Streets calling

Hey there!!
Have you ever wonder why every kid in the world seems to love rap? Is there a rational reason? Why is it that a kid born in Murcia, for example, feels the calling when he hears rap music playing around? I don't know why it is, but it's a fact so....let's take advance of it!!
A simple class routine like asking the kids what day of the week they are in can be funnier and probably much more profitable if we carry it away differently...for example, through a simple, lively, funny rap. Don't you believe me? Well, my kids certainly love this song, and every day I enter the class they seem to wait eagerly for the moment when I say: "well, dearies...can you tell me what day of the week is today?"

Try this song...it's great to break the icea and start a class. Your kids will certainly enjoy it!!!

The gruffalo's child.

Welcome back!!!!

How have you been doing?  Did you enjoy your holidays? I'm sure you did...I certainly enjoyed mine!!

Well, the new term is almost here, but our kids still have some free days ahead....and we must find a way to entertain them. Sometimes it's difficult, isn't it?

I strongly recommend you this fine story. It's a fine pastime for between - beach - moments. Do you remember the Gruffalo story. Well....it has a little daughter now!

Enjoy, it's really cute!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jPP6asFDgk

Holidays.

I'll be absent for a while, so I guess this is a "see you soon". Promise to get back in September with lots of new ideas and activities for you.
Enjoy the summer!!!!

Tacky tornados.

Science is fun. It is an almost inexhaustible resource when dealing with English classes, for teenagers as well as for kids. I've had the opportunity to verify this fact in my classes, and I have to admit I owe science my better, most profitable and funniest classes ever!!
I've recently started a new lesson about landforms and natural disasters with my secondary kids. We're learning lots (English as well as science facts) and having a great time. Yesterday, I taught them how to create tornados in jars. It's ridiculously easy, and it was really funny how they really got into it.
You just need a jar full of water and some washing up liquid. Just pour some of the washing up liquid into the water, close the jar (tightly) and shake. You'll get an amazing and beautiful tornado.
I swear the glitter and the food colouring was entirely their idea, but I'm glad they asked for it: we got the tackiest and funniest tornados ever.
Enjoy!!

Indoors doesn't mean dull

Hi everyone!!
I know, it's been a long time...I guess working in summer is not so easy!! Anyway, I'll try to keep up!

Summer is a great moment to take your kids outside and play (at the beach, in the park). But, oddly enough, it isn't always a good idea. Sometimes the heat prevents you from going out and you must entertain your kiddies at home. Does it mean you're reduced to crafts and board games? Not at all. There are lots of funny things we can do indoors.

Here's an example. What about a game of hopscotch? If you can make do with some flashcards, it's a great way to revise vocabulary and simple structures. You can put a flashcard in every square of the hopscotch grid. Kids toss their markers, and they have to make a sentences including the word their markers fell onto. If course, they have to hop through the course and get the card, just as in a normal hopscotch game.

As you can't draw the hopscotch grid on the floor if you are indoors, you can try with those foamy big puzzles babies use to learn numbers and letters. 

We tried today at the academy and we had lots of fun. So, why don't you try at home!!

Enjoy it a lot!!

Meet the Gruffalo!!

Hey there!!

It seems summer is finally here!! Kids are enjoying their holidays and maybe they don't want to hear a word about English....or maybe we can find a funny and interesting way to take it to them even these hot, sunny days. The Gruffalo can help you here!!

We are doing a Theatrical Summer Camp at the school I work in. And it's focused on a funny story by Julia Donaldson: The Gruffalo. A theatrical camp is an excellent way to practice a lot of things, in this particular case: animals, parts of the body, colours, simple structures.... It involves reading, listening, speaking, even writing (you may need to adapt the play to some specifical class situation and kids can help you do it). It also involves craft (kids can help you make the costumes and the sets). They learn a lot and they have loads of fun.

But if you think it's too difficult, or too much work, or your class isn't ready for this... anyway, the Gruffalo can be a very valuable friend. There's a lot of staff about it in Internet: the song, the story, flashcards.... You can even download the book!!

Here you are the song and the story about the Gruffalo. I hope you like it as much as we do at school.

Enjoy!!

http://viooz.co/movies/12467-the-gruffalo-2009.html

Learning is delicious

Hey there!!

This is my last creation using story jumper. I hope you like it!!

(http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/10892092/Tasty-spelling-book-)

Smelly ghosts.

Hi there!!
Yesterday, I said goodbye to my 7 years old kids....at least, till September. We decided to do something special for our last class together, and I found this simple, original and hilarious craft. It really did the trick.
It's easy, but slightly messy and, of course, potentially controversial. We have to keep your kids controlled every single moment of the process, but it's so funny and rewarding that it's worth the struggle.
I made my students sat  (on their chairs, of course) in a row. They took off a shoe and a sock. Then, I painted the sole of their feet and they pressed it onto a piece of card placed on the floor in front of them. And....taa-daaa!!! There was a ghost on the card!!
Then, they decorated the card whichever way they wanted...but not before I could clean their feet properly, of course!!
I have to say they behaved really well and we had a lot of fun, even if it was really tiresome. But I'm looking forward to do it again!!
Enjoy!!

Not so fierce as they seem.

Hi there!!
For the last class with my 9 years old kids I chose this funny and simple craft. We had a lot of fun!! You just need some card, plastic plates, google eyes and whatever you want to decorate (stickers, sequins...).
And... lo and behold!! here's the cutest shark family ever. They even made a baby shark!!
Try it at home, it's great.
Enjoy!!

A romantic night

Hey there!!

Today I tried Dvolver moviemaker again (with a different group). This is what they did. It's really funny to see the different things they are interested on depending on their age!!

Enjoy!!

http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-878581

Pablo's problem

Hey there!

Here's my girls first attempt with dvolver moviemaker. It's really good!!

Enjoy!!

http://www.dvolver.com/live/movies-878246

Little John's adventures.

Hey there!!

I've just discovered another amazing teaching tool named Story Jumper. It's like a story maker, but there are lots of different things you can do with it, even maps!! There's no limit to the activities you and your kids can perform and enjoy with this new software.
I've tried a first approach to it writing a little story for (and about) my little nephew. It was really funny, although I must confess I have to improve my  story maker skills a lot. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Have fun!!

(http://www.storyjumper.com/book/index/10849732/Little-John-s-adventures-)

Incy wincy spider climbed the wall again...

Hi there!!

This is the latest (and cutest) craft made by my little kids. As we are studying bugs, we decided to make a lovely and funny spider...just with their hands.

It's really easy: we painted the kids' hands black (just the palm and four fingers, not the thumb) and then they pressed their hands on a white card (first to the right and then to the left). And voilà!! After that, we added googly eyes and they decorated their cards with some little spiders. Parents loved it.

Enjoy!!

Under the sea...

Hi there!!
As I said before, these last weeks before summer are perfect for revision. After all the struggles kids have undergone through the year, it's a great moment to relax, have fun and try to settle all the knew knowledge in their troubled little minds.
My 7 years old have been working about animals lately: forest animals and sea animals. After the cute hedgehogs, it is time to visit some sea animals, to try and remember their difficult names and their parts of the body. That's what we did with the whale and the jellyfish.

The whale is quite easy. You just need to help kids trace the outline of the body and fins (we used gomaeva for that). Then, they can cut the body themselves, as well as paint the cardboard glass we'll used for the head. Once this is done, the rest is very simple. They just have to put it all together, glue a pair of eyes and stick some pipe cleaners through a hole on top of the whale's head (that would be the water they expell through their head holes). And this is it!!

The jellyfish is even easier. Just paint a card plate (any colour would do), glue a pair of eyes and stick some pieces of ribbon under the plate once it's dry. And you get a cute and really convincing jellyfish.

Enjoy!!!

A 3D human body.

Hi there!!
These last days of term are really tricky. Exams are over, kids have more or less finished all units, it's hot, they are nervous and sometimes we don't really know what to do. I have decided to devote these last weeks to do some revision...but in a funny, relaxing and easy way. I just want them to get some profit of these last days before summer holidays!!
My 11 years old groups have been studying the human body lately. So, we decided to make a human body model and use all our new knowledge to get it as real as possible. We even had some real models to trace the outline (it was probably one of the funniest parts). Then, we made the main bones and organs and even a brave attempt of a circulatory system. It was real fun, and we took the chance to remember al we knew about the skeleton and all the organs.
Enjoy!!

Little little....friends?

Hi there!!!
My 3 years old kiddies are studying bugs. It's funny, but they are delighted with this new topic. Nevertheless,  the vocabulary is slightly difficult for them to learn and remember, so last day I decided to help them a little bit with these two videos. We had a great time.
Enjoy!!

A spiky little friend.

Hey there!!

School year is ending, it's hot and kids are nervous and edgy!! Sometimes it's difficult to keep them focused or to control them, so it's the right moment to try some simple and funny crafts. This way, you can revise a lot of vocabulary and help them channel all that energy that's threatening with exploding in the classroom!

As we've been talking about forest animals recently, yesterday we decided to create cute little hedgehogs (a word they found particularly difficult to remember and pronounce....but not anymore!!). It's quite easy and you don't need many things. You just need: some styrofoam balls (not too small, and it's better if they are egg-shaped, but I couldn't find them anywhere), paint and brushes, google eyes and toothpicks (sometimes you can find plastic coloured toothpicks in some Chinese shops, but as I didn't have enough of these for everybody, we mixed them with the traditional ones).

So, first of all you cut the styrofoam balls in two. Then, we paint them.

Once ready, we paint a little nose, and we stick the google eyes and the toothpicks. As I have used mainly plain toothpicks, I've painted them (just for fun, the hedgehog looks lovelier that way).

And this is it. Simple, fast and funny. We had a great time yesterday!!

Enjoy!!

Science is fun II

Hey there!!
As you know, we are trying different experiments related to the human body (in fact, to the five senses, actually). Yesterday, it was the turn of our sense of hearing.
What do our ears perceive? What's sound and how does it work? There's a simple and funny way to answer these questions: the musical bottles.
You need six crystal bottles (same shape and size, if it's possible), water and food colouring (this is just optional, kids like the beautiful colours). You have to fill the bottles with water...but be careful: each bottle has to be filled with a little less water than the previous one. So the first one will be almost full and the last one almost empty. Now, if you want to, you can add some food colouring to the water and shake, so each bottle has a different colour. Kids enjoy this part a lot!
Now that the bottles are ready, tap them with a pencil or a spoon and see what happens. Each one has a different sound!! Why is that? Well, the more water, the slower vibrations travel through it and the lower the sound. It's really cool!! Now, you can try and play some simple songs together (we managed to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Frère Jacques", but the funniest part was when they tried to create their own songs).
Enjoy!!

Science is fun

Hi there!!
We have started a unit about the human body some days ago, and I have to say it is providing my class with a lot of fun and very interesting situations.
Last day, we tried some easy experiments related to the five senses, as well as funny facts about the human body. The kids had the time of their lives, I can tell you!!

First, we created an artificial lung (just to learn the way this organ works). It's quite easy. You will need: a plastic bottle, two balloons, a straw, an elastic rub and play dough. Once you have it all, just follow this simple instructions:
-Cut the bottle and keep the upper part.
-Cut one of the balloon's top, tie a knot at the bottom and then use the balloon to close the base of the piece of bottle you've kept.
-Put the straw inside the other balloon and secure it with the elastic rub (be careful not to strangle the straw).
-Put the balloon inside the bottle (be careful, the balloon mustn't touch the one at the bottom) and close the neck of the bottle with play dough (again, be careful not to strangle the straw).

If everything's ok, when you pull the bottom balloon (which is acting as the diaphragm), the one inside the bottle (the lung) should blow up, and when you let go it should go flat. It really works!!

Another experiment put us in touch with static electricity. It's even easier. You will need: a bowl, some salt, some pepper and a plastic comb.
-Put some salt and pepper in a bowl and mix.
-Rub the comb against your clothes or hair for a while.
-Put the comb over the bowl (close enough).

If everything's ok, the pepper will go up, attracted by the static electricity in the comb, but not the salt. It's really funny, kids love this one.

Enjoy!!

The 7th art was never funnier

Hey there!!
I've just discovered a new learning tool!! It's called Dvolver Moviemaker and it's really cool. You can create your own little movies just choosing the setting, the characters....The only thing for you to do is typing the dialogues. It's really funny!!
It would be really interesting to have your kids trying, I'm sure they could make really good and funny films. I made this little thing to show my kids how to proceed, I can't wait to see their results.
Enjoy!!


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Tic, tac, tic, tac....toe

Hi there!!

We all know it can be really hard to get kids interested in the English class. So, we must be creative and try to get them involved in everything happening in the class.

This was one of my last strategies. We are reading "Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s stone" and sometimes it gets hard or boring (or both). When these things happen, we try a different approach. Last week, I told them to make a giant tic tac toe board (tres en raya in Spanish) using Harry Potter concepts, characters.... They enjoyed the making off, but they enjoyed playing even more. You can seize the chance to make a lot of revision: for example, I tell them to throw a dice and, depending on the number, I ask them a different kind of question (1 is for comparatives, 2 for past simple, 3 for present continuous....). If they guess the answer, they can put a counter in the place they have chosen.

We had a quiet and funny evening playing the Huge Harry Potter Tic Tac Toe. Why don't you try?

Enjoy!!

Dem bones, dem bones....

Hi there!!

There are many different ways to face the same topic. And all of them can be useful ways to learn about a particular topic.
We have started studying the human body this week, following what we could call the "inside out approach". That means we started talking about the skeleton.
How can we get kids interested in bones and joints? Here you are two different ways of using the same stuff (depending on your kids' age):

We have bought a marvellous articulated skeleton. Older kids were told to build it up following different instructions. Once it was ready, we used it as an X-ray to play a doctor's role play (which was a great way to remember the bones' difficult names).

With younger kids, you may prefer to use the skeleton as a prelude for this highly catching song. Believe me, they will love it!! And there's a dance too!!

Every way you do it, I'm sure it will be fun. Enjoy!!