Planetary Cupcakes

Who says science can’t be delicious?  Not moi!

Sometimes us teachers have to be creative.  You know, how can we call goodies in the classroom educational.  Er, I mean, how can we make learning fun…

So anyways… I made these a couple of years ago (back in my earlier cupcake days) for a bunch of adorable 2nd graders who had stolen my heart and were studying the solar system at the time.

There’s not necessarily a recipe that goes with this post… I used my favorite cupcake recipe, and then tweaked the sizes the best I could to parallel planet sizes.  (Obviously, these aren’t even CLOSE to ‘to scale,’ but I focused more on relative size [you know, Jupiter being the big oaf of a cupcake and Mercury the bitty baby]).  I made a double batch, partly to feed all the hungry mouths, and partly so I would have enough cupcakes to make a whompin’ sun.

I also know Pluto is no longer a ‘planet.’  ’Cept I had a cutie-pie little guy in my class who was outspoken on his love for Pluto.  A little guy who didn’t say much else.  It was almost like he related with that little guy on the outside of the planet clique.  So in his honor, I make a tiny bitty cupcake with a tiny bitty candy representing ‘Pluto’ on it.  And that particular little kiddo just about exploded with joy when he saw that ‘Pluto’ cupcake, in turn melting my old, mushy heart.

Back to the topic at hand.  You’ll also need copious amounts of food coloring.  Yeah, yeah, I know – dyes and badness.  Pish, posh, all is forgiven in the name of learning silly kittens!

Plus, this way licking knives results in awesome (makeupless) pics with a sexy blonde;)

Go get your learning cupcakes on!

Bitty Update

Right now, I am all kinds of absorbing the moment.

It’s a beautiful morning here in upstate NY, clear blue skies and a light breeze and lots of degrees cooler than yesterday. I’m sitting on our balcony, sipping coffee with almond joy creamer (!!), snuggling our 2 impossibly adorable mutts and catching the occasional glimpse of the giant sign in our front yard:

Did I mention I have the most supportive and wonderful friends and family in the universe?

Wonky…

Not sure if it’s just my browser, or if wordpress is on the fritz, but if you’re having trouble viewing any of my posts try clicking on their heading and reading them from that page. I also can’t see my latest post on my homepage, so click here to read it: Homemade Laundry Detergent (if it’s MIA on your browser too!)

I guess it’s just wonky Monday!

Love, Tessah

UPDATE 08/02/2011

Since the wonkiness hadn’t disappeared a couple of weeks later, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  And by that I mean I googled solutions and was almost stumped until I stumped onto this handy article:

http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/layout-issues/

 

The first solution they discuss *totally* cleared up my spacing/viewing issues (once I figured out where ‘Settings’ and ‘Reading’ were located – on the wayyy bottom left-hand menu).  I guess I brought in some oddball code somehow but removing anything that said ‘div’ made the post, and my blog way happier!

PS) my blog symptoms were huge awkward spacing and disappearing posts, with most issues appearing on the top of the page at the ‘most recent’ post.  Plus, my sidebar was mysteriously missing.

Playtime! Additional Professional Issues Resources

“It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.”

- L. F. Bascaglia

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Photo by sargant (cc).

Hi there! If you’ve found your way over here from our Naz Capstone class – fear not, you’re in the right place!  Try to ignore the distracting recipes and surrounding sugar party while you browse these resources (but feel free to check them out afterwards:])!

Inventions!!

“As we look ahead into the next century,

leaders will be those who empower others.”

- Bill Gates

Wanna know who all these fine lookin’ folks are?  Well, you’re in luck!

A darling friend has just cranked out one heck of a resource packet of sorts for your educational pleasure.  En regarde inventions!

So all you teacher friends – eat your hearts out (while giving proper credit of course;])…

Invention Resource Packet

Inventor Collage

Invention Centers

Cheapie Whiteboards

Hi Darlings!

Does it feel like beautiful, glorious, wonderful winter wherever you are?  I’m usually a grump about the season, until the white, glowy beautiful snow sets in and I’m safely tucked away in our cutie house gleefully gazing out the window at the winter wonderland…  Then I really like it:)

Hyperlink Glitches in Powerpoint 2007

First, let me say that PowerPoint2007 is sexy.  It absolutely gets the job done… but here’s the thing – when you’re whippin’ up a Jeopardy game – you really need followed hyperlinks to change color. And change the color theme settings all you want – a glitch in Ppt07 means it ain’t gonna happen.   Long story short – lots of searching (and blaming myself) led me to this semi-helpful thread:

http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/pptcreate/thread/3e6bd92c-bf78-428f-80a0-705b133242fb

And eventually my solution. Tried the hotfix recommended by ‘John SR Wilson’ first. 2 things:

• A ‘hotfix’ is not nearly as exciting as it sounds.
• His didn’t solve my problem….  Hyperlinks changed color – but only after I exited the slideshow- meh.

But the vague instructions to uninstall the Security Update KB 982158 WORKED!  Yup, I’m freakin’ pumped.   Alls ya gotta do is find your way into the control panel and use your tired eyes to find the one labeled Security Update KB 982158, right click and uninstall…  Steps look somethin’ like this:

1. Start
2. Control Panel
3. Programs
4. Programs and Features
5. Installed Updates
6. Uninstall and Update
7. Don’t try to CTRL F or “Search installed updates” just use your handy dandy eyeballs to locate it
8. Right click
9. Uninstall
10. (You’ll have to exit ppt)
11. BAM! Reopen and you got your very own, most lovely, color changin’ hyperlinks!  Eee!

Yup, that’s it – those are my pre-Thanksgiving recipes for success;)  Night kittens!

For the Truffala Trees

Conservation and Preservation

In case you are wondering, there is an amazing plethora of resources out there on conservation and preservation.  In the elementary classroom, this topic beautifully melds social studies, ELA and science.  For your future teaching ease I’ve compiled the following resource center:

Main Concepts:

• Recycling
• Reducing
• Reusing
• Species Interdependence
• Human impact on the natural world

Online Resources:

For Kids:

Green Tips: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/spacescience/green-tips/

The Recyclo-Pedia: http://earth911.com/recycling/

Backyard Conservation: http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/feature/backyard/

A Forward-Thinking Website About Rethinking the Way We Live: http://www.kidsforfuture.net/index.php

A Super Cute (yet meaningful) Cartoon on a More Eco-Friendly Future: http://www.kidsforfuture.net/mysterious/index.html

For Adults:

NYS educator workshops: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1913.html

NYS DEC Green Schools – Recycling/Reducing Program Info: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/41746.html

Keep America Beautiful: http://www.kab.org

Keep America Beautiful Teacher Toolbox: http://www.kab.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pub_toolbox_home

Rochester Museum & Science Center’s

• • Supporting Curriculum: http://www.rmsc.org/ForTeachers/Information/Curriculum/
  • Educator’s Guide (inc. Native American Environments & Cultures) http://www.rmsc.org/Data/Documents/teacher/ed_guide_2010/edu_guide_2010_prek-2_p6-9.pdf

Cumming Nature Center’s School Programs: http://www.rmsc.org/CummingNatureCenter/ForTeachers/

Including:

• • Ecological Communities
  • Intro to Natural Communitites
  • Sensing Nature

Want to Opt Out of Wasteful (and Annoying!) Junk Catalogs? http://www.catalogchoice.org/

How ’bout Passing on Those Redundant (and identity theft encouraging) Pre-approved Credit Offers? https://www.optoutprescreen.com/ (seems sketchy @ 1st – but is legit: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt063.shtm)

My Very Own Senior Paper - http://twebby.wordpress.com/2010/06/02/empathy-and-pro-environmental-behavior/

Primary Resources:

Conservation Photo Searchable Database: http://photogallery.nrcs.usda.gov/

Conservation Photos - Conservation International: http://www.conservation.org/fmg/pages/photos.aspx

Video Compilation (Including speeches, podcasts, newscasts, etc.) : http://environmentvideos.blogspot.com/

Nature Conservancy Press Room: http://www.nature.org/pressroom/

Lesson Plans/ Study Guides

NYS DEC Guided Lessons: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/55169.html

NYS DEC Curriculum Resources: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/44122.html

The Man Who Planted Trees: http://www.ocpac.org/home/Media/education_bus_ins/Man_Who_Planted_Trees_Teacher_Guide.pdf

The Great Kapok Tree : http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/go/page.cgi?p=print_lesson&d=0&ID=337

3rd Grade – Natural Resources: http://teacherlink.ed.usu.edu/tlresources/units/byrnes-literature/alleman.html

Environmental Awareness (The Lorax): http://www.klrn.org/planetpatrol/lesson4.pdf

Elementary Ecosystems: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/08/gk2/ecosystem.html

Forest Features: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/gk2/fayforest.html

Preserving Biodiversity (Barbaloot Suits): http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/06/gk2/molson.html

National Parks/ Human Impact on Environment: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/lessons/14/gk2/parks.html

Ecological Empowerment (includes adult workshop information): http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/4012/preview/

NYS DEC Hudson River: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/36574.html

Literature

Barnes and Noble Kid’s Conservation and Preservation Books: http://browse.barnesandnoble.com/browse/nav.asp?visgrp=children’s&N=704189&Ne=704178+704189

Meaningful environmental books (for adults and children): http://louisville.edu/education/research/centers/environmental-ed/bookRecommendations.pdf

Environmentally Themed Reading List: http://www.eeweek.org/resources/green_reading.htm

Conservation Jeopardy!

My very own creation, a fun and interactive way to learn about (and create awareness of) this critical topic.  Maybe it makes me a nerd but playing this with the fam/friends is a good time! This game is designed for adults, but feel free to modify it to fit your needs.  Please comment if you have questions on playing, use of the file or need an older powerpoint version.

Conservation and Preservation Jeopardy

Peach Peelin’

Turns out wif needed a lesson in peach etiquette.  Apparently, just piling your glorious-farmer’s-market-peaches into a pretty bowl isn’t the ideal storage condition.

Who would’ve thought that peaches touching eachother causes big, fat, uglyface bruises? I’ll spare you the gory photos – let’s just say there were shades and textures new to the human eye.

The saddest part? When wif picked up all those lovely fruits she bookmarked a website on peach storage and preparation.  And didn’t read it ’til 4 days later…

Coulda refrigerated them sooner and saved their little lives – doh.

But alas, wif simply couldn’t bear to throw all of those beauties away.  Only 3 of them (the bottom layer) seemed really unsalvageable, the rest just has spots with the majority of the flesh unharmed.  So, not wanting to lose another peach to the killer that is time, I realized I had to peel those suckers and get ‘em ready for the pie-makin!

And most wonderfully, that little tip about stickin’ ‘em in boiling water for 30 seconds, then fishing ‘em out with a slotted spoon and dunking ‘em in an ice bath.  I pay homage to the genius who came up with that little gem.  It was about the easiest thing I’ve ever done in the kitchen.  And don’t worry – I taste tested (half a dozen of) them just to be sure this process didn’t funkify anything – we’re safe.

It makes me want to go back and peel more peaches just for the heck of it. When the heck of it = my belly.

Right now the peach survivors are chilling in the fridge, sprinkled in lemon juice and (cross your fingers) not turning brown.   I might make the pie tomorrow, but Friday would be better for all parties, excluding the peaches themselves.  Consumption is scheduled to take place on Saturday but I think we all know that a fresh and lovely peach pie simply wouldn’t make it from Thursday til Saturday unscathed by greedy hands.

Is it shameful to admit that hubs doesn’t eat peaches? I’m ashamed for him.  Also for my own greedy hands.

Edible Aquariums

Have a bunch of adorable kiddos that need a science lesson and [healthy snack] on the pronto please and thank you?  How about an edible aquarium!?

I’ve attached my lesson plan… it’s basically teaching a bit about what a ‘model’ is and then encouraging the students to work ‘step by step’ to create their own individual aquaria (like the real one they’ve already built in their classroom) complete with gummy fishies and elodea!  I wish I could post pics of those adorable first graders putting their’s together, the joy in their eyes was entirely captivating but I’m pretty sure that would qualify as illegal or something…  Instead please settle for a fridge shot;)

I based my recipe off of this ‘Cup O Fish’ but we added gravel (raisins) and elodea (plant lookin’ gummies)…  I adapted in for 20 little ones but feel free to tweak to your own needs… The lesson plan itself includes just about everything you could possibly need:)

After they created their aquaria – we stuck ‘em on a cookie sheet and into the fridge to set.  While that happened we made a Venn Diagram as a whole class, discussing the similarities and differences between these yummy treats and the real aquarium they’d created.

Here’s the files themselves…  I’m uploading 2 versions (one for Word 2007 and one for older versions) so just click and download to your hearts desire. And, of course, I’d really appreciate just a tiny little reference if you use my work;)

Word 2007: Lesson Plan, Student Directions, Teacher Notes, and Model Examples

Older Word Versions: Lesson Plan, Student Directions, Teacher Notes and Model Examples