Monday Made It: Mason Jars

I look forward to Mondays and seeing everyone's Monday Made It's in the summer. I get so many good ideas from all of you bloggers. My list of DIY projects grows and grows every Monday!

This is pretty pathetic on my part, but I'm going to share something my mom made that I thought was cute because.....wellllll I have done nothing that is share worthy!

My mom has a slight obsession with Mason jars, so when her friend asked her to help make some table decorations for her wedding reception, my mom was excited to get out the Mason jars!

She wrapped the jars with a burlap fabric, tied a bow around, and then added a tag with cute little saying at the top. Simple but cute :)

What cute things have you made lately? Link up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics!

Sunday Smorgasbord: Wedding Weekend!

I am linking up with Michelle at Fabulous in First for her Sunday Smorgasboard linky for the first time! Just a warning....this post is not educational at all, I just wanted an excuse to post some pics from my fun weekend!

My cousin Matt got married this weekend to his beautiful bride, Andrea. I have been looking forward to their wedding for months! I love it when the whole family is able to get together. My brother and cousin even made their way back from California.The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time! I can't tell you the last time I danced so hard! We even got a surprise visit from Tommy Hawk, the Blackhawk's mascot. 

In lieu of gifts Matt and Andrea asked for donations to Cal's Angels foundation. I was really touched by this. How many young married couples do you know that choose to not register for gifts, but instead ask for support towards a charity that has a lot of meaning to them?? What a cool couple! Cal's Angels is a foundation that helps grant wishes for children battling cancer. If you want to learn more about it click on the picture below. 

And now for some pictures from the wedding! 

The cousins!

Party bus!

My sis and I with Tommy!

My dad and grandma :)

Mama Bear and Papa Bear <3

Me and my siblings!

Spark Student Motivation: Rock Cycle Cookies

It has been a LONG time since I have linked up with Head Over Heels for Teaching's Spark Student Motivation linky, but now that I'm on summer break I'm excited to have time to share some of the activities we did towards the end of the year!

In college I took a geology class to get my science endorsement and as boring as I thought it would be, I was totally wrong. The professor was this crazy, old guy and he actually made learning about boring rocks pretty entertaining. So because of him I now enjoy teaching our rock unit!

I was lucky enough to get a bunch of rock samples thanks to Donor's Choose. I wish I had pictures to show you, but I don't :(. The students really enjoyed getting to look at samples of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks as they learned how each are formed. I also made up a silly rock song that goes to the tune of  "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, which the kids always enjoy singing. Maybe one of these years I will actually record my students singing it to share with you all so you can teach it your students too!

The best part of our rock unit this year came from a student! One of my student's grandmas used to be a teacher and she always made rock cookies for her students and asked if she could make them for us! This was the coolest thing! She brought us cookies to represent sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. 

I'm sorry these pictures are so bad but the sedimentary "rock" is a layered rice crispy treat... one layer of Fruity Pebbles, one layer of a marshmallow cream, and then one layer of regular Rice Crispies. The igneous rock is a fudge with some different crystal type sprinkles, and the metamorphic rock is a brownie with different candy pieces mixed up in it. The students were given tooth picks and went to town dissecting their cookies to figure out which cookie represented each type of rock. The students LOVED this activity and it showed that they really did understand how each type of rock is formed. 

What activities do you use to motivate your students? Link up with Joanne at Head Over Heels for Teaching! 

Pin It To Win It Winner!

And the winner of my "I Have, Who Has" science game bundle is......Chelsea M. Chelsea if you can leave me a comment with your email address, I will email you your prize! 

For those of you who did not win, I am putting my game bundle on sale for half off today only! Click on the picture below to head to my TpT store if you are interested!

"I Have, Who Has" Science Games-Pin it to Win it!

I finally finished updating all of my "I Have, Who Has" Science Games! My students love these games and they are perfect for reviewing before a test. I'm doing a pin it to win it for this set of games and will choose a winner Sunday evening. All you need to do is click on the image to repin the product. Then leave a comment below with the link!

Have a great weekend!

Technology Thursday-Geography Drive USA

I am linking up today with the Teaching Trio for their Technology Thursday linky party to share a fun new app with you! 

I admit that I am about as cheap as they come and wouldn't normally spend money to download an app, but I splurged and spent $1.99 on this one. It was well worth it! 

If you teach 4th grade, you most likely spend a lot of time learning about the 50 states. This is the perfect review game for learning the states and capitals and just general information about each of the states. Students will take a drive across the United States stopping at each state to answer questions. When you answer enough questions correctly about the state, you "unlock" that state. The goal is to unlock all of the states. This game will keep students busy for a loooongggg time! The great graphics and music will definitely keep the kids engaged!

Here are some pics from the game!

What are some of your favorite educational apps?

Monday Meet Me!

I love all of the fun linky parties in the summer! I'm starting my second week of summer break and am finally feeling well enough to be outside and enjoy it! I had to miss the last day of school due to my stupid mono so I finally went to school today to clean everything up. I had all sorts of goodies left on my desk from my students! I was so sad though to see flowers that a student had left completely dead :(. Someone also left me a gift certificate for a mani/pedi! How cool is that! Unfortunately, I have no idea who it is from! 

Anyways, I am linking up today with The Teaching Tribune for their Monday Meet Me link up!