How full is your bucket?

I was able to teach some philosophy lessons to a year 4 class using the text "How Full is Your Bucket?" The book explains that we all carry invisible buckets in which we keep our feelings and emotions. When our bucket is full, we feel happy. When our bucket is empty, we feel sad and empty.  The book shows students how we can help fill other people's buckets and in doing so, fill our own.

These lessons were a great way to get students talking about issues within the classroom and it helped create a great classroom culture. The students created their own buckets, which we displayed in the classroom, and students were able to fill other student's buckets by leaving nice notes in them. 

The discussions were a great way to extend the concept outside of the classroom and into the playground and at home and the community. I cannot wait to do this unit with my year 4s next year!

Tie-Dyed Popsicle Sticks!

I was about to make some Brain Break sticks for my new class, when I pulled out these boring natural coloured popsicle sticks... I wondered how I could make them more colourful!

I decided to use Food Colouring, as that's all I had in the cupboard and had heard you can just soak them and stain them. I tried to do more of a tie-dye effect. I used 5 plastic bowls for 5 different colours, about 25 drops in each one. I then filled it up with hot water and chucked the sticks in, allowing them to be half covered with the stain. I left them for about 10 minutes, pulled them out and dried them off on paper towel. Then I put the unstained side back in a different colour stain and let it sit. I then dried them off and put the first end back in the original colour, and repeated the process. 

Here's how they turned out!

They are still drying, but I will post my finished Brain Break sticks when they are done!!