Healthy Hearts

Hi there!

Andi’s sister, Jill, visiting again. 

(Thanks Andi  for letting me visit - xoxox)

We had a fun time on Valentine’s Day learning about our Heart.  This is late for Valentine’s but it can be used anytime to teach about how the heart works. If your school participates in Jump Rope for Heart, this lesson would fit right in.

My school likes to do grade level “festival-type” days for special occasions or culminating activities to a big theme study. We have 4-5 classes per grade level.  We cycle them through each teacher for 20 -30 minutes and each class is a different activity.  Same stuff we could have done at centers, but this way you are only in charge of one activity, its fun and kids keep moving so less time to get in trouble especially on a chocolate filled holiday.

My station was Healthy Hearts.  We learned about how the heart works and then we role played how the heart works and then we “real played” to work our heart.  We do ask for parent volunteers so there are some helping hands around (I lucked out with a nurse on board, several parents were lost at first, but then said how much they learned and had fun!) Here is the Overview Activity Sheet.

As each group entered we met at the rug and watched the following videos:

School house rock (yay, SHR can always save the day)

and then this cutie from Sciencewithme.com

Then I divided them into smaller groups.  Boys went outside my back door.  Girls went out the front. In Florida, many of our schools have outside walkways like a plaza or strip mall. Anyways, it gave us more room to play so it’s all good.

I gave the parent’s a volunteer instruction sheet and a “cheat sheet” of how to set up the kids for the role play.

I made the hats with craft foam sheets.  I cut into 2” x 18” strips.  I used  1”x 3”  strips of sticky back foam to link a hair rubber bad to each end of the foam.  Easy fit for all of the kids and was CHEAP -yay! Added the picture of lungs OR body OR one of the 4 chambers of the heart. (yup, those pics are at school, will update later)

I made “blood cells” with a sheet of blue craft foam and a sheet of “sticky back” red craft foam and then cut out circles around 4” in diameter.

The kids had fun with the role play. They put the hats on and pumped the blood through the heart and to and from the lungs and body.  Everyone had a sound effect too.  I’ll let you guess the part:

<<inhale>>  <<pum-pump>>  <<nom-nom>>  <<pum-pump>>> repeat…

At first we circulated one blood cell, and then we added a few more. 

Then we acted out a slow resting heart rate and then an active heart rate- the best part!

We borrowed stethoscopes from the PE teacher to listen to our hearts (it’s easier to hear your friend’s rather than your own).  The learned the parts of the stethoscope, how it works and then where to find the heart (left side).  They listened to a resting heart.  Then did some exercise and listened again - BA-BOOM - It was a fun morning!

Later in the day when we delivered our valentine’s cards....

we watched Dental Health Stories – Ha!   

Didn’t think Valentine’s day could be filled with so much science and health – huh??! 

Here’s the link  if you’d like to purchase the Healthy Heart activity – cheap - $1

OR leave a nice comment with your email and I will send it you :)

Just an exciting note of one of my other “products”  

~ My Science Fair project “Pendulum Swing” 

won first at my school fair AND… First at our county’s regional fair. Yippee

**Have to give a shout-out to my cutie patootie presenters 

Nicky and Coleton for being AWESOME!  (and when I say awesome, I mean, both are super shy and didn’t even want to go, as in almost bailed…aagggccckkkk, but they showed up AND ROCKED it!  I am so proud of them!!

I know I am one of the few odd birds who actually likes science fair….

Well, Happy Belated Valentine’s Day to all.  

I am now ready to enjoy my President’s Day! Hope you have a great one too!

~Jill

Our Sweets Have Been Snatched!

You wouldn't believe it!?!?

 We had this big beautiful bucket full of sweethearts snatched from our classroom!

Who would do such a thing?

My students were sure it was either our wonderful custodian Ms. B or one of the lunch ladies {as they put it.}

However, the snatcher was a kind and benevolent soul. He or she left some clues for us to get our sweets back.  

And after using some good 'ol brain power and leg work, we found our delectable treats and brought them back to their rightful home!

THIS is not my idea. It all came from the fabulous Babbling Abby's The Sweetheart Snatcher Unit available on TPT. I didn't get to do the Candy Corn Bandit last fall, so I was super excited for this one!

All week I had been losing pens or moving the kids' belongings around the room. Also, I'd take a few boxes from my sweetheart tub and throw them on the floor. When we would come into the room from lunch or specials, I'd make a big deal about whoever it was touching our things. It was a good production on my part. 

I wanted to make it so on the day of the snatching, one of my kids would notice the tub was missing and not me. Sure enough, on the big day, we come into the classroom from specials and I begin to read from my chapter book {without noticing the tub is missing.} My frequently mobile student blurts out, "Ms. Monroe, the CANDY is GONE!"

I start to blame it on one of the kids and they firmly deny it. They inferred that it must have been the custodian, Ms. B, because she had been in the room last to put up new lightbulbs.

In the tub's place, I had put the first clue and the students' Snatcher Predicting Books. We  read the clue, hastily made our predictions in our books, and the kids literally ran out of the classroom to find clue #2!

I had to reel them back into a line. Geez, that was very difficult!

We managed to find all of the clues without hurting each other or any innocent bystanders. Phew!

Abby has it designed that the final clue is in the gym. Well, I'm in Florida, and my kids have NO IDEA what a gym is. So, I changed that part from the gym to our P.E. coach's office. When the kids discovered the tub in her office, they ran outside to yell at her.

There was no point at stopping them. They were bound and determined to tell her they had foiled her plan. Luckily, she is a GREAT sport and played it up big time. She even snatched just one box from the tub and started running down the track. The kids ran after her and caught her {almost taking her down!}

When we returned to the classroom, the kids pleaded to do the sweetheart activities I had originally planned before someone else takes them again! Hahahahaha!

I caved, what else could I do?

They even wanted to give Coach a box of sweethearts since she wanted them so badly. Cute!

It was so much fun! I HIGHLY recommend it. :)

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Also, I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to everyone who gave me tips about the SMARTboard. I am very new to using it and I really appreciated all of the help I received. Who knew a tennis ball would work so well?

That green pen facing the opposite direction of his brothers is driving me bonkers as I type this!

I went out and picked up a few things to help with my SMARTboard challenged kiddos.

I like using the gloves the best. Also, please note that tennis ball is not a true-sized tennis ball. I had bought a set of tiny squeaky balls for my cats as a Christmas gift and stole one of them. I don't think they'll mind. It is a good size for my little hands {and the kid's little hands.}

This one more/one less, ten more/ ten less part of our math unit is killing me!
They either have it or are NEVER going to get it!!

Little Bit is using a glove and flying through this number sequence. 

Without the glove, it took f-o-r-e-v-e-r! 

Again...

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!