Jewel's School Gems by Jewel Pastor | Page 5 of 8 | Where Science and Math resources are brilliant, interactive and fun!

HOW TO TEACH OCEAN ANIMALS FOR KIDS

June 20, 2016 By Jewel Pastor Leave a Comment

What Are Ocean Animals and Why Are They Important?

Eels, sharks, manatees, dolphins, fish and shellfish – all of these are ocean animals. Ocean animals and the habitat they live in (the ocean!) are vitally important to humans. While ocean creatures and their ocean habitats are essential in keeping various ecosystems in balance, many ocean animals also serve as food to billions of humans (and other animals) worldwide. These are just two of the many reasons why learning about and understanding ocean animals are soooooo important!

Ocean Animals for Kids: Why You Should Teach It!

Why teach your students about ocean animals? Well, to begin with, it’s likely part of your school’s curriculum. Second, learning about these animals is tied to helping your students learn about larger environmental issues, like pollution of water sources and water scarcity. These are issues that are constantly part of current events that kids need to be aware of in order to have a well-rounded education. Climate change, the melting of glaciers and icebergs, and the growing list of endangered ocean species are results of problems that affect ocean animals and the environment at large. Also, when you teach your students about ocean animals, you’re providing them with facts and background knowledge that allow them to empathize and care for other creatures in their world. Having the next generation develop a desire to care about the ocean and its animals gives us all the chance for a better world in the future. The question now is: How can we make learning about ocean animals engaging and exciting?

Teaching Kids about Ocean Animals

It can be said that there are as many fun ways to teach about ocean animals as there are animals in the ocean! Pique your students’ curiosity about ocean animals by using an engaging resource like a video or a collection of photos of strange ocean creatures. You could even introduce the topic of ocean animals with a pre-test that’s simple (and easy for you to create!). For example, you can prepare a short PowerPoint with ocean animal photos and a coordinating numbered list for kids to fill out as they watch, so you can see how many ocean animals they can identify. You should introduce key vocabulary that will be used in the unit at the beginning as well. You can use one of the resources in my Free Resource Library for this purpose:

Here are other ways your students can learn about ocean animals:

Read an ocean animal-related book aloud and discuss with the class as you read. Some titles can include: Tara the Sea Turtle, In One Tidepool, and Weird Sea Creatures.
Play ocean related video games.
Make ocean animal crafts.
Have students create a “My Ocean Animals Fact Book” with their own hand-drawn illustrations and facts. These can be displayed as class artwork and are also very impressive (and adorable!) when presented to parents during student-led conferences or parent-teacher events!
Play fun interactive learning games that focus on ocean animals.

Follow up the end of the unit with a post-test that is very similar (if not the same as) the pre-test that was given at the beginning of the unit.
Have a class celebration of how much they’ve learned as they compare pre and post-tests! A popular and easy to organize way to celebrate is by watching a movie on ocean creatures like Finding Nemo or Finding Dory.

Teaching Ocean Animals for Kids with Jewel’s School Gems

I currently offer a fun ocean bundle resource pack, which includes Ocean Animals Bingo, Ocean Animals I Have Who/Has, and Ocean Animals Finger Puppets. This Ocean Animals Bundle will not only save you time, but make learning about underwater animals enjoyable for your students as well.

Want More Teacher Resources for FREE?

Save yourself valuable time and sign up to access my Free Resource Library! Your students will surely enjoy learning about ocean animals and other Science topics with my resources!

What are some ideas that you use to teach your class about ocean animals? Feel free to share and leave a comment below!

7 WAYS TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY FOR TEACHERS DURING SUMMER

June 13, 2016 By Jewel Pastor 1 Comment

Are you looking for ways to make extra money this summer? Well, you’re not alone. Many people believe that, as teachers, we’re all so lucky because we’ve ‘got summers off’. What most people don’t realize is that, even though some of us have our paychecks spread out over the summer, we’re not actually paid for the time that we’re not working, so we often run short on cash during those off-work times.

Another fact about teaching that’s often lost on the general public is that teachers spend a great deal of their own money in their classrooms each year. If you’re like most teachers, you’re eager to find ways to make ends meet, and perhaps earn money for much-needed classroom supplies, during the summer months.

Here are some ways to make extra money for teachers:

1. Offer house-painting services: This is perfect for those who are not computer fans or who are looking to stay off the computers in the summer! Many teachers I know have invested in house-painting supplies during their first summer off from teaching. Now they’re able to use that equipment every year to paint people’s houses, either inside or out. The money is decent and there’s lots of exercise!

2. Open an Etsy store: Channel your creative inner artist and make some items to sell on Etsy. You never know if a hobby or craft, or something you enjoy collecting, could be a big hit and bring in lots of cash!

3. Do temp work: Companies that specialize in hiring temporary workers love to see teachers walk in the door during the summer! If you’re looking for work in the great outdoors, or in cool air-conditioned comfort, chances are a local temp agency has a spot just for you!

4. Set up a summer camp: Many teachers set up day-camps at their school location for the subjects they love to teach. Whether it’s Sports, STEM, Drama, or Art (or whatever you see a need for), set up a camp for it! Many parents need to find ways to keep their kids busy during the summer months and are more than happy to pay teachers for this service. Just make sure to check all rules and regulations associated with setting up one.

5. Buy and sell items from thrift stores: Believe it or not, many teachers make money from thrift stores. They scour the second-hand shops in their area for designer clothes or used books that carry a good cash value. Then they sell them online at sites like eBay or Amazon. With the advent of smartphones, it’s easy to look up the value of items and what they might sell for as you’re browsing the thrift stores.

6. Teach English online: If you’re tech-savvy and great at teaching English, consider being an online English teacher. The challenge lies in finding a reputable online school or finding a client, but once you’ve found one, it’s really easy. Most online teachers use Skype for small-scale teaching or platforms with virtual classrooms for larger groups. For teaching resources, they don’t have to reinvent the wheel as there are several websites that offer free and paid resources that they can use.

7. Sign up to become a Teachers Pay Teachers seller: This summer, why not create your own Teachers Pay Teachers store? You’ve already got a great inventory of your own lessons—gather the most engaging and creative ones and ‘package them’ for sale on TpT. If you like them, it’s likely that another teacher will find them useful as well! Click HERE to get you started.

Click the image above to become a Jewel’s School Gems subscriber and grab this FREE fraction worksheet plus answer key. You can use this resource for summer camp or when tutoring! You will also have immediate access to my growing library of free resources and receive my newsletter with updates, bonuses, and inspiration just for you when you sign up!

You can also check out this post featured on Chocolate for the Teacher!

What are some ways that you’ve seen teachers make money during their summer vacation time? Please leave your ideas in the comments below!

10 MATH AND SCIENCE ACTIVITIES TO PREVENT THE SUMMER SLIDE

June 10, 2016 By Jewel Pastor 2 Comments

What exactly does the term “summer slide” mean? Unfortunately, it’s not a playground equipment that you can buy for your students’ or own kids’ enjoyment during summer. Summer slide actually refers to the loss of academic skills – especially math and literacy skills – that occurs during summer break.

We hear again and again how kids are encouraged to read a lot of books or engage in summer activities linked to reading during summer. However, Math and Science should also be given the attention they deserve.

According to studies, Math skills tend to decline more during summer, since kids tend to be more likely occupied with reading tasks. Science is also pushed aside with video games and other areas of interests being pursued more.

Luckily, there are many Math and Science activities that can be done over the summer break to make sure kids do more than the usual reading of books. As a teacher, you can recommend these activities to parents or do them with your own kids. Here are 10 Math and Science activities that you can do to help prevent summer slide in children:

Math Summer Activities for Kids

1. Play games. Math games don’t only provide hours of fun, but also help prevent the dreaded summer slide. You might be surprised that something as simple as multiplication and division flashcards can help keep math skills sharp. Card games like this Multiplication and Division I Have/Who Has Game also provide math practice. Good old board games like Monopoly can assist in keeping math skills fresh as well, when you let kids acts as the banker.

2. Cook or bake. Summer is the perfect time to practice math skills through cooking or baking with children. Aside from having to read and follow directions, young kids can exercise number recognition while older ones can practice ratio and proportion with ingredients.

3. Watch sports. Watching a game of soccer, football or basketball live or just on television can help kids fight the summer slide. Children can be given piece of paper and a pen, and asked to calculate statistics along with the experts.

4. Set up a lemonade stand. Setting up a lemonade stand might sound simple, but helping children run a drinks stand also means helping boost math skills. Kids will be measuring ingredients and managing money while having fun!

5. Play travel games. Families usually do some traveling during summer. It can be a great opportunity to practice math skills. Kids can count vehicles of a particular color, round the prices of gas, or add up all the numbers on license plates.

Science Summer Activities for Kids

6. Plant a garden. Starting a garden and watching plants grow are truly exciting for kids. They can keep a record of the growth of specific plants by drawing what the plants look like on specific number of days and even write down their observations. They can also view presentations and do crafts to enrich their knowledge about plants.

Related: How to Teach Plants for Kids

7. Go camping. What better way to interact with nature than while camping! Kids will have a lot of opportunities to observe the world around them during this time. Aside from giving everyone in the family some screen time off, camping also provides a chance for parents and children to discuss the importance of taking care of Mother Nature.

8. Visit the zoo. A visit to the zoo can surely pique children’s interest on animals and motivate them to learn more about animal life. After a family field trip to the zoo, children can do some research on their favorite animals or create crafts on their life cycles.

9. Build a robot. Robotics has been quite popular for some time now that so many cool and kid-friendly robot projects for kids are available on the Internet. Tutorials outline the materials needed and even the step-by-step instructions to be followed on how to construct robots ranging from the simplest to the most complex ones.

10. Do science experiments and STEM challenges. Of course, if you want to develop scientific skills and stop summer slide in children during summer, engage them with science experiments and STEM challenges! Kids will surely love experimenting with ice, bubbles, cream, and other items that can be found mostly in the house. They will also enjoy building various contraptions using recyclable materials. Just search for summer science experiments or summer STEM challenges on the Internet and you’ll be blown away by the number of awesome activities that kids can do easily and inexpensively at home! Children will understand the scientific method and the engineering design process better with such activities, too.

It’s so tempting to just let the kids play all they want since it’s the summer break. Unfortunately, summer slide is a reality for many kids. A balance of activities that children already love – such as playing computer games, skateboarding, or shopping – and activities related to reading, Math and Science will help kids to have a summer that is worth remembering. It’s one with no summer slide on it for sure!

Monitoring the weather, doing word searches, and writing poems can also be great summer activities to combat the summer slide! Click the image below to become a Jewel’s School Gems subscriber and grab these free weather sheets that are a part of my weather bundle on TpT. You will also have immediate access to my Growing Library of Free Resources and receive my newsletter with updates, bonuses, and inspiration just for you!

Which Math or Science activities will you try with kids to avoid the summer slide? Tell us in the comments!

3 BENEFITS OF COLOR BY NUMBER PAGES

May 27, 2016 By Jewel Pastor Leave a Comment

Have you ever tried using color by number worksheets in the classroom? If you have, then I bet you’ll agree that these pages provide a lot of fun for children of all ages the whole year round.

Aside from providing hours of enjoyment for your kiddos, here are three other benefits of using color by number worksheets:

1. Children are trained to follow instructions. Let’s face it; even adults have a hard time following instructions. I think this only means that training children early to follow directions, even for something as simple as color by number worksheets, surely has its benefits. Aside from learning the importance of following instructions to come up with a correctly colored picture, children are trained to function better at home and in school, as well as taught to accomplish other tasks faster and more effectively.

2. Children learn the meaning of symbols. Color by number worksheets are fantastic in helping children understand that symbols have meaning. Not only do children get better at color recognition when using color by number pages, children also learn that numbers can be used to represent other things and aren’t only just for counting. Later on, children will be able to grasp that different objects in their surroundings can actually be used as a symbol for other things and have other meanings. It’s just undeniable that symbolic understanding is important to function well in the society we live in.

3. Children see the benefit of finishing what they have started. This might sound so simple, but again, many children grow up not to know that it’s important to see things through to the end. In my experience, most children love finishing color by number worksheets since they would like to see what the picture would look like if colored entirely. According to research, it takes an average of two months to create a habit. Imagine using color by number worksheets in your classroom just to develop the skill of seeing things through to the end the whole year. That’s one life skill that your students will be able to benefit from long after they have left your classroom.

Using Color by Number Worksheets from Jewel’s School Gems

I currently offer several color by number worksheets in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. I love creating color by number worksheets for different themes and holidays. Below are a couple of feedback from awesome teachers.

For my Fire Safety color by number worksheets, here’s what Ashley had to say:

“My son has loved coloring these! He saw them on Pinterest and really wanted them, and I’m so happy we got them. He has been really excited to do one each day. :)”

For my Apple ones, here’s what Melanie said:

“Just right for my Kinder’s first experience with coloring by number and perfect for our apple theme.”

Check out all my color by number worksheets HERE today.

Want More Teacher Resources for FREE?

Save yourself valuable time and sign up to access my Free Resource Library for very busy teachers! One of the freebies you will have immediate access to are the free color by number worksheets below, which are a part of my summer bundle. Just click on the image below to sign up and grab them!

Can you think of other benefits of using color by number worksheets? Tell us in the comments below!

You can also check out this post featured on the TpT blog!

TOP 10 WAYS TO DE-STRESS FOR TEACHERS: PART 2

May 16, 2016 By Jewel Pastor 15 Comments

Here is Part 2 of my list on the Top 10 Ways to De-stress for Teachers! Happy reading!

Read Part 1 here.

6. Grab a cup of coffee or reach for that snack. I know many will say that food shouldn’t really be used to deal with stress, but let’s keep it real here. Who doesn’t love having that occasional treat to feel better, especially after a long tiring day?! Certainly NOT these educators:

Judith M Darling: Before I retired in Alaska, I would head for Vagabond Blues coffee shop in Palmer, get a caramel latte, sit by a big window and relax while looking at the mountains and watching people walk by. I miss those days very much.

Sara E.: A nice hot cup of tea and some peace and quiet to work on my TpT products before my kids come home. A Coke Zero, a bowl of popcorn and some ‘fixer upper’ are also a fave.

Sheena Lannin: Curl up on the couch with a good book and chocolate! Or red wine and chocolate! Or a cuppa and chocolate! Notice a theme here?

Karen Walkup Hester: I’ve gotten in the habit of stopping at Sonic and getting an ice cream cone to enjoy on the way home. Probably not the healthiest, but I sure look forward to it!

7. Enjoy music. The calming power of music is well-known. It can relax the mind, absorb attention and provide much-needed distraction. These teachers can attest to the soothing power of music:

Chrissy Webster Hutzel: I play clarinet, tuba, and sax with a bunch of retirees in an accordion band. We rehearse weekly and perform two to three times a month at nursing homes, retirement homes, churches, and Oktoberfest celebrations. So much fun!

Joya Crawford: My favorite thing to do is turn up the music on my drive home and sing along as loud as I can… Gets all the stress out! My first couple years of teaching I had a mix tape I listened to every day on the way home. Yeah I just admitted I’m old…

Keri Powers-Pye: My 2-year-old and I turn on the Baby Einstein Pandora station and dance like fools around the living room! Our personal favorite is the reggae version of Five Little Monkeys.

Sally Bondelevitch DeCost: I have a cup of tea, turn on mindless TV, and surf the net then, once a week, I sing with my singing group. Singing always makes me feel better, and I love the people in my group!

Jeanine Arlotta Schneider: I love listening to the spa station! Relaxing music always helps me!

Chris: Playing guitar and having a beer. Then, crash.

8. Read a good book. Reading can actually help reduce stress faster than other methods. According to a research, just six minutes of reading can help reduce stress levels by more than two thirds. Take it from these teachers:

Crystal Lee Gillespie: I like to read novels. Getting caught up in a good book takes my mind off a stressful day. I especially love being able to sit outside and read when the weather cooperates.

Najda Zada: This one’s a tad boring, but most often I’d like to give myself a “me” time by reading a book or scrolling through my phone with a cup of tea.

Joey Pastor: I go to the gym, read a good book and sleep!

Stacey Carlson: A good book, a cup of tea, and a few yummy treats.

9. Walk or play with a pet. While having human friends to talk to and do fun activities with is awesome, having a pet is also actually quite beneficial. Pets are great stress relievers. Owning a dog, for example, is found to reduce blood pressure, boost feel-good chemicals in the brain, and decrease stress hormones. These teachers prove the fabulous benefits of having a dog:

Michelle Stern: Spending time outside with my dog is relaxing and soothing.

Tracy Willis: Hiking trails with my dog, Gracie.

Christine Barnett: I usually take 10 minutes when I get home to sit and cuddle with my dog! Pets are such great stress reducers. Just 10 minutes with her calms me down!

Lori Mcdonald: I walk my dogs who are so happy to see me, they can’t get to me fast enough. They love me unconditionally.

10. Do what makes you happy! At the end of the day, I believe it’s important that we do whatever makes our hearts sing. I think we should do whatever makes us forget the stresses of the day (as long as it’s not doing drugs, of course! LOL!). You might get some ideas from these teachers:

Karen Crawford: I love to dive into a Dollar Store or Target Dollar Spot (Retail Therapy). Yahoo!

Kelly Rivett: A hot bubble bath with candles flickering and a movie going on the ipad. Or simple window shopping trip to the mall.

Jackie Clarke: After the children have left, I make a cup of tea and reflect on the day as I plan for the next.

Meghan McLane Mathis: Lately, I’ve been focusing on trying to accomplish something else UNRELATED so I can get that feeling of successful accomplishment that I didn’t get in class that day. Sometimes I’ll clean up the kitchen, mow the lawn, pull some weeds, fold the pile of laundry that’s been sitting in the laundry room since the weekend before, or even vacuum a room or two. It isn’t “fun,” but a lot of time I can’t have “fun” yet because I’m still stewing over what happened at school. By getting SOMETHING accomplished, my brain can relax a bit. Maybe today was a mess in class…but my stovetop is spotless!!! From there, I can do something more enjoyable. Sit on the back porch and read a book, watch a dumb TV show, play with my kids, etc.

Jennifer Booker Smith: I knit, and a teacher-heavy Stitch n B* group has kept us all sane, and probably made us better teachers. It gives us a “safe” place to vent and we get useful feedback for the issues causing us stress. (“Safe” because we don’t work together.)

Alisha Hughes: This year back at full time work has been out of control! (As I take deep breaths) I actually scooter part way home each day to catch the ferry. Great way to destress and even better when there is a sunset. I also play PS4 or puzzle games which takes my mind completely off work. A glass of red wine helps, too.

Personally, going to the mall, eating some sushi, and buying toys and clothes for my toddler relax me. Some days, it’s just taking a walk around our farm, feeding the chickens, watering the plants, or chasing my daughter in her mini-playground. I also enjoy meditating, reading my Bible, and praying.

There you have it, my teacher-friend! I hope you got some ideas to make your days more relaxing and less stressful! Thanks again to the wonderful teacherpreneurs who shared their de-stressing tips. Just click on their names to be taken to their TpT stores.

Now, to add some more feel-good chemicals to your brain, let’s do a GIVEAWAY!

Enter the giveaway through the Rafflecopter app for a chance to win a $25 TeachersPayTeachers gift certificate! This is also to celebrate my second TpT anniversary tomorrow (such a blessing!). The winner will be announced on my birthday on the 23^rd of May.

Happy de-stressing and I hope you win!

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