STEM Project 101- Building Bug Boxes

 First you have to get to know bugs and their habitats. What better way to do this than get outside with a magnifying glass and start observing. The weather here in Florida has been cool and breezy.

 Can you find the bee in the picture above?

Once the students found and observed a bug, they illustrated and made notes about their findings in their STEM workbooks I purchased from Pearson with Grant money I won.

See How Our Sunflowers Grow

April 30th, 2014

A Very Special Invitation

If you have been following my BLOG, you know my students have been very busy working on a Bear Awareness Community Service Learning Project, inspired by Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots. Through my class relationship with Roots and Shoots we received a very special invitation to work with Roots and Shoots and Google on a Community Service Digitized Mapping Tools Written Tutorial and How To video. The final cut of the video was made last week and can be found on the Roots and Shoots Community Mapping Page where it will remain for some time. As if that wasn't exciting enough, a shortened version of the video was presented to Dr. Jane at her Google+ Hangout 80th Birthday Party last Thursday, April 3rd, 2014.

This was a great honor. I'm so proud of my students work. I'm very happy for them as well. For you see, at the beginning of the bear project, before the children knew much about Dr. Jane Goodall, they asked me if she'd come visit them if they did a good job. I told them she was a very busy lady, that you never know, however their work was important regardless. Dr. Jane may not have visited them, but my students had a special opportunity to give her an 80th birthday present in front of the whole world. Some of my students stayed after school with me to watch. They were waving and throwing kisses to her, I believe they thought she could see them.

My Little Bear Cubs Put on an Amazing Bear Awareness Event

During a close read about Florida Black Bears, the class took a brain break and walked like bears.

 

 

Leading up to event night, we made a few last preparations. Each student drew their rendition of a Florida Black Bear and signed the Bear Booth table covering.

 

 

This package arrived after our class bear story made the front page of the newspaper. Someone from the community sent the students bear stickers and note cards.

 

 

After Spring Break two of my students brought me Black Bear gifts, as seen below.

Doing the bear project, started a "Bear Craze." All of these students checked out bear books from the library.

 

One of our parents graciously spent time putting glitter tattoos on my kids for their BIG Bear Awareness event night.

 

 

One of my students rode with me to Publix to pick-up cupcakes for the Cubcake part of the Bear Awareness project. In the previous month, the class wrote persuasive letters to Publix asking for their assistance. Publix donated a $100.00 gift card to my students for their project.

 

 

 

The class Bear Booth at the Cracker Trail Elementary Annual PTO Hoedown Community Event Thursday, March 27th, 2014.

 

 

 

Cubs were suited up and ready to serve.

 

 

Eighty-seven people made cubcakes.

 

 

 

 

 

Students passed out student-made Bear Information Brochures.

 

 

 

 

 

Seventeen Bear Booth Visitors plotted their bear sightings on a map of our community with tiny bear stickers.

 

 

 

 

The Neigh-BEAR-hood Watch Kids did an AWESOME job and their event was a huge success!

Neigh-BEAR-hood Watch Kids Project Update

My class has been very busy developing a Florida Black Bear Community Service Project. Here is their work to date:

My class' bear campaign story was in the local newspaper , Highlands Today.