I will be posting the lesson that goes with these cute projects soon- so check back! The complete lesson will be up within a week.

These are model neurons. They are quick and easy to make, kids love them, and the learning is invaluable! From Dendrites to the axon terminal, kids will learn the complete anatomy of the brain cell!

I love Open House. But I hate the it represents the end to a great year. Here is a snap shot of my room! What a night...

Apologies in advance for spelling and grammar errors. I'm typing via iPhone on the road! In fact... Most of this blog was created on my iPhone during a road trip. :)

I'm not a fan of the "Open House Bootcamp" approach to the night- you know- a frantic month of project making to ooh and aaw over- Art on steroids. We all know a teacher or two who does it. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it- the product is amazing!! It's just not my style....


My class is in charge of Open H
ouse- they decide what they want up and where- they even make mini commercials explaining each section of the room. With 5 days left to go, the room is looking good- but today they decided there wasn't enough science stuff saved over the year to display.

Science experiments are not easy to keep hidden away in a file for 6 months, so this little project is a year in review of sorts- Science experiments in room 15.

Each of the four panels displays one experiment- I had the kids brainstorm experiments from Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science. They were instructed to choose one from each- the 4th panel is free choice.

After writing a short paragraph explaining the experiment and what was learned, they illustrated it- in 3d! The art piece was 100% kid - and I love it. The writing piece makes it more academic. And it's a twofer- writing skills and science review! Who could ask for anything more?

I only took a few pictures and missed some of my favorites (one kid made a series curcuit out of paper so realistic that other kids asked where he got the miniature battery from) but- these get the point across.

These are all works in progress but- I think it gives a good picture of where this is going.

Keeping up with a blog this time of year has proven to be difficult. I wanted to do a quick post on my latest class project! More to come later.... Perhaps tomorrow via my iPhone mid-road trip.

A rough draft. (Shown above)

Final Drafts!

I usually pair this activity with a quick lesson related to Japan, show some authentic Japanese Art, and of course teach the kids some basic Japanese!