Rocks and Rock Buddies

A few weeks ago we finished up a rock unit in science. Of course, teaching rocks to 1st graders was WAAAYYYY different than teaching rocks to 4th graders, like I am used to! Rocks is one of my favorite areas of science, so it was fun, nonetheless.

For one activity, we asked students to bring in rocks so we could sort, describe, classify, and observe them. (The kids thought that was the coolest homework assignment ever!) After we had some fun with the rocks, we used the rocks to make a classroom Rock Museum. Next year, I think we will do a little more with the Rock Museum because we kept it pretty simple this year. After the exploration activities with the rocks, the students were instructed to write a sentence about their rock(s) so others will have some information, just like at a real museum.

While we were studying rocks in science, we were also learning how to write stories that have a beginning, middle, and end in writing. My 1st grade team and I decided to extend/solidify learning by coming up with a special project to make things a tad more exciting. We decided to bring in rock buddies!! The students were told about the Rock King who chose our class (out of alllll of the classes in the United States, mind you!) to host some rock buddies for a few days. The buddies came and hung out with us for about two days and it was a B-L-A-S-T!!

Here they are! They were so excited to meet them!

Of course, we just had to give them makeovers.

The kids cared for the buddies, documenting some of the fun times along the way. At the end, we were able to turn the adventure into a BME story! I was so impressed/entertained to watch the kids care for the buddies! They REALLY embraced the challenge of the activity and cared for the rocks like they were little babies. They even spoke for the rocks, let the rocks write (hilarious) and listened to the rocks read!

Just look at those buddies write!

And look at these happy faces!!! (haha, couldn't resist):

I also made a journal for the kids to use for the activity and for what we were studying in science. A few nights ago I went back and spruced it up so I could make it available to you!

You can check it out in either store by clicking on a link:

And since this is a new product, you can get 15% off, just like my other new product promotion. Hurry, because the sale ends tonight at 11:59 p.m.!!

Thanks for hopping over! Hope you had a merry Christmas!! :)