Classroom

25 of the Best STEM Toys

December 4, 2017 by Jodi 3 Comments

This list of 25 of the best STEM toys has been slowly created over the past couple of years as I purchase new items for my Morning Tubs. I have become obsessed with finding new educational toys for my students that allows them to have fun and be creative. When students become interested in one of the items, I like to send a picture to parents to use as ideas for Christmas or birthday gifts. I thought that this list may come in particularly handy as you look to buy presents for your own children or for your classroom.

This post contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.

1. Zoob Builderz

These blocks are really durable, and I love how they connect like joints to allow my students creations to be moveable.

2. Bristle Blocks

The bristles on these blocks interlock anywhere, so there are more options in how they can be hooked together.

3. Learning Resources Gears
My students love figuring out ways to make the gears move.

4. Kanoodle

This is one of my new favorite toys. Not only is it great for the classroom, but I have to say, it is really addicting to play for adults as well! It would be perfect for kids on a road trip or to keep them busy at an appointment.

5. Roller Coaster Challenge

This is a recent purchase that I am so excited about putting into my Morning Tubs.

6. Playstix

These are similar to a soft version of Lincoln Logs.

7. Code & Go Robot Mouse

This has been a huge hit in my classroom this year. The students love programming the mouse to make it move through the maze.

8. Emido Building Blocks

I love how these interlock with each other on all sides.

9. Picasso Tiles

These are very durable for being plastic tiles with magnetic sides. I actually need to order another set of these because there were not quite enough for a group of 4 students.

10. Quadpro Magnetic Blocks

These were one of my first purchases for Morning Tubs, and they are still a favorite among my students.

11. Rainbow Flakes

These are so much fun! Over time, a couple of the flakes have broken, but they are still usable.

12. Goobi Construction Set

My students love using these blocks.

13. Block Buddies

These blocks come with cards that have pictures for the students to create items with the blocks.

14. Legos

Legos are always a popular toy.

15. Marble Runs

This see-through marble run allows the students to follow the marble all the way through the maze.

16. Keva Brain Builders

These wooden planks come with pictures of structures for the kids to build.

17. Topple

My students love playing this game and trying not to make the pieces topple over.

18. Emido Block Bars

These pieces were a little hard to snap together for some of my students, but they eventually got the hang of it. I would not recommend these for really young kids though.

19. Let’s Go Code

This is a great way to introduce coding without a computer. The pieces go on the floor and the children can step on them to follow the code.

20. Snap Circuts

This includes over 100 different projects. Some of them are easier than others.

21. Q-Ba-Maze 2.0

This is one that my own kids got last year as a Christmas present. You can make some really cool marble mazes with this.

22. Gravity Maze

This is another marble maze, but it involves a logic puzzle as well. You have to build a path to get your marble to the target.

23. Chain Reactions

This is perfect for teaching about simple machines and chain reactions.

24. Qwirkle

This is a great game for 2-4 players.

25. Ozobot Bit Coding Robot

This programmable robot comes with 20 games and activities.

Do you have any Must-Have STEM toys that you would add to the list?

5 Ways to Keep Your Students Engaged During the Holiday Season

November 25, 2017 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Keeping your students engaged in your classroom during the busy holiday season can be tough. I put together a list of 5 Ways to Keep Your Students Engaged During the Holiday Season that I hope will help relieve some of the “craziness” that can occur in even the best students during the month of December.

5 Ways to Keep Your Students Engaged During the Holiday Season

Stick to your normal schedule as much as possible. I know, I know…December is CRAZY! Parties, programs, presents, etc. However, when you can, follow the same format that you would during a normal week of school. Children like routine. They know what to expect, and what is expected of them when they are following your normal schedule. However, you can definitely change it up a little to include some holiday themed activities. Throw in some holiday reading passages during reading time, holiday fact practice during math, and holiday themed science and social studies activities. Check out some of my favorite educational holiday themed activities for each subject area here:
- Reading
  - Christmas Comprehension and December Guided Reading
- Math
  - Christmas Color by Code
- Science/Social Studies
  - Interactive Fact Folders, December Nonfiction, and Print & Teach Winter Holidays
Pick a few things to try, but DO NOT try to do it all. It is not humanly possible to do every single holiday themed activity that you find on Pinterest. I pin WAY TOO MANY ideas, get overwhelmed, and don’t do ANY of them. It’s a vicious cycle 😉 Pick out 2-3 new things that you want to incorporate into your classroom this holiday season, and then stop looking. If you get overwhelmed, your students will get overwhelmed.
Reward Positive Behavior. This is important anytime of the year, but especially when you know that students will have an even more challenging time staying focused. Here are some ideas for rewarding positive behavior:
- Earning Snowballs – Students can earn a snowball (cotton ball) for positive behavior. I like to use this as a “whole class” reward system. When the students are doing what they should be doing, they earn a snowball into a jar. Once the jar is full, they earn some type of reward. (A hot chocolate party would be perfect!)
- Christmas Book Raffle – Order some extra Christmas books from your Scholastic Book Order. Place the books out with a bucket in front of each one. Students earn tickets for positive behavior. Once they earn a ticket, they write their name on the back and place it in the bucket in front of the book that they would like a chance to win. You can draw a name at the end of the week or right before Winter Break.
- Positive Notes and Phone Calls -Positive notes and phone calls are great anytime of the year, but during the busy holiday season, they become even more beneficial.
- Classroom Management Christmas Ornaments – I love this idea from Maria at Kindercraze. Her kindergarteners earned jewels to decorate their ornaments for good behavior.
Get Your Students Moving. We know that students need to get up move. We really cannot expect primary students to sit still all day. I love using GoNoodle for brain breaks. I also like to incorporate movement into our learning. My students like using these Christmas Reading on the Move Passages. I also make sure to get them moving around the classroom more often. We do more partner work, small group work, and flexible seating if my students can handle it. A good game of Santa Says (Simon Says) is always a great brain break as well.
Play Games. Who doesn’t love a good game? My students are obsessed with games. If I can teach or review a skill with a game, I’ll do it. Some of my favorites include:
- Pick a Spot – I do this throughout the year with a variety of skills. One that we have been doing a lot lately is short vowel sounds. I write each vowel on a Post-It note and hang them in different places around my classroom. Every student picks a vowel to stand next to. Then, I pull a short vowel word out of a cup. Anyone standing by the vowel that is in that word has to go and sit down. The students left get to choose a new vowel or stay where they are. This continues until only one student is left standing.
- Holiday Word Scramble – Write letters to spell out holiday words on index cards. Put each scrambled word in a bag. Pass out the bags to groups of students and have them race to unscramble their words. You could even give groups a couple of words. Ideas for words include: Christmas, Hanukkah, candy cane, snowman, ornament, stocking, gingerbread, etc.
- No Prep Printable Games – My Games Galore packs are a monthly must have in my classroom. I like to print these games to have on hand when we need to review a skill or we just need a change of pace.
- Spin and Color – This simple no prep game is perfect for students to do individually or with a partner.

What are some of your favorite ways to keep students engaged during the holiday season?

Morning Tubs This Year

October 8, 2017 by Jodi 3 Comments

Earlier in the school year, I did a Facebook Live video about my Morning Tubs and promised to do another one when we started our new tubs. Well….time got away from me, and we are now on our third round of morning tubs for the year.

I wanted to share with you some items that we have used in our 2nd and 3rd round of morning tubs. You can view the video to check out our 1st round of tubs from this year.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links at no cost to you, which helps to support the blog.

Round 2

I ordered these Picasso Tiles this past summer after seeing them at our local Children’s Museum. They were a great addition to our morning tubs. They are really good quality and have held up well to rough 6 year old hands 😉

Pattern blocks are always an easy addition to Morning Tubs. The students’ love them, and they are so creative.

Another item in our 2nd round of morning tubs were Brain Flakes. The students always love these.

Bristle Blocks are another fun item. They have plastic bristles that allow them to connect with each other.

These Matching Games are great for the classroom. This particular one is Dr. Seuss, but there are so many different ones to choose from.

I also added Base-10 blocks into the 2nd round of morning tubs. I love using math manipulatives during morning tubs prior to actually using them in math lessons.

3rd Round

I just purchased these Emido Interlocking Building Blocks, and they are so much fun!

Right now, my students are a little obsessed with making magic wands with them.

This was another recent find on Amazon from Emido. These Emido Block Bars have become a new favorite.

It took them a little while to really understand how they worked, but now that they have them figured out, they love them.

I also love to include these coloring pages from Creative Clips. She has so many different ones to choose from.

These Block Buddies are also a great morning tub item. They come with pictures of different objects for the students to create.

I purchased these small Halloween erasers in the Target Dollar Spot last year, and they made a wonderful addition to morning tubs. The students can use them to make patterns or pictures.

Another super easy, and cheap, addition to morning tubs are popsicle sticks. The students have been building with them, counting them, making pictures, and more.

So, that’s what we have been using in our Morning Tubs so far this year. You can find more Morning Tub ideas here.

Behavior Management Strategies

September 17, 2017 by Jodi Leave a Comment

Over the course of my teaching career, I have collected and tried many different behavior management strategies. Some were successful, and some were not. What I have learned is that I need to always be collecting new behavior management strategies, because what works for one class, may not work the following year. Same goes for students. You may find something that is a miracle worker for one particular student, but does not work at all for another. I’m teaming up with Astrobrights® Papers to share a couple of strategies with you that have worked for some particular behaviors in my classroom over the past couple of years.

This is a sponsored post. Fun in First has received payment, trade and/or products from Astrobrights in exchange for promoting, however all opinions stated are my own. This post also contains affiliate links. I earn a small commission each time someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support the blog.

One VERY common behavior issue that we see in classrooms every year is having students that do not complete their work due to talking too much or other distractions. Many times these students need some type of visual chart to help them work towards a goal of completing their assignments. I created these simple charts that can be placed on or in student’s desks.

I just print these simple charts on Lift-Off Lemon™ Astrobrights paper. I love using colored paper for these because they make them much more appealing to my students. You can use stickers on the charts, or laminate them and use permanent marker to draw a star or smiley face. *Quick tip: Did you know if you trace over permanent marker with a dry erase marker, you will be able to erase both the dry erase and permanent marker off of the surface?

These charts can also be used as a behavior chart where students can earn a sticker or smiley face if they make positive behavior choices for a given amount of time. After a student completes his or her chart, they can earn a small reward. This can be a tangible object or some type of activity reward.

I like to use these “I’ve earned a break” cards. I can hand one of these to a student after he or she has completed a goal. Then, they can use them to earn a break reward in the classroom.

The students can pick the short break that they would like to use after earning their reward. I print these Break cards onto Galaxy Gold™, Lunar Blue™, Gamma Green™, and Gravity Grape™ Astrobrights paper, but again, you can use any colored paper you choose. You can also use the different colors to differentiate the types of activities you would like for your students to choose from. If you have a child that is constantly picking the same types of activities, you can guide them by saying that they need to choose a “blue” activity.

Another idea for using these cards is to help control outbursts from emotional students. My original use when I created these a couple of years ago was as a way to help a former student control his behavioral outbursts. He usually knew when he was about to completely lose control of his temper and self control, but he could not express it with words. I would hang five of these “I Need a Break” cards on his desk every morning that he could use throughout the school day.

When he felt that he needed a break, he could take off one of his cards and hand it to me. He did not even have to express with words what he was feeling. It was our signal to know that it was time for him to take a break. Then, he could chose an activity that he thought would help him calm back down.

These cards are great to laminate and keep on a metal ring to allow students easy viewing of the activities. I have included a variety of activities to choose from, but you could easily make your own just by typing or writing some ideas onto Astrobrights paper. You can download this FREEBIE by clicking HERE.

Another item that I have used many times over the past two years, has been these Liquid Timers. I purchased these off of Amazon, and I love them.

They are great to use as a “calm down” tool or as a timer for students to beat as they finish their work.

What are some of your favorite behavior management strategies that you have found to be successful in your classroom?

Interactive Task Folder

August 24, 2017 by Jodi 3 Comments

“I’m done. What do I do now?” I know you’ve heard this. My go-to answer is almost always “Go read a book.” This is always a great choice, but I also wanted to come up with a way for my students to have some other options. This Interactive Task Folder was the perfect answer.

After creating a Solar Eclipse Lapbook to use with my students, I knew that I needed to make something else like this that we could use on a regular basis. My students took so much ownership in their work and commented over and over again how much fun they had while making it.

This Interactive Task Folder is great for my early finishers. They can pull out their folders and work on sight words, phonics skills, vocabulary words, math facts, and more. These are also great for students to use when you find yourself with a couple of extra minutes before lunch or at the end of the day.

You will need a file folder for each student. Open up each folder and fold the two sides in towards the middle of the folder. Then, print off the pages needed to create the folder. I used Astrobrights colored paper, but you could definitely use white paper and have your students color their pages if they’d like. The front of the task folder includes a cover sheet, a 120’s chart, and a writing idea list.

For the inside, I have included a BOGGLE board that can be edited. This way, you can change out the letters when needed and just have the students glue the new board right on top of the old one. I also had someone give me the idea to put this on with velcro to make it easy to change out.

Students will also be able to practice their math facts and sight words. These pockets are sized to fit a 3×5 index card, or I have included editable math fact and sight word cards. The Reading Response sheets are perfect comprehension practice for students if they read a book in their spare time. I have included 4 different response sheets in this file.

The Making Words activity is a great way to practice spelling and phonics skills. I have included templates to create your own Making Words cards. I have also included a template for you to make your own vocabulary word strips. These can be changed out each week to keep the items fresh. I like to include the vocabulary words from our reading selections for the week.

On the back, I have included a Word List that is helpful for students when they are writing. It makes a great resource for them to use throughout the day.

These folders can take a bit of time to make, but once they are done, they are such a helpful resource. I highly recommend having your students make these instead of you or a parent volunteer. The students really take ownership in their work and are much more likely to use these if they are the ones making them.

What are teachers saying about this product?
“Very helpful; It’s nice to have everything a student needs in one place.”
“A great way to review basics on a daily basis! I love that I can edit parts of it, and can differentiate for all my students!” – Jennifer
“I think this is my favorite lap book ever! Such a useful tool and easy to individualize in my resource room.”

You can check these Interactive Task Folders out by clicking on any of the pictures in this post.

Design Your Perfect Classroom – A Project Based Learning Activity

July 24, 2017 by Jodi Leave a Comment

As teachers, we constantly think about how our classroom is set up. We may move furniture every year or even mid-year to change things around and try something new. But, have you ever tried to ask your students how THEY would like to have their classroom set up? What would their perfect classroom look like? What type of environment would they learn best in? What types of seating would they love to have? I decided to create a Project Based Learning project centered around this idea.

What is Project Based Learning?

Project Based Learning (PBL) is a way of teaching that allows students to work together to investigate, create, and solve problems in a deeper and more meaningful way. PBL addresses learning standards in a more complex way because students are actively involved in the learning process.

Every PBL activity has a question or problem to solve. Then, students work collaboratively together to brainstorm, research, and create a solution to the question or problem.

Just handing instructions to your students to complete a project is NOT Project Based Learning. In PBL, students will use critical thinking skills to brainstorm, research, plan, and execute their project. Then, students will reflect on their project and the entire process of completing the project.

Design Your Perfect Classroom – The Project

You will begin by presenting the students with the Essential Question. You can decide if you would like to do this project with “realistic” or “fantasy” type classrooms. They could even be separate PBL activities.

Students will have individual brainstorming and group brainstorming time built into this project. All of the steps to the project are laid out for you.

I have also included “Think About It” Question cards to really get their minds thinking critically about what would truly make the perfect classroom.

With this Project Based Learning Activity, I really wanted to put a huge focus on cooperative learning. This includes teaching the students to be active listeners. Each student should have the opportunity to be heard throughout the project.

An important stage in the PBL process is research. I have included some resource sheets to help students think about their research when designing their classrooms.

Every step of this project is broken down into manageable portions for your primary students. For the materials, you can provide the materials for your class or you can have them decide as a group which materials to bring from home.

I have provided a variety of recording sheets to fit the diverse needs of your students. Kindergarten students and early 1st grade students will be successful with the drawing reflection sheets and brainstorming pages, where 2nd graders and some 1st graders can use the writing reflection sheets and brainstorming pages.

What are teachers saying about this project?

“This is such a fantastic resource! This will be a perfect way to introduce working in groups right at the beginning of the year while also receiving insight on what students would like to see in our classroom! It will make for a great back to school activity! I really appreciate the step-by-step implementation directions, as well as the resources to even help with expectations. Thanks for a great resource!”

You can check out this Project Based Learning Project by clicking HERE or on any of the pictures.

25 of the Best STEM Toys

5 Ways to Keep Your Students Engaged During the Holiday Season

5 Ways to Keep Your Students Engaged During the Holiday Season

Morning Tubs This Year

Behavior Management Strategies

Interactive Task Folder

Design Your Perfect Classroom – A Project Based Learning Activity

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