What A Wonderful World

I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.

This has been one of my favorite songs for as long as I can remember. Therefore, it’s only fitting that I share a few lines to remember this AMAZING day in Room 212. Well, we actually began learning about Earth Day last week in preparation for today’s festivities.

Project One: Earth Necklaces

I saw this idea on Kindergarten Rocks and knew I had to make them. After I gathered all the necessary materials (Glue,Dirt, Paperclips, and Wax Paper) I was ready to roll. Luckily, I had a box of gloves handy. This project was a MESS!!! One piece of advice. Have the kids practice making “dough balls” out of clay or playdoh prior to completing. I was shocked how many of my kiddos could not roll the dirt and glue mixture into a ball. After a few days we were ready to paint. The kids had a blast with this part and to be honest, so did I. I added a piece of “soft” brown yarn and presto our recycled Earth Day necklaces were ready to showcase.

Project Two: Earth Coffee Filters

I love using coffee filters and this was an easy-peasy for my kiddos to complete one rainy afternoon during indoor recess. The only rules: you can only use green and blue markers. Once their coffee filter was colored, I gave them a spray bottle to mist their filter and watch the colors mix. I am not sure how everyone else completes this project but I have students lay a paper towel on a cookie sheet, mist their filter, then pick up filter/towel and let dry on a piece of construction paper. Here are two examples from my kiddos. I think they were AWESOME.

Project Three: Lorax Planters

I saw this idea on pinterest via Bird’s Party Blog and knew immediately that I wanted to make these for a parent-student “home” project.  I pre-packed the seeds into small cake pop baggies I snagged up at Michael’s. (Oh my word… I do get into some trouble at Michael’s maybe a summer job is in my future. I wonder if their discount is better than the teacher’s discount. Hmmmm… Something to ponder!)

Since I knew my kiddos were traveling with these pots I decided to package the dirt in cello bags from the Dollar Tree. They worked wonderfully. The students placed the cello bag in the pot, we filled it with soil, then I had them tie it shut with a ribbon bow. (They were awesome at this project!!!) After we completed our soil packing, we decorated our faces. I let them choose between hard felt or foam for their moustache and eye brows. They also had a choice between sparkly noses and plain. Oh my and did you notice the plethora of eye colors. I have some wild kiddos. (P.S. My boys love pink!!)

Our Lorax Pots!!! (a.k.a Our Home Earth Day Projects)

(Don’t Cha just love the bushy eyebrows on the bottom left. Sorta looks like my JaJa.)

“I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Since these were going home on the bus, I wrapped the pots in a piece of “recycled” bubble wrap and put them down inside a “recycled” lunch bag. We added our coffee filter Earth project and off they went.

Although, we were super busy being creative for the last few days, we had some time to sneak in a few “important” Earth Day lessons. My kiddos understand the importance of keeping our world beautiful through the implementations of the 3 R’s: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce

A few of our favorite books from this week:

Guess what we have in our room…

Watch for updates coming soon.

READING PACKET UPDATE: I know many of you are been purchasing my 2nd grade Reading Packets and I am happy to announce I will be uploading the final unit sometime this week. Next up by popular request, first grade. I will also be adding new activities and centers to all of the past units during the summer. Please watch your email for the update notice. If you have previously purchased any packet, all you have to do is go into your TPT purchases and re-download the newest version with revisions. I also want to take a minute to say “Thank You” you have all been a true inspiration to me this year with your endless emails filled with love and kindness. I appreciate each one of you!!!