to read is called, The Kite. Before we read the story though I want to look our chart. 

Good readers identify cause and effect.

Cause is often signaled by the word so. For example, “It was raining SO I used an umbrella.”

Effect is often signaled by the word because. I used my umbrella (C) BECAUSE it was raining (E).”

As I am reading I want you to think about what is happening and why it is happening. When you see a part of the sentence up here I want you to put your hand out like a stop sign and we will complete the sentence by adding the missing cause or effect.

The Robins told Toad to give up SO Toad gave up.

The robins said the kite was junk BECAUSE the kite crashed in the grass.

Frog told Toad to try flying his kite one more time SO he jumped up and down and shouted, “UP KITE UP!”

The kite climbed higher and higher BECAUSE Toad did not give up.

Toad and Frog are happy BECAUSE they finally got the kite to fly.

Great job first graders! I have a cause and effect worksheet I would like us to complete. Each of you is going to get two pieces of paper. You are going to cut out all five sentences on this piece of paper. You are going to glue the missing cause or effect on this worksheet. On the bottom, you’ll see both boxes are empty. You need to decide which sentences go there and which one is the cause and which on is the effect. Let’s do the first one together. The effect is, “The Popsicle melted.” Why did the Popsicle melt? Because (read sentences) 

The Falls

Waterfall!

This was the "beach."

Cheese curds!

It's been years since I have been to "The Falls" but we had a great time! It was a flooded because we've had significant amounts of rainfall this summer but it was so cool. That water is really moving! There is this beach area and as soon as I dipped my feet into the water they were pulled to the side. If you looked down at the water you felt like you were spinning in circles. It was crazy how fast and strong that current was. What amazed me even more was that I saw a mom pull her 2ish old son out farther into the water. He didn't want to go and I don't blame him. Personally, I thought that was very dangerous but who am I to judge!

And yes, we got Cheese Curds!! There was a Polish Festival or something at one of the nearby parks. We walked through and ended up with Cheese Curds and Mini Donuts!