With Earth Day right around the corner, I thought I'd share some resources you can use with your kids with minimal prep. That seems to be my focus lately - minimal prep. That is high on my list of criteria for new resources lately, both for those I create and those I purchase. It's almost May. Need I say more?

So first up I have a freebie from my newest product line that I'm calling One Sheet Wonders. I was actually inspired by children's restaurant menus. They really pack a lot of fun stuff in a small space, so I tried to emulate that with these new printables. Of course I'm not actually using them the same way a restaurant would. I created them to align with the major subjects we teach in science and have been using them for the past couple of months. Before we start a new unit, we explore one of the pages and have some fun with word play, coloring, puzzles, and fun facts. It really gets them interested in what's coming their way and it gives me an idea of how much they know or think they know about our next unit of study. Since we've already learned about matter, science tools, and some of the other topics, I've been using those sheets for morning work. I also get called out of the room quite a bit for quick meetings and these have been perfect to leave with the paraprofessional who is covering my classes for a few minutes. So, if you're interested in the whole set, you can find them here.  I'm currently working on a set for habitats, next up is math concepts and social studies. In the meantime, enjoy this one for Earth Day to try them out with your kids. Click here to download it on TpT.

If you follow me in Instagram, you're probably familiar with my Orange Board Question of the Day. Every day I post a quick little question on this easel. This week I've been using facts from this free set of Earth Day task cards. You can download them here for yourself.

They're fun discussion starters or even writing prompts. Before the orange board appeared, I would use these in those weird little five minutes here and there that are too short to really do anything and too long to do nothing.

I've got one more fun freebie for word work. I have a few of these freebies in my store for different holidays, so my kids are used to them. The good thing is that I get a chorus of "yays" instead of "ughs" when I hand them out. lol! Click here to download this freebie.

Enjoy and Happy Earth Day!

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With Earth Day upon us, this is a great time to share a little about my school. We have a school-wide theme that changes every two years. It used to be every year, but investing in a theme that was a one-shot deal was expensive and a LOT of work! Every two years is bad enough just fine.

So the theme for the past two years has been Get Into a Green Routine! Our school is located right on the edge of the Everglades, so we tend to gravitate toward environmental themes. I really liked this one and I'm kind of sad to see it go, it's pretty universal and I like to build on things instead of starting all over again at square one, but that's just me (apparently).

Let's start with my own room. We've been love-love-lovin' Amy Lemons' Earth Day unit. I pretty much {big pink puffy} heart anything Amy makes. I've told her this before, but my kids actually ask "Is this from Amy Lemons?!" when we start something they think is cute or fun. I get such a kick out of that! They know I'm Sunny Days so they look for that too, but I honestly think it's Lemons in the lead in room 852. These super cute books are from her unit.

I always have my iphone with me when I'm walking the halls so I can snap a picture of something that inspires me or I find share-worthy. Here are some that are great for Earth Day or if you're considering a theme like this for next year. 

This next genius idea comes from our fabulous, amazing PTA. Once a month we have a Trashless Lunch Day where the kids are encouraged to bring lunches that generate the least amount of trash as possible. Look at these great visuals they made for the kids!

Some other goodies from around the school:

As I was putting this post together, I intended to share some of the great freebies I've found for Earth Day, but there are SO many! I decided to host a linky party instead so everyone can link up and find all of the environmental goodness in one easy place.

Feel free to link up below! You can link straight to a free product or to a blog post that has a free activity or even just a fun idea. If you link to your blog, please grab this image at the top of this page and link back here. Can't wait to see all of your awesome ideas!

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Look at you, hopping your little cotton tail down the TBA freebie trail! You've found egg 22!

I hope you enjoy today's freebie from yours truly! I'm assuming that an Easter-themed activity would have to be tucked away until next year at this point, so I'm going with Earth Day! 

Below you'll get a glimpse of my gift to you. It's a set of Earth Day Facts & Fun task cards. These are great for a writing center, buddy talk or even a whole class discussion when you have a few empty minutes to fill. Click on the pic to download!

Our school theme is "Get Into a Green Routine" so I'm surrounded by environmental goodness all day, every day. I've got some great pix and some more Earth Day freebies to share with you this weekend, so be sure to check-in between your Peep eatin', Cadburry Egg havin', Matzah munchin' holiday celebrations!

Time to hop to the next stop. Click on the egg below to see what's in store for you at Me & Marie!

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     There is very strange phenomena I've been witness to for many years. It's called Sticky-Kid-Finger Syndrome. As a teacher, I'm sure you've witnessed it as well. A seemingly clean kid uses a pencil at small group. You go to put it away and it's sticky! A child using the computer is having trouble. You take over the mouse to assist. It's sticky! My favorite is when a child rests their hand on your hand (face, arm, leg, any body part within reach) and it's sticky! They're like little sticky tree frogs hopping all over the room, and at times all over me. I suppose it's one of the joys of childhood, but it's also one of the reasons why I stock up on hand sanitizer and baby wipes. I'm not sure where the stick comes from, and honestly, I really don't want to know. I just know that it exists. So, any activity that promises clean hands and clean desks ranks high on my list.

NO PICTURES! I'm working up a good stick!

     This is a great activity to introduce on Earth Day. I tell my students that they are going to do lots and lots of writing today and since it's Earth Day, we won't be using any paper. Instead we're just going to write right on our desks! Of course half of the kids are confused and half are delighted. I have to be sure to explain the next part fast before my "early finishers" put lead to wood.

     Squirt a generous amount of shaving cream on each desk and let them spread it over the entire desk to create their "paper". Erasing is super easy, just smooth over your desk and start again! Ah, an entire lesson with no broken pencils, no sharpeners, no eraser dust, no complaints about a millimeter of paper touching a neighbor's desk. It really is heavenly. 

     I usually let my students experiment with cursive writing, but you can also have them practice math facts, spelling words, symbols of the periodic table...just about anything. Try using this as a fun alternative to individual white boards now and then.

     After a few minutes, the shaving cream actually starts to disappear on it's own. I usually re-squirt them a few times before we eventually are just left with a room that smells like dad, spectacularly spotless desks and, most importantly, clean hands!!

Whether it's Earth Day or just time to shake things up, bust out some Barbasol and get writing!

Shameless plug: Check out my Basal Break complete literature unit 

on The Lorax. It's on sale for Earth Day!

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