Shaving Cream Fun!

To go with my "end of year - keep them entertained - but we must also clean, teach, and pack the room" posts here is a short one on the joys of shaving cream. Years ago I was teaching in a small town in southern Rhode Island (I now teach in North Eastern Rhode Island - and yes, to us this is almost like being in another state! To everyone else this would translate to "30 minutes away". hahaha)

Anyhow, a teacher in that building opened my eyes to the cleaning power (and wonderful scent) of shaving cream on school desks. There is some magical ingredient in shaving cream that takes just about everything off tables and desks. Now, I'm not recommending this as an every day activity as it can get messy and does take a big chunk of time, but for the end of the year ( or once a week)  it is perfect! 

The OT in my building also uses it as therapy and has the children write in the shaving cream ~ this is an added educational bonus. :-) 

Here is a picture of the kiddo's that were left that last day. It was fun having such a small group but we missed the other students! Looking in the background- my room is so bare! We have to take everything down every year for cleaning.....

I had to cover their faces but under those bubbles are huge smiles! 

Creation Station!

The end of the year can be full of paperwork and organizing, cleaning and surviving the brutally hot classroom. (This year the high temperature in room 4 was 94*. Add one fan and 23 students and it gets pretty hot!)  I try to find activities for the kids that are different than the rest of the year and allow them to be a bit more creative. Although teaching is now more inquiry based, kids don't get to use their creative sides too often.  In September I place a huge Tupperware bin in the coat closet. When we do projects and there are left over scraps we put the pieces in the bin. Sometimes this will mean pom poms or straws and other times I will put old posters in. Parents hear about our "creation station" bin and will send things in they find around the house.  Even the art teacher helps out!

Come June the bin comes out and the kids get their first peek at the goodies inside. CREATION STATION is OPEN!

The kids are so creative and come up with the neatest projects. It truly brings out a different side. My students think it is so funny that I used to make projects like that all the time as a kid. Our mom and dad used to get us refrigerator boxes to cut and create into whatever our brains could imagine.

I learn so much from my students and how they learn through Creation Station. Some students dive right in and start cutting and gluing. Others watch each other to see what they are making. I even have some students that will sit and draw out a design. It really shows their learning styles and personalities. This coming September I am going to have Creation Station on Friday's to get a sneak peek at my students as learners.  I think it will provide me extra insight into their learning styles and help with grouping.

Jump in and Create! 

The design planners!