Preparation for standardized testing has taken a lot of the fun out of the classroom, but good teachers will find a way to sneak the fun back in. REALLY good teachers will sneak the fun back in and teach some awesome lessons at the same time!

Science teachers frequently say, “I love all the activities you do, like being able to make slime, or make water float in a bottle, but of the 220 activities you taught us, only a handful were allowed in my school curriculum. There just isn’t enough time for science because it’s not on the big test!”

A colleague went to her principal and asked: “If it is not in school time, but in private time, do you mind if I teach science?”? The principal agreed.

On average, an elementary teacher spends about 15 minutes per child per year on his/her birthday, and each year that time grows shorter. That’s why “Cup Cakes for Science” was born. The kids were offered a choice between a traditional party or a science party where the birthday child gets to be helper. After one party, the class was hooked, and they even asked for science parties for their brothers and sisters too.

Children are starving for science. It is sad when a teacher has to find sneaky ways to put science back in the curriculum, but if it means trading cup cakes for science, then that is what a teacher has to do. This teacher with 23 children was able to provide those children with 23 additional learning experiences they have never had before and those experiences were unforgettable.

Plus, the Birthday Boy/Girl got to do all the really awesome stuff! And there were still cup cakes!

Popularity: 11% [?]

We love it when people read our blog, try the cool and funky things we suggest, have tons of fun doing it, and SUCCEED!

Mamacita of Scheiss Weekly tried our Upside-Down Tomatoes and so far, it’s been a BIG HIT out there in southern Indiana.

We might suggest that she find a better place to put that sharp box cutter, though. Watch your fingers, Mamacita!

Popularity: 26% [?]

Want to plant some tomatoes, upside down? It’s easy using our Water Jelly Crystals - a special superabsorbent polymer that absorbs about 150 times its weight in water and releases it to the plant. Over the years, we’ve used Water Jelly Crystals for literally dozens of cool science projects, but this is the first time we’ve seen someone use them for upside down tomatoes.

1. Get a big bucket with a strong, securely-attached handle, a big bag of potting soil, some Water Jelly Crystals, and a healthy tomato plant.
2. Cut a 2-inch hole in the bottom of the bucket. Then flip the bucket over and fill it half-way with soil. Add a layer of water-soaked Water Jelly Crystals, and fill it the rest of the way with soil. Put a lid on the bucket, and flip it over. Plant the tomato through the hole in the bucket’s bottom, and water thoroughly. Let the plant’s roots get established before you turn the bucket upside down and hang it - this takes about a week.
3. Hang the bucket, with the tomato plant on the bottom, from a clothesline pole, or a hook out on the porch or deck, or a tree - any place that gets a lot of direct sunlight, and is strong enough. That big bucket will be pretty heavy.

Your tomatoes will grow like gangbusters, and you can pick fresh tomatoes all summer long without having to deal with a tomato cage or weeds. This method works for any kind of tomato, by the way. Cherry tomatoes are especially fun.

Here are some additional gardening ideas using Water Jelly Crystals.

Many thanks to master gardener Walter Reeves, who can be heard every Saturday morning on News Talk 750 WSB-AM on “The Lawn & Garden Show with Walter Reeves,” for the use of the picture of his upside-down tomatoes.

Popularity: 36% [?]