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Letter M

Handwriting Introduction and practice. Click the link to practice with Ms.Angela!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeTaI2VB_KU&feature=emb_logo

The M writing practice worksheet can also be found at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iUCFwTuzq7Bdo3AiL5hM_J7JQXiGlST1/view?usp=sharing

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The Morning Meeting will be posted daily! Make sure to check remind every morning for the link.

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Drawing The Alphabet: Letter M!

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What is Money Anyways? A read aloud introducing and explaining money! What is it? Where does it come from? Why do we have it?

Click below to listen!

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Let's practice identifying Money!

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Let's Sort Money!

Click below for a worksheet to practice sorting money!

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Money Sorting Mat | Money math, Teaching money, Kindergarten money worksheets

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May 27, 2019 - This Pin was discovered by Miss Becca's Classroom. Discover (and save!) your own Pins on Pinterest

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Assortment of activities from Lauren, Martha, and Abby are below!

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Here are some questions you can focus on for this weeks read alouds.

1) Who is the main character?
2) Where is the story? Where are they? Are they in a house? Outside? In water? At School? At a friend's house?

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This week we'll be working with Marshmallows and magnets for some cool science experiments and activities!

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Our Speech Pathologist are here to help assist! Click the link and you will see their contact information as well as resources. You can contact Jenna and Pat directly for strategies and questions! They also have some very cool activities/resources linked below!

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Dear Blair Stars & Blair Families,

We miss you so much! We realize that this is a difficult time and everyone is new to remote learning, including us! Please don't stress. Play, sing, cook, craft and read with your children. These are the best, most natural activities to easily include language and articulation into your home setting. Model language (see handout for examples). The speech department is here to support you! Below you will see some of our favorite websites and bloggers that target language development, communication and articulation. Please look out for specific activities and/or videos that will be included in your child's classroom correspondence. If you have questions or need help, please reach out to your child's Speech Language Pathologist. Thank you! We hope to see you all very soon. Stay well!
The Blair Speech Department
Cathy Bradley- cmbradley@cps.edu
Jenna Fanta- jgarey@cps.edu
MaryKay O'Leary- mkoleary@cps.edu
Patty Trahey- pwtrahey@cps.edu

teachmetotalk.com theautismhelper.com thedabblingspeechie.com Play-Based Speech Therapy Homework

Language Modeling Tips

Stimulating speech and language in young children is extremely important for building language skills. There are many ways to stimulate speech and language development. The following techniques can be used informally during play, family trips, "wait time," or during casual conversation. The techniques are meant to provide a model for the child (rather than asking the child to repeat or imitate what you say). These strategies can be used anytime your child is making an attempt to speak. It is important to have children understand that speech and communication are important not only for interaction, but also to express feelings and ideas.

1. Self-Talk - talk out loud about what you are seeing, hearing, doing, or feeling when your child is nearby. He or she does not have to be close to you or pay attention when you are talking out loud. Be sure to use slow, clear, simple words and phrases that the child can understand. Example: When you're washing the dishes and your child is playing in the kitchen, you might say, "wash dishes - pick up cup - dirty cup - wash the cup - the cup is clean."

2. Parallel Talk - talk out loud about what is happening to your child. Use words that describe what he or she is doing, seeing, or hearing when your child is within hearing range. Again, he or she does not need to be close to you or paying attention when you talk out loud; the child only needs to be within earshot. Be sure to use slow, clear simple words and phrases. Example: When your child is playing with a ball and then daddy comes home, you might say, "roll ball - get ball - pick up ball - daddy home - run to daddy - Max wants up."

3. Expansion - as a general rule add one or two words to what your child says when you respond back. Also, your child's word order may be different than yours. Let him or her hear the right order and correct basic grammar. Don't worry about using perfect grammar yourself. Example: Change "up" (child) to "come up" (parent)

Change "daddy" (child) to "daddy home" (parent) Change "boy eat" (child) to "the boy is eating" (parent) Change "no want" (child) to "I don't want it" (parent) Change "we play car" (child) to "Let's play with the car" (parent)

4. Praise - respond quickly to your child's speech attempts and verbal requests by your verbal and/or non-verbal responses. Non-verbal praise may include a smile, a hug, a pat on the back, eye contact, clapping your hands etc. Verbal praise may include reflecting back to what your child said or saying how much you like their talking.

Example: When you are playing with your child and he says "ba" for ball the first time, you might open your eyes wide and smile "ball - ball rolls - I like your talking."

Example: When your child says "car" and points to his toy car on the table because he wants to play with it, you might clap your hands and say "car - you want car." Then as you hand the toy car, you might also add "take car."

For more information and to learn about activities to stimulate speech and language development in children, please visit the following websites:

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Talking Child

From: Center for Speech and Language Pathologist

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Dear Blair Stars & Blair Families, We miss you so much! We realize that this is a difficult time and everyone is new to remote learning, including us! Please don't stress. Play, sing, cook, craft and read with your children. These are the best, most natural activities to easily include language and articulation into your home setting.

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Sabrina has written out some tips, strategies and activities that will be greatly helpful for everyone!

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Let's use marshmallows and toothpicks to make shapes!

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Gallery of Arvind Gupta's Fun Science Toys hosted by ArvindGuptaToys.com - Page by Samir Dhurde

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Music time with Ms. Alli! Welcome back to another fun filled music class. Clap, Sing and Dance with Ms. Alli. We will continuing singing along to our book "Dogs Don't Wear Sneakers"

For homemade Instruments Miss Alli suggest:
Big Drum- Pots, pans, or beat on top of the table

Rhythm Sticks- Wooden spoons, blocks

Shaker Eggs- Empty plastic Eggs fill with beads or beans, toilet paper rolls filled with beans or beads, you can do the beat on your legs or just pretend that you have 2 things in your hands

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Clap It Out - Learn Syllables | Songs For Kids | Dance Along | GoNoodle

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Solar Oven S'mores!

Break out the Marshmallows!

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This site contains affiliate links. Please see policies for more information. Thanks for supporting Desert Chica.
S'mores are one of my favorite desserts, combine that with my background in science and naturally, I have been dying to make solar oven smores. Solely in the interest of science education of course. 😉

DIY Solar Oven Smores

Easy Solar Oven Smores

It has been CRAZY hot lately, so we took advantage of the scorching sun this past weekend and made the best solar oven. Why is it the best? We already had all the supplies on hand, I love it when a fun plan comes together inexpensively!

Solar Oven DIY

The base of the project was a couple of personal size pizza boxes I saved in my craft stash just for this project. The boys loved making and decorating their own personal solar ovens but a big pizza box would work too.

How to make a solar oven for kids

This project is fairly easy and older kids can do most of the steps themselves. Just have an adult use a craft knife or scissors to cut the solar oven door.

1) Cut the "oven door" flap on the top of the pizza box. The size depends on what you are cooking and how much access you need. Our door was large to maximize our s'mores capacity!

2) Decorate your solar oven with sharpies. This is a fun *optional* step.

DIY Solar Oven For Kids

3) Glue black construction paper to the bottom of the box. The black color absorbs the heat inside of the box.

4) Glue aluminum foil to the inside of the door. The foil reflects the sun into the oven.

5) Tape the plastic over the opening of the door. This will allow the air inside the box to heat up but keep the heat trapped inside the box.

How to make a solar oven

6) Add a graham cracker, marshmallow, and piece of chocolate inside the oven.

7) Place your oven outside in the sun. I taped a wooden skewer to prop the lid open at an ideal angle.

This project works best on hot summer days. The chocolate naturally started melting quickly.

Our 'done' indicator was the marshmallows, we waited until they had puffed up from the heat. It took about 90 minutes to bake our s'mores.

When making these in less extreme temperatures, we just waited until the chocolate melted and called it good enough.

Easy Solar Oven Project

This project was easy, a lot of fun and perfect for preschool through middle school. Older kids could design their own boxes, or conduct scientific experiments by varying factors like the box size, oven door size, construction paper color, cooking time, outside temperature, etc. We talked about what was happening while we waited for the s'mores to bake.

Easy Solar Oven Project Supplies:

Then we feasted on our solar oven s'mores, I'm pretty sure everyone can get behind that scientific result. 😉

Your own solar cooker will not get as hot as a conventional oven but it can still be hot enough to need an oven mitt.

STEM Solar Oven Project Discussion Points

The sun as a heat source

"A process called nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium deep in the sun's core, where temperatures hit a balmy 18 million degrees Fahrenheit (15.7 million degrees Celsius). Fusion creates energy that travels to the sun's surface in a journey that lasts a million years. " Learn more from National Geographic Kids

What would happen if you used different color construction paper?
We use a sheet of black paper to help absorb the heat. Black absorbs the most heat (white absorbs the least) so any other color would absorb less heat and negatively affect the success of the solar oven.

What's the purpose of the foil?
The sun's rays are collected by the reflective panel and concentrated inside the box. This converts the sun's energy into thermal energy which is how solar ovens work.

The purpose of the plastic wrap?
The plastic wrap helps trap the sun's heat in the pizza box ovens and lessens heat loss.

How various weather conditions would affect the result?
Direct sunlight gives the best result, cloudy days will lessen the success of solar cooking.

Books about Solar Power

Have you made a DIY solar oven before?
Post originally published August 15, 2012
More fun learning activities like Solar Oven Smores:

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Isabella The Girl Who Didn't Have Science Project Ideas

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DIY Solar Oven Smores {Kids Science Experiment}

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Making a DIY solar oven is an easy science project at home involving solar cooking for kids. Learn how to make a solar oven for kids and then add chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows for delicious Solar Oven Smores!

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Stay On The Sunny Side - Moose Tube | GoNoodle

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The Pirate Life | Songs For Kids | Dance Along | GoNoodle

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Let’s Make a Compass!  You know that is!

Using a magnet and a needle

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It can seem like magic the way invisible forces move the needle on a compass. In this activity we explore how magnetic forces control the movement of the needle by learning how to make a compass out of household items. This easy science experiment packs a big learning punch.

Disclaimer: This article may contain commission or affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Recently we were learning about the life and works of Albert Einstein. It was completely fascinating. We love learning about how these brilliant minds lived. It is a wonderful way to inspire kids and teach them the value of perseverance, imagination and about how great discoveries have happened in history.

One of the things that stood out to us was that Einstein was fascinated by a compass given to him by his father when he was only five years old. He was mystified by the invisible forces that could deflect the needle in that compass. And we could totally imagine him watching for hours as he tried different things, watching that needle move. This in turn led to a lifelong fascination with invisible forces.

Talk about a passion pursuit!

So to cap off our lessons about Albert Einstein we decided to build our very own homemade compass. It is incredibly easy to do and the kids were fascinated by the movement of that needle!

I admit it was kind of fun to watch that excitement on their faces and knowing that many years ago, a young boy named Albert was just as fascinated by the same phenomena.
Want to explore this activity and learn more about other famous STEAMists? Check out our printable Famous STEAMist Activity pack. Available in our shop.
DIY COMPASS SUPPLIES

Sewing Needle (go with fairly large sewing needles so it is easy for little hands to hold them)
Magnets (the stronger the better)
Cork (other options may work if you don't have a cork, see below in Troubleshooting)
A medium to large sized bowl
Water
Pliers
NOTE: Don't do this activity with any child that puts things in their mouth. Swallowing magnets is extremely dangerous. The needles are sharp. Ensure you have appropriate adult supervision and children are old enough to behave safely.
DIY COMPASS DIRECTIONS

Build a compass

1. Magnetize the needle
Hold the needle, and take your magnet and stroke it down the length of your needle 50 times. If you are using a weaker magnet you may need to do this more than 50 times. But for most good quality magnets 50 should be about right.

2. Prepare the cork
Cut a cork so it is about 1 to 2 cm thick.

3. Fill a bowl with water
Set out your bowl and fill it with a few inches of water.

Magnetism can be seen in action whenever you have two magnets close together. Magnets have a positive and a negative side. This causes them to either push against one another or be pulled together. Two positive sides will repeal each other causing the magnets to push apart. But Flip one magnet over so you have a positive and a negative near each other and they will attract each other.

For almost 1000 years people have been using magnetism to help them navigate the globe. Magnetism can help people navigate because the Earth has its own magnetic field. Compasses use a small magnetized bar or needle that points a certain direction (north or south) based it's reaction to Earth's magnetic field.

When we rubbed the magnet against the sewing needle, it magnetized the needle. This means it becomes a weak, temporary magnet. Because magnets interact with one another, either attracting or repelling, the magnetized needle can interact with the Earth's magnetic field. We use the bowl of water because Earth's magnetic field is relatively weak. Allowing it to float freely on the water, allows the magnetized needle to freely react to Earth's magnetic field, causing it to align North to South. If you watched closely, the same end of the needle should always point to the North.
Remember don't ever place strong magnets near computers, phones or electronics.
Pretty cool, eh? No wonder Einstein was so fascinated by these invisible forces!

If you run into trouble try using a stronger magnet or rubbing the magnet more times on the needle. Not getting a proper magnetization is usually the core of most issues. Also, once you have done each side, don't let the magnet near your needle again. If your kids want to play, give them other little metal items to play with near the magnets.

If you are struggling with the corks or don't have corks, you can use other items to keep your needle afloat. A one inch diameter circle of wax paper with the needle woven through will work, or a small piece of pool noodle material will also work to keep the needle floating.

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How To Make A Compass - Magnetic Science For Kids

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It can seem like magic the way invisible forces move the needle on a compass. In this activity we explore how magnetic forces control the movement of the needle by learning how to make a compass out of household items. This easy science experiment packs a big learning punch.

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Let's Journal! Keeping a journal is a wonderful way to inspire budding writers and get your student to think creatively!

Todays prompt: "If you had $100, what would you buy?"

If you'd like to follow along with someone click the link below and journal with Taryn!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2Y6wN0SjAk&feature=youtu.be

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Who has a letter M in their Name?

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We have so many talented artist in 112! Our amazing art teacher Therese has made a calendar of different activities you can do with your student! The link is below! If you make a masterpiece, make sure to share a picture with Taryn and Angela!

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Ms.Amy is back from her Maternity Leave! We are so excited to have her. She has some great gross motor activities planned for you and your students. Click the link below to see. If you do any of these exercises send a picture to Taryn and Angela! We'd love to see you being active!

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Let's Make Patterns with M&Ms! You can follow along with Angela in the video, or click the link below for directions.

https://teachbesideme.com/mm-math-patterns-cards/

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Link below for this weeks Gym Activities!

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Link below for this weeks Gym Activities!

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Scaredy Monster Loses a Tooth

Click the link below to hear the read aloud!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=dApj21ops0M&feature=emb_logo

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Hey, That's MY Monster!

Click the link below to hear the read aloud!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tMG4Z66XAA&feature=youtu.be

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Maria’s Magic Magnet

Click the link below to hear the read aloud!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y69sqBMjMGs&feature=youtu.be

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Link below for this weeks Art Activities!

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Link below for this weeks Art Activities!