Farley Reviews The James Dyson Foundation Ideas Box

WOW-ZA
I haven't blogged in forever… so you know this has to be good!!!
I was contacted by DYSON…
yes the DYSON… ya know the people that make the most incredible vacuums!!!
They really SUCK!!! *wink*
well after getting over that shock and calling my mom to brag
and then my husband
yes in that order because
mom gets super girly excited with me
and hubs is like…. oh cool
so after getting over the initial shock that THE DYSON PEOPLE contacted me!!!
me… little ole Farley…
I quickly agreed to try out one of their Ideas Box
and just an FYI…

I have been given compensation for this review…
however the amazing Ideas Box that I get to keep
along with the DYSON Air Multiplier Fan
has not swayed me in my opinion!!!
this BOX rocks

A little background on this Ideas Box
it is brought to us from the James Dyson Foundation
they are "dedicated to encouraging young people to think differently, make mistakes, invent and realize their engineering potential."

The Ideas Box is loaned to a classroom for 4 weeks and is completely free.
Did you hear read that… FREE!!!
It is better suited for 4th-6th grade BUT can be adapted for any grade.
It comes delivered in a giant box and contains EVERYTHING you need to challenge your kiddos to improve everyday objects.

The Ideas Box comes with a Teacher's Guide, CD, and posters… OH and let's NOT forget
the FAN…DYSON AIR MULTIPLIER…
this fan is the catalyst to the box…
it is what gets the kids thinking
they are completely in awe of the fan and its bladeless technology.

If you want to do what I did… I placed the fan out a few days before the activity began
behind my desk
out of their reach
and let them just simmer in their curiosity!!!
genius I tell ya!!!
their questioning was hilarious and higher order…
this is why STEM activities are so important in the classroom.

When I started the activities…
I followed the Teacher's Guide… which is super easy to follow
we worked our way through each of the main sections using the CD and the posters
to give us support in our understanding and thinking
There are 5 sections...
1- What is a design engineer?
      * here you are introduced to DYSON himself in a very cool video on the provided CD
2- Design Detectives
      * here the kids are shown (on the cd) the developing of the Air Multiplier… they loved this part
3- Design
     * here is where their little brains go into action…
        - I split the kids into groups of 2 - 4 and this is where they got to sketch out their new ideas for
          ordinary objects

4- BUILD
     * we took full advantage of our CARDBOARD CHALLENGE DAY to build our prototypes
         - we asked for donations of cardboard and all sorts of tape a few weeks in advance and we had
            plenty… I wanted to make sure their imaginations were not limited by lack of supplies

 and now the finished products...

5 - Test and Evaluate
      * many of our inventors went above and beyond in their inventions…
         as you saw above…. so this needed to be adapted
         and we discussed what the next step would be to get to the final step… one kiddo reminded us
         that Mr. Dyson had over 1,000 attempts at perfecting his fan…touché kid touché

I could not be a luckier teacher to have been given this opportunity!!!
The Ideas Box was so inspiring to my students and was such an unforgettable experience…
they were able to SHOWCASE their inventions to the younger grades and were able to explain how their new take on the ordinary was better… it was MAGICAL!!!  It just proves that STEM is an important part of education.  The smiles on their faces as they explained their new inventions, and the COOLS and OOHs and AWWWWS from the little kids made their day!!!

Now I know you are wanting to try this box in your own classroom…
and you are thinking
COME ON FARLEY give my the link already…
OK OK…
so here it goes…
if you want to try the Ideas Box out in your class… for FREE… for 4 weeks…..
all you have to do is visit….
http://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/resources/ideas-box/

 Thanks again to The James Dyson Foundation for contacting me!!!
I am so grateful my kiddos were given this opportunity… and not to mention our HOT Texas classroom totally LOVES the Air Multiplier!!!

The Final Currently… May 2016

Hey Hey Hey it is May!!!

This May holds a lot of big changes for me...
I am turning the BIG 4-OH on the 8th
and I am NOT
I repeat NOT taking it well…
NOT AT ALL
for 30 Hubs threw me a FAB party
and it was a blast
for 40 I want to crawl into my bed and stay there
BUT it falls on Mother's Day so I have to actually get up!!!
I am also making a big change with my blog…
I feel like it is time…

let me add to the TRUTH
I have been hosting the CURRENTLY Linky Party for years
and because of it…
I have gained
friends
confidence
and loyal followers…
I cannot thank all of you enough for coming every month
and linking up with me…
it has been a true blessing to have all of you come on over and join the CURRENTLY PARTY
and in the name of TRUTH…
in my heart I just feel like it is time to retire the CURRENTLY Linky
I have thought
and contemplated
and discussed with friends
and thought some more
for months now and finally decided that MAY 2016
would be the last one!!!
thanks again for being my bloggy buddies and reading the links and following the RULE of THREE
and thanks for leaving comments
of encouragement
or compliments
or a simple thank you
this linky party has blessed my life in more ways than I had ever imagined
and for the most part I have you guys to thank for that!!!

and with that said...
I hope you understand and will join me for the final PARTAY!!!

for truth…
write something you need to come clean with…
maybe you haven't done lesson plans the last few weeks
or maybe your WHOLE 30 lasted all but 3 days
or maybe your new neighbors are WHACK and leave cray notes on your car
(all of those are more of my truths)

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April 16 Currently

April is that you???
why yes it is…
I LOVE April!!!
not so much the first day of April
but all the rest… yes!!!

this month's Currently… is sponsored by

 now it is your turn

An InLinkz Link-up

currently march 2016

Can you believe it is already March…

seems like just the other day it was February… ha ha ha

You know what the first of the month means…

that is right CURRENTLY… 

this month's sponsor is…

thanks so much for sponsoring this month

 3 things about this currently…
ONE…
why does it seem like I am always running out of glue sticks and dry erase markers…
it is a daily struggle… for reals
TWO…
our state writing test is slipping up on me… and this year has been a little bit more difficult than my other years…they write like they are texting…
only a few are capitalizing I… WHAT???
so for the next few weeks I will be hammering basic writing knowledge
again
and we will be writing and writing until our little hands can write no more…
THREE…
who is the wise guy who thought schools would be a great polling site…
it was probably decided way back when
when schools were not targets for the deranged loonies of the world
BUT these days we have to do intruder drills
and practice staying quiet and hiding in case some idiot comes in our school
we even teach our kids to alert us if a stranger is in the halls…
at my school all visitors must check in at the office and have their license scanned and then they are cleared by some system we have and they get a visitors pass sticker… those stickers alert the kids that they are a cleared adult and are allowed in our school...
BUT on voting days…
all that goes out the window…
the voters just walk in the front door
don't check in with the office…
our hall is filled with strangers…
we take alternative routes everywhere to not interact with the voters… BUT still
THEY ARE STRANGERS!!!
I should not have to have a talk with Bubs about stranger danger on voting day…
yes I know this convo is necessary and I have talked to him about it many times…
but I had to have a SPECIAL one this morning… because… well my little one likes to go potty a lot…
I am sure when he leaves for 6th grade… he is only in 1st... there will be a stall named after him in his honor…
for reals…
so today I told him… do not go to the bathroom… and if you absolutely have to go… go with a buddy… and if you go into the bathroom and an adult is in there get out FAST and tell your teacher…

I was on pins and needles all day about having voting in our school… more so because my little guy is there now… and I must say when the nurse came down to tell me he had fever and had to go home… I was somewhat relieved…
SERIOUSLY
schools should not be polling sites
not in today's world

I asked this polling question on my IG and I had several comments…
go check it out at farleyfarleyfarley
and now here is your currently

on polling site…

let me know if your school is a polling site…

do you have regular classes

do you have PD

are you closed

how do you feel about this??? 

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CURRENTLY February 2016

What WHAT???

no worries you are in the right place!!!

so what do you think of my new design???

my new name??? 

is it not PERFECTION!!!

I mean come on… I have a BUCK cartoon clipart!!!

HE is super cute!!!!

and now on to the reason you are here…

CURRENTLY 

this month is sponsored by...

 some things to ponder…
my old house has NOT sold yet…
we dug a hole and even planted a saint and everything…
and nothing… I know the market is super slow over in my hood
so I am just hoping it will speed up soon …
because paying for 2 houses stinks
it seriously is cutting into my fun money!!!
and that is no fun!!!

AND AND AND SWOONING…
that's easy… my new blog design…
I know you all want to know who designed my blog…
well no other than Alexis at…

I cannot begin to tell you how awesome she was to work with…
she was always available to discuss ideas
and always more than happy to answer my silly questions
she made my vision come to life… I am absolutely in LOVE with my new design
and HIGHLY recommend if you are in the market to give Alexis a holla!!!


OK now your turn
oh and the last question...
SWOONING… something you just can't get enough of… or…. are dreaming of getting
something that makes you swoon… like I could have put Harry Connick Jr…
 oh my lordy lord…
that man makes me swoon…
but CURRENTLY I am swooning over my blog design… ha ha ah

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currently sponsor spots now open

I only take 6 sponsors at a time…

if you are interested click on the advertising tab 

at the top… it will walk you through the process

please NOTE

once the 6 spots are sold I will 

CLOSE 

the sponsor spots

and it will not show in the advertising section

don't be too sad… there are sidebar ads available 

CURRENTLY January 2016

Happy New Year…

thanks to this month's sponsor…

I don't want my CURRENTLY to be a Debbie Downer…

but friends… I have been sick for a few months now…

at first I had a stubborn ovarian cyst and then it ruptured and I had to have surgery…

that was November… 

after surgery I still felt yucky!!!

YUCKY I tell ya…

and then after tons of TESTS… TONS…. they decided it wasn't my kidneys, or appendix, or gall bladder….or anything else in my abdomen…  and so they decided I probably had scar tissue which doesn't show up on imagining….

so this past Monday I had surgery again…

and yep lots of scar tissue…

it had wrapped around my intestines… stretched my ovary towards my abdomen wall and was stuck to lots of other things… just crazy

recovery has not been fun… I have been struggling with the AIR BUBBLES you get after surgery 

they are painful 

and and and a HORRIBLE headache… if it is not better by today … I get to go back to the DR…

YAY!!! 

so that little TMI should give you an idea of why I need more break, more relaxation, and more days!!!

my one little word is JOY…

because I am needing to find the Joy in things…

being sick for over 2 months can really get to you… and I need to focus on the happy 

find my JOY!!!

and now it is your turn….

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