Look What I Made~Story Stones!

I finally had time to make something I pinned a long time ago...and it actually turned out!

They were so fun to make and a little addicting too!

I went to Pat Catans (it's a craft store here in Ohio) and picked up a few bags of "River Rocks" for $2.00 a bag.  Each bag weighed about 2 pounds and when I opened them up, there were about 20 rocks.  The amount of rocks depend on the size of the rocks.  I then picked up a ton of random stickers, some Mod Podge and a can of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Coating.

I stuck the stickers on the rocks, took them outside in a box and sprayed them 3 times with the acrylic coating.  One thing I realized is that you're going to want to use "typical" stickers.  The thicker stickers were a little tougher to stick.  I also took some old magazines, cut out small pictures and Mod Podged them to the rocks.  Once the Mod Podge was dried, I gave them 3 coats of the acrylic coating too. Once the third coat of acrylic coating was applied, I forgot about them and let them dry for a day or two.

I think they'll be a great addition to the writing corner in my classroom!  They can be used in so many ways!  At the beginning of the year, they'll be used to help write random sentences when we can't think of something to write about.  As the year continues, they can use them to help them write stories.  The children could even pick 3 rocks and use them to write an interesting story.  I'm so excited!  The only downfall...they're going to be heavy!  I am going to put our Story Stones in a bucket so that the children can dig through to find the stones they want.  

Now I'm off to find some seasonal stickers (Halloween, Christmas, etc.) so I'll have some Story Stones to add to the bucket during the holidays.

Have a great day!

A Quick and Quiet Writing Activity

Hi Friends!
So...I don't know if your cuties have been behaving a little bit like mine lately, but Oh. My. Goodness.  Spring has definitely sprung...for everyone and we're all wound a little tight right now.  (Teachers included...'tis the season for uncertainties and changes for next year...if you know what I mean.)  So we had an afternoon this week where I just needed a few minutes of peace and quiet.  I know...I'm asking for too much in a first grade classroom, but I would have been happy with just 5 minutes.  It was our intervention time and since we're still having a very hard time writing complete sentences (in March...insert frustrated tone), I believe God intervened and put this idea in my head...and actually made it work for us.

Here's what you'll need if you want to give it a try:
Dry Erase Boards
Dry Erase Markers (of course)
Eraser
Kiddos with a buddy or a small group (2 kiddos working together worked better though)

All we did was this...One child wrote a question on their dry erase board and the other had to answer the question in a complete sentence.  Now, if either friend didn't understand what was written, they had to shrug their shoulders, or make a face or some other action that let their partner know that they didn't understand and then some revision would take place.

We couldn't communicate with our voices at all.  Sure...it may sound a little harsh...what 1st grade classroom shouldn't have a constant hum happening inside it, but again, we needed a little peace on this particular day.  I was only expecting this peace to last maybe a moment...but we went a full 20 minutes without a peep and as I walked around the room, everyone was on task and when our time together was done and I asked them if they liked doing it, they said, "Yes!"  So if you're in the mood for a little quiet or need something to fill a bit of time so you can catch your breath, give it a try!

This coming week is our last week before our Spring Break...thank goodness.  We're overdue for a bit of a break I think!  :)

Did I tell you that my first graders are tweeting?  I'm hoping to connect with other first grade classrooms next year to develop some friendships so if your class is tweeting, give us a follow and we'll follow you back!

https://twitter.com/1stGradePirates

Have a great weekend!