Wacky Links: A Maker Space MUST!

I could not have been more excited to see this box on my front porch!!!

You guys, my students and I have gone WACKY for Wacky Links!  These DIY kits are the perfect addition to any maker-space, STEM bin, art extension, or for just plain play.

Wacky Links encourage kids to use their imagination and explore their creative side.  What parent and teacher doesn't want more of that in every child's life?!?!  The DIY kits provide open ended fun for every kiddo!

The kits are comprised of colorful tubes that you can cut, bend, and connect to an assortment of pronged charms.  The tubes are way more durable that I was expecting.  They are designed to create a bit of suction onto the prongs making it like a Chinese Finger Trap.  This is perfect so your kiddos don't have to worry about their creations falling apart.
My students loved diving into the kits and watching some of the Wacky Links YouTube videos for inspiration.

I let them play and explore and then gave them the task of creating a guitar with the Rock n' Roll Kit.  They definitely struggled at first, but that was the fun of it.   The conversations and problem solving that took place were a teacher's dream!

These have become a staple during our morning STEM bins, early finisher time, and Friday STEM builds.

You can find Wacky Links in specialty toy stores, on Amazon, and Walmart.com.  Lucky for you, I am gifting one of my readers two sets.  To enter, comment below with your answer to the following question, don't forget to include your email address:
Why is creative play important for ALL children?

**One random winner will be chosen on Saturday, January 28, 2017, at 12:00pm PST.  The winner will be notified by email and announced here.  CONGRATULATIONS, Sara!  I sent you an email with all the details.  If you didn't win, don't fret!  You can grab Wacky Links at the links I listed above. **

Have you tried Wacky Links?  I would love to hear from you; comment below.

Hooray For Hat! and a STEAM Extension

Trying to find that glimmer of happiness can be tricky on days when you are just feeling grumpy.  In Hooray For Hat!, by Brian Won, Elephant and his friends teach us that a simple gift can turn that frown upside down.

This picture book shows readers that the act of generosity can brighten a person's spirits.  

I wanted to build an extension to this fabulous story, because, well I just LOVE it!  Why not build multi-layer hats like the book?!?!

Click on the picture of little man wearing his Hooray For Hat! or follow this link.  I have a template as well as a STEAM extension for you.

This activity can be done by individual kiddos or in a small group.
What is your favorite picture book for teaching kiddos the importance of being kind to our friends?

STEM Resource Gold Mine

As a teacher, I am always looking for engaging, meaningful, and let's be honest, free resources. Well friends, I found a great one...
STEMRead.com
This site is developed by Northern Illinois University and they did a great job!  The "books" tab is my go to.  There are recommended titles for elementary, middle, and high school classes.  But, they didn't stop there; each book also has extensions and lesson plans that support NGSS!  What?!?!  Jackpot!!!
Just check out the books they recommend for my kiddos:

Plus, like I mentioned, each of these books has extensions and teaching tools.  All you have to do is click on the book.
Woohoo for a great find!!!
Do you have a favorite teacher resource?  I would love to know about it.  Leave a link or title in the comments below.

Coding with OneSpot Erasers

We all know that the OneSpot at Target is always filled with these fun erasers, and as a teacher it is difficult to pass them up.  There is always something you can use them for!  I love using them as a math manipulative, but this friends, this I am excited about!

How about block coding with them?!?!
The arrows make the perfect movement codes and the stars can be used for any movement your kiddos choose.  You can also add in other erasers for a variety of movements.

Little man is obsessed with DinoTrux right now, so we made a code for his Reptool to eat all the ore on its way back to the garage.

You can grab this coding template here.  There are two templates available, one lets you add additional codes.

Do you code with your kiddos, or have a love for the OneSpot erasers?  Leave me a comment below, I would love to hear from you!!!